*Makes a Best and Worst games of 2023 video *starts talking about a TV show What would you pick as your BEST and WORST game of 2023?? Also, I thought I'd include Overwatch 2 in this video since it came out on Steam in 2023 and Blizzard also revealed they wouldn't be making the Overwatch 2 they told us they would.
E3 being permanently canceled was such sad news. I have a lot of good memories watching E3 and seeing so many awesome trailers and reveals from all kinds of different developers and studios over the years. Truly the end of an era.
@@azutori pandemic killed it and for the big 3 (Sony, Nintendo, Xbox) E3 cost them a lot of money to produce. Saves them money to just do everything online these days
@@stephensporman8206I think it was partly due to gamers growing more skeptical of the games being shown at E3. Why tune in to E3 if you don't believe the footage you're seeing or that the game will meet your expectations?
18:13 - "The only downside is: the story is non-existent." Which Armored Core 6 did you play, ActMan? Because the one I played told the story about how corporations will always vie for control over everything with their corrupting and self-serving interests, and all that stands between that nefariousness is the power of the individuals which can change the course of history based on their actions and relationships. PS: This is a tiny summary of Fires of Rubicon's story.
Lowkey tho, i’d say it has infinitely more of a story than Elden Ring. (Plotwise and characterwise, not quite lore wise), one of my favorite snooty-ass youtubers Jacob Geller was gushing about the story for over 2 hours on some podcast lol. Edit: nvm he talked about it for a total of four hours alongside cohosts in two parts
Armored core had one of the best stories this year, you only need to pay attention to the mission introductions, hell even the small amount of cutscenes present in the game are easy to understand
He only played it one time and never got to NG+ or NG++ and skips all cutscenes while muting character voices. Otherwise he wouldn't have said something so stupid
I really like this format of talking about all the high profile games that came out this year rather than a basic top 10 best/worst list. It feels a lot more conversational
tbh its not. Most play it because its from software. The "mecha genre" will remain in who ever still enjoy transformers cuz of transformers and not looking at smoking hot prime Megan Fox
Deserve spotlight! Has in-depth customization give the sense of freedom, players choice on faction based story routes, and NG+ which offers gameplay variety and replayability that adds a diff scenario/outcomes in a freakin gameplay oriented game like ER. Also the learning curve is satisfying, on my NG++ I keep begging for more boss and hurdles.
@@likemysnopp This is an extremely narrow minded take. Mecha has always been way bigger in the eastern part of the world than the west, even Transformers is nothing more than an import from Japan. OP was specifically referring to gaming specifically tho
I'd absolutely kill for a Chromehounds 2 or remaster! I played the shit outta it on launch, got it with my launch 360 too, I remember being in awe at the graphics of the explosions 😂
Saying AC6 doesn’t have a story is just wrong, period. It legit made me feel such a connection to characters like Rusty, Walter, and Ayre even though we don’t even see their faces.
The amount of jokes 2 friends of mine constantly made because of my name left me confused lmao. Let's just say that when I message them I just started saying "Hey **buddy**". Idk the context but they like it hahah
Him saying that made me think he probably just skipped all the cutscenes and never picked up any logs. There's plenty of story to go with AC6. The problem is that it kind of needs you to pay attention to dialogue and even the scenery around you, as well as enemies and other tidbits. Doesn't mean the story is non-existent, however. That's incorrect.
@@KeeperUTXby the end of the third chapter, it becomes extremely story driven. By that point, I don’t think there’s much excuse of the story being hidden, at least the surface level story.
@@theantsaretakingover True, true. While there are some tidbits hidden in the background, beyond chapter 3 it's somewhat hard to miss the story beats. I'd even say the surface story isn't all that hard to follow from the get go - straightforward, sure, but it is there beyond nuances.
Surprised Lies of P wasn’t mentioned. That game felt like it came right from FromSoft. And what really surprised me the most was the level design. Soulslike games usually struggle with that aspect.
@@Ber-wt3hp I don’t think that’s correct unless FromSoft released something other than Armored Core 6 there’s no way that’s possible. Lies of P got released in September and Armored Core got released in August.
@@billdover3165 No I’m not Lies of P is one of the best games of last year. Obviously he’s gonna talk about the bad games too, I’m just surprised he didn’t at least mention it.
I can understand why some people might think Armored Core 6 doesn't really have a story or that it's confusing, but it's one of those games where the story is presented to you as the character you are playing it would experience it. Your character is basically a pawn in a much larger game, and for the most part, the people you meet in the game only tell you what they want you to know. In order to understand what's happening and why it's happening, you need to look and listen to the smaller details, gather the puzzle pieces, and put them together in order to see the bigger picture.
This is true. For most of the game you’re just a hired gun. You don’t need to know anything beyond your next target, you don’t need to see anyone’s face or even know their real names. Yet as the story continues more and more things become apparent and the plot unravels.
@@maux9175 when the game dropped I honestly spent a lot of time skimming through angry steam reviews from people who got filtered by the first boss, shit was hilarious. the balteus comments were also extremely tilted
The tragedy of Gollum is that Daedelic, the developer was once incredibly beloved for making beautiful click-and-point adventures and for being one of the few german game development studios that genuinely made good games. Man...
18:16 The story in Armoured Core is far from being absent, all you need to do to get a good understanding is listen to the mission briefings. I'd go as far to say it's one of the best stories this year, no shitty "you were going to bring strangers" motivations (looking at you Jedi Survivor)
Yeah, seems like both Act Man and Angry Joe did not even finish a single playtrough sadly. Not one of the best stories tho, pretty vanilla story with some fromsoftware endings where you dont know what or if there even is a ,,good" ending .
I'll be honest, I paid attention and still kinda struggled to understand wtf is going on. Especially since a lot is also said on missions when I am concentrating very hard on not dying and don't really have the time to listen to anyone talking. I am trying to live, please shut it you are being distracting
AC6 has an in depth and fulfilling story if you’re willing to look deeper than what most AAA titles provide these days. The voice acting and faceless story telling is what’s really brought me in, and the game pushes you to contemplate the greed of man and how far we’re willing to go as humans to inflict our will. It’s a story of greed, change, and how fighting to maintain the status quo will result in failure. I know I’m a small drop in the ocean of comments, but the game is more than “robot shooting time”
Armored core 6 got me into a new series that's in my top 5 now. And it had the story I cared about the most this year, lol. Those endings had me thinking for a long time.
Fair, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a story. AC6 is also all about the dehumanization of soldiers and corporations so large that individual humans literally mean nothing to them. Everyone is just a faceless cog in the machine, but that starts to change as you the player influence the world with your actions and decisions. Also pretty much everyone who’s played the story to completion has remarked how invested they were despite never seeing a single human face, and I think that’s exactly what FromSoft wanted. Their games rarely rely on the emotions on a person’s face, or their expressions, so much as their actions and words. Just look at Elden Ring and how little, if ever, you actually see any character’s face show emotion. It’s all about what’s going on inside, under the hood so-to-speak, which is really what AC and mecha in general is about. The robot is just a suit, it’s the human inside who matters, and these people in this world logically wouldn’t ever see each other most of the time. How often do fighter pilots see the enemies in their planes?
