20 Best Video Games Of 2023 - RANKED

18. Mortal Kombat 1

Thanks to a truly bizarre rollout of post-launch microtransactions and aggressive monetisation, combined with a campaign that folds in on itself by the end, what started as a confident, fresh reboot for Mortal Kombat as a franchise, sadly gave way to the very tropes and practices fans were hoping to avoid, after the aggressive grind of MK 11.

Still, there's a ton to love if you just focus on the fighting, and the majority of that story. Besides every character essentially reimagined and re-sculpted when it comes to their moveset, we have an all-new multi-biome world built by Liu Kang himself, based on how he thinks everyone should get along.

There are some really cool narrative beats here surrounding how bloodshed is always inevitable for some individuals, but it's the very end of the story that has to give way to the game's live-service Invasions mode, the grind that comes with it, and the inevitable Warner Bros.-backed segueing into microtransactions that continues to enrage fans.