Summary

  • 2023 has been a strong year for video game releases, with a wide range of genres represented.
  • The highest-rated games of 2023 include The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, and Asgard's Wrath 2.
  • These games have received critical acclaim and offer unique gameplay experiences.
  • The top 25 highest-rated games of 2023 list features a variety of recognizable titles as well as some hidden gems. Against the Storm, Tents and Trees, and Slay the Princess are examples of lesser-known games that have received rave reviews.

Now that the year is nearly at an end, it's possible to take a look at a definitive list of the 25 highest-rated new video game releases of 2023. 2023 has been one of the strongest years in terms of new game releases that the industry has ever seen, with many titles releasing to widespread critical acclaim. 2023 has given players almost too much to play, from brand-new IP to highly-regarded new entries in established franchises. All kinds of genres have been represented, ensuring a quality new experience for gamers of all tastes.

While there are still some new games set to launch between now and the new year, it's highly unlikely that they will crack the top 25. Barring some unexpected smash hit, we now have a definitive list of the top 25 highest-rated new game releases of 2023. This list ignores remasters like Switch exclusive Metroid Prime Remastered as well as highly-reviewed DLC releases like Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion.

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The Game Awards 2023 Winners List

The 2023 Game Awards celebrates some of the best video games, developers, performers, and pieces of gaming-adjacent media of the year.

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The highest-rated game of 2023, according to review aggregate site OpenCritic, is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with a 96 overall rating. Coming in second place is Baldur's Gate 3, which has a 96 overall rating as well, but must be trailing just slightly behind Tears of the Kingdom when it comes to its more specific overall score. Third place goes to recent VR hit Asgard's Wrath 2, which some have hailed as potentially the best VR game made to date.

Highest-Rated Games of 2023

  1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 96
  2. Baldur's Gate 3 - 96
  3. Asgard's Wrath 2 - 93
  4. Against the Storm - 92
  5. Videoverse - 92
  6. Resident Evil 4 (2023) - 92
  7. Tents and Trees - 92
  8. Street Fighter 6 - 92
  9. Super Mario Bros. Wonder - 91
  10. 8-Bit Adventures 2 - 91
  11. Turbo Overkill - 91
  12. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - 90
  13. Jack Jeanne - 90
  14. Let's Revolution - 90
  15. Slay the Princess - 90
  16. Dave the Diver - 90
  17. Path of the Midnight Sun - 89
  18. Ugly - 89
  19. Hi-Fi Rush - 89
  20. The Talos Principle 2 - 89
  21. Dead Space (2023) - 89
  22. Sea of Stars - 89
  23. I Expect You to Die 3: Cog in the Machine - 89
  24. Warstride Challenges - 89
  25. Diablo 4 - 88

The fact that we can go 25 games deep and still be in the 88 overall rating range really underscores just how many high-quality games released in 2023. It's also great to see so much variety in the top 25. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an open world action-adventure game, whereas Baldur's Gate 3 is a complex CRPG. Resident Evil 4 is a survival-horror game, while nineteenth place Hi-Fi Rush is a hack-and-slash game that combines the genre with music/rhythm elements.

Many of the games in the top 25 highest-rated games of 2023 list are recognizable, though there are some that many gamers may not have heard of but could now be wanting to check out. For example, Against the Storm is a new city-builder game that just released for PC Game Pass and has earned rave reviews, yet has been flying under the radar a bit. Tents and Trees, meanwhile, is an acclaimed puzzle game, while Slay the Princess is a visual novel horror game.

It will be interesting to see how 2024 stacks up to 2023 come this time next year. There are plenty of big new games for 2024 on the way, though it will take a lot for next year to compete with the absolute juggernaut that 2023 has been when it comes to new game releases.

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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
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Adventure
Action
Open-World
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Systems
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Top Critic Avg: 95 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
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Released
May 12, 2023
ESRB
Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
Developer(s)
Nintendo
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Engine
Havok
Cross-Platform Play
N/A
Cross Save
N/A
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to the beloved open-world adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This installment once again sees Link and Zelda battling to protect Hyrule from falling to Ganondorf. This new adventure takes place in the same land of Hyrule as Breath of the Wild but sees something called the Upheaval, which allows link to travel to Sky Islands, as well as deep into the Depths beneath Hyrule. Players can use special abilities to fuse together weapons, and build items to help them progress through the release.