@BornToPeeForcedToDrinkIt I agree 100%. Just speculating why someone would think it doesn't really have a story. AC6 has made me feel worse about killing people then almost any game I've played cause the acting is 10/10 and you really feel everyone's desperation. And honestly not seeing them adds this distance that makes me feel worse about it all.
I'm a little surprised Lethal Company didn't get mentioned, I know it might not be your sort of game but man it was also a certified banger, and an example of why indie titles and developers are sometimes so much better than triple A
im curious as why it would change anything as a video game. its just one of those good little games you play with friends once then forgets like among us and fall guys
@@dammnpeople3131Lots of features that should be normal in gaming now: Public lobbies, proximity chat, voice effects and manipulation, so many multiplayer social features make the game so good
@monke12354 Its extremely innovative and one of the best coop experiences ive ever had. Its a genius blend of simplicity, horror, and immersive sim and all made by 1 person. Its also is VERY early access so its really just the start. Its amazing and is what most ppl consider the best indie game of the year for good reason
For me, dead space was my favorite game of the year. The original 3 held a lot of sentiment to me. As I lost my uncle in October, I used to sneak down stairs at night and watch him play them. Eventually, I was old enough to play them, and he would talk me through the levels. I remember when the reveal of the remake came out, it had been out for like 30 minutes, and he sent me the link, and we talked about how we would have to play it together again. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to, but it holds a special place in my heart. Miss you, Jay.
Armored core 6 is my game of the year. I rarely 100% games and I blasted through all 4 playthroughs I needed and all the achievements without batting an eye. Definitely the most underrated game of the year in my opinion.
Not acknowledging Lethal Company seems like a crime. It topped the newest COD in sales on steam. Its community is massive and big streamers/youtubers are all playing it and having a blast. That’s an incredible achievement considering it was made by a single dev like the original FNAF.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon actually has quite a bit to its story. You just have to dig and do a lot of reading to get it. Vaati and Aromored Core Lore cover it pretty well.
You don’t even have to dig. If you play through all 3 endings the story is genuinely incredible. The premise isnt groundbreaking, but the world building, and the way the story is delivered by revealing more context through play throughs, connecting you to characters you have to make the decision to kill, and the way the story unfolds is what made it so intriguing to me. The ambiguity of the endings add a lot to intrigue as well.
@@EliseNewmaker I did Liberator ending as my first and the feeling you get when Ayre says the words and Rusty shows up followed the radio chatter of RLF fighters that rallied with you is just incredible. Definitely one of the gaming highlights of 2023 for me.
You literally do not have to dig for anything. You can, there is more to learn if you do, but the cutscenes and in game dialogs are far more than enough to understand the story of the game.
The dead space remake was so good it inspired me to begin to make my own. After experiencing a small slice of what actual game developers do, it brings a whole new level of appreciation, even for the games that weren't so well rated.
And the most perfect example of what you just stated is the Callisto Protocol....a game that got so panned, that I held off on trying it. But when I did, it turned out to be my favorite game of the entire year.
@@MidniteMeatBus Yes! It was rated to bad due to its performance that it gave the game a bad rep overall. But aside the former performance issues it was a really well put together and designed game.
I disagree about Armored Core 6 not having much story. The thing is you gotta play it three times through and find the collectables... So I understand where you are coming from. The story starts with you as a regular independent mercenary trying to make a buck and ends with you literally deciding the fate of an entire planet and potentially solar system (they weren't too specific on the potential impact of the coral explosion from what I recall).
you started as Human+ body with a lot of experience and mole in the most big corpos. It is the most realistic armored core protagonist in history. you are not nobody, you just pretend to be newbie. xD
@@BloodyArchangelus Well. All pilots are are Human+. We are 4th gen augmented humans compared to 7th or 9th i dont recall from the vespers. And as the player we have no idea what the background of 621 is. All we know is that our body is absolutely in shambles and that we have the potential to be an adequate pilot. Even after finishing the game we don't know the backstory of 621.
I disagree I dont even think you need to get all the endings ofcourse Id always say do so to anyone that picks up the game but even the base line fires of raven ending is a well put to geather story
Fr man!! My favorite game from 2023 has to be BOMB RUSH CYBERFUNK! Other mentions are SF6 and Jedi: Survivor. Omg where do I start with BRC? It’s everything I wanted and I played it 3 times already, a bit of a predictable story but it was a blast to play each time. I made sure to buy the physical and digital addition along with pre-ordering the vinyl. I never touched a SF game but the world tour mode and everything else about it is pretty damn good. The only disappointment for me is how the new characters are bought and not earned since they are doing BP’s and other such FOMO shit. Survivor was so damn fun to play, I will gladly play more from Respawn. STILL WAITING FOR TF3!!
@D44RK_Iced_Yogs I also really enjoyed Jedi: Survivor. Ignoring the optimization the game was very fun to play. I really enjoyed the gameplay, the maps were very cool, and loved the battle droids. Cyberpunk also has definitely made a comeback and it’s actually pretty good now!
Yes , this year was really great for gaming. He mention so many good games but by reading comments you can see people still mention some good games not included, in video . Because actman is still mortal and there was not enough time to play all games , i guess , lol . As Yakuza series fan i get TWO games this year.. There was also spiderman 2 and alan wake, mortal kombar for some people to enjoy. And some good indies to play
Sea of Stars is also worth mentioning. An indie RPG that pays homage to and also sometimes parodies the beloved SNES era of JRPGs. Despite its derivative nature, it manages to form an identity of its own, being a worthy successor to Mario & Luigi combat with an expansive and beautiful 2D environment and gorgeous music from Yasunori Mitsuda and Eric Brown.
Actman: I feel like I forgot something. Mischief: If you forgot about it it probably wasn't important. Actman: Yeah your right. Cuts to Spiderman 2 sitting out in the rain.
God yes. What a way to start a year that would end up being so jam packed with good stuff. I absolute adore the game and it's in my yearly rotation for sure.
Feel like most people who won't play it or even consider playing hi-fi rush, are like me. Since I have been playing guitar and a few other things my whole life (if asked I'm only confident in my ability to jam/improvise with guitar, so I'd prolly only claim it if asked), I feel like my love for rhythm and music starts and stops with that hobby, so I don't like the idea of that game. To me, I feel like the hobby I'm always striving to master is a much better representation and far less forgiving of a "game" than HiFi could ever be, so a selfish part of me wishes a shadow dropped game that appeals more to me (ie souls/doom/w.o.w.) would've made me far happier instead of the "meh" I feel towards what we got. :/
E3 dying is what hits the hardest… It’s not even fully about the event itself dying, but really feeling like that era of gaming we all grew up on being truly dead. The things we loved when we were younger will have to be replaced with new things for the new kids on the block. Bittersweet.
