It's my annual tradition since 2012! I identify several games I want to play over the next calendar year, then get to it. Let's see how I did in 2022 and show my plans for 2023.
I came really close this time. Finishing 10 out of 13 targets is technically a failing grade, but as close to passing as I could get. If I wasn't recording podcasts almost every week OR if I played fewer action games in the spring OR if I didn't spend a lot of time with my girlfriend the last four months, I would've made it. I'm confident in this, but I also don't have many regrets about my gaming time in 2022 (especially the girlfriend part - that's been awesome). Thus, my recent framework for these goals and my plans for 2023 aren't changing. My 2023 gaming goals are equal to my 2022 goals in quantity.
I also (generally) thought my game choices for 2022 were good ones: a split between the different consoles I own, with roughly 25% new games and 75% backlogged games, and no real duds in the group, as I enjoyed every title I played. As usual, my collection / backlog is INSANE and there is no way I will ever finish everything, but I decided to go with a very similar balance this year. So, this is how my thirteen 2023 backlog targets break down: four 2023 releases, three games in my PS4 backlog, three games in my Switch backlog, and three games in my backlogs of older systems.
I'm very comfortable in my console choices and the balance of 4 new games with 9 backlog games, but I'm concerned about genre and length - 12 of the 13 below are either pure RPGs or character action games with heavy RPG elements. That usually means long completion times, and that's definitely a concern. Still, these are certainly 13 games I'm interested in, and I'm already thinking about which one to play first (maybe even starting it tonight!). However, sticking to rules from the previous 11 years (holy shit), games absent from the list below CANNOT count towards my official gaming goals unless there are extenuating circumstances.
I eventually beat 48 games in 2022, which is the most I've done since my 50-count in 2011. I don't think I'll get there again in 2023, since the slate is a little denser this time. But that's fine! The whole point of this exercise is to write down the games I play as motivation to finish more games, and that's been successful! So yes, while I have doubts about how many I'll finish this year, I'll put my best foot forward regardless. Below is the list in alphabetical order. As usual, a passing grade is officially 11 games beaten out of 13.
2023 Gamers' Dozen
Now that I'm almost caught up on my Like A Dragon backlog (more on this later), I fear that the next long series I'm compelled to complete is FromSoftware's Soulsborne games. I was intrigued by Salt & Sanctuary last spring (which I enjoyed, despite it being a mere Soulsborne imitator) and then blown away by Demon's Souls shortly afterward. I was so pumped for more Souls that I bought several others in 2022, but for this annual piece I'm going with the one that's been in my PSN library since the late 2010s. Bloodborne is more action-packed than Demon's Souls and goes less Gothic-fantasy and more Victorian-steampunk, but I'm here for it. I'm not afraid of Soulsborne anymore, unless... this game really drives my anxiety up. That's a real possibility.
I really enjoyed the first three seasons of the Digimon anime as well as two of the early Mamoru Hosoda animated films; the show felt like a more character-driven Pokémon with more transformation sequences. I dug it, but never got into the Digimon games, because they seemed like Great Value Pokémon. Now after some limited research and abundant hearsay, I know that Digimon has been doing their own video game thing for decades, and the recent Digimon Story games are two of the best ones. I got them in a Switch double pack in late 2021, and after a wild amount of Monster Hunter in 2021 and a Pokémon-heavy 2022, I'm ready to learn all about a whole new set of beasts.
I went from playing zero Suikoden games in my first 32 years of living to loving the first three of them from 2018 to 2022. For the Suikoden creator to crowdfund a hella impressive spiritual successor... the timing was perfect. I love everything I've seen so far about Hundred Heroes, and thought that the spinoff game Rising was a fun short-time game last year. If this game can capture, say, 80% of what the older Suikoden games brought to the table, then it'll be absolutely worth playing. The trailers and pedigree of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes are so promising that it was a lock for this list as soon as it was delayed to 2023.
Action-packed gameplay trailers, dramatic summoning sequences, the promise of a story with a serious tone and mature rating, and the pedigree of FF XIV's Naoki Yoshida and Masayoshi Soken? Holy shit. I haven't done much hard research on everything we know about FF XVI at this time, but what I have seen ranges from "really cool idea" to "dream come true." I love what I've seen of the dark fantasy setting; I love the story's apparent focus on eidolons and summoners (Final Fantasy summons have always been dope); and I love the very feeling of being excited about a mainline Final Fantasy game again. I'm already excited to discover how Soken incorporates the "Final Fantasy thump" into the main battle theme.
I miss the time when I enjoyed Fire Emblem. I'm familiar with several of the pre-2012 Fire Emblem games (played six, beaten four) and loved almost all of them. Then after I got my 3DS in 2014, I *adored* Fire Emblem: Awakening, *hated* Fire Emblem Fates, and *didn't play* Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. So, my recent Fire Emblem feelings are mixed. I picked up the highly acclaimed Three Houses in mid-2022 at a reasonable discount, but with some apprehension. I have a LOT of concerns about the main character's role of a teacher in this game clashing with making romantic relationships with former students. That seems like grooming, although a few friends and internet people insist to me that it isn't. I hope I don't regret going with Three Houses over Shadows of Valentia.
