These are the best games you probably missed in 2023
18/12/2023
Translation: Megan Cornish
The biggest and most expensive games aren’t necessarily the best. Here are 27 budget games that have earned your attention this year.
I don’t need to tell you anything more about Baldur’s Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or Alan Wake 2. But there were a lot of games that received far too little attention this year. Wrongfully so, as the following titles prove.
Cocoon
This is the most creative puzzle game I’ve played in a long time. You’re a beetle creature in a strange world. There’s no text or explanation of what’s going on. You only play with an analogue stick and a button, which you use to carry spheres around with you to activate platforms or cross bridges. Over the course of the game, you’ll find several of these spheres with different properties. The craziest thing is that you can immerse yourself in these spheres in order to further manipulate the world around you. The more spheres there are, the more and more difficult the puzzles become. It’s an incomparable game that you shouldn’t miss.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Robocop: Rogue City
For me, this is the surprise of the year. Robocop: Rogue City reminds me a lot of first-person shooters from the 00s. No unnecessary complexity, a bit obtuse at times, but just fun. The game perfectly captures the mood of the dark film from 1987. It features over-the-top violence, with enemies hit by Robocop’s monstrous service weapon exploding like watermelons. Your tasks also include less brutal police work: handing out fines to incorrectly parked vehicles or collecting signatures for a greetings card for an injured colleague. Robocop: Rogue City is far from a blockbuster game, but I found it more entertaining than plenty of supposedly higher-profile titles.
Available on: PC, PS5, Xbox Series
Dave the Diver
This game probably isn’t much of an insider tip anymore, but more people should still play it. You take on the role of the good-natured Dave, who’s searching for fish for his sushi restaurant in the depths of the Blue Hole. Both on the surface of the water and on your dives, you’ll meet strange characters and have wonderful adventures. The game offers depth in two respects and is incredibly motivating and rewarding. It’s one of my absolute highlights of the year.
Available on: PC, Mac, Switch
Dredge
Similar to Dave the Diver, Dredge is also about pulling as many different sea creatures as possible onto dry land. They’re then sold to local fishmongers. The profits are used to upgrade the ship and fishing equipment. In Dredge, the leisurely fishing trip ends when the sun goes down. Then you can’t see ten metres, even with the brightest light, and red eyes stare at you from the darkness. You can only find certain fish at this time, but the night brings dangers. Monsters attack your ship and rocks that suddenly appear tear holes in your hull. The scary creatures are all part of the story. Exploring the world, improving the ship and the strange characters resulted in me devouring the game.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
The Invincible
Stranded on an alien planet, you search for your missing team. You quickly notice that other astronauts are here – and have been for a while. What is this planet all about? What are these metal plants, and why do you and others suffer from sudden blackouts? The Invincible is based on a short story by Polish sci-fi author Stanisław Lem. The pace of the game is very slow, so you have to adjust to that. The slightly eerie atmosphere and the breathtakingly beautiful design of the landscape make the walks unforgettable.
Available on: PC, PS5, Xbox Series
Tchia
I’ve also raved about this fantastic holiday adventure before. Especially in the cold winter months, a trip to the South Seas is just the thing. As the eponymous girl Tchia, you explore the tropical island of New Caledonia. The special thing is that you can inhabit the bodies of animals. Soaring over lush green fields as a seagull, climbing steep peaks as a deer or marvelling at coral reefs as a turtle, it’s all really meditative. Together with the great soundtrack, Tchia is perfect for relaxing and also conveys New Caledonian culture.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5
Remnant 2
In Remnant 2, you fight your way through a scary but impressive fantasy world. The gameplay has elements of the Dark Souls series. If you die, all your enemies will spawn again – but you get to keep what you’ve collected. This is important because you can only conquer the surprisingly different worlds with better equipment and new skills. The boss fights are particularly tricky. You can play the whole thing with three people; then the selectable classes have a greater impact. The first instalment was an insider tip, but the sequel is even more so.
Available on: PC, PS5, Xbox Series
Tortuga: A Pirate’s Tale
Tortuga: A Pirate’s Tale is one of those games that isn’t actually that good, but still keeps me hooked for a long time. The principle is quite simple. You sail through the Caribbean in your initially rickety sloop and complete tasks for various seafaring nations. This often leads to battles, which are turn-based. The decisive factors are the orientation of the ship, which cannons are on board, whether they’re loaded, the distance and so on. The battles aren’t too complex, but they do require tactics. The reason I invested almost 15 hours in this game is because of the beautifully detailed ships. I can buy them or steal them from other captains in battle. Once you own a war galleon and have fired a full broadside of 42-pound cannons at your enemies, you’ll be a true buccaneer at heart.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series
American Arcadia
I’ve already advertised it quite a bit in my review, but American Arcadia deserves to be mentioned here too. It's a thrilling adventure that you experience from two different perspectives. On the one hand, there’s Trevor, who’s trapped in a reality TV show without knowing it. On the other hand, there’s Angela, who works for the production company and helps Trevor escape. He lives in a futuristic 70s world; she lives in the present day. As Trevor, you play a 2.5D platformer with puzzles. As Angela, you hack your way through the company headquarters from a first-person perspective. The game’s only around seven hours long, but it’s fantastic from start to finish.
Available on: PC
Terra Nil
Terra Nil is an ingenious environmental strategy game in which you transform barren wasteland into a thriving and balanced ecosystem using futuristic equipment that every nature lover dreams of. You play through different biomes with different challenges. How to use the available technologies correctly is a mystery. Sometimes it takes several attempts to find the right strategy. It looks magical and it feels incredibly satisfying when the entire map lights up in lush green at the end of a level.
Available on: PC, Mac, Netflix
En Garde!
You play the eloquent Adalia de Volador, whose sword stands in the way of the tyrannical Count-Duke. The action game primarily consists of hectic but spectacular battles. You can interact with the environment, kick barrels at your enemies, dive over tables and perform all sorts of manoeuvres. The game is a colourful adventure with a charming heroine and brilliant battles.
Available on: PC
Punch Club 2: Fast Forward
In a dystopian future, you play a boxer who has lived in his mother’s garage for 20 years. Now you’re looking for your father, the legendary «Dark Fist», and hoping to become the ultimate fighter yourself. You do this by training a lot, which costs energy. You recharge with sleep, but that takes time. You also have to earn money, which also takes time. And then everyone wants some kind of favour from you. In amongst all that, you take part in fights where you only watch, but you choose the tactics, attacks and blocks yourself. Punch Club 2 is an absolute time-waster that I couldn’t put down for over 30 hours. The game is also chock full of 80s references. In some cases, the balancing could be a little better, but I still enjoyed it.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Wartales
Wartales is a medieval fantasy role-playing game. You control a growing band of mercenaries in search of wealth. The world is harsh and dangerous. On your travels you will fight bounty hunters, giant rat mamas and ghost wolves. The decisions in the turn-based battles are just as tricky as in the quests. Who you help and who you betray is up to you. Few games convey the feeling of a big, dangerous adventure better than Wartales.
Available on: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Oxenfree 2
«Have a Netflix subscription? Please play Oxenfree!» That’s what my colleague Domi wrote in his review. Even without a subscription, this mystery thriller is worth taking a look at. The adventure game is about time travel, flashbacks, ghosts and tragic characters. The latter are the central element that makes the game so gripping. The simple puzzles are secondary. The story and the extremely well-dubbed dialogue between the characters are the focus. Instead of bingeing the next gap-filler on Netflix, install Oxenfree 2.
Available on: PC, Mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch, Netflix
Hidden Through Time 2
If you like hidden object illustrations, you’ll love Hidden Through Time 2. In four scenarios from medieval fantasy to the 80s with werewolves and zombies, you search for hidden objects in minimally animated images. The fact that you can peer into certain houses, caves or bins provides a little more interactivity than a Where’s Wally book. The drawings are lovingly designed and the soundtrack is relaxing. Everything’s just right.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch, mobile
Viewfinder
In Viewfinder, you use a Polaroid-like camera to take photos that you place in the world to overcome obstacles. For example, you take a photo of a battery and then walk into the picture and take the battery out. Or you can make a bridge out of a piece of wall. The whole thing gets more and more complicated as the game progresses. Some puzzles are a bit repetitive – and you can safely ignore the story – but the gameplay is refreshingly new.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5
Venba
An Indian immigrant family tries to make its way in Canada without neglecting its own culture. The latter particularly affects their daughter. And how can culture be conveyed well? With food. Venba essentially consists of conversations between mother and daughter and cooking mini-games. Authentic Indian recipes are cooked, which inspires imitation. It’s a touching story about acceptance, tradition and family.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Hi-Fi Rush
A surprise hit that came out of nowhere. Immediately after the Xbox showcase in January, Tango Gameworks released the recently introduced Hi-Fi Rush. This is a third-person rhythm action game. You play Chai, who suddenly has an iPod in him for some reason, making him experience the world to the beat. Good timing is required in the increasingly wild battles against ever larger robot creatures. Hi-Fi Rush offers a unique mix of jump-and-run passages, brawls and humorously told stories. There’s also a cool soundtrack.
