2023 was a fever dream for anyone who likes holding a controller. Seriously. Looking back, it felt like every other week a "masterpiece" dropped, leaving our wallets thin and our sleep schedules non-existent. When the game of the year 2023 nominees were finally announced at The Game Awards, the list looked less like a competition and more like a historical record of one of the greatest years in gaming history.
It was absolute chaos.
Think about it. We had a sprawling Larian RPG that let you talk to corpses. There was a Zelda sequel that basically turned Link into a mechanical engineer. We even got a survival horror sequel that doubled as a meta-narrative about writer's block. Most years, any one of these would have walked away with the trophy without breaking a sweat. In 2023? They had to fight for air.
The Six Heavy Hitters: Who Actually Made the Cut?
The final list for the big prize wasn't a surprise to anyone following the reviews, but seeing them all in one place was still a bit intimidating. The official game of the year 2023 nominees included:
- Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
- Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo)
Honestly, if you missed any of these, you've got some catching up to do. It’s rare to see such a high "hit rate" among nominees. Usually, there's a "filler" nominee that everyone knows won't win. Not this time.
Baldur’s Gate 3: The RPG Nobody Expected to Conquer the World
Larian Studios didn't just make a game; they made a cultural event. Before Baldur’s Gate 3, CRPGs (Computer Role-Playing Games) were kinda considered a "niche" thing. You know, for people who like reading walls of text and managing spreadsheets.
Then Swen Vincke showed up in a suit of armor.
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The game earned a staggering eight nominations and walked away with six wins, including the big one. It wasn't just about the choice-driven narrative or the fact that you could solve a problem by turning into a sheep. It was the polish. The voice acting. Neil Newbon’s performance as Astarion was so good he snagged Best Performance, beating out some massive names.
People were worried that a turn-based game couldn't win over the "mainstream" crowd. We were wrong. The "bear scene" went viral, sure, but the actual depth of the mechanics is what kept people playing for 200+ hours. It's a game that respects your intelligence, which is a rare commodity these days.
Alan Wake 2 and the Return of the Weird
Remedy Entertainment is basically the "art house" studio of the triple-A world. Sam Lake spent thirteen years trying to get this sequel made. Thirteen years! When it finally arrived, it was a dual-protagonist survival horror nightmare that used live-action footage in ways that shouldn't have worked.
It tied with Baldur's Gate 3 for the most nominations (eight).
While it didn't win the top prize, it secured Best Game Direction and Best Narrative. That musical number—"Herald of Darkness"—performed live at the awards show was probably the peak of the entire broadcast. It showed that big-budget games can still be weird, experimental, and incredibly personal. It’s a slow burn, though. If you’re looking for non-stop action, this isn't it. It’s a mood. A vibe. A very dark, coffee-soaked vibe.
The Nintendo Factor: TotK and Mario Wonder
Nintendo had two horses in the race, which is a flex if I've ever seen one.
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Tears of the Kingdom had the impossible task of following up Breath of the Wild. Most developers would have just given us more of the same. Instead, Nintendo gave us "Ultrahand." Suddenly, everyone on Twitter was a DIY engineer building orbital strike satellites and giant wooden... well, things we can't mention here. It won Best Action/Adventure Game, and honestly, the physics engine alone deserved a Nobel Prize.
Then you have Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It was the first 2D Mario in ages that felt truly "new."
The Wonder Flowers changed the rules of the level mid-run. Pipes crawled like worms. Mario turned into an elephant. It was pure, distilled joy. It won Best Family Game, which makes sense. It’s the kind of game you play when you want to remember why you started playing video games in the first place.
The "Snub" That People Still Talk About
We have to talk about Marvel's Spider-Man 2. It was nominated for seven awards.
It won zero.
That’s not a reflection of the game's quality—it’s an 8/10 or 9/10 by almost any standard. Yuri Lowenthal’s performance as Peter Parker (especially the "Symbiote Suit" era) was haunting. The web-swinging was faster, the map was bigger, and the boss fights with Kraven and Venom were cinematic as hell.
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But in a year like 2023, "great" wasn't always enough to win. It was a "safe" sequel in a year defined by radical swings. Fans were pretty vocal about the "zero wins" outcome, but looking at the competition, it’s hard to say who should have lost their trophy to make room.
Why the 2023 Nominees Mattered More Than Usual
Usually, awards are a marketing tool. But the game of the year 2023 nominees represented a shift in the industry. We saw the "return of the RPG." We saw that remakes, like Resident Evil 4, could actually improve on perfection rather than just being a cash grab.
Capcom’s work on RE4 was a masterclass. They kept the soul of the 2005 original but modernized the movement and the tension. It was nominated for GOTY, which is rare for a remake. It proved that if you put in the work, "old" stories still have massive value.
What You Should Do Now
If you’re looking back at this list and realizing you missed a few, here is how you should prioritize your backlog based on what kind of player you are:
- The "I want a life-changing story" player: Start Baldur’s Gate 3. Give it at least 10 hours. It takes a second to click, but once it does, you’re gone.
- The "I want to be scared and confused" player: Play Alan Wake 2. Turn the lights off. Wear headphones. It’s a technical marvel on PC and PS5.
- The "I just want to have fun for 20 minutes" player: Get Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It’s the ultimate "palate cleanser" game.
- The "I want to build things" player: Go with Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Just don't feel bad when you see someone on YouTube build a working calculator inside the game.
The 2023 lineup was a freak occurrence. We might not see a year this stacked for another decade. Most of these games are now available at a discount or included in various subscription services, so there’s really no excuse to skip them. Just make sure you clear some hard drive space first. You're gonna need it.