I’m a huge fan of the first one, played the original when it came out. Blew me away, surprisingly they came out with a remaster and rekindled my love for it. But this new one, I heard it’s just a cutscene filled game? Is that true?
@@madcracker8077 It has nothing to do with lol, you just sound like a fool commenting on something you clearly have never played and know nothing about. And that's coming from someone who doesn't even like bg3
I am really sad my dad didn't live long enough to see Phantom Liberty. He really loved Cyberpunk 2077 and when he passed in 2022, he had a Cyberpunk 2077 wallpaper on his desktop/PC. He would have also loved Starfield, I am sure he was waiting for that. I am sort of glad he didn't live to see that train wreck.
I'm really sorry for you man, shit like this makes me sad, knowing some people won't live to see the release of their favorite games. But be happy that he even got to experience games like tha, I'm sure he loved every second of it :)
I just beat CP + Phantom Liberty for the first time and man…it’s truly a marvel what CD was able to do to bring Cyberpunk back, what an absolute thrill I had and even tho yes the game still does have some glitches and bugs it’s miles compared to launch and it has taken a special place on my spotlight for this year Absolutely incredible
Santa Monica humbled Activison in terms of true gaming when it released a DLC completely free of cost, with a gold standard plot and making it longer than COD MW3 campaign. In a year where companies are greedy asfk, I salute SM and Sony to respect players and giving us this.
This was an absolutely fantastic recap of the year and wholly unexpected! I had almost gone into 2024 forgetting Forspoken ever existed so it hurt to be reminded of it.
I think saying that Armored Core 6 has no story is pretty heavily misrepresenting the game. Even at surface level you can immediately tell it has solid worldbuilding and a clear and meaningful story path, deep enough to allow for three diverigng endings. On top of it there are very memorable characters, many even having story arcs despite their brief and sparse appearences. In short a lot of story beats and key moments for such an action packed game. What you could rather say is that they are easily missable if you just focus on the most flashy aspects of the game.
Glad you addressed the Payday 2 stuff in a video, rather than leave it in community notes. It's probably really awkward to have to do, but explaining the context of how an early review happened can really color how a watcher interprets it. "I got sent a review copy" is usually preferred (as it gives the dev the least amount of chance to influence the review) it can also lead to game issues that are system specific. A review produced at an event is one people should take as a "best impressions", assuming that there could be issues hidden from the reviewer.
Great vid as usual Act! Gotta say tho, criminal that Alan Wake 2 doesn't at least get an honourable mention! Sets a new bar for survival horror imo! Easily my personal GOTY
Bro after control I got so excited for Alan wake 2 and control 2 that’s in early development It’s a shame that the Remedy games aren’t getting enough attention
Armoured core 6 should have gotten way more love. What the hell do you mean the story is non existent? My favourite characters this year are from armoured core 6 and i remember everyone's names. Rusty is the best buddy i ever had
@@patriciamorgan2521robo depressed detective. Seb something I think. And the Joseph robot constantly calling out robo seb for being a fucking downer was great.
I know it was very late, but seeing GoW Valhalla get a mention for having a free dlc should've been something worth praising. Mostly because it's a dlc that actually expands on the story and adds to the mechanics and drip that you can have in the main game. Just something worth encouraging.
I thought the exact same thing in this day and age were you pay for cosmetics or Battlepass, Santa Monica Studio came and gave us an amazing content for Free. Thinking about that Christopher Judge's burn aimed at Call of Duty MW3's campain, that would have been the perfect transition between speaking of MW3 to GoW Valhala.
Im surprised Lies of P isnt on this list. Game goes hard and is one of the few non-Fromsoft soulslikes worth playing. Also, considering its a small indie studio making it, who have only made one other game in the past, and LoP being their first foray into soulslikes, I think it deserves a spot.
LoP is literally that one game that will come out after years, that will do a formula of a game that inspired it to do well. Lies of P for me was Darksouls w/o the rough edges.
I liked it but wouldn’t say it was a masterpiece. Personally I loved saga’s storyline and gameplay, but not Alan’s. Overall I’d give it a good 8.5 definitely an underrated game
To be fair I didn’t even know the game came out at all until the game awards had it nominated and I watch a ton of different groups and people when it comes to gaming so I’m surprised it slipped under the radar
Alan Wake 2's gameplay was really mediocre though, in my opinion. The narrative was interesting but as someone who plays games for gameplay and not for story, I can't personally consider something like Alan Wake 2 to be anything more than a "good" game. Its interesting presentation elevates what is a pretty average gameplay experience. I also think that as creative as the narrative was, the execution in the 2nd half was really flawed.
ugh I absolutely hated saga's storyline, didn't give two rips about her characters, I thought her character was simply cringe thought out the entire story, and I say this as someone who's half black, they really put my boy Alan backstage in the janitor's closet chilling next the broom for what? 14 years? I love remedy and Sam Lake, but come on now the game is called Alan Wake. Not "Alan Wake & company." Also hiring SweetBaby writing consultant firm to help "diversify and be inclusive" when writing Saga and other POC, again as someone who's half black I spited on that crap full stop @@Sprkgd
Baldur’s Gate 3 felt like how buying a game in the 90s and early 00s used to feel. You’d buy the game from the store and it worked. It had tons of content and that’s that. ❤
Armored Core VI DOES have a story, and an amazing story at that. The choices you have to make are really heavy and difficult being forced to side with very deep characters on every side of the games conflict.
@@elk3407which sucks, because somehow even without ever seeing them, I like all of em. Coming to like many of the characters so much only to have to turn on and choose how to kill was tough. When the mission for Michigan came up in the first play through, i didn’t choose it hoping that he’d survive. When I learned Rusty killed him instead, I was like, “Damn, if I knew he was gonna die anyways, I would’ve rather been the one to do it out of respect.” The Michigan mission is one of my favorites tho.
LOL! Maybe I missed it somehow or there are like hidden logs in the levels I didn't find? But I don't remember anything that happened in the first 6 or so hours
@TheActMan Listen to the mission briefs and listen to dialogue in missions and at the end of missions, each little piece of dialogue adds to the story and NG+ and NG++ Adds to the story as the arena expands.
@@TheActMan fair enough if the game didnt grab you that much, it's a nieche mecha game after all but lemme tell you...the story, while not very expansive in dialogue is absolutely brilliant and very philosophical! Most of it is told in the form of the comms conversations with the actual true ending only being unlocked in ng+2 (you really gotta play it 3 times to get the full picture). Most of the characters are described in their arena bios, while the cooperations get lore in the parts descriptions! Oh and...yeah of course...the logs also give A LOT of insight.
The Jedi Survivor issues were predominantly on PC, but were not exclusive to it. I encountered severe frame drops and texture popping fairly regularly on PS5, but it played good enough for me to Platinum it without too much problem.
