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RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Neal Chandran

Posted by Neal Chandran on February 2, 2024

In 2023, I found myself most inspired by games with excellent writing. That is how I arrived at my top three picks for the year: Top 3 Games of 2023 Hush Hush – Only Your Love Can Save Them On its surface, Hush Hush appears to be a “fanservicey anime schlock” visual novel based on characters from an… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Zach Wilkerson

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on February 2, 2024

I’ve played so many stone-cold classics for Retro Encounter over the years (Mother 3, NieR: Automata, and even Disco Elysium) that it’s hard to pick a favorite. But I can confidently say that Bloodborne belongs in the same conversation. It’s been a bit of an odd year for me with many life changes —… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Michael Sollosi

Posted by Michael Sollosi on February 2, 2024

I had a difficult 2023 for several personal reasons, but finding excellent new RPGs to play was never a challenge. I’d love to talk about a few of them; first a few honorable mentions, then my six favorite 2023 RPGs. Missed Connections: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate III, D… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Tina Olah

Posted by Tina Olah on February 2, 2024

Hello, RPG friends! This year, I continued my grand tradition of playing short, 5 to 20-hour games, mostly on Steam and Xbox Game Pass. Below are some of my top choices from 2023, featuring new games and backlog classics! Best Fairytale World: Ravenlok In the ninth month of 2023, I wandered through… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Visuals

Posted by Des Miller on January 26, 2024

Winner: Final Fantasy XVI The Final Fantasy series is known for having the most gorgeous, bombastic, and high-budget visuals in the industry. From Final Fantasy VII’s bombing mission intro, FFVIII’s blend of CGI and real-time rendering for dramatic setpiece moments to FFX’s stunning art direction an… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Music

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 26, 2024

Winner: Final Fantasy XVI Final Fantasy XVI’s music is more than a mere soundtrack with songs and tones to suit the situation. It’s deliberate. It’s full of leitmotifs and metaphors. It’s expertly timed and dynamic instead of just beautiful in a vacuum (for which FFXVI’s music also qualifies). FFXVI… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Story

Posted by Abraham Kobylanski on January 26, 2024

Winner: Baldur’s Gate III It begins with a startling scene of an octopedal mind flayer putting a parasitic worm in your eye. If you can believe it, Baldur’s Gate III doesn’t settle down but only gets weirder. Though your main goal is to relieve your unusual malady, your tale branches off in whicheve… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Traditional RPG

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on January 26, 2024

Winner: Baldur’s Gate III On one hand, Baldur’s Gate III is as “traditional” as an RPG gets. After all, it’s the most faithful and fleshed-out adaptation of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign (the OG RPG) that’s been done to date. Yet, at the same time, it feels like such a modern triple-A experience… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Localization

Posted by Tim Rattray on January 26, 2024

Winner: Final Fantasy XVI Final Fantasy XVI is in a unique position to win this award as it was the only game in the franchise to prioritize its English dub; in fact, the English dub and motion capture were complete before Japanese recordings even began! Creative Business Unit III wanted the game to… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Action RPG

Posted by Des Miller on January 26, 2024

Winner: Final Fantasy XVI Final Fantasy XVI is the greatest departure from the series while somehow remaining the most Final Fantasy. With a battle system designed by Devil May Cry’s combat director, a soundtrack by Final Fantasy XIV’s Masayoshi Soken, and the undeniable talent of Square Enix’s Crea… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Protagonist

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on January 26, 2024

Winner: Clive Rosfield (Final Fantasy XVI) “You know nothing, Clive Rosfield.” While not everyone was taken with the degree of Game of Thrones influence in Final Fantasy XVI’s tone and world, it’s hard to deny that modeling Clive after underdog hero Jon Snow translated well to the game. Equal parts… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Graphic Adventure or Visual Novel

Posted by Abraham Kobylanski on January 26, 2024

Winner: Little Goody Two Shoes We got a little treat for the spooky season this year in the form of Little Goody Two Shoes. With a wild style that wrings every ounce of visual creativity it could out of the RPGMaker look, this narrative game is candy for the eyes. Elise has to dodge accusations of w… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Antagonist

