Ready, set, go: The 13 best games to play in 2023

2023 is looking like a bumper year for games on Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Have you recovered from the holidays and had the chance to catch up on all the big games from 2022? Well, ready or not, it’s already time to gaze ahead to the best games to play in 2023, which looks similarly packed with massive titles to compete for your attention. Here’s our guide to the best upcoming games.

Admittedly, some of these titles are ones that we had anticipated last year that got delayed. Nonetheless, after a couple years of adjusting to both a new console generation and development challenges brought on by the pandemic, 2023 looks to be when current-gen finally hits its stride. Even if one of the year’s most hotly anticipated titles is actually coming exclusively to the underpowered Switch.

But whether it’s the start of spring, a stacked summer, or beyond, there’s plenty of exciting games coming up regardless of the platform you’re playing on. Read on for our picks of the best games to play in 2023!

Additional copy by Ian Evenden

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The best games to play in 2023

1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Platforms: Switch

A direct sequel to the greatest game of the generation, if not all time? The latest instalment of The Legend of Zelda looks set to build upon the groundbreaking sandbox open world of Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule, by literally building a whole other world in the skies above.

Apart from a few very cryptic teasers that show off glimpses of Link’s new tools, including what looks like a way of reversing time, we still don’t really know what to expect from this game. Could the subtitle be referring to tears as some kind of important collectible, a hint towards the return of traditional dungeons, or perhaps something else entirely? More importantly, can the underpowered Switch handle it?

If Nintendo really does reveal a new successor to the Switch in 2023, then Tears of the Kingdom will ensure the company’s most successful console since the Wii will go out on a high.

Due: May 12

2. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Platforms: PS5

One of the most popular PlayStation exclusives of one of the most popular superheroes, a sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man is a no-brainer. Following the well-received Miles Morales expansion, it also makes sense that this time you’ll be able to play as both Peter Parker and Miles’ versions of the web slinger as they take on new villains Kraven the Hunter and fan favourite Venom.

Little else has been revealed so far, though we’re hoping for a more interesting shake-up of the open world formula to accompany the already awesome feeling of swinging around the city. With Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse also coming to cinemas in June, it’s looking like a terrific year to be a Spider-Man.

Due: Autumn 2023

3. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

For many, the ultimate power fantasy of any Star Wars game is to wield a lightsaber as a Jedi, which was the biggest selling point for 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, even if it felt a bit derivative cobbling bits of Uncharted and Sekiro, although at least the saber combat is somewhat more forgiving than the latter.

Still, the foundations are set for a more exciting sequel, which once again follows Cal Kestis five years later, in more grizzled warrior mode after constant years of pursuit from the Empire. Although we’re being promised some evolutions in the combat, including new saber stances, we’re most excited about Cal’s new traversal abilities like being able to tame and ride wild animals.

Due: March 17

4. Resident Evil 4

Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox, PC

After remaking Resident Evil 2 and 3 for modern platforms, Capcom is reimagining the game that not only transformed the franchise but pioneered the over-the-shoulder perspective that has influenced all third-person shooters that came after it like Gears of War, and which is still considered one of the greatest games of all time.

That the original Resident Evil 4 can be played widely on pretty much any modern platform and still holds up, there’s all the more pressure on what this remake can offer besides better graphics. Initial impressions hint at a more of a horror atmosphere than the original’s action-packed B-movie camp, even though the iconic opening village ambush is almost exactly as you remember it, including the terrifying guy wielding a chainsaw. We await Leon Kennedy’s return with nervous anticipation.

Due: March 24

5. Starfield

Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC

Bethesda’s first major new open world IP since The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, Starfield sounds galactically colossal in scope. It’s then perhaps no surprise that the game was delayed from its original November 11 date in 2022, hopefully to break the studio’s reputation for buggy releases or avoid comparisons with the divisive launch of another vastly ambitious space sim No Man Sky.

But while Starfield is set amongst the stars where you can assemble your own customised spacecraft to visit over 1,000 worlds across over 100 systems, it’s still at heart an action RPG where you will get to choose your alliances or fight space pirates in either first or third-person with a mix of shooter and melee combat.

Due: 2023

6. Street Fighter 6

Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Fighting games feel like that specialist dying breed, but if anything’s going to reinvigorate the genre then Street Fighter 6 is going to be the one.

With a bold hyper-real style and a more accessible control option, early hands-on already reveal a supremely polished fighting game with exciting new systems. But the ability to create your own fighter to take to an expansive single-player mode and an online battle hub is what’s going to build a confident new platform for both veteran fighting game fans and a new generation.

Of course it’s also all about the roster. SF6 features a substantial revamp of the original World Warriors (shout out to cop-turned-kung fu master Chun Li and a Ken, who looks like he’s fallen on hard times) as well as new challengers like French grappling fashionista Manon and graffiti ninja Kimberley. During the most recent Playstation State of Play we also got the latest look at new character Lily, the definitely not new character Cammy and everyone’s favourite mohawked powerbomb machine Zangief.

