2023 games you FORGOT about: The Best Games Ever Show

Remember when we had a new Zelda — A NEW ZELDA — and everyone forgot about it within a week?

Image credit:VG247, Blizzard

So much STUFF game out in 2023 - we had The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom , a new Baldur’s Gate 3 , a Skyrim sequel which introduced such innovations to the series as Guns and Boring . I’m talking about Starfield . And you knew that, but I have to spell it out in the body text because a certain tech giant has taken wordplay, nuance, and creativity out onto the back porch and shot them all in the head as a sacrifice to the god of Endless Growth. Which doesn’t exist. The god, or the concept. Heh! We even got a sequel to Dead Island (it was called Dead Island 2 ).

Some of the very best games frankly of all time came out last year. Outrageously, though, many of them came and went with minimal fanfare, because within DAYS of their release, the news and hype cycle was onto the next thing. Whether that was yet another huge, record-breaking franchise entry or a team getting laid off after having made one. Yes, for the games industry, last year ruled and sucked in equal measure. It truly was the best of times and the worst of times.

Anyway, the point is, there were so many amazing games coming out last year that you’ve forgotten most of them. And of those games you forgot, which is the best? Let’s find out by asking our panel, Rebecca Jones , Connor Makar , and Alex Donaldson . They’re experts, honest. They like video games for a living .

Watch the video version ofThe Best Games Ever Showhere:

This is the video. You should watch it, you get to see everyone’s lovely faces as they react to Connor’s nonsense.Watch on YouTube

Listen to the audio version ofThe Best Games Ever Showhere:

This is the audio. You should listen to it, that way you don’t have to see our faces as they react to Connor’s nonsense.

Special thanks to David Bulmer for performing “Jim’s Theme”.

2023 games you FORGOT about: The Best Games Ever Show - 5

Diablo IV

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC

2023 games you FORGOT about: The Best Games Ever Show - 6

Octopath Traveler 2

Video Game

2023 games you FORGOT about: The Best Games Ever Show - 7

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Nintendo Switch

Wishlisted - Our 10 Best Steam Next Fest Demos

Another Next Fest kicks off soon, but we’ve already done the digging for you.

Welcome to Wishlisted, a showcase of our favourite demos from Steam Next Fest: June 2024. Check the video above or watch on YouTube .

Finding the Best NextFest Demos is all about the joy of discovery, but with so many Steam Next Fest demos getting released in such a short amount of time, it can be bewildering. So we’ve decided to show you our ten Best Steam Next Fest games which we think deserve your attention. These are all upcoming Steam Next Fest games that we’re genuinely excited for, and that we think should play nicely on PC handhelds too!

This is just the start of our Next Fest coverage. This week we’ll be previewing loads of upcoming demos across the entire network - right here on VG247, of course, but also over on our sister sites Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun. Bookmark our Wishlisted Steam Fest hub to stay in the loop. And this is well before Next Fest actually starts, so you, dear reader, get to bask for a solid fortnight celebrating all the wonderful new games that are just around the corner. Enjoy!