As we cross the midway point of our Most Wanted list, we have some muddied waters to cross. There’s games in this batch of five that aren’t necessarily expected in 2023, there’s games still journeying through Early Access, and games that have been controversial by association. Would that affect your plans to purchase?
25. Hogwarts Legacy
PS5, XSX|S, PC | 10th February 2023 – PS4, XBO | 4th April 2023 – NSW | 25th July 2023
Hogwarts Legacy looks set to be a dream RPG for many a Harry Potter fan, stepping back to the 1800s and presenting an open world rendition of Hogwarts and the surrounding area to adventure in. Players will be cast as a newly enrolled student at Hogwarts, attending classes and exploring the world around the school, but with a dark threat emerging, it’s not surprising that they can tap into an ancient form of magic as well.
The game has been delayed numerous times, most recently with the last gen and Switch versions pushed back later into 2023, while the current gen and PC versions cling onto a February launch.
In truth, it’s difficult to know what kind of reception Hogwarts Legacy will receive, given the dark shadow that’s been cast over the entire franchise this past few years. If you are someone who can separate someone’s works from their character or misdeeds in other parts of life, and detach wider works in a universe in a similar way, then this is worth keeping an eye on. I wouldn’t blame you if you can’t, though.
24. Valheim
XSX|S, XBO | Q2 2023
Valheim was one of the breakout successes of last year, as it launched into Steam Early Access and immediately captured the hearts and minds of fans of co-op, survival games, and Norse mythology with its step into the afterlife and the mystical creatures within. Since then, Iron Gate Studio has released a number of updates and expansions, building out a fully featured game to meet their vision.
This entry on our list is a tad muddled. Iron Gate Studios are still working through Steam Early Access version of the game to push for a full release, but brought it to Microsoft Store Game Preview earlier this year, and have an Xbox version in the works for release next year (coming to Xbox Game Pass). That’s in development with Piktiv and Fishlabs.
Even so, we’re somewhat optimistic that Valheim could hit version 1.0 in 2023, but it’ll land on a new platform either way.
23. Fire Emblem Engage
NSW | 20th January 2023
Kicking off the year for Nintendo Switch owners is a particularly luridly coloured entry in the Fire Emblem series. The protagonist of Fire Emblem Engage comes with two-tone red and blue hair, a style that is… rather divisive, but hella anime.
There’s a good reason for this, because the protagonist in this game is the Divine Dragon, a reawakened hero looking to defend the world of Elios from the Fell Dragon. There’ll be a cast of new characters to lead into turn-based tactical combat that the series is known for, but you’ll also be able to summon heroes like Marth and Celica.
22. Atomic Heart
PS5, XSX|S, PS4, XBO, PC | 21st February 2023
Atomic Heart’s style looks wild and distinctive, dropping you into a twisted Soviet-themed facility where machinery has rebelled against the humans. You, Major P-3, are tasked with shutting down the systems failure that led to this, battling machines, mutants and bloodthirsty creatures along the way. I get some real Soviet BioShock vibes from this one, which will be music to the ears of fans of immersive sims.
21. Transformers Reactivate
Consoles, PC | TBC
We’ve kept most of this list restricted to those that have been confirmed for 2023, but since it’s Transformers, we (well, Tuffcub) couldn’t help including Transformers Reactivate here.
Transformers: Reactivate is set in the future where Earth has already fallen and the Autobots are our last hope of fighting back against a new enemy called The Legion. They’re “the greatest threat the Autobots have ever faced,” and also explains the generic robots enemies in the trailer and that there’s no signs of any Decepticons.
That’s all for this set of five, but what if you missed the first twenty games in our list? Well, we’ve got handy links for you right here:
