Share Your Personal Bests of 2023 - Nick Shively Edition

mmorpg.com:

For most gamers, 2023 has been a year of plenty. Nearly every major genre, and many sub-genres, have seen fantastic releases this year. Trying to decide the best in any category was a difficult decision, and there were even a few upsets and surprises at The Game Awards 2023. Even here at MMORPG.com, many of our year-end awards came down to last-minute votes. This is a fantastic situation for both players and the industry in general, and it’s been a long time since this many excellent games were released in a 12 month time period.

With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite games that came out in 2023. There may have been objectively ‘better’ titles in certain categories, but these were the ones that truly left a mark on my gaming experience.

Best MMORPG: Albion Online

In my opinion, Albion Online is still the best MMORPG to come out of the crowdfunding era. In a time when many MMORPGs can be played like single-player games where you occasional group with others, Albion Online stands out as one that is almost always better when playing with other people. Whether you’re grinding fame, delving into dungeons, defending your faction, or fighting other guilds, the experience of both small and large group content is often adrenaline pumping.

Despite the MMORPG being more than 6 years old at this point, there hasn’t been a shortage of new content. Not only did Albion Online release a brand new server in Asia this year, but it also had two major content drops (Knightfall and Wild Blood) that provided updates to The Mists, Brecilien, and created the shapeshifter weapon tree further adding to the plethora of ways to play.

Best RPG: Final Fantasy XVI

Final Fantasy XVI feels like one of the more divisive in the franchise. Most