And My VERY Favorite Game That I Played In 2023 Is...!

and my VERY favorite game that i played in 2023 is...!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pass

i'm still in shock that they made more courses for this game. i genuinely never thought this day would come! when the game first released on switch, i figured the Deluxe moniker meant it was a one-and-done "GOTY Edition" complete package that would never get major updates, and each year that passed cemented my suspicions further. but then, out of the blue, they announced new courses! for my favorite mario kart game ever!!

"sky why is this on the list—"

god i'm really happy with the course selection they brought in from previous games. lots of love for the wii, and it hits all the right notes of my nostalgia. plus i love the way they brought in courses from Tour with all the routes mixed in as one long course! i never played Tour so it's an excellent way for me to sample the course design, and some of them are surprisingly great.

"come on sky, seriously—"

and the characters?? i know they didn't originally plan to add new characters but it just feels so complete with them there. plus they added 8 new characters when i thought there was only room for 6 and—

"SKY this game's been out for almost TEN YEARS and you've been playing it nonstop ever since it came out. how does this count???"

…listen.

when i look back at any given year, the games i play are some of the fondest memories i have. so when i sent an ask to all my friends, asking them what their favorite game they played this year is… that's my way of asking them to reflect on the good times! because that's how it works for me too. it helps me look past the bad shit that happened and toward the memories i made, the fun i had.

and you know what the most fun i had all year was? it was playing Mario Kart with my friends.

each time a new wave came out, i would first play it with my partner. just me and her playing together on local wireless, touring the new courses and gushing about how well updated the old ones are and how cool the new ones are. a chance for me and her to explore a digital space together and share in that delight.

then i would stream it! and as most of y'all know, streaming each wave of DLC made for some of the best streams of the year. not for content, not for competition, but just because we could sit down and play together. a game we could all bond over!

and the dlc was the reason we kept coming back. would this have happened if there weren't new courses? maybe, maybe not! it doesn't matter. the dlc was the perfect excuse, and the quality of both the game and the courses made the return trip feel worth it.

it doesn't have to end there, either! they've effectively doubled the size of this game now. do you know how many times i'm gonna get to jump into other friends' game nights and play with them? it's already happened several times! not only do i have all these new memories, but i have even more to look forward to.

i could endlessly pore over the quality of the courses, but really, none of that matters in the long run. what matters is that they extended one of my favorite multiplayer games of all time. what matters is that i got to share it with my friends! when i think back to this period of my life, these will be some of the first memories i turn to.

so fuck the rules! fuck the idea that a game had to come out in 2023, or even that i had to first experience it in 2023. the Mario Kart DLC was the highlight of my year, and no amount of "it doesn't count" will change that.

you went on a big asking spree asking about everyone's favorite games, but I'm curious... did you have a favorite album, TV show, or movie this year?

an EXCELLENT question! but my answers my be a little disappointing, because...

Favorite Movie of 2023

i don't... really watch movies? they don't capture my interest or investment like games do. this isn't for lack of trying over the years, i've been exposed to many different genres; i just don't click with the format, i guess. i think of them like the average boomer thinks of games – they're cute little distractions and not much else.

there's definitely a few movies that i like and stand out as formative memories, i just don't go out of my way to watch more. even before the pandemic i would only ever go to the theaters like once a year, and for most of the pandemic i can't say i watched anything even digitally.

...but that did change this year! my partner and i watched both Sonic movies and the Mario movie at home, and of the three i can safely say i enjoyed Sonic 2 the most! i like what it was trying to do with its two stories intertwined, and it gave Sonic and friends a lot of time to shine both in action and characterization. plus the finale was super cool~

i do have a handful of films i want to watch one day... but it's kind of a "whenever i feel like it" basis. the ghibli films are high on the list, as are the monty python films and the truman show. maybe i could revisit ferris bueller's day off now that i'm an adult...?

Favorite TV Show of 2023

...i also don't really watch tv?? am i boring???

i mean, historically, i've gotten more into tv than movies. i like the long continuous plot threads, i like getting to know characters in detail, i like slice of life and comedy and cartoons. i have fond memories of watching sonic x, spongebob, survivor, and mythbusters growing up!

but like, as an adult i've never seen the office, or steven universe, or adventure time... and i'm in no rush to, they're just not really priority for me. i can't even think of other shows i might want to watch. idk!

i tried to watch some anime at one point but that didn't really do me either? i guess i had some fun watching squid girl a few years back... i think i just get understimulated by just watching things, vs playing them.

confusingly, you know what i do get into? livestreams and let's plays. so my weird, cop-out answer of "favorite series" is that i've been really enjoying Chuggaaconroy's let's play of pokemon bw2. his let's plays have gotten me caught up with a series that i wasn't "allowed" to play as a kid... i guess that's part of why watching someone play a game isn't as understimulating to me?