2018 seems like a hundred years ago instead of five, but that was indeed the year that I attempted to play the then-new God of War for PS4. I played the first 8 to 10 hours and mostly liked it but fell off for reasons I don't totally remember (it was probably JRPGs and podcasts). Anyhow, a new God of War sequel dropped a few months ago to great acclaim and that has me interested in this bad dad again. I'll have to start a fresh file, because I remember a few boss fights and plot moments of this game, but definitely forgot the nuances of its combat. I'm looking forward to re-learning the action and finishing the story!
The lone holdover from my 2022 list, Kingdom Hearts II is one of the most beloved PS2 RPGs, but my general disdain for Kingdom Hearts games after being mostly disappointed by the first one prevented me from getting around to this one, despite owning a copy since the mid-2000s. Well, nearly 20 years later, I have THREE copies of Kingdom Hearts II (one PS2, one PS3, and one PS4), and I'll use the most recent version to play it for the first time. I'll probably read the Chain of Memories manga first because... playing two Kingdom Hearts games in one year is a commitment I'm unwilling to make.
Since May of 2020, I've played all eight main-series Like A Dragon / Yakuza games (numbered 0 through 7) plus the first Judgment title, and I intend to continue my Like A Dragon journey in 2023. First is the Bakumatsu (1850s and 1860s) spinoff, which has a reputation for brutal sword-and-gun combat and a story full of samurai drama and intrigue. This PS3 title getting remade for PS5 is a VERY fictional historical fiction game that I can't wait to get into next month!
I wanted to play something in 2023 that scratched my Mass Effect itch, following a trilogy replay last year, and it wasn't going to be Mass Effect: Andromeda for a handful of reasons. Enter The Outer Worlds, a somewhat cynical take on a space frontier RPG rife with corporate greed and human stories. It comes pretty well-recommended, looks fresher and more fun than a Fallout game, and definitely has some silly humor strewn about its futuristic metropolises and shantytowns. I dig it.
I finished FOUR previously-unplayed Mario platformers last year and had such a good time that I knew I wanted to continue. The choice of which Mario game to try next was easy, as I've owned SMG2 for a LONG time (at least five or six years) and it's a beloved, acclaimed follow-up to a personal favorite. Not kidding - the first Mario Galaxy is what got me over my overwhelming preference for 2D Mario by being one of the best 3D platformers I've ever played. I'll probably blast off into Galaxy 2 as soon as I feel some JRPG fatigue this year which could be... soon?
I had a ball playing Arise in 2021 and Xillia in 2022, so I'm ready to continue free-running my way through the unplayed Tales Of games in my collection; Graces F is a natural choice. Well-known for its high-octane combat and a few particularly annoying main characters, Graces F was in the middle of Tales Of's remarkable run in the PSWii60 generation of consoles, a late PS3 port of a Wii original. I've heard too many good things about this game to continue ignoring it, which is how it got here ahead of Berseria or Hearts R.
Xenoblade II was in the 2018 version of my Gaming Goals list, but I abandoned it after not gelling with the combat in the game's first few hours. But that was five whole years ago, and in 2023 I'm SUPER interested in Xenoblade III... which I'm aware is not this game. My current plan is to try and rekindle my love for the first Xenoblade by giving the second another chance, and maybe dovetailing that into playing Xenoblade III, which I received as a gift around Thanksgiving (Thanks, Other Mike!). Time to start searching for swordgirls!
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
One of the most anticipated 2023 video game releases, as Zelda is one of the most popular series in the world and Tears of the Kingdom's predecessor, Breath of the Wild, is an all-time great in its own right. I think this Zelda will be more vertical than the very spread-out BotW, as we've seen videos and images of floating islands and underground dungeons, but other than that I'm pretty clueless as to its story, themes, and specific content. Doesn't matter though! You give me Zelda game set in a new land full of shrines, dungeons, and treasure chests, I'm all over it.
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Those are my thirteen, but I'm not done listing shit yet! Here are some gaming plans and possibilities that ARE NOT allowed to count unless there are extenuating circumstances. For example:
Contingency Plan: if any of the games above dated for 2023 fail to release in a timely manner, then they are officially replaced on this list by The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. I'm eager to get back into Trails after thoroughly enjoying Trails in the Sky 3rd last month, and Trails from Zero nearly made the above list ahead of Digimon or Fire Emblem (I have it on Switch).
Final Fantasy XIV: there is real danger of me getting back into FF XIV this year, as I received a copy of Endwalker as a gift (thanks Zach!), and if I re-subscribe then all bets are off. That would probably DELETE a full month of my personal life, podcast production, and playing of other video games. Yikes.
2023 Releases: I have four of my most-anticipated 2023 video games included above, but they probably won't be the only new games I'm picking up this year. Also on the ol' potential shopping list are Street Fighter VI (pictured), Octopath Traveler II, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Lies of P, Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and The Wolf Among Us 2. A few of those were inconsideration for the list above, but even if I play them in 2023, they can't count as personal gaming goals.
There's also Mandragora and Mina the Hollower (pictured), two indie games for which I'm quite hyped and I've already paid for via KickStarter, but their release dates are both "December 2023." I don't want to give myself such a short timeframe to beat either of them for this exercise. Maybe next year.
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Naturally there will be more backlogged, unexpected, podcasted, or replayed games I try to knock out in 2023 that aren't in the list above, but this at least is a starting point and an opportunity to get a few of my scattered video game thoughts out in the open. But I'm excited! There are so many video games! Good luck and have fun in the New Year, everyone!
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