Don't listen to this comment. Jedi Survivor was busted on ps5. The intro to the game jumped from below 30 to well below 20. Updates have made it much more stable. But anyone that says it was a PC issue is smoking grass.
@@kyleh636 I played it straight through to plat from release day, so my comment was 100% my experience with the game, yours was clearly different but doesn’t make others invalid… I also never said it was a PC only issue if that’s what you’re referring to, I stated the opposite.
Everything else felt a bit weird for me tbh. Loved the boss fights but the no return of some gadgets or suit effects really made the game feel less customizable to a play style.
@D44RK_Iced_Yogs i agree with you on the suit powers/gadgets, however I think adding that stuff on top of the venom suit powers and the larger skill trees in general, I think it's sorta balanced out a little bit. that being said, I do miss suit powers a lot. would be cool to see more custom powers for the newer suits in the game
Absolutely amazing video. The only thing I would add to this video was a section about my favorite indie title this year, Lethal Company, the game that can be absolutely terrifying while being hilarious and with probably the best proximity chat integration, in any game. Keep up the great work, and I hope you have a great 2024. ❤️
I absolutely loved this video, I really do wish marvel's Spider-Man 2 and lethal company were included in this video. Take care man! Very excited for your next video!
Baulders Gate 3 came out of nowhere for me. Never heard of it, barely knew anything about DND but it blew my mind and everything else out of the water.
Thank you for addressing the disaster with Payday 3, I and many other fans were worried you'd try to ignore it and move on, but you owned up to it. That's why you're one of the best, man.
About Pizza Tower, I've been following it's developement for the past 5 years via Vinesauce. I'm glad that game came to fruition and you acknowledging it as arguably one of the best Indie games does put a smile on my face
Hi-Fi Rush was the herald of the greats of 2023. It deserves more recognition as the first thing the come out in a while that felt like a genuine "We're trying to make something good and not a vehicle for monetization and engagement metrics" game. If you haven't tried it, please do. You can definitely tell if you'll like it or not within the 2 hour steam refund window so there's not much reason not to.
Shoutout to the day before for setting a new low for the gaming industry and subsequently making all other games slightly better by not being like the day before
20:25 "At the time..." I am happy you included that critical point. It's easy to label something, avoid putting a date on it, and the untrained human mind will assume "for all time". I was one of the people who was 'hmmm...' after the PayDay 3 launch. Glad you addressed this.
Act man, I love your content and have been watching you for a long time. You’re DEAD WRONG about armored core 6. That story has so much more depth than you think and I implore you to go back and give it another shot.
Shame monster hunter wilds reveal wasn’t brought up. Don’t know if anyone here is into the franchise but the amount of hype it brought upon its reveal and the amount of players that played it recently on both steam and consoles with there Return To World event was something crazy
Almost at a loss for words with how well this video is made and the care put into it honestly. Great job, Acting Male. Let’s see what 2024 has in store for us 😎
Act, great video as usual. I have to disagree about the AC6 not having a story point. AC6 story was amazing. This is FromSoftware and their non-direct way of telling the story. You had to beat the game 3 times to get the full scope of the world, the characters and how your decisions directly impact the people and world around you. It's one of the better narratives I had the joys of experiencing this year. Really think you should revisit it at some point to get the endings if you haven't done so because it's well worth the few hours you have to invest to get the full lore of Rubicon and it's inhabitants.
He's Souls Fan, how did he not get the story, pieces of the story literally play before and after missions in breifs. It's honestly insans for Act Man not to get the story of AC6.
A fellow Metroid Fusion enjoyer... YOU are my favorite TH-camr now. Without a doubt. I keep an old GBA SP just so I can play Fusion on it... and when Dread came out I was so happy that it's the continuation of the story!
I am not nearly as pleased as you are with games this year. But I do enjoy your enthusiasm and opinions. Thanks for a great year. I can't wait to see what you do this year.
You and me both Act Man, I always wanted to go to E3, but never got a chance, what started off as place to present to investors, grew to become a place for every gamers to come together to celebrate the gaming industry, it had a lot of amazing moments that honestly digital events cannot create, but like all good things it must come to an end, and in my opinion, E3 failed because it focused too much on business rather then fun
Fantastic video as always!! I will say it was a bit weird not seeing Alan Wake 2 mentioned as it did win best narrative. That’s my personal best game of the year. Keep up the great work!
What I learned from this video is neither the BEST or the WORST game(s) of 2023 but the fact that there is now another layer to the inner core. What a very informative video lmfao
At 28 I was in the theatre singing the DK Rap with kids looking at me like I was a genuis for already knowing the song. Then I was joined by all the dads who beought their kids to see the characters they grew up with
Would love to see you go back and try Cyberpunk again and see your thoughts. When it was released, I dropped it so fast because of all its issues. It's not until I came back to it later that it became one of my favorite games of all time.
Love the list, I hope for 2024 you make a category called cutting it close where you discuss games that have entered in 24 but will probably take off in 25. For example The Finals launched in Dec. 23 but I feel its momentum is just getting started
Ngl I don't get the whole "AC6 doesn't have much in the way of story" thing. It had more of a playable narrative than most (if not all) other FromSoft games. I was hella invested in what was going on.
I never experienced cyberpunk before the 2.2 update, but I just finished the game and it is probably one of my favorite games of all time just based on its style and storytelling, personally a masterpiece to me!
Very good video, as always. However, Alan Wake 2 was a hell of a game to be left out of the list. For me, is one of the few games that truly explores the next gen features that we are so hungry for.
I feel like not enough people talk about Hi-Fi Rush. The studio behind them is the same one who brought us Evil Within and Ghostwire. Great studio, great games, can't wait for what comes next!
I’m glad you touched on Pizza Tower. The Indie Game scene was cooking this year. DREDGE, Blasphemous 2, Dave The Diver, COCCON, Sea Of Stars, Lethal Company. So many bangers for so many different reasons!
Hearing you say AC6 story is non-existent, makes me question if I should take any of your video game takes seriously. At least I'm glad you clarified PayDay 3 situation.
![My First Time Playing Baldur's Gate 3! | Blind Playthrough [Part 1]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MO2bXU-OAuo/mqdefault.jpg)
![My First Time Playing Baldur's Gate 3! | Blind Playthrough [Part 1]](/img/tr.png)
![Dad Plays Baldur's Gate 3 for the FIRST Time! | Part 1 [Blind Playthrough]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-EhTx0snppM/mqdefault.jpg)
*Makes a Best and Worst games of 2023 video
*starts talking about a TV show
What would you pick as your BEST and WORST game of 2023??
Also, I thought I'd include Overwatch 2 in this video since it came out on Steam in 2023 and Blizzard also revealed they wouldn't be making the Overwatch 2 they told us they would.
Fake
Good to see you do this video every single year and it never disappoints keep up the great work 👍
Good best and worst games of 2023 list.
I think definitely one of the best games this year is Lethal Company. Such a funny (and scary) and just awesome game.
