10 best games of 2023: Baldur's Gate, The Legend of Zelda and Cocoon shine in a great year

tech.hindustantimes.com:

10 best games of 2023: It's been a terrific year for video games. Developers hit their stride on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox X/S consoles, unleashing massive adventures big enough to satisfy gamers for weeks. The Switch is at the end of its lifespan, but Nintendo debuted two spectacular games on its way out. And indie studios held up their end, delivering distinctive takes on classic genres.

Here are the 10 best games of 2023, as chosen by Associated Press writer Lou Kesten.

Role-playing games were particularly ambitious this year, and none was more rewarding than this epic from Belgium's Larian Studios. The main plot — you have a deadly parasite in your brain, and you need to get it out — is compelling enough, but your trek through the Forgotten Realms introduces a lively cast of characters and a cornucopia of fascinating side missions. It's as close to the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop game as you can get digitally, and it's a blast.

Nearly 40 years in, Nintendo keeps finding new ways to present the heroic Link and his eternal battle against evil. His most powerful new skill this time is Ultrahand, which allows him to build a seemingly endless variety of outlandish vehicles to traverse the sprawling land of Hyrule. Add in the usual assortment of devilish dungeons and brain-busting puzzles, and you can spend 100-some hours just goofing around before tackling its emotionally moving climax.

Feel like you're carrying the weight of the world? That's literally the burden of the beetle at the center of this masterpiece from Annapurna Interactive. Thing is, each of those spheres gives you a special power (which I won't spoil), and you can jump inside each world and explore. By the time you're moving worlds within worlds, your mind's