VG247’s Games of the Year 2023: Alan Wake 2

That time when Remedy reinvented horror and forged an exciting shared universe.

Image credit:VG247, Remedy

What is our GOTY? Well, because the question is so subjective, we don’t really like to just pick one . What we prefer to do instead is have one for each of our staff, so we can celebrate more of the year’s most deserving games over the holiday season. And in a banner year for GOTY candidates such as this, even just whittling it down to a list of eight proved to be an agonising process.

Other websites call this “cheating”, but to paraphrase Tim Blake Nelson in Syriana , cheating is how we win . So deal with it, “other websites”.

First off it’s our resident horror connoisseur Kelsey Raynor with an ode to Alan Wake 2 , a game she liked instantly as an existing fan of Remedy’s work, and which she grew to love as a uniquely modern horror experience that pushes boundaries on technical and artistic levels. It even managed to warp reality itself, in a thematically fitting twist. Bloody hell, no wonder it won big at this year’s Game Awards .

Check out the first of our GOTY 2023 videos below to find out how Alan Wake 2 distinguishes itself in such a banner year:

For more on Alan Wake 2 , check out our list video on things it does better than every other horror game, and tune in tomorrow to find out what’s next in VG247’s Games of 2023 series! Trust us, there’ll be some mad twists and turns along the way, a very special guest or two, and you’ll probably shout at us at least once.

VG247’s Games of 2023 will be released here on VG247.com , our YouTube channel , and our Tiktok feed daily over the holiday season.

VG247's Games of the Year 2023: Alan Wake 2 - 5

Alan Wake II

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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!