The year 2023 will have been a rich and intense year for video games. A look back at the announcements and reactions that marked the players.
It seemed important to me to take stock of the year. I note that it is, to my great regret, almost impossible to test all the games released, but I will still tell you about the ones that have caused a lot of talk this year.
We start with the very first, GTA VI! Unsurprisingly, it is certainly the game that has been talked about the most in 2023, and yet the game’s trailer was announced only a few weeks ago. But long before, he was talked about for the simple reason that he proposed playing a heroine. We have seen many refractory comments on social networks from people who believe that a woman has no place in the criminal world of GTA, to believe that crime has a genre.
then, we have Baldur’s Gate 3voted game of the year at Game Awards. This new opus of a cult license returned after years in early access and was a great success. The role-playing game in a fantasy universe has earned it high marks from experts and players on Metacritic, the reference site for rating video games. It’s still rare to see a game so unanimously acclaimed, so much so that I decided to buy it to understand the ” hype ». You should know that I rarely spend large sums on a video game, but here, I think my €70 will thank me. Come on, it’s my Christmas present!
Another game that stood out this year: Street Fighter 6 ! This fighting game, the last opus of which was released in 2015, was highly anticipated and fans were not disappointed. We discover a lot of new things in this new game, including new characters like Kimberly, my favorite, Juri Han, but also Jamie. The biggest news, in my opinion, still remains the proposal for an open world in Street Fighter 6. Before, the game was focused on arena combat, now you can walk around and carry out missions, quests or even fight against people in the street.
Inclusivity not always well received by players
It’s brand new too, but it’s science fiction. Starfield, released in September, should have been for many the game of the year. It immerses us in a futuristic space world with exploration in several galaxies and pushes the personalization of its avatar a little further, going as far as the choice of its pronouns. And this is precisely what made Internet users react angry against this position. They perceive functionality as unnecessary and in a wokist approach. Remember that, however, you can absolutely create a character in your own image, choose your pronoun in a few seconds and simply move on and continue living your life. To the wise…
And then to finish, a magical, but controversial game. A dive into the world of Harry Potter with Hogwarts Legacy. Highly anticipated by fans of the cult Harry Potter franchise, it has also caused a lot of talk this year because of the creator of its world JK Rowling. Although she did not collaborate with the studio developing the game, part of its sales still goes to her and that is what is disturbing. Because JK Rowling has been taking positions against trans people for years. We have therefore seen calls to boycott the game on social networks, to obtain it illegally or to buy it second-hand so as not to pay money to the novelist. What is certain is that between the Harry Potter fans who proclaimed that they wanted to play it despite everything and those who distanced themselves from the writer, Hogwarts Legacy is a game that divided, but also brought together many on the cause of trans people.
I could also cite The Legend of Zelda : Tears of the Kingdom, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Metroid Prime Remastered or Resident Evil 4. There are a lot of them, and that shows how spoiled we have been this year! Looking forward to the next one, I wish you all a very happy holiday and see you in 2024 for the next one Welcome to the Game !
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