skanda
January theme - list of games
The monthly theme includes games that we most enjoyed playing in 2023. It doesn’t matter what the game’s release year is - what matters is that you played it in 2023 and enjoyed it so much that you would like to see other assassins experience it too. You can nominate up to 10 games. Feel free to also tell us why you liked these particular games, I’m sure a lot of us would love to hear why these games were special to you.
I would really really really appreciate it if you could include a “clean” list of games somewhere in your post. Please use this format to make skanda’s life easier. :)
```
* [Name of game 1](Steam store page link)
* [Name of game 2](Steam store page link)
* [Name of game 3](Steam store page link)
```
The list also includes the winners of the BLAEO Game Awards 2023.
- 911 Operator
- A Juggler’s Tale
- A Short Hike
- A Story Beside
- AI: The Somnium Files
- AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative
- American Arcadia
- Amnesia: Memories
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
- Carto
- Chained Echoes
- Chants of Sennaar
- Chrono Trigger
- Cleo - A pirates tale
- Coloring Pixels
- Control Ultimate Edition
- Cult of the Lamb
- Dave the Diver
- Dear Monster
- Death’s Gambit: Afterlife
- Deathloop
- Detroit: Become Human
- DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR’S CUT
- Diablo® IV
- DREDGE
- Eastward
- ECHO
- Epistory - Typing Chronicles
- Fallout: New Vegas
- FAR: Lone Sails
- Figment
- FRAMED Collection
- ghostpia Season One
- Ghostwire Tokyo
- God of War
- Grow: Song of the Evertree
- Hades
- Heaven’s Vault
- Hi-Fi RUSH
- Hitman 3
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Hollow Knight
- Hook 2
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Impostor Factory
- Kaze and the Wild Masks
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- Kraken Academy!!
- Like a Dragon: Ishin!
- Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
- LIMBO
- Little Misfortune
- Lost in Play
- Lost in Random
- Lost Words: Beyond the Page
- Lucifer Within Us
- Luck be a Landlord
- Metal Gear Solid V
- Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight
- MONSTER HUNTER RISE
- Monster Sanctuary/
- Mortal Shell
- My Time at Sandrock
- OMORI
- Outer Wilds
- Persona 5 Royal
- PHOGS!
- PLANET ALPHA
- Remnant II
- Resident Evil 4
- Return of the Obra Dinn
- Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition
- Roots of Pacha
- Samorost 3
- Sea of Stars
- Seers Isle
- Shadows Over Loathing
- Shady Part of Me
- Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments
- Sleeping dogs
- Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition
- Spirit of the North
- Starfield
- SteamWorld Dig 2
- Stray
- System Shock: Enhanced Edition
- The Last Campfire
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- The Messenger
- The Shell Part I: Inferno
- The wild at heart
- The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt
- TOEM
- UnMetal
- Volcano Princess
- Webbed
- Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
- Wonderful Everyday Down The Rabbit-Hole
Tempête Joachim
Horizon Zero Dawn
Luck be a Landlord
TOEM
A Story Beside
Hogwarts Legacy
Starfield
Dave the Diver
Kraken Academy!!
Diablo® IV
[Horizon Zero Dawn](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1151640/Horizon_Zero_Dawn_Complete_Edition/)
[Luck be a Landlord](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1404850/Luck_be_a_Landlord/)
[TOEM](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1307580/TOEM/)
[A Story Beside](https://store.steampowered.com/app/634410/A_Story_Beside/)
[Hogwarts Legacy](https://store.steampowered.com/app/990080/Hogwarts_Legacy/)
[Starfield](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716740/Starfield/)
[Dave the Diver](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1868140/DAVE_THE_DIVER/)
[Kraken Academy!!](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1158220/Kraken_Academy/)
[Diablo® IV](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2344520/Diablo_IV/)
EvilBlackSheep
Just noticed Joachim has Dave on his list already, so I swapped it for Kona 2
* [American Arcadia](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1249040/American_Arcadia/)
* [AI: The Somnium Files](https://store.steampowered.com/app/948740/AI_The_Somnium_Files/)
* [Cult of the Lamb](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1313140/Cult_of_the_Lamb/)
* [Eastward](https://store.steampowered.com/app/977880/Eastward/)
* [Hollow Knight](http://store.steampowered.com/app/367520)
* [Kona II Brume](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1229020/Kona_II_Brume/)
* [Outer Wilds](https://store.steampowered.com/app/753640/Outer_Wilds/)
* [Return of the Obra Dinn](https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/Return_of_the_Obra_Dinn/)
* [Roots of Pacha](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245560/Roots_of_Pacha/)
* [Stray](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1332010/Stray/)
Kyrrelin
Here I am with games that I have enjoyed very much this past year. :D
Happy New Year and good hunting!
Edit: Changed TOEM to Carto. :)
- Little Misfortune (my review)
- Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (my review)
- Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight (my review)
- Samorost 3 (my review)
- System Shock: Enhanced Edition - absolutely amazing game!
