While this past year has given us a plethora of good games, that doesn’t mean we aren’t compiling our most anticipated games of 2023. Gamers perpetually have their eyes pointed toward the future as the anticipation of upcoming games ever-intensifies their hunger for new and exciting evolutions in the medium. Over the past year, there have been a lot of interesting new games slated for release in 2023—most of which were announced at The Game Awards 2022—as well as a few known projects that got pushed back, hopefully for the sake of quality.
We here at CGM have compiled a list of our most anticipated games of 2023—in no particular order.
Post-Trauma
The Game Awards 2022 pre-show serves a pretty useful function of being a sort of small-tier version of the “actual” ceremony. The awards handed out are smaller and less bombastic, and as such the game announcements are for humbler projects. For me, however, Post Trauma was one of the bigger announcements, immediately catching my eye for its stunning and surreal aesthetic, and its resemblance to Silent Hill 4: The Room and even P.T.
While including it on this list might be a bit presumptuous since it doesn’t have an official release date, RED SOUL GAMES already put out a playable demo for the game, and its announcement during The Game Awards is a hopeful sign that its release is not far off, and it is one of our most anticipated games of 2023.
Final Fantasy XVI
Final Fantasy XVI was my personal choice for The Game Award’s Most Anticipated Game of 2023, and one I honestly thought would be a lock against The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—I mean, come on guys, we all know it’s just going to be ANOTHER BotW. I was already anxious for FFXVI when the first trailer showcased a return to the classic swords-and-sorcery vibe that started the franchise, but got even more excited when it was revealed Ryota Suzuki would serve as the battle designer.
FFXVI looks to have a darker tone, incredibly fast-paced and stylized combat, and a seemingly new summon system that turns the main character into the summoned “Eikon.” Square Enix seems to be building off the best systems established in Final Fantasy XV and the Final Fantasy VII Remake and bringing them into something truly epic. I, along with several other CGM members, am stoked for this one.
Blue Protocol
CGM’s Dayna Elieen insisted Blue Protocol be on the Most Anticipated Game of 2023 list, and it’s not hard to see why. Blue Protocol did catch my eye when I saw it at The Game Awards, with a stylish presentation that had me believing for a moment that it was a new Xenoblade game. With a fast-paced action style, multiple classes, and easy-to-learn gameplay—the game’s description, not mine—watching the trailer kind of gave Phantasy Star Online vibes.
It honestly feels like the MMO space has been dominated by its reigning king World of Warcraft, and Final Fantasy XIV—at least those are the only two I ever seem to hear about—and Amazon Game Studios’ attempted two MMO’s in the recent past, New World and Lost Ark. If they can shake things up with a partnership with Bandai Namco, then I’m all for it!
Diablo IV
This may come as a shock to learn, but I never actually played Diablo. I’ve played many games like Diablo, but—as I’ve mentioned in the past—I never had a solid enough computer to run it when they first came out. But Diablo VI might be my first introduction to the franchise, and one several CGM writers are excited about.
Seeing the combination of the trademark Diablo style, adapted to a fully realized open-world might be the revitalization the series has desperately needed. However, Elden Ring set the bar so high for open-world RPGs now, that anything less might just feel like Diablo band-wagoning; but I maintain high hope that this will be a unique and engaging entry into the franchise, and this makes it a most anticipated game of 2023. It looks great, has a solid concept, and features a mage that can clear a room with a tidal wave of blood. What more do you want?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild debuted, it absolutely rocked the gaming world. It was such a bold, yet simple shakeup to a series with a long-established formula that it’s a wonder how Nintendo didn’t think of it sooner. When it was released, it was almost immediately hailed as the greatest Zelda of all time, and while I certainly think it has some serious flaws, it remains in my top five best Zelda list. Tears of the Kingdom certainly has some big shoes to fill, which it looks to be doing by not only building off the existing map of Hyrule but adding a Sky World and some new magic powers for Link to utilize.
While I worry Nintendo won’t fix the horrible weapon durability system, or mediocre storytelling—because why would they—I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about the next adventure. Fundamentally, I liked a lot of what Breath of the Wild did, and I’m excited to see how the Sky World plays into the adventure—as well as hopefully seeing Ganondorf return as an ACTUAL villain, and not just some conceptual force of evil.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf
Much like Diablo, Dragon Age was another franchise I largely missed out on for a long time. I genuinely liked Mass Effect when I first played it, so I knew I would like Dragon Age as well, but for some reason, I just never got around to playing it.
