Many are calling 2023 the best year for gaming in a decade, and it’s only just a bit more than half over. We have seen hit after hit arrive, with many more still to come as we end summer and head into what is normally the busiest time of the year, the fall and holiday season.
Looking over the top games of 2023 so far, the Metacritic average for what’s arrived thus far is pretty wild. We really have not seen a level of quality across the board here in ages, and my guess is that will continue through releases like Armored Core 6, Starfield and Spider-Man 2 across their respective platforms. But even now, take a look. I’ll try to go somewhat in chronological order, and if it’s multiplatform, I’ll take the higher score. Keep in mind that we live in an era where studios consider anything 85 or over a massive critical success.
- Hi-Fi Rush – 89
- Dead Space Remake – 89
- Metroid Prime Remastered – 94
- Resident Evil 4 – 93
- Hogwarts Legacy – 85
- Star Wars: Jedi Survivor – 85
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 96
- Diablo 4 – 91
- Street Fighter 6 – 92
- Final Fantasy VI – 87
- Pikmin 4 – 87
- Remnant 2 – 84
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – 97
Again, this isn’t all of them, but most of the biggest releases. That’s 13 major games scoring over an 85, with six scoring over a 90. Two scoring over a 95, which makes them some of the highest rated games in history. Baldur’s Gate 3, which is holding its 97 as more reviews come in, is tied for the highest scored game in PC history. It’s tied to be in the top 10 for all platforms of all time.
Metacritic is more of a force in present day than it was say, 10-20 years ago when some of the other “best years in gaming” happened, but these numbers give a tangible way to see just how stellar this year is. And I absolutely believe we are about to add a bunch more games to this list in the next few months here. It’s an incredible time to be a gamer when your biggest problem is simply not enough time to play a stellar collection of games like this, when they range from probably 15 to 400 hours, depending on which one you’re playing. Wild times.
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