I wish you talked more about armored core but, good video
I still want you to bring back the water splash transitions from Redfall 😂
I love your dogs ❤
Egg
Electrons and protons
FUCK I forgot to put those in
Zanny when's the next witcher 3 video?
E3 being permanently canceled was such sad news. I have a lot of good memories watching E3 and seeing so many awesome trailers and reveals from all kinds of different developers and studios over the years. Truly the end of an era.
I wish I got to go to E3 before now, but because of where I live ( South Africa), there were no E3 events.
Why did E3 get permanently canceled?
@@azutori pandemic killed it and for the big 3 (Sony, Nintendo, Xbox) E3 cost them a lot of money to produce. Saves them money to just do everything online these days
@@stephensporman8206I think it was partly due to gamers growing more skeptical of the games being shown at E3. Why tune in to E3 if you don't believe the footage you're seeing or that the game will meet your expectations?
Nostalgia hitting hard.😮💨
18:13 - "The only downside is: the story is non-existent."
Which Armored Core 6 did you play, ActMan? Because the one I played told the story about how corporations will always vie for control over everything with their corrupting and self-serving interests, and all that stands between that nefariousness is the power of the individuals which can change the course of history based on their actions and relationships.
PS: This is a tiny summary of Fires of Rubicon's story.
When I heard him say this I genuinely had to pause what I was doing
Yeah, kinda sounded like a QuantumTV Elden Ring ‘critique’ for a second there lmao
He probably didn't play New Game +.
Lowkey tho, i’d say it has infinitely more of a story than Elden Ring. (Plotwise and characterwise, not quite lore wise), one of my favorite snooty-ass youtubers Jacob Geller was gushing about the story for over 2 hours on some podcast lol.
Edit: nvm he talked about it for a total of four hours alongside cohosts in two parts
THIS, the story was amazing and I feel bad for anyone that thought there wasn't a story
Armored core had one of the best stories this year, you only need to pay attention to the mission introductions, hell even the small amount of cutscenes present in the game are easy to understand
He only played it one time and never got to NG+ or NG++ and skips all cutscenes while muting character voices. Otherwise he wouldn't have said something so stupid
That doesn't sound like a very compelling way to tell a story. Guessing it works better in practice.
I mean it sounds like you havent played the game. Yes, it works fine in practice. @@Xiatter
@@williampounds5191 I bet it's mid is all.
@@XiatterPlay the game before you call it mid.
I really like this format of talking about all the high profile games that came out this year rather than a basic top 10 best/worst list. It feels a lot more conversational
Me too
Cool format, but missing MANY huge titles like Lies of P, AlanWake2, FF16, Spiderman2. So like half of the best games in 2023
alanwake2 isnt as well knows as you think it is, spiderman 2 is just spiderman 1, but again. you right about ff16 and lies of p tho@@spirosgiatietci
@@spirosgiatietcispiderman 2 doesn't need to be on the list. There are much better games out there.
@@ceshmate1953 LMAO
Armored core 6 was one of the most unexpected game launches for me, really glad that the mecha genre is getting a more mainstream appeal
tbh its not. Most play it because its from software. The "mecha genre" will remain in who ever still enjoy transformers cuz of transformers and not looking at smoking hot prime Megan Fox
I can't believe he said the story is non-existent 💀
Deserve spotlight! Has in-depth customization give the sense of freedom, players choice on faction based story routes, and NG+ which offers gameplay variety and replayability that adds a diff scenario/outcomes in a freakin gameplay oriented game like ER. Also the learning curve is satisfying, on my NG++ I keep begging for more boss and hurdles.
@@likemysnopp This is an extremely narrow minded take. Mecha has always been way bigger in the eastern part of the world than the west, even Transformers is nothing more than an import from Japan. OP was specifically referring to gaming specifically tho
I'd absolutely kill for a Chromehounds 2 or remaster!
I played the shit outta it on launch, got it with my launch 360 too, I remember being in awe at the graphics of the explosions 😂
Saying AC6 doesn’t have a story is just wrong, period. It legit made me feel such a connection to characters like Rusty, Walter, and Ayre even though we don’t even see their faces.
The amount of jokes 2 friends of mine constantly made because of my name left me confused lmao. Let's just say that when I message them I just started saying "Hey **buddy**". Idk the context but they like it hahah
Him saying that made me think he probably just skipped all the cutscenes and never picked up any logs.
There's plenty of story to go with AC6. The problem is that it kind of needs you to pay attention to dialogue and even the scenery around you, as well as enemies and other tidbits.
Doesn't mean the story is non-existent, however. That's incorrect.
@@KeeperUTXby the end of the third chapter, it becomes extremely story driven. By that point, I don’t think there’s much excuse of the story being hidden, at least the surface level story.
@@theantsaretakingover True, true. While there are some tidbits hidden in the background, beyond chapter 3 it's somewhat hard to miss the story beats.
I'd even say the surface story isn't all that hard to follow from the get go - straightforward, sure, but it is there beyond nuances.
When he said that. It made me lose alot of credibility for Act Man. Such an insult to this masterpiece.
Surprised Lies of P wasn’t mentioned. That game felt like it came right from FromSoft. And what really surprised me the most was the level design. Soulslike games usually struggle with that aspect.
Yeah literally criminal
@@Ber-wt3hp I don’t think that’s correct unless FromSoft released something other than Armored Core 6 there’s no way that’s possible. Lies of P got released in September and Armored Core got released in August.
Yeah this definitely deserved a mention. My personal game of the year
@@Nemesiis-jc7wmyou're missing his point. By a mile. Do yourself a favor and re-read that sentence of his.
@@billdover3165 No I’m not Lies of P is one of the best games of last year. Obviously he’s gonna talk about the bad games too, I’m just surprised he didn’t at least mention it.
I can understand why some people might think Armored Core 6 doesn't really have a story or that it's confusing, but it's one of those games where the story is presented to you as the character you are playing it would experience it. Your character is basically a pawn in a much larger game, and for the most part, the people you meet in the game only tell you what they want you to know. In order to understand what's happening and why it's happening, you need to look and listen to the smaller details, gather the puzzle pieces, and put them together in order to see the bigger picture.
This is true. For most of the game you’re just a hired gun. You don’t need to know anything beyond your next target, you don’t need to see anyone’s face or even know their real names. Yet as the story continues more and more things become apparent and the plot unravels.
how did he not mention payday sucked and armored core 6 was the best?! this freaking act guy
Meanwhile journalists are getting filtered by a helicopter
@@maux9175 when the game dropped I honestly spent a lot of time skimming through angry steam reviews from people who got filtered by the first boss, shit was hilarious. the balteus comments were also extremely tilted
@@jeremybot1 took me 4 try on the heli boss , I tell you what... it felt good when I beat it
The tragedy of Gollum is that Daedelic, the developer was once incredibly beloved for making beautiful click-and-point adventures and for being one of the few german game development studios that genuinely made good games.
Man...
That's right Deponia is one of the best modern point and click adventures
I loved Night of the Rabbit.