Dragon Age: Inquisition was the first one I played, largely because I was just starting to get into games journalism, and I needed to be up on the discourse, but the moment I booted it up, I was hooked. Its deep storytelling, interesting characters, and intensely tactical combat had me playing almost constantly for months—and that Bond-esque battle of wits at the ball? Worthy of a chef’s kiss indeed.
There hasn’t been a lot said or seen about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, other than the fact that Solas—who I always liked, even if he was a bit preachy about my respect for the Elvish ways, being a half-Elf as I was—seems to be the game’s central antagonist. If the game manages to build, or at least continue off the solid foundation that was set in Dragon Age: Inquisition, we’re definitely in for an incredibly epic game. One can’t help but wonder if this game will follow suit with several other notable fantasy RPGs and introduce a “seamless open world,” but only time will tell.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hands-down one of the best action-exploration games ever created, Hollow Knight is beautiful, intense, and deeply engaging. I love Hollow Knight with every fibre of my being, and one of its characters who I love the most is The Hornet—keen-eyed podcast viewers will know I even have a pin of her on my iconic hat. Every piece of Hollow Knight: Silksong that I’ve seen only makes me want it more—building off the terrific gameplay and atmosphere of its predecessor and making it much more fluid, fast-paced, and above all FUN.
The way Team Cherry has differentiated The Hornet from The Knight in terms of mobility, technical skill, and combat, and built another sprawling, beautifully tragic world around it is nothing short of a masterwork—unlike Metroid which, don’t get me wrong, I love, but usually just finds a reason to wipe away Samus’ abilities, so she can get them back again. Hollow Knight: Silksong has been somewhat coy with its release date, but it’s rumoured to be set for July 2023, and if that’s true, then it’ll be my contender for 2023’s GOTY, and definitely one of the most anticipated games of 2023.
Hades II
Hades was the first game by Supergiant that I actually liked. I thought Bastion had a cool concept, but it never really hooked me, and I just couldn’t get into Transistor though I’ll admit it had a wicked sense of style. But Hades, with its incredible aesthetic, tight gameplay, rouge-legacy elements, and sheer ABUNDANCE of unique dialogue kept me coming back for more and more. The last thing I expected from The Game Awards 2022 was an announcement for its sequel, and boy, oh boy I cannot wait for this one, hence why it is on the Most Anticipated Games of 2023 list.
Hades II looks to amp things up even more—with new gods, new weapons, and new abilities to make fighting your way through the Underworld even more fun. Supergiant has stated that Hades II will be available in Early Access sometime in 2023, but if this game follows the same path as its predecessor, then it may be a few years before we see the finished product. However, by that same token, Hades featured a breadth of content while in Early Access, so it’ll still definitely be a most anticipated game worth playing.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
Personally, I don’t think I’m as excited about Resident Evil 4 Remake as my colleagues are. Don’t get me wrong, I totally get their excitement—the remake of the Resident Evil that set the standard for the series for almost eight years looks REALLY good. I just think it’s weird that part of the reason the Resident Evil 2 and Nemesis remakes were so well received is because they followed the design of Resident Evil 4.
Furthermore, I honestly only think Resident Evil 2 Remake was a true evolution of its original. Nemesis took itself a bit too seriously, and made a lot of the moments where the titular villain shows up feel scripted, as opposed to Mr. X who constantly kept you on your toes.
The original Resident Evil 4 was a goofy B-movie action game, and it’s one of the most genuinely genius games, and while the remake looks like it’s leaning a bit more to the serious horror side, I remain hopeful that it won’t lose that spirit—I’m insanely curious to see how it is going to handle Salazar. I’m sure it’ll only tighten and enhance the original’s tight design. Curiosity alone makes it one of the most anticipated games of 2023.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Back in 2019, EA surprised the world by letting Respawn release a Star Wars game that wasn’t a greed-driven, microtransaction vehicle. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was an impeccably designed action RPG that, truthfully, borrowed a lot from Dark Souls. But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and they definitely made it work—besides, you say the words “Star Wars Dark Souls” to me, and I’m on board, no questions asked.
Seamlessly merging tight lightsaber combat, with a wide array of customization options and an intense story, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was one of the best Star Wars games we’ve gotten in a long time, and it’s follow-up looks to only advance that course. Increasing the drama, lightsaber action, and setting the scope wider, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a most anticipated game all of us here at CGM are keeping on our radar—myself particularly for the inclusion of the Kylo Ren style broadsaber.
