2023 was bittersweet. It was a year so full of great releases, but also saw record industry layoffs. Acknowledging the amazing work and contributions of all these talented teams and people, these are my favourite games of the year (so far). Order is just alphabetical.

Potentially controversial opinions. Don’t @ me.

“Best of All-Time” lists are very hard - impossible maybe. So in lieu of being able to commit to what are the best, here are my favourites of all-time. The order is kinda loose, fwiw.

The official tldr.games Game of the Year: where gamedev excellence meets concise recognition. Every year I celebrate the best in the industry - the games that either left an indelible mark on the gaming landscape itself, or just overwhelmingly appealed to my personal sensibilities.

The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honouring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. These are the titles which took out the prestigious “Game of the Year” category.

Ludum Dare is a twice-annual game jam competition founded in 2002. Distinct from the more relaxed ‘Jam’ category, the Compo is classic Ludum Dare: games are created entirely from scratch by one person, in just 48 hours. These are the annual winners of that category.

The Seumas McNally Grand Prize is the main award given at the Independent Games Festival, during the Game Developers Conference. The award is named after gamedev Seumas McNally (1979–2000), founder of Longbow Digital Arts. McNally died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma shortly after receiving the award, then just the IGF Grand Prize, in 2000 for his game Tread Marks.

Explore the classics. These titles have either shaped the videogame landscape, or just left a lasting impression on me personally.

Who actually knows what defines a soulslike… Is it animation based combat? Stamina bars? Deep lore? Exploration? Corpse-running? Rolling? Either way, these are those games.

Showcasing the unique and creative contributions of Australian game developers. ‘Ava gander at the world of fun and innovation from downunder, mate.