Due: June 2

7. Final Fantasy XVI

Platforms: PS5

2023 is a big year for Final Fantasy fans, with two titles to get excited for, including Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. But for a completely brand new experience, Final Fantasy XVI has us most hyped.

With a more mature tone that’s more inspired by Western fantasy like The Witcher or God of War, it’s a controversial departure for the long-running Japanese RPG series although we can still expect a big epic involving crystals and the legendary summoned Eikons.

While it looks like your lead protagonist Clive will still have allies during his journey in a story that spans multiple timelines, this is also a predominantly single-player real-time action-oriented affair. But when the battle director’s credits include Devil May Cry and the criminally underrated Dragon’s Dogma, you know it’s going to be good.

Due: June 22

8. Redfall

Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC

After the critical success of innovative timeloop shooter Deathloop, here’s another unique twist from developer Arkane (this time from its Austin-based studio). Redfall is the name of Massachusetts town overrun by a legion of vampires created from a scientific experiment gone wrong.

Playing as a group of survivors, this isn’t just Left 4 Dead with blood suckers. Redfall is actually a completely open-world setting that players are free to play seamlessly in single-player as well as in co-op multiplayer while the threats will also include fighting human cultists. Besides experimenting with a variety of weapons and loadouts, it’s going to be the worldbuilding and characters, including a biomedical engineering graduate with telekinetic powers, that will keep you immersed as you uncover the town’s mysteries.

And after recently taking a greater glimpse at Redfall‘s gameplay during Xbox and Bethesda’s Developer Direct showcase, we couldn’t be more hyped for this vampiric shooter. Watch that footage for yourself in the video above.

Due: 2023

9. Diablo IV

Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox

We’re all used to the addictive loop of grinding dungeons and amassing better loot to become even more powerful to take on an even more powerful enemies to get even better loot. So what better than to have the grandaddy of this devilish design to make its long-awaited return?

Diablo IV is a return to first principles of top-down dungeon-crawling albeit now with a more open world design. Despite the bird’s eye distance, the graphics you see can also be seen in greater detail when the camera swoops in for breathtaking cinematic cutscenes. That attention to detail also means that besides customising your character’s class-based abilities, you can also the transmog system to make them look exactly how you want.

Due: June 6

10. Hollow Knight: Silksong

Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox, PS5, PS4

Made by just a team of three people, Hollow Knight is an indie Metroidvania that has just grown and grown in cult status since first releasing in 2017. Unsurprisingly then, anticipation for its follow-up Silksong has reached fever pitch.

Set in a haunted world of bugs, but presented in a gorgeous hand-drawn style, you play as the nimble Hornet, previously a deadly antagonist in the original game, facing all-new enemies and all-new challenges as you try and making your way up to the top of the kingdom you’ve been imprisoned in.

We still don’t know when Silksong will release, or whether Team Cherry will just drop it out of the blue, but at least throughout all the agonising wait, it’s been confirmed for every major platform, including Game Pass on day one.

Due: TBA

11. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S

The fourth game in the Stalker series from Ukranian dev GSC Game World, Heart of Chornobyl will send you back into the exclusion zone around the infamous nuclear power station to survive, shoot monsters, and take on weird radioactive anomalies. The original game, released back in 2007, featured a hive-mind created from seven linked scientists, so who knows what the team has come up with to top that.

A first-person game set in a true open world, Heart of Chornobyl is being developed for the Unreal Engine 5. It should look excellent by taking advantage of the latest graphics technology, including ray-tracing.

Due: December 2023

12. Baldur’s Gate 3

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been in Early Access for what seems like forever, but it’s finally been given a release date. And the signs look good. Part of the trend for modern sequels to cherished game series from yesteryear (the previous Baldur’s Gate release was in 2000) this comes from Larian Studios, the dev behind the Divinity: Original Sin games.

As a result, it’s looking like becoming the definitive Baldur’s Gate experience. It’s a top-down role-playing game set in a fantasy world based on the D&D 5th Edition rules. Your character, whatever you choose to be, has been infected with a brain parasite, and travels the world trying to get it removed. It’s a pretty specific plot, yes, but Baldur’s Gate 3 is set to be one of the biggest releases of 2023.

Due: August 2023 (PC, PS5) TBA (Xbox)

13. Everspace 2

Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Everspace 2 is another game that’s spent lots of time honing itself in Early Access before being officially released. It comes from Rockfish Games, and is essentially an open-world RPG that looks like a space shooter.

While you do have a character underneath it all, your main avatar in Everspace 2 is your ship, which you can outfit with all kinds of weapons and devices. The latter act almost like magic spells, causing huge damage to enemy ships if used in combat, while you can recruit companions who will give you perks such as cheaper ship repairs or more energy in battles.

There’s a lot of customisation on offer, plus a universe with trading, missions, and wrecked spacecraft to explore, but it’s not a complex simulation. It’s not even a seamless open world, with zones separated by loading screens and hyperspace jumps.

Due: April 6 2023