@@ThePonyCloverI loved Edna and Harvey
Also The Whispered World.
Gollum point and click adventure game doesn’t sound bad at all. Would be niche though so maybe publishers just wanted more mass appeal.
18:16 The story in Armoured Core is far from being absent, all you need to do to get a good understanding is listen to the mission briefings. I'd go as far to say it's one of the best stories this year, no shitty "you were going to bring strangers" motivations (looking at you Jedi Survivor)
Armored Core was my game of the year. The story was absolutely amazing.
Yeah, seems like both Act Man and Angry Joe did not even finish a single playtrough sadly. Not one of the best stories tho, pretty vanilla story with some fromsoftware endings where you dont know what or if there even is a ,,good" ending .
It called Classic and ommage for original real robots anime. pls.@@Chaos_-_
I'll be honest, I paid attention and still kinda struggled to understand wtf is going on.
Especially since a lot is also said on missions when I am concentrating very hard on not dying and don't really have the time to listen to anyone talking. I am trying to live, please shut it you are being distracting
The story was phenomenal. I bet he played it once and dosent really know about the true ending.
AC6 has an in depth and fulfilling story if you’re willing to look deeper than what most AAA titles provide these days. The voice acting and faceless story telling is what’s really brought me in, and the game pushes you to contemplate the greed of man and how far we’re willing to go as humans to inflict our will. It’s a story of greed, change, and how fighting to maintain the status quo will result in failure. I know I’m a small drop in the ocean of comments, but the game is more than “robot shooting time”
You don’t need to “look deeper” you are told everything that happens.
"look deeper" bitch I understood everything without searching for lore
Agreed the Voice Acting is what really sells it for me
hell you dont even need to look all that deep even if you dont tuch a single log thairs plenty to sink your teath into if your just paying atention
Armored core 6 got me into a new series that's in my top 5 now. And it had the story I cared about the most this year, lol. Those endings had me thinking for a long time.
How the hell did he say it had no story like what.
@BornToPeeForcedToDrinkIt for some people, radio chatter isn't gonna resonate as well as cutscenes for storytelling, so they might just tune it out.
Fair, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a story. AC6 is also all about the dehumanization of soldiers and corporations so large that individual humans literally mean nothing to them. Everyone is just a faceless cog in the machine, but that starts to change as you the player influence the world with your actions and decisions.
Also pretty much everyone who’s played the story to completion has remarked how invested they were despite never seeing a single human face, and I think that’s exactly what FromSoft wanted. Their games rarely rely on the emotions on a person’s face, or their expressions, so much as their actions and words. Just look at Elden Ring and how little, if ever, you actually see any character’s face show emotion. It’s all about what’s going on inside, under the hood so-to-speak, which is really what AC and mecha in general is about. The robot is just a suit, it’s the human inside who matters, and these people in this world logically wouldn’t ever see each other most of the time. How often do fighter pilots see the enemies in their planes?
@BornToPeeForcedToDrinkIt I agree 100%. Just speculating why someone would think it doesn't really have a story.
AC6 has made me feel worse about killing people then almost any game I've played cause the acting is 10/10 and you really feel everyone's desperation.
And honestly not seeing them adds this distance that makes me feel worse about it all.
I'm a little surprised Lethal Company didn't get mentioned, I know it might not be your sort of game but man it was also a certified banger, and an example of why indie titles and developers are sometimes so much better than triple A
Yeah outside of bg3 i think lethal company gets GoTY hands down. Its gonna change gaming forever (in an awesome way)
im curious as why it would change anything as a video game. its just one of those good little games you play with friends once then forgets like among us and fall guys
@@mr.joesterr5359I like Lethal Company, but can you please explain how it will change gaming forever? How exactly?
@@dammnpeople3131Lots of features that should be normal in gaming now: Public lobbies, proximity chat, voice effects and manipulation, so many multiplayer social features make the game so good
@monke12354 Its extremely innovative and one of the best coop experiences ive ever had. Its a genius blend of simplicity, horror, and immersive sim and all made by 1 person. Its also is VERY early access so its really just the start. Its amazing and is what most ppl consider the best indie game of the year for good reason
Its diablo 4, going down into my top 10 dissapointments in my life
Thankfully it seems to be getting better.
you and me both, my dude
It’s really not as bad as you want it to be. Season 2 was fine yeah it’s not as good as it could be but does that mean you shouldn’t play it? No
💔
@@superchunkie1blizzard is not good anymore and that's sad💀
For me, dead space was my favorite game of the year. The original 3 held a lot of sentiment to me. As I lost my uncle in October, I used to sneak down stairs at night and watch him play them. Eventually, I was old enough to play them, and he would talk me through the levels. I remember when the reveal of the remake came out, it had been out for like 30 minutes, and he sent me the link, and we talked about how we would have to play it together again. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to, but it holds a special place in my heart. Miss you, Jay.
Your uncle sounds awesome.
Armored core 6 is my game of the year. I rarely 100% games and I blasted through all 4 playthroughs I needed and all the achievements without batting an eye. Definitely the most underrated game of the year in my opinion.
And the story definitely isn't non-existent, it's emotionally damaging, you just have to actually pay attention.
Not acknowledging Lethal Company seems like a crime. It topped the newest COD in sales on steam. Its community is massive and big streamers/youtubers are all playing it and having a blast. That’s an incredible achievement considering it was made by a single dev like the original FNAF.
And spider man 2
@@MightyWolf803nah not Spider-Man
@@Girth-rj1xh but spider man 2 was one of the best selling games last year
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon actually has quite a bit to its story. You just have to dig and do a lot of reading to get it. Vaati and Aromored Core Lore cover it pretty well.
You don’t even have to dig. If you play through all 3 endings the story is genuinely incredible. The premise isnt groundbreaking, but the world building, and the way the story is delivered by revealing more context through play throughs, connecting you to characters you have to make the decision to kill, and the way the story unfolds is what made it so intriguing to me. The ambiguity of the endings add a lot to intrigue as well.
@@KiddBuu_what’s also insane is how much you’re getting attached to characters you never actually see
I legit cried on my first play through
@@EliseNewmaker I did Liberator ending as my first and the feeling you get when Ayre says the words and Rusty shows up followed the radio chatter of RLF fighters that rallied with you is just incredible. Definitely one of the gaming highlights of 2023 for me.
You literally do not have to dig for anything. You can, there is more to learn if you do, but the cutscenes and in game dialogs are far more than enough to understand the story of the game.
AC6 has no story? What are you talking about? It's one of the few FromSoft games that outright tells the story to you in cutscenes and dialogue...
The dead space remake was so good it inspired me to begin to make my own. After experiencing a small slice of what actual game developers do, it brings a whole new level of appreciation, even for the games that weren't so well rated.
And the most perfect example of what you just stated is the Callisto Protocol....a game that got so panned, that I held off on trying it. But when I did, it turned out to be my favorite game of the entire year.
@@MidniteMeatBus Yes! It was rated to bad due to its performance that it gave the game a bad rep overall. But aside the former performance issues it was a really well put together and designed game.
@@ringmaster_ryann too bad the gameplay was so repetitive. I mean you can only tolerate so many melee attacks before the gameplay before stale
@@Faded.Visuals Yes this is true, I forgot about this. I didn't have an issue with it the first playthrough but the second time it just got annoying.
when you make a game and become super famous, you should add my comment as an easter egg and give the player an overpowered weapon
I'm surprised he never mentioned Remnant 2 and Lies of P. Those two were phenomenal games to add to the Souls like genre.
Glad someone said it, specially remnant. Such a great game and a dev team that truely love their product.
Lies of P was incredible
Remnant 2 is fantastic.
i just wish i knew someone willing to play co op with me
Me too both were absolutely amazing
Definitely the year with the most Gollum-like games
I'm looking forward to more Gollum-type games in 2024
Some would say they are very Gollumesque
I would rather fear The day before-like games.
What a precious year.
@@alejandroaguilar9850the fact that ‘day before like game’ and ‘gollum-like’ could both be pretty decent categories for bum games is terrifying
21:11 "-we'll see what happens but for now, probably better off playing Payday 2"
Literally almost the whole fan base, me and my friends.
I disagree about Armored Core 6 not having much story. The thing is you gotta play it three times through and find the collectables... So I understand where you are coming from. The story starts with you as a regular independent mercenary trying to make a buck and ends with you literally deciding the fate of an entire planet and potentially solar system (they weren't too specific on the potential impact of the coral explosion from what I recall).
you started as Human+ body with a lot of experience and mole in the most big corpos. It is the most realistic armored core protagonist in history. you are not nobody, you just pretend to be newbie. xD
@@BloodyArchangelus Well. All pilots are are Human+. We are 4th gen augmented humans compared to 7th or 9th i dont recall from the vespers. And as the player we have no idea what the background of 621 is. All we know is that our body is absolutely in shambles and that we have the potential to be an adequate pilot. Even after finishing the game we don't know the backstory of 621.
I disagree I dont even think you need to get all the endings ofcourse Id always say do so to anyone that picks up the game but even the base line fires of raven ending is a well put to geather story
@@nvirevolution2235that's not true. one of the first missions you literally kill a noob pilot and his skills show.
@@Z1LT01D That was beyond a noob pilot. They were a pilot in training. Compared to the vespers that trainee was an ant in the grass.
Surprised Lethal Company wasn't mentioned. Such an influential game made by a singular person.
Lethal company is definitely my favorite game of the year
its the worst game list lethal company is fine
Sort of glad he didn't just throw it in randomly just to jump on the train
Or The Finals/batlebit
@dragongrandmaster it's the best and worst of 2023. lethal company definitely deserved some talk
Man, 2023 has been a heck of a year. Thank you for all the content act man and can’t wait for this years!
Fr man!! My favorite game from 2023 has to be BOMB RUSH CYBERFUNK! Other mentions are SF6 and Jedi: Survivor.
Omg where do I start with BRC? It’s everything I wanted and I played it 3 times already, a bit of a predictable story but it was a blast to play each time. I made sure to buy the physical and digital addition along with pre-ordering the vinyl. I never touched a SF game but the world tour mode and everything else about it is pretty damn good. The only disappointment for me is how the new characters are bought and not earned since they are doing BP’s and other such FOMO shit. Survivor was so damn fun to play, I will gladly play more from Respawn. STILL WAITING FOR TF3!!
@D44RK_Iced_Yogs I also really enjoyed Jedi: Survivor. Ignoring the optimization the game was very fun to play. I really enjoyed the gameplay, the maps were very cool, and loved the battle droids. Cyberpunk also has definitely made a comeback and it’s actually pretty good now!
Yes , this year was really great for gaming. He mention so many good games but by reading comments you can see people still mention some good games not included, in video . Because actman is still mortal and there was not enough time to play all games , i guess , lol . As Yakuza series fan i get TWO games this year.. There was also spiderman 2 and alan wake, mortal kombar for some people to enjoy. And some good indies to play
Sea of Stars is also worth mentioning. An indie RPG that pays homage to and also sometimes parodies the beloved SNES era of JRPGs. Despite its derivative nature, it manages to form an identity of its own, being a worthy successor to Mario & Luigi combat with an expansive and beautiful 2D environment and gorgeous music from Yasunori Mitsuda and Eric Brown.
Shout-out to Gamemil for making alot of terrible games/publishing them this year, they never fail to disappoint us
That brings some sympathy to their Dev who were pushed into shoving a product out without the time and resources needed.
@@dragontear1638that year Dev time is crazy
They made an ATLA Game in 2023 & it was one of the lowest rated games of the year alongside Rise of Kong
Actman: I feel like I forgot something.
Mischief: If you forgot about it it probably wasn't important.
Actman: Yeah your right.
Cuts to Spiderman 2 sitting out in the rain.
and Lords of the fallen
Can't blame him because it was mid
And Final fantasy 16... and Fire emblem engage
Avatar, AC mirage
@@MrOverHeelsfxck you it was awesome
Hi-Fi Rush is an absolute blast! Must play if anyone is interested in action games like DMC and rhythm on beat!
It came out of NOWHERE, it had 0 hype and it was cool and pretty amazing game
Plus Roger Crag Smith voicing an evil business CEO is something I never expected.
@@Dullsonic3 Aka, Sonic as the main villain XD
God yes. What a way to start a year that would end up being so jam packed with good stuff. I absolute adore the game and it's in my yearly rotation for sure.
Feel like most people who won't play it or even consider playing hi-fi rush, are like me. Since I have been playing guitar and a few other things my whole life (if asked I'm only confident in my ability to jam/improvise with guitar, so I'd prolly only claim it if asked), I feel like my love for rhythm and music starts and stops with that hobby, so I don't like the idea of that game. To me, I feel like the hobby I'm always striving to master is a much better representation and far less forgiving of a "game" than HiFi could ever be, so a selfish part of me wishes a shadow dropped game that appeals more to me (ie souls/doom/w.o.w.) would've made me far happier instead of the "meh" I feel towards what we got. :/
The fact that Alan Wake 2 isn't included in the discussion is criminal. It's like the Godfather 2 of video games.
E3 dying is what hits the hardest…
It’s not even fully about the event itself dying, but really feeling like that era of gaming we all grew up on being truly dead.
The things we loved when we were younger will have to be replaced with new things for the new kids on the block.
Bittersweet.
What has the E3 to do with gaming itself? Except show badass trailers that promise to much for disappointing games half of the time
@@geekinoffamolly8230 it was mentioned in the video… wait… did you just ask me what E3 had to do with gaming?
Alan Wake 2 was, for me, a true masterpiece. We probably won't get a game like that again for a while...
