10 Hidden Gem Video Games Of 2023
One last shout-out for the year that was!
In the spirit of Hogmanay - Jings, crivvens and help ma boab, 2023 was quite the year for video games wasn't it?
What with Mario and Street Fighter rediscovering their '90s-era form, licensed games getting their groove back with stellar efforts from Star Wars and Robocop (yes, really), and Baldur's Gate 3 exploding the boundaries of storytelling possibilities, it's safe to say the previous year will go down as one for the ages.
With such a dazzling banquet of AAA goodness arrayed before the eyes of the gaming public, it's no wonder many failed to notice the less obvious morsels on the digital serving counter. Yet make no mistake, such was 2023's copious bounty that even these neglected side dishes provided a worthy feast. (Apologies for the extended metaphor - it's hard not to think of food during the holidays).
Indeed, there have been so many hidden gems nestled amongst the bustle of 2023 that astute WhatCulture readers may recall a similar article being published little more than a month ago. But rest assured - there will be no repetition of the games mentioned in the prior article, as there are of plenty of diamonds that slipped through the cracks last time round. Case in point...
10. Void Stranger
Ooh boy, this is going to be a tricky one to talk about.
Void Stranger is, ostensibly, a sokoban style puzzler (i.e. one where you rearrange blocks to make a path to the exit). But saying "Void Stranger is a puzzle game" is a bit like saying "Undertale is a JRPG". Both sentences are undeniably true, but they fail to convey the tricksy majesty of either game.
That Undertale comparison wasn't chosen at random, by the way. Like Toby Fox's 2015 masterpiece, Void Stranger delights in subverting player expectations. Fourth wall breaks aside, this seemingly straightforward puzzler soon goes places that... well, to say more would spoil it, but let's just say there's a reason the game's TVTropes entry has a substantial amount of content filed under "Nightmare Fuel".
Honestly, Void Stranger is one of those games where you just have to trust the critics (and its "Very Positive" rating on Steam) and take the plunge while knowing as little as possible. It's not for everyone (it can be maddeningly obtuse at times), but when the potential rewards are this rich, it's a risk worth taking.