#1 God of War: Ragnarök – GAME OF THE YEAR
“From Santa Monica Studio comes the sequel to the critically acclaimed God of War (2018), the synopsis begins. “Fimbulwinter is well underway. Kratos and Atreus must journey to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for a prophesied battle that will end the world. “Along the way they will explore stunning, mythical landscapes, and face fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. The threat of Ragnarök grows ever closer. Kratos and Atreus must choose between their own safety and the safety of the realms.”
#2 The Elden Ring
The basics of the Elden Ring story are that the Lands Between were blessed by the Greater Will (a type of unknowable god obsessed with Order over Chaos), who sent down the Elden Ring – a magical object that changed the Lands Between according to its whims. The Elden Ring was housed within a giant, golden, spectral tree known as the Erdtree. With this power, the Erdtree was able to bless the land and its inhabitants with the grace of the Elden Ring, creating an incredibly orderly reality. The Lands Between were ruled over by Queen Marika the Eternal, a being chosen by the Greater Will, who acted as a guardian and keeper of the Elden Ring and had numerous children. She also purposefully altered it and removed the Rune of Destined Death, making anybody under the Grace of the Elden Ring immortal. All people were affected in this way, but the Elden Ring and Erdtree seemed to reject some of them, marking them as Tarnished who were sent into exile. They still couldn’t die, but they had been marked as unworthy in some way.
Marika had two husbands at different times during her rule: Godfrey, who became Tarnished himself and went into exile, then Radagon, the mysterious red-haired warrior. Both of these men became Elden Lords and gained much divine power through this union with Marika – in fact, while Marika is a supremely powerful being, her consorts, aka the Elden Lords, seem to be almost as powerful as she is. However, the Elden Ring was later shattered into multiple Great Runes after an event called the Night of the Black Knives, where a clan of mysterious assassins killed several of Marika’s demigod children. Among the surviving demigods, a terrible war broke out called the Shattering, caused when somebody attacked the Elden Ring and damaged it, altering reality further and compromising the Greater Will’s vision of the world. Marika disappeared without warning and has not been seen since, with no clue or understanding by the wider world as to where she went.
The end result of the war was a stalemate between numerous factions – many grand demigods have Great Runes scavenged from the damaged Elden Ring, but none have properly risen to power to either replace Marika (which certain powerful demigods known as Empyreans can do) or become the next consort, aka a new Elden Lord (which anybody could do). This pointless middle ground caused the Elden Ring’s blessing to partially fade from the Lands Between, and centuries later, the Tarnished are being called back by the Erdtree to try and break the stalemate. The Greater Will doesn’t like this tepid state of affairs, and by failing to rise to power, all the existing demigods have kind of proven why they’re not worthy of becoming Lords, or even new Empyrean vessels to replace Marika. And you’re one of these lowly Tarnished. Elden Ring sees you play as an initially meaningless character in a world of monsters and demigods, all struggling for control over the Lands Between. It’s your job to explore the world, grow in strength, and fight or ally with those you meet to bring about a new order by collecting the Great Runes. In doing so, you have a chance to repair the Elden Ring and become the new Elden Lord, changing the world to reflect the ideals and desires of whatever side you’re working with.
Of course, there’s a lot more to the story than that. Like previous FromSoftware titles, Elden Ring’s story is shrouded in mystery, and part of your job is to piece together cryptic information from the environment, items you find, and characters you meet around the world to learn more about the bigger picture.
#3 Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West continues the story of Aloy half a year after the events of the Zero Dawn, a young huntress of the Nora tribe sent on a quest to a mysterious frontier spanning Utah to the Pacific coast to find the source of a mysterious plague that kills all it infects. On her journey across the uncharted lands of the Forbidden West, she encounters hostile regions filled with natural threats and ravaged by massive storms, dangerous enemies and deadly machines, both new and old. As Aloy attempts to explore the wider and deeper parts of the Forbidden West, she discovers a vast array of diverse environmental ecosystems, including lush valleys, dry deserts, snowy mountains, tropical beaches and ruined cities, both above and below the water.
