Game of the Year 2023 – Best Xbox Game

thesixthaxis.com:

For far too long, Xbox gamers have had to say to themselves “Next year. Next year’s going to be the big one” as they hope for platform defining exclusives. It’s no secret that Microsoft’s expanding collection of game studios have struggled to produce over the last few years, but 2023 was a year that changed that in some ways.

So was 2023 the year that Xbox Series really arrived? Or are we still waiting for next year?

Hi-Fi Rush caught everyone by surprise, and not just because it was announced and released on the same day! It’s fair to say that the vibrant art style, attitude-laden characters and Saturday Morning cartoon vibes have more in keeping with Sega’s Dreamcast days, rather than Microsoft’s somewhat more rigid output. And yet, Tango Gameworks have produced one of the standout games of the year, capturing a liveliness and outstanding sense of fun that has left others in its wake.

Alongside the striking visuals, Hi-Fi Rush amalgamates the action combat of Devil May Cry with the rhythm action chops of Patapon, with players matching their inputs to the musical beats of the soundtrack. Extra damage and mayhem can be all yours as you play along with Nine Inch Nails or The Black Keys, and Tango Gameworks’ own contributions keep the adrenaline pumping when you’re not hammering through the licensed tracks. Hi-Fi Rush is easily one of the gaming highlights of 2023.

– Dom L

Turn 10’s motorsports franchise used to be like clockwork, as every simcade Forza Motorsport tick was followed a year later by the tock of Forza Horizon’s open world arcade racing. But then there was the great long wait for their eighth mainline game, as Turn 10 raced down the road of live service gaming to make this an enduring racing platform.

Forza