Available on: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Dome Keeper
Somewhere in space, on some planet, you have your dome from which you dig through the ground. In doing so, you collect as many resources and artefacts as possible that you can use to improve yourself and the dome that’s attacked by aliens at regular intervals. So, it's important to get back in time before the hordes attack your base. It’s an addictive mix of digging, exploring and tower defence.
Available on: PC, Mac
System Shock
There are new editions of games that are just three years old (article in German) and you ask yourself: why? Then there are elaborate remakes like System Shock, which completely reworks an almost 30-year-old game. Whether you played the original or missed the iconic 1994 sci-fi role-playing game and want to catch up now, System Shock is worth it. On a space station with mutants and aggressive combat drones, you try to render Shodan – crazy AI – harmless. The game has a beautiful, shiny, pixellated design, an atmospheric soundtrack and a wonderfully depressing vibe. As is typical for the original time period, you sometimes wander around a bit disoriented, but the eerie space station is worth seeing.
Available on: PC
Kingdom Eighties
If you like pixellated retro games, you’ve come to the right place. Kingdom Eighties is a beautiful two-dimensional strategy and base building game – at a very rudimentary level. You cycle left or right from your base on your BMX and explore your surroundings. Sometimes you find coins, sometimes you find new members for your team. Use coins to improve your base to defend it against the greedy at night. You constantly widen the base until you can finally counterattack. The gameplay is simple but motivating and the many 80s references are a big plus for fans like me.
Available on: PC, PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, mobile
Thirsty Suitors
One of the strangest games of the year is undoubtedly Thirsty Suitors. Jala returns to her hometown, where she’s confronted with her past. In the story-based adventure, there are turn-based battles with former lovers and potential husbands sent by her Indian grandmother. As you explore your surroundings, the game becomes a skate simulation. At home, Jala is confronted with an overly critical mother who has to be appeased with cooking mini-games. Thirsty Suitors is a colourful, chaotic and charming story about self-acceptance and the challenges of multi-generational immigrant families.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Battlebit Remastered
Battlebit Remastered is an action-packed multiplayer shooter for up to 254 players. It plays like a low-poly version of Battlefield. With tanks, helicopters and, of course, on foot, you can have fun on huge, completely destructible maps. Apart from the low-detail graphics, the game offers everything – and it offers more than the genre leader from EA, which is multiple times the price.
Available on: PC
Jusant
Picturesque landscapes and fantastic views are omnipresent in this relaxed climbing game. On your journey to the top of a huge tower, you’ll wander through different ecosystems and experience an atmospheric adventure with a cute water creature. The climbing passages are structured like little puzzles, but you never really have to look for long for the right path. An ideal game for relaxing.
Available on: PC, PS5, Xbox Series
Stray Gods
Stray Gods is more musical. When the last muse dies, Grace inherits her ability and is drawn into a secret world of Greek gods. In order to solve her predecessor’s murder, she has to find her voice. She does this with a lot of singing. You can influence the songs with your decisions, because Stray Gods is a role-playing musical. A combination that I’ve never come across before.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Dordogne
Dordogne consists of hand-drawn, watercolour environments. As Mimi, you explore memories of summer holidays with your late grandmother in the beautiful southwest of France. Using panoramas, smells and sounds, you reflect on a touching journey into your childhood. A simple adventure game that boasts a great feel and unique design.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Backfirewall
A small team from Lausanne is behind this unusual adventure game. You play an update assistant in a smartphone. Your goal is to resist the system update and save the old OS9 operating system, which you achieve by mastering humorous escapades and puzzles. You regularly come across apps that have their own opinion about their boss, the update and the godlike user. There are parallels to Tron and The Stanley Parable.
Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch
Have any other gaming tips that have flown under the radar? Let me know in the comments.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