- A Short Hike - cute and relaxing! <3
- Carto (my review)
- Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition (my review)
- Wolfenstein: The New Order (my review)
- FRAMED Collection - clever and funny puzzle game!
* [Little Misfortune](https://store.steampowered.com/app/714120/Little_Misfortune/)
* [Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments](https://store.steampowered.com/app/241260/Sherlock_Holmes_Crimes_and_Punishments/)
* [Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight](https://store.steampowered.com/app/428550/Momodora_Reverie_Under_The_Moonlight/)
* [Samorost 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/421120/Samorost_3/)
* [System Shock: Enhanced Edition](https://store.steampowered.com/app/410710/System_Shock_Enhanced_Edition/)
* [A Short Hike](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1055540/A_Short_Hike/)
* [Carto](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172450/Carto/)
* [Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition](https://store.steampowered.com/app/972660/Spiritfarer_Farewell_Edition/)
* [Wolfenstein: The New Order](https://store.steampowered.com/app/201810/Wolfenstein_The_New_Order/)
* [FRAMED Collection](https://store.steampowered.com/app/322450/FRAMED_Collection/)
Kaleith
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
- God of War
- Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
- Like a Dragon: Ishin!
- Monster Sanctuary
- OMORI
- Persona 5 Royal
- Shadows Over Loathing
- SteamWorld Dig 2
- The Messenger
* [Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night](https://store.steampowered.com/app/692850/Bloodstained_Ritual_of_the_Night/)
* [God of War](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593500/God_of_War/)
* [Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2375550/Like_a_Dragon_Gaiden_The_Man_Who_Erased_His_Name/)
* [Like a Dragon: Ishin!](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1805480/Like_a_Dragon_Ishin/)
* [Monster Sanctuary](https://store.steampowered.com/app/814370/Monster_Sanctuary/)
* [OMORI](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1150690/OMORI/)
* [Persona 5 Royal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1687950/Persona_5_Royal/)
* [Shadows Over Loathing](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1939160/Shadows_Over_Loathing/)
* [SteamWorld Dig 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/571310/SteamWorld_Dig_2/)
* [The Messenger](https://store.steampowered.com/app/764790/The_Messenger/)
ninglor03
* [Detroit: Become Human](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1222140/)
* [DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1850570/)
* [The Witcher® 3: Wild Hunt](https://store.steampowered.com/app/292030/)
* [Grow: Song of the Evertree](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1380420/)
* [Heaven's Vault](https://store.steampowered.com/app/774201/)
* [Dear Monster](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1748300) - NSFW, m/m
* [Seers Isle](https://store.steampowered.com/app/738650/)
* [Lucifer Within Us](https://store.steampowered.com/app/717560/)
* [Epistory - Typing Chronicles](https://store.steampowered.com/app/398850/)
* [ECHO](https://store.steampowered.com/app/551770/)
Formidolosus
Let’s see, looking at what I beat this year and enjoyed and which aren’t already listed I get:
Lost in play - a relatively straightforward point and click, but very nicely done
Hitman 3/ Hitman - World of assassination - Great way to finish off a fantastic series
Deathloop - It had its quirks, but it was still a fun ride (and an SG win to boot)
UnMetal - Hilarious game, spoof of the original metal gear games, well worth a look
Cleo - A pirates tale - Another point and click, with a really sweet story, enjoyed playing it with my wife
Impostor Factory - Not as amazing as To The Moon, but still a quality story
The wild at heart - Unexpectedly good, a bit of pikmin type gameplay, but with a great style
Metal Gear Solid V - A bit of a grind if you’re going for 100% but such fun gameplay
Sleeping dogs (original version) - I finally beat it 10 years after I started it. Great blend of story, open world gameplay and action. Wish more games copied it’s formula
* [Lost in play](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1328840/Lost_in_Play/)
* [Hitman 3](http://store.steampowered.com/app/1659040)
* [Deathloop](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1252330/DEATHLOOP/)
* [UnMetal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1203710/UnMetal/)
* [Cleo - A pirates tale](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361230/Cleo__a_pirates_tale/)
* [Impostor Factory](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1182620/Impostor_Factory/)
* [The wild at heart](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1093290/The_Wild_at_Heart/)
* [Metal Gear Solid V](https://store.steampowered.com/app/287700/METAL_GEAR_SOLID_V_THE_PHANTOM_PAIN/)
* [Sleeping dogs](https://store.steampowered.com/app/202170/Sleeping_Dogs/)
Skatrzoo
Avoided games that have already been mentioned, of course.
- AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative - if you liked the first, you’ll probably enjoy the sequel as well.
- Control Ultimate Edition - Phenomenal atmosphere, and one of the few action games where I actually cared about the story/world-building instead of just the gameplay aspect.