Favorite Album of 2023

you can probably guess where this is going – i don't really listen to music that plays on the radio or gets recommended by spotify. i have good reason for this one though: music with lyrics is overstimulating to me in specific circumstances, like when i'm working (always) or driving (the only time i'd use the radio).

but wait, movies are understimulating, even though there's talking... and music with lyrics is overstimulating, even though there's nothing to watch... argh! i don't even understand myself!!

either way i usually put on video game music, because that helps me focus at work, and (usually) doesn't have lyrics in it. i'm aware there's plenty of great instrumental music outside of just games, but games already have so much variety and quality to their osts – i've rarely ever had to seek out more! my music collection is already big enough!

my favorite album to listen to this year has been the music that plays in the cyberspace stages of Sonic Frontiers. the full game's ost is MASSIVE and incredibly diverse in styles, but the hardcore EDM of the cyberspace stages is extremely my style. and the remixes they added in the dlc are some of the best ones! been listening to the full playlist multiple times a week all year to power through some rough work days, and it still hasn't gotten old 💖

"and then you'll take a break right?" you fool. i have 10 more posts written for entire series that are unfinished. i will never take a break for as long as i am accosted by my dreams

(this is a joke i'm gonna take it easy in january)

most of my remaining blog posts for the year are written – all the "favorite games of 2023" reviews are done, and two of the remaining four blog posts *after* that are written too. i just need to write the other two, add images for two of them, and then i'm DONE writing for 2023

new stream archive, in which we unwrap some surprise gifts from the Christmas SAGE Expo! we only had time to get to a handful of games, but they are all high quality and very fun 🎁

my 3rd favorite game that i played in 2023 is...

Freedom Planet 2

i was originally planning to wait on this one until the console version came out in "summer 2023." after it was delayed to the end of the year, i decided to grab the game on pc so i didn't have to wait… and i'm glad i did, because the console versions have been delayed a second time??

(i do not envy their situation and i hope the console versions are better for taking their time. honestly, i'll probably double dip anyway!)

the original Freedom Planet was a formative game experience for me during college. there was something inspiring about the way it shot for the moon – full voice acting, a fun cast of characters, a lived-in world with political intrigue, a focus on adding fast-paced combat – all trying to prove that it's more than just a Sonic fangame in new clothes.

and it worked. it gripped me and never let go! i must've replayed the story half a dozen times, speedran the levels dozens of times each. that's the reason i decided not to wait on the sequel any longer after the first console delay; i grabbed the game on pc and hit the ground running.

one aspect of what makes Freedom Planet special is its level design, and the sequel delivers – every single level is massive, open-ended, and absolutely GORGEOUS. the unique gimmicks, secret collectibles, and speedrun strats are what encouraged me to endlessly replay the first game, and each of those categories has been expanded here into some of the beefiest and most explorable levels i've ever seen in a 2D platformer, hands down. i'm so glad the sequel took its time in the oven, the levels alone were worth the wait!

to me, though, what really makes Freedom Planet stand out from other Sonic-inspired games is its fast and fluid brawling. enemies in each stage take a few hits to defeat, and every stage ends with a grand, bombastic boss fight – you get a handful of moves to tackle these fights with, and each character has very different fighting playstyles! crucially, though, there is no contact damage, meaning you can run circles around enemies while whacking away at their health bars with momentum-based attacks.

it's an incredibly fun and well-thought-out combat system, and its complexity is right at that sweet spot where it feels deep but not overwhelming. honestly it reminds me a lot of kirby's combat, which is one of my favorite combat systems in any video game! (that RtDL remake very nearly made my Top 5 this year…)

Freedom Planet 2 augments the combat system of the original in two ways. one is the addition of a spot-dodge, which feels so perfectly at home that i'm shocked it wasn't in the first game to begin with?? every game with combat benefits from the addition of a dodge, of course, but in this game especially it allows you to keep your momentum while attacking in a way that just feels so natural. there's nothing else quite like learning a boss's attack pattern enough to spot-dodge directly into a powerful counterattack!

but there's also nothing quite so discouraging as getting the boss's health down to a sliver… and biting the dust. here, too, is a place where the sequel shines: if you lose a life, you can choose to restart from a checkpoint with all your health recovered, or you can get back up on the spot with just 1 HP. the push and pull on this system is incredible – you risk getting a game over and having to redo the whole stage… but you could clutch out a victory at the last second! it has the capacity to turn near misses into huge successes, and it saved my ass countless times over the course of the adventure.

tying this all together is a great story that isn't quite as Big and Grand as the first game, but instead serves to deepen the connection between this loveable cast of characters by exploring their history and personalities in more detail. i'm still floored by the fact that these games have full voice acting – it truly makes the characters feel more alive, their personalities shine! the style of VA isn't everyone's cup of tea, i'm well aware… but as someone with fond memories of saturday morning cartoons, i find that it's very genuine and full of heart in a way that most films and AAA games don't really hit me. it's obvious that everyone involved had a ton of fun!

my one regret is that i haven't returned to the game since my first playthrough – i'd really like to replay those levels and see how fast i can clear them! and try out the other characters, and see what the arcade mode is like, and go for the achievements, and…

*robotnik voice* I ATE THAT EGGNOG