Topic: Ranking 2023's best upcoming games

It's almost* September, which means a lot of games are going to be releasing in the upcoming months. What are the games you're looking forward to the most for the rest of the year? Rank them hype-wise!

1. Alan Wake 2 - The game looks like it has more personality than the original game, looks incredibly tense and that's exactly what I want in October!
2. Assassin’s Creed Mirage - I'm an old school Assassin's Creed fan, but couldn't find the stomach to beat the bloated Odyssey. This looks like a step in the right direction, a step back! I want that old AC feeling back.
3. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - The original game controlled amazing, but was also a bit repetitive. Miles Morales was already a bit better than the original game, now let's hope the sequel is way better.
4. Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Didn't really like what I saw from Wonder so far, but... I just love great platformers a lot. Gotta have to trust Nintendo on this one!
5. Lies of P - looks great, but it feels like I've been playing a lot of Soulslikes these past few years.
6. Talos Principle 2 - I love puzzle games, and I especially loved Talos Principle and its DLC, but do we need 'more' from this game? Undecided!

2023 has been a really strong year, in my opinion. I’m not sure it has quite the highs of prior years, but there’s been some solid releases and more of a steady stream of quality compared to the last few years.

Since I’m still catching up on backlog, I trying not to buy any more 2023 releases, but if I break, it will be for Spider-Man 2.

I’m mildly interested in AC Mirage, but it would have to be shockingly excellent and at least 9/10 reviews for me to jump on it at release.

My watchlist of announced games is as follows: MGS Delta and MGS remasters, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Stellar Blade, FF7R2, and Rise of the Ronin. I’m pretty sure those won’t be coming out this year, that I know of. Probably 2024 games.

As for 2023 confirmed games I might check out Lies of P if it reviews well. But like Kid says, it seems like the once novel Soulsborne genre is less unique and we really have a lot of these kinds of games to choose from, so LoP has to really make itself stand out if I’m going to prioritize it.

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Edit:
I forgot about Armored Core 6 which is another slight curiosity for me. I’m undecided and waiting on reviews. Also forgot about (not sure how I could have, given the quantity of front page articles) Baldur’s Gate 3 which I’m very curious about now because of the overwhelming positive response. It’s quite a hype machine building for that. And a last one that slipped my mind that has me interested somewhat is Immortals of Aveum, but I’ll probably skip it because of the first person viewpoint, but I’ll try to remain open minded.

The first half of 2023 was stacked, especially on Nintendo hardware, whereas the last third of the year feels comparatively quieter. That's not a bad thing, as I need a bit of a breather.

Spider-Man 2 is what I'm most looking forward to and will likely be the priority, although I want to finish my current batch of games first. My PS5 broke earlier in the year, so I'm catching up on a month of missed gaming!

I've massively enjoyed other Bethesda games, but am not quite sold on Starfield yet. I'm interested to see more once it is released. Baldur's Gate wasn't on my radar at all, but I'm now very intrigued. A friend is extremely hyped about it, and I think it has rubbed off quite a bit! A lot of newer RPGs don't hit quite like they used to, so this looks like something quite meaty and intricate to get into.

Alan Wake was one of my favourite Xbox 360 games and the sequel could be fab. I'm really pleased that Remedy got to make a sequel after so many years. I'll probably have to rewatch Twin Peaks and play the Alan Wake remaster first!

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe irked me when I played it during the extreme heatwave last year, but perhaps I was just grumpy. However, Wonder looks like it is stacked with interesting ideas, so is a maybe. The other Nintendo release of the autumn - the Super Mario RPG remake - will probably be a pass, as I have the original.

Let's see what I have still for the rest of the year (and possibly beyond) in the order of which I remember them.

1. Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader - I really enjoy a good CRPG and the setting of this one is really speaking to me. I know it's from the developers who did the Pathfinder series, which I haven't played myself yet but have heard nothing but good things about. Seems like a very promising title.

2. Dustborn - I haven't heard an update on this game for a while, but it was confirmed to get published by Quantic Dream and revealed years ago now, so I have to imagine it's getting pretty close to release. Supposedly QA testers have already made their way through the game as well. I loved the Dreamfall series, which is from the same writer as this game. This particular studio also did Draugen before, which I didn't enjoy as much but I still felt had a lot of promise.

3. American Arcadia - Love the general conceit of this game. Anything that is set in the world of TV shows instantly interests me and the style of the game looks beyond beautiful. Very high hopes for this one.

4. Thirsty Suitors - This game looks genuinely insane, but I love every bit I've already seen of it. An incredible art direction and the gameplay sounds nothing short of uniquely exciting.

5. Loco Motive - I'm a sucker for a good murder mystery and when you add some humour on top of that, I am 100% in. The point and click art of this game looks gorgeous.

6. Starfield - Honestly, I don't really know what to expect from this game. All I know is that I love choice-based narratives and sci-fi. I never really got into the Fallout or Elder Scrolls franchise, but I hope Starfield might be the one to do it for me with Bethesda. Everything I've heard and seen so far has sounded quite promising.

7. Hank: Drowning on Dry Land - I love narratives that deal with time manipulation, alternate timelines/universes, time travel, etc. This seems to be doing that and adding a lovely comic book style on top, which is just the perfect combination if you're trying to get my attention.

8. Bloody Hell Hotel - A first person hotel management simulator where you're also a vampire who feeds on his guests all in a very unsettling 3D gothy art style...? Need I say more?

9. Phantom Hellcat - Now, hack and slash type combat is not usually my thing, but add a theatrical setting to that like this game and you have my attention. I've been very interested to see how this game evolves ever since I saw the reveal trailer and I'll be sure to keep my eye on it as more news about it comes out.

10. Clockwork Revolution - Absolutely loved going through Wasteland 3 with my friend in co-op back when that came out, and now the developers are back with another game in a steampunk setting? Easily one of the more anticipated games of this bunch. Besides, the visuals so far look stunning. Reminds me of BioShock Infinite, which I adored.

11. Judas - Speaking of which, a new game from Ken Levine was always going to be high on my priority list. I know this game isn't supposed to come out until 2025 at the earliest, but since I already made this a more encompassing list than you asked for I might as well add it. Been waiting on a new project from this man for a long time and I can't wait to discover what this is like when we finally get it!

12. Avowed - Honestly, what I've seen of this game so far hasn't quite sold me, but I'm willing to bet on this probably ending up quite good after I really enjoyed The Outer Worlds from Obsidian a few years back. If they get the same amount (if not more) support here to realise their vision, I think I once again might have something up my alley here. Speaking of though... where's any news on The Outer Worlds 2? Been waiting for a while!

I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting at the moment, but these are the games at the moment I keep coming back to when I think of what I'm excited for that's yet to come!