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The best games of 2023 span role-playing, action-adventure, horror, platforming, and inventive independent releases. Baldur’s Gate 3 is the clearest cross-award pick: it won Game of the Year at both The Game Awards 2023 and the Game Developers Choice Awards honoring 2023 releases. But the right choice depends on what you want to play—and which platform you own.
This guide blends major award results with genre and audience fit rather than treating any single award as a universal ranking. Awards show what a particular jury or organization recognized; they do not measure sales or guarantee that every player will enjoy a game.
Best games of 2023 at a glance
| Game | Best fit | Notable recognition | Platform or audience note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baldur’s Gate 3 | Role-playing and multiplayer | Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023 and the Game Developers Choice Awards; The Game Awards also named it Best Role Playing and Best Multiplayer. | Xbox Series X|S release was reported for December 7, 2023. Xbox Wire describes custom or pre-built characters and multiplayer. |
| The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Action-adventure and open-ended exploration | The Game Awards’ Best Action/Adventure. | Nintendo Switch recommendation; Nintendo describes it as a sequel featuring Hyrule, floating islands, and new abilities for Link. |
| Alan Wake 2 | Survival horror and narrative | The Game Awards recognized it for Game Direction, Narrative, and Art Direction. | TIME characterizes it as survival horror with two protagonists and a meta-narrative approach. |
| Super Mario Bros. Wonder | Family-friendly platforming | The Game Awards’ Best Family; included in BAFTA’s Best Game top ten. | Nintendo Switch. TIME notes selectable characters and Wonder Flowers; suitability varies by player. |
| Hi-Fi Rush | Rhythm-inflected action | The Game Awards’ Best Audio Design. | A category standout; the cited award record does not establish a complete current platform list. |
| Sea of Stars | Independent role-playing | The Game Awards’ Best Independent Game. | A strong option to consider if you want an indie RPG. |
| Cocoon | Independent puzzle-adventure | The Game Awards’ Best Debut Indie; also in BAFTA’s Best Game top ten. | Recognized across two award programs, though their categories and selection processes differ. |
| Pikmin 4 | Strategy and simulation | The Game Awards’ Best Sim/Strategy. | A category-led pick for players interested in strategy. |
BAFTA’s Best Game top ten also included Dave the Diver, Dredge, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. These are notable alternatives in a year that produced more than a handful of high-profile releases.
Why Baldur’s Gate 3 is the strongest all-around award pick
Baldur’s Gate 3 won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023 and at the 24th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, which honored 2023 releases. The Game Awards also recognized it in role-playing and multiplayer categories. That makes it the most straightforward recommendation if you want a game with broad recognition across award programs, not proof that it is the best choice for every player.
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Xbox Wire describes the game as drawing on the Dungeons & Dragons world and notes that players can use custom or pre-built characters and play multiplayer. TIME’s editorial description emphasizes companion relationships and freedom in approaching quests and combat. Those qualities point to a role-playing experience built around choices and multiple ways to tackle situations, rather than a tightly linear adventure.
Platform matters: Xbox Wire reported the Xbox Series X|S release on December 7, 2023. That historical release announcement is not a complete or current platform-availability guide.
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Pick by the kind of game you want
For action-adventure exploration: Tears of the Kingdom
The Game Awards named The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Best Action/Adventure. Nintendo describes this sequel to Breath of the Wild as letting players choose their own path through Hyrule and the islands in the sky, with new abilities for Link. If you want exploration and room to decide how to approach the world, it is a natural pick. It is a Nintendo Switch recommendation, not a release for competing platforms.
For survival horror and a layered story: Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2 received The Game Awards for Game Direction, Narrative, and Art Direction. TIME characterizes it as survival horror centered on two protagonists, with a meta-narrative approach. That editorial description makes it a fitting choice for players looking for horror alongside an unusually self-aware narrative; it should not be mistaken for an official award citation.
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For accessible, family-focused platforming: Super Mario Bros. Wonder
The Game Awards named Super Mario Bros. Wonder Best Family, and BAFTA included it in its Best Game top ten. TIME describes its side-scrolling platforming, selectable characters, and Wonder Flowers, which change how stages play. Those are useful reasons to consider it for a shared or approachable platforming session, though what works for a family depends on the players.
For an independent-game pick: Cocoon or Sea of Stars
Cocoon won The Game Awards’ Best Debut Indie and also appeared in BAFTA’s Best Game top ten. Sea of Stars won The Game Awards’ Best Independent Game. The awards make them distinct indie standouts, but do not establish that one is better than the other: their categories recognize different things.
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For other specific interests
- Audio design: The Game Awards named Hi-Fi Rush Best Audio Design.
- Simulation or strategy: Pikmin 4 won The Game Awards’ Best Sim/Strategy.
- More variety beyond the award winners above: BAFTA’s Best Game top ten included Dave the Diver, Dredge, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
What the awards do—and do not—tell you
The Game Awards, the Game Developers Choice Awards, and BAFTA use different categories and selection processes. Their results are useful for finding notable releases, but award counts should not be added together as if they came from one shared ballot, nor read as sales figures or a measure of universal enjoyment.
BAFTA’s 2023 longlist provides a sense of the breadth of games considered: BAFTA says over 1,200 members selected a list of 60 games from 257 entries released between December 10, 2022 and November 24, 2023. The 60-game longlist covered titles running for at least one nomination across 17 competitive categories. These figures describe BAFTA’s own process, not the full games industry or every game released during calendar year 2023.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Marvel’s Wolverine is a new action-packed adventure from Insomniac Games
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Sources
- The Game Awards: nominees and winners
- 24th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards
- BAFTA Games Awards 2024 longlist announcement
- Nintendo: Switch games and more win big at The Game Awards
- Xbox Wire: Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Series X|S
- TIME: Best video games of 2023
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