“The land is dying. Vicious storms and an unstoppable blight ravage the scattered remnants of humanity, while fearsome new machines prowl their borders. Life on Earth is hurtling towards another extinction, and no one knows why. It’s up to Aloy to uncover the secrets behind these threats and restore order and balance to the world. Along the way, she must reunite with old friends, forge alliances with warring new factions and unravel the legacy of the ancient past – all the while trying to stay one step ahead of a seemingly undefeatable new enemy. Uncover the secret behind Earth’s imminent collapse and unlock a hidden chapter in the ancient past… one that will change Aloy forever.”
#4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello, along with April O’Neil and master Splinter are watching the news on TV when it is interrupted by Bebop, who announces the Foot has returned and is taking over the Statue of Liberty. The turtles go to the Channel 6 building and find Bebop with the head of Krang’s android body, but it is taken away while they were fighting Bebop. The team fight Foot operatives and other adversaries while pursuing Krang, finding other parts of his body being reconstructed. Their chase leads them to Dimension X, where they fight their way through the destroyed Technodrome, until they eventually reach their enemy’s lair in Dimension X and face Shredder and Krang in his new body. This is a decoy to get them away from New York while they are turning the Statue of Liberty into the Statue of Tyranny, a robot controlled by Krang. The Turtles return to New York and defeat Krang and Super Shredder.
After the battle, the heroes return to their lair and watch the news as the city is being restored, but are disappointed to see that the credit goes to the Punk Frogs. That night the Turtles along with April, Splinter and Casey Jones celebrate their victory with pizza.
#5 Stray
Lost, alone and separated from family, a stray cat must untangle an ancient mystery to escape a long-forgotten city. Stray is a third-person cat adventure game set amidst the detailed, neon-lit alleys of a decaying cybercity and the murky environments of its seedy underbelly. Roam surroundings high and low, defend against unforeseen threats and solve the mysteries of this unwelcoming place inhabited by curious droids and dangerous creatures. See the world through the eyes of a cat and interact with the environment in playful ways. Be stealthy, nimble, silly, and sometimes as annoying as possible with the strange inhabitants of this mysterious world. Along the way, the cat befriends a small flying drone, known only as B-12. With the help of this newfound companion, the duo must find a way out. Stray is developed by BlueTwelve Studio, a small team from the south of France mostly made up of cats and a handful of humans.
#6 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a third-person action-adventure with an open world hub built in a brand-new engine. You are able to play through all nine films but none of the others such as Rogue One, The Clone Wars, and Solo, however, Rogue One and Solo characters are in DLC packs. Unlike previous Lego games in which players had to advance through the story in a linear order, players can now choose to start the game from any of the main Skywalker Saga trilogies and complete them in any order they wish. Each episode has their own hub filled with planets featured prominently in each respective film that can be visited and explored. Each episode has five story missions each, a total of 45 levels. Once you have completed an episode you can replay the story of said episode in free play. There is also a free mode option which allows you to explore all of the hubs with any character you like.
#7 Aliens: Fireteam Elite: Pathogen – “Shooter of the Year”
The Aliens: Fireteam Elite – Pathogen DLC has arrived! Continue the AFE story with new environments, maps, cosmetics and a campaign that puts the crew of the Endeavor into their most perilous mission yet. A mysterious pathogen has evolved in the wilds of planet LV-895 and not even Xenomorphs are safe from its ravages. The crew of the Endeavor must venture into uncharted lands and face terrifying new enemies if they hope to discover the source of this mysterious new threat. The mysterious pathogen is mutating Xenomorphs and local wildlife on planet LV-895. It’s up to you and your fireteam to battle through a slew of mutated enemies and eliminate the source of the corruption. The Pathogen expansion brings all new environments, maps, weapons, and more to the AFE experience. Explore Engineer ruins around the mystery of the infection, delve deep into enemy hives, and avoid the deadly hazards around each corner. Do you have what it takes to survive?
#8 Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet
In Scarlet and Violet, the player attends either the Naranja or Uva Academy. The academy has an annual “Treasure Hunt”, in which students are encouraged to seek something they treasure by exploring the region. After encountering either the legendary Pokémon Koraidon or Miraidon, who joins and assists the player despite having lost its ability to battle, the player is encouraged to participate in three stories: Victory Road, Starfall Street, and Path of Legends.]
