It's been a while since this writer last posted here. In my last post I shared a review of ghost-hunting horror game, Demonologist. That post deserves an update as there's been a lot of controversy around the game as it suddenly and unexpectedly came out of Early Access with no fanfare or announcement. I'll get to that next year, though. Today, we're going to reflect on 2023 and I'll share with you my favourite games from the past twelve months. Starting with...


This indie horror game with such a simple concept (collect loot, sell loot, repeat) really took off in October 2023. Created by one solo dev and updated almost monthly with seasonal events and new content (new enemies, new loot, etc), no one expected this game to go as viral as it has. One thing that has helped Lethal Company reach the dizzying heights it's at now (with over 17m people playing according to Steam stats) is just how moddable the game is. The developer behind Lethal Company fully supports, even encourages, mods and it's so easy to install mods thanks to Thunderstore. With well over 5k mods already available, you can make the game as terrifying or as memey as you like. If you can think of it, there's probably a mod for it! Lethal Company is a game that's being enjoyed just as much in multi-player as in solo. It's a game that refuses to be pigeon-holed, too. Not quite horror, a little bit sci-fi, somewhat open world. This is a game that is being enjoyed by almost all who try it, regardless of their genre preferences. I've had a great deal of fun in multi-player and even more in solo as I fight to survive and collect more and more loot for The Company. I'm very excited to see what this dev has in-store for this and future games! If Lethal Company is anything to go by, this dev is definitely going places. 


Shadows of Doubt snuck onto the scene with tags including 'detective,' 'noir,' and 'immersive'. But those tags only tell half the story. What ColePowered Games have achieved with Shadows of Doubt is a procedurally generated, hugely open world, murder mystery game with endless potential. Procedural generation keeps the game fresh and allows for a huge amount of replayability. The open world is what lends to the immersiveness of the game and the murder mystery is what keeps players returning for more. Again, thanks in no small part to the procedural generation, each murder case is different (save for a few core components). There's no searching online for the answers to this one, detectives. You're going to have to use your noggin'. Which is what makes this game so addictive and makes each playthrough feel fresh and exciting. Still in Early Access, Shadows of Doubt has huge potential and I'm excited to see what the devs have up their sleeves for this hidden gem in 2024. 


Hogwarts Legacy received a lot of attention for, mostly, the wrong reasons. Whatever your opinion on J.K. Rowling, this game deserves far more recognition than it got, even being snubbed at the game awards with not so much as an honorable mention. Portkey Games have poured so much love, care and attention-to-detail into this game. And for Harry Potter fans (note the key word here: Harry Potter fans, not J.K. Rowling fans, the two are not mutually exclusive, in my opinion) stepping through the impressive front door of Hogwarts to begin your first year of magical studies felt like a dream come true. I can't be the only one who got goosebumps, right? From all kinds of magical classes to riding around on your very own broomstick to exploring nearby Hogsmeade, every moment of this game was a delight. Graphically breath-taking, Portkey Games made sure to include plenty of nods to the original books and films that inspired this game and the level of attention-to-detail was outstanding. Hogwarts Legacy is easily my game of the year and it should be yours, too.


I had a lot of fun with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre when it was first released. When we were all learning how to play as or against The Family and how exactly one escaped the map and won the match. Inevitably, as I'm finding to be the case with most multi-player games these days, matches became full of toxicity. Survivors (or Victims) would go out of their way to body-check (Leland) or stab family members, usually repeatedly. Matches would often be over in two minutes or less, with those on the Victim side speed-running (or hacking) an easy escape (and win). Eventually, it just became stale, boring and a little bit repetitive. That being said, it was a lot of fun at the start and although I don't think it has a lot of potential and I can see it going the way of Friday The 13th eventually, I'll always think back on the early days of TCM fondly.

It's been a pretty quiet year for gaming, at least for this gamer anyway. There hasn't been a huge amount of new releases that have really captivated me. But that may be because horror is still a fairly niche genre in the gaming industry, although it's starting to show signs of growth. With a plethora of Silent Hill games due next year and a number of other smaller, indie titles to look forward to though I'm looking forward to another great year of gaming. Happy New Year, gamers. Game on!

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