- Death’s Gambit: Afterlife - This is one of those games where I feel like Death’s Gambit 2 would be a masterpiece. Insanely ambitious ideas, but a bit lacking in execution. Still, one of the better metroidvanias out there.
- ghostpia Season One - Amazing artstyle, characters somehow feeling more human than in most other games despite, well, being ghosts.
Also great screenshot bait if you’re someone that enjoys reacting with game screens to your friends’ messages. - Ghostwire Tokyo - Combat and enemy variety is a bit lacking, but the atmosphere once again makes up for it. Maybe not as horror as they were aiming for due to the combat nature of the game.
- MONSTER HUNTER RISE - Mastering wirebugs will probably ruin every other MH game for you. While the monster roster isn’t as good as in World and wirebugs make it a lot easier, I’ve had a blast with this one (I guess picking gunlance and flying across the entire map with its moveset probably helped)
- Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition - The way they executed the first part of this story taking place during a nuclear meltdown at a research facility made me think this was easily going to be my GOTY. While I felt like they over-explained things in the following parts, taking away from my initial impression, I still think it’s one of the better things I’ve read last year.
- The Shell Part I: Inferno - A very surprising read for me, personally. I started reading Innocent Grey’s works with Flowers which was extremely wholesome - now going back to one of their remastered original works, well… let’s just say it was a bit unexpected.
Okay, a lot more than “a bit” - Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty - The next game from Team Ninja, after Nioh 2. This game is two steps forward and… two steps back? You’d think that somehow means it’s as good as Nioh 2, but not quite. While it improves in certain aspects, it also removes certain things that made Nioh 2 so great. Still, I’ve had my fun with it so I can’t complain too much.
- Wonderful Everyday Down The Rabbit-Hole - If I bothered making a list of my top games this year, I think I’d probably put it as my GOTY - this somehow happening while I could rate it 10/10 and 1/10 simultaneously. It wouldn’t feel right for me to not put my GOTY on this list, but don’t play this game. SubaHibi shouldn’t exist.
* [AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1449200/)
* [Control Ultimate Edition](https://store.steampowered.com/app/870780/)
* [Death's Gambit: Afterlife](https://store.steampowered.com/app/356650/)
* [ghostpia Season One](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2192620/)
* [Ghostwire Tokyo](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1475810/)
* [MONSTER HUNTER RISE](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1446780/)
* [Root Double -Before Crime * After Days- Xtend Edition](https://store.steampowered.com/app/438130/)
* [The Shell Part I: Inferno](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2258770/)
* [Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1448440/)
* [Wonderful Everyday Down The Rabbit-Hole](https://store.steampowered.com/app/658620/)
skanda
updated
Moony1986
* [A Juggler’s Tale](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1252830/A_Jugglers_Tale/)
* [Coloring Pixels](https://store.steampowered.com/app/897330/Coloring_Pixels/)
* [Hades](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145360/Hades/)
* [Hook 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1871310/Hook_2/)
* [Kaze and the Wild Masks](https://store.steampowered.com/app/829280/Kaze_and_the_Wild_Masks/)
* [Lost in Random](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1462570/Lost_in_Random/)
* [Shady Part of Me](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1116580/Shady_Part_of_Me/)
* [Spirit of the North](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1213700/Spirit_of_the_North/)
* [The Last Campfire](https://store.steampowered.com/app/990630/The_Last_Campfire/)
* [Webbed](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1390350/Webbed/)
Trilled Meow
For Fallout, technically I was playing TTW and never made it to New Vegas and just replayed Fallout 3, but whatever.
* [Volcano Princess](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1669980/Volcano_Princess/)
* [Chrono Trigger](https://store.steampowered.com/app/613830/CHRONO_TRIGGER/)
* [Amnesia: Memories](https://store.steampowered.com/app/359390/Amnesia_Memories/)
* [Fallout: New Vegas](https://store.steampowered.com/app/22380/Fallout_New_Vegas/)
CultofPersonalitea
Here are a few games, that I think deserves your attention.
Just like me, you probably underestimate these. And hopefully like me, you will realise they are some decent games! [with the exception of Limbo and Kena, i knew Id love them :) ]
* [911 Operator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/503560/911_Operator/)
* [Chained Echoes](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1229240/Chained_Echoes/)
* [PHOGS!](https://store.steampowered.com/app/850320/PHOGS/)
* [Figment](https://store.steampowered.com/app/493540/Figment/)
* [PLANET ALPHA](https://store.steampowered.com/app/485030/PLANET_ALPHA/)
* [Lost Words: Beyond the Page](https://store.steampowered.com/app/599610/Lost_Words_Beyond_the_Page/)
* [FAR: Lone Sails](https://store.steampowered.com/app/609320/FAR_Lone_Sails/)
* [Kena: Bridge of Spirits](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1954200/Kena_Bridge_of_Spirits/)
* [Mortal Shell](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1110910/Mortal_Shell/)
* [LIMBO](https://store.steampowered.com/app/48000/LIMBO/)
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