In Victory Road, Nemona—the Champion-ranked trainer that rivals the player, frequently battling them throughout their journey—asks that they complete all eight of the Paldea region’s Pokémon Gyms. After they defeat the leaders of each Gym, they can reach Champion rank by defeating the region’s Elite Four and Top Champion Geeta. After becoming Champion rank, Nemona challenges the player to a final battle.
Starfall Street begins after the player helps the shy schoolgirl Penny stand up against Team Star, a group responsible for academy bullying, when Cassiopeia—the founder of Team Star and a secret identity of Penny—enlists them into “Operation Starfall”, which aims to force Team Star to disband by defeating all five of its squad bosses, stripping them of their authority within the group. They are assisted by academy director Clavell, who is aiming to discover Team Star’s origins while disguised as a student named Clive, and Penny, who wants to monitor the player in-person in addition to guiding them as Cassiopeia. They learn that Team Star was founded to counter bullying rather than cause it, and them confronting their bullies two years prior caused the bullies to drop out and several academy staff members to resign. After defeating all squad bosses, Penny meets the player in the schoolyard to reveal her identity and challenge them to a battle. After her defeat, Clavell removes his disguise and offers peace with Team Star, though he subjects its members to community service as punishment for several violations.
Arven, aiming to locate the five legendary Herba Mystica, asks the player to join them in the Path of Legends story. To obtain each Herba Mystica, the player and Arven must team up to defeat a “Titan Pokémon”—a large Pokémon powered up by the Herba Mystica. Arven wishes to use the Herba Mystica to restore the health of his pet Mabosstiff, who was injured by a Pokémon in Area Zero—the workplace of his parent, either Professor Sada or Turo. After defeating all five Titans and restoring the health of Mabosstiff and regaining Koraidon/Miraidon’s lost powers, Arven and the player are called by the professor to go to Area Zero with either the Scarlet or Violet Book. However, Arven decides that they must recruit further allies before journeying to Area Zero.
After choosing Nemona and Penny for assistance, Arven and the player set out towards the Zero Lab, the professor’s laboratory in Area Zero. Inside, they encounter Paradox Pokémon—biological relatives of extant Pokémon from either the ancient past or far future. After reaching the laboratory, the professor reveals themselves to be an AI substitute of the true professor, who was killed in a laboratory incident some time ago. The AI reveals that the original professor created a time machine to retrieve Paradox Pokémon and that the AI is to maintain it at all costs. The AI urges the player to shut down the time machine, though is forced by its programming to battle the player. After initially being defeated, the AI leaves the player with no option except for their Koraidon or Miraidon to defeat the AI’s own. This causes the time machine to fail, and the AI travels to the alternate time to allow for the machines destruction, though apologizes to Arven for the professor neglecting him as a child before departing. Returning to the academy, Nemona, Clavell, and Geeta organize a Pokémon battling tournament between faculty and students. After evaluating all previous Gyms, the player emerges victorious in the tournament.
#9 FIFA 23 – Sports Game of the Year
FIFA 23 is a football simulation video game published by Electronic Arts. It is the 30th installment in the FIFA series that is developed by EA Sports, and the final installment under the FIFA banner, and released worldwide on 30 September 2022 for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Google Stadia. Kylian Mbappe is the cover athlete for the standard edition and legacy edition Kylian Mbappe and Sam Kerr are the cover athletes for the ultimate edition. Listed in Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, the game is the final under the 29-year partnership between EA and FIFA. Future football games by EA are set to be named under the banner of EA Sports FC.
#10 Fortnite: Season 4
IN FORTNITE CHAPTER 3 SEASON 4: PARADISE, A MYSTERIOUS SUBSTANCE HAS APPEARED ON THE ISLAND. CHROME WILL CONSUME ALL, CHROME WILL BE ALL. EMBRACE THE CHROME BY TURNING STRUCTURES CHROME, MAKING YOURSELF CHROME, AND PROVING THE POWER OF CHROME WEAPONS. NOT EVEN WOOD, STONE, BRICK, OR METAL IS A MATCH FOR CHROME. AN ENEMY BUILT A STRUCTURE FOR DEFENSE? THROW A CHROME SPLASH AT THE WALLS TO MAKE THE WALLS PENETRABLE — JUMP RIGHT THROUGH THE BUILDING AND GET THE DROP ON YOUR OPPONENT!