Posted by Tim Rattray on January 26, 2024

Winner: Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) For being one of gaming’s most infamous villains, it’s surprising how often Ganondorf has lurked in the shadows of Zelda games only to lurch out during their final moments. So, we all knew we were in for something special when his reign o… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Strategy RPG

Posted by Jimmy Turner on January 26, 2024

Winner: Fire Emblem Engage Fire Emblem Engage had a lot to live up to after the enormous success of its predecessor, Three Houses. While Engage was not exactly the “Three Houses 2” many may have wanted, it is a terrific entry in Nintendo’s tactical RPG franchise. Where Three Houses’ success stemmed… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Supporting Character

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on January 26, 2024

Winner: Cidolfus Telamon (Final Fantasy XVI) The Final Fantasy series has its fair share of lovable characters named Cid, so it’s no trivial statement to say that Final Fantasy XVI’s Cidolfus Telamon might be the best yet. Powered by a snarky, gravelly-voiced performance from Ralph Ineson, Cid steal… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Indie Game

Posted by Caitlin Argyros on January 26, 2024

Winner: Sea of Stars It was clear from the first trailer that Sea of Stars had the potential to be something special, and the final product did not disappoint. Wearing its retro inspiration on its sleeve, the game has gorgeous pixel art, snappy combat with timed mechanics, a fun adventure story, and… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Animal or Mascot Character

Posted by Caitlin Argyros on January 26, 2024

Winner: Torgal (Final Fantasy XVI) Torgal is the goodest of boys. He’s cute as a button as a puppy and handsome (but still adorable) as an adult. He is fiercely loyal to his people and nigh inseparable with Clive in particular. When the two are separated, Torgal spends over a decade searching for Cl… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Ongoing Game

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on January 26, 2024

Winner: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker It’s telling that, even in a year that most would agree was on the weaker side for Final Fantasy XIV, this game still sits at the top of this category. Really, it’s a testament to Final Fantasy XIV that we even think this year is weak; we still got so much good c… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Game of the Year

Posted by Abraham Kobylanski on January 26, 2024

Winner: Baldur’s Gate III Though it had been floating around in early access for a couple years, Baldur’s Gate III still felt like it snuck up on us, partly because we didn’t expect it’d be this great. BGIII caught the essence of Dungeons & Dragons at an opportune time, coinciding with a new har… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Mobile Game

Posted by Ben Love on January 26, 2024

Winner: Honkai: Star Rail Honkai: Star Rail’s launch proved that HoYoverse could capture lightning in a bottle twice. Combining traditional turn-based RPG combat with their signature gacha character acquisition was a recipe for success, rocketing the game to the top of the mobile charts. The game is… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Unconventional or Hybrid RPG

Posted by Hilary Andreff on January 26, 2024

Winner: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line No more seeking out All-Star Carnival in random mall arcades! We finally got the robust musical Final Fantasy experience we’d all been waiting for with Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. This latest iteration in the Theatrhythm franchise is grander than ever, boasting a v… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Remake or Re-Release

Posted by Neal Chandran on January 26, 2024

Winner: Star Ocean: The Second Story R Star Ocean: The Second Story R is the poster child of how a remake should be done. It beautifully blends the nostalgic sprites of yore with stunningly redone environments that look even better than we could have imagined. This iteration of Star Ocean: The Secon… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Sleeper Hit

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 26, 2024

Winner: Dave the Diver Dave the Diver is a fishing roguelike, a business management sim, a bullet heck shmup (not brutal enough to qualify for “bullet hell”), and completely addictive and charming. The gameplay loop of exploring the ever-changing lagoon as Dave and running a restaurant with your mys… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best DLC

Posted by Tyler Trosper on January 26, 2024

Winner: Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed The Xenoblade Chronicles series gained a reputation for extensive DLC expansions, such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden County and Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition: Future Connected. Thankfully, Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeem… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Combat

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on January 26, 2024

Winner: Octopath Traveler II It’s no small task to improve on Octopath Traveler’s combat. Every skill is so carefully chosen to make the Break/Boost system work together with the visible turn order to create a thoughtful, strategic experience in the original. Somehow, though, Octopath Traveler II im… Read More »

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