Came to look for this
I’m a huge fan of the first one, played the original when it came out. Blew me away, surprisingly they came out with a remaster and rekindled my love for it. But this new one, I heard it’s just a cutscene filled game? Is that true?
Should’ve gotten goty instead of reskinned league of legends
@@gomezx6056Better than the first in almost every way. Play it, don't listen to the peeps that didn't play it themselves
@@madcracker8077 It has nothing to do with lol, you just sound like a fool commenting on something you clearly have never played and know nothing about. And that's coming from someone who doesn't even like bg3
I am really sad my dad didn't live long enough to see Phantom Liberty. He really loved Cyberpunk 2077 and when he passed in 2022, he had a Cyberpunk 2077 wallpaper on his desktop/PC.
He would have also loved Starfield, I am sure he was waiting for that. I am sort of glad he didn't live to see that train wreck.
I'm really sorry for you man, shit like this makes me sad, knowing some people won't live to see the release of their favorite games. But be happy that he even got to experience games like tha, I'm sure he loved every second of it :)
I'm really sorry for your father.
Damn, I’m really sorry for you, I’m sure here gaming in heaven
sorry for your loss! c2077 was one of my favs too
I just beat CP + Phantom Liberty for the first time and man…it’s truly a marvel what CD was able to do to bring Cyberpunk back, what an absolute thrill I had and even tho yes the game still does have some glitches and bugs it’s miles compared to launch and it has taken a special place on my spotlight for this year
Absolutely incredible
Santa Monica humbled Activison in terms of true gaming when it released a DLC completely free of cost, with a gold standard plot and making it longer than COD MW3 campaign.
In a year where companies are greedy asfk, I salute SM and Sony to respect players and giving us this.
To those who like Jet Set Radio/Future, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk also released and it was absolutely fantastic.
Eyy some bomb rush cyberfunk apreciation!!!
AYYYYY, let us punks rejoice!
This was an absolutely fantastic recap of the year and wholly unexpected! I had almost gone into 2024 forgetting Forspoken ever existed so it hurt to be reminded of it.
I think saying that Armored Core 6 has no story is pretty heavily misrepresenting the game. Even at surface level you can immediately tell it has solid worldbuilding and a clear and meaningful story path, deep enough to allow for three diverigng endings. On top of it there are very memorable characters, many even having story arcs despite their brief and sparse appearences. In short a lot of story beats and key moments for such an action packed game. What you could rather say is that they are easily missable if you just focus on the most flashy aspects of the game.
Dudeeee….fighting the giant sand worm thing and was it rusty? Sniping him from the distance…chills.
Glad you addressed the Payday 2 stuff in a video, rather than leave it in community notes. It's probably really awkward to have to do, but explaining the context of how an early review happened can really color how a watcher interprets it. "I got sent a review copy" is usually preferred (as it gives the dev the least amount of chance to influence the review) it can also lead to game issues that are system specific. A review produced at an event is one people should take as a "best impressions", assuming that there could be issues hidden from the reviewer.
Great vid as usual Act! Gotta say tho, criminal that Alan Wake 2 doesn't at least get an honourable mention! Sets a new bar for survival horror imo! Easily my personal GOTY
People are too busy riding that RE4 horse.
Alan Wake 2 is definitely the type of survival horror I wanna see more of
Bro after control I got so excited for Alan wake 2 and control 2 that’s in early development
It’s a shame that the Remedy games aren’t getting enough attention
Armoured core 6 should have gotten way more love. What the hell do you mean the story is non existent? My favourite characters this year are from armoured core 6 and i remember everyone's names. Rusty is the best buddy i ever had
300 hours in Baldur’s Gate 3 and I still find new stuff. The amount of content is fucking unbelievable
Craziest part about hifi rush is it's from the developers of the Evil Within
& there is even a Evil Within Easter egg in it 😊
@@patriciamorgan2521robo depressed detective. Seb something I think. And the Joseph robot constantly calling out robo seb for being a fucking downer was great.
@@drekon6939 Yep. Plus the mirror stashed in the backroom with the save room theme playing 😁
@@patriciamorgan2521 I realy like when Easter eggs do stuff like that.
Gollum as your #1 best game of the year was a pretty bold take
B A S E D
Hearing act man give Pikmin the respect it deserves makes me happy
"Armored Core VI's story is non-existent."
My dude, I'd say your eyes and ears are non-existent, if that's what you think.
I know it was very late, but seeing GoW Valhalla get a mention for having a free dlc should've been something worth praising. Mostly because it's a dlc that actually expands on the story and adds to the mechanics and drip that you can have in the main game. Just something worth encouraging.
I thought the exact same thing in this day and age were you pay for cosmetics or Battlepass, Santa Monica Studio came and gave us an amazing content for Free.
Thinking about that Christopher Judge's burn aimed at Call of Duty MW3's campain, that would have been the perfect transition between speaking of MW3 to GoW Valhala.
or Spider-man
Im surprised Lies of P isnt on this list. Game goes hard and is one of the few non-Fromsoft soulslikes worth playing. Also, considering its a small indie studio making it, who have only made one other game in the past, and LoP being their first foray into soulslikes, I think it deserves a spot.
Neither is Spiderman 2, Alan Wake 2 and Mortal Kombat 1. Means he probably didn't get to play them
@@patricklitterallyit4164He didn’t play Jedi Survivor and yet it’s on the list
@@UnitedFan2 he didn't play it because of the game being unplayable for the first week or two. And then Redfall came out
Remnant 2 is also missing
LoP is literally that one game that will come out after years, that will do a formula of a game that inspired it to do well. Lies of P for me was Darksouls w/o the rough edges.
I think Alan Wake 2 was a genuine masterpiece and one of the most incredible narrative experiences I've ever had.
Alan Wake was amazing, trully a fanstastic videogame everyone should experience.
I liked it but wouldn’t say it was a masterpiece. Personally I loved saga’s storyline and gameplay, but not Alan’s. Overall I’d give it a good 8.5 definitely an underrated game
To be fair I didn’t even know the game came out at all until the game awards had it nominated and I watch a ton of different groups and people when it comes to gaming so I’m surprised it slipped under the radar
Alan Wake 2's gameplay was really mediocre though, in my opinion. The narrative was interesting but as someone who plays games for gameplay and not for story, I can't personally consider something like Alan Wake 2 to be anything more than a "good" game. Its interesting presentation elevates what is a pretty average gameplay experience. I also think that as creative as the narrative was, the execution in the 2nd half was really flawed.
ugh I absolutely hated saga's storyline, didn't give two rips about her characters, I thought her character was simply cringe thought out the entire story, and I say this as someone who's half black, they really put my boy Alan backstage in the janitor's closet chilling next the broom for what? 14 years? I love remedy and Sam Lake, but come on now the game is called Alan Wake. Not "Alan Wake & company." Also hiring SweetBaby writing consultant firm to help "diversify and be inclusive" when writing Saga and other POC, again as someone who's half black I spited on that crap full stop @@Sprkgd
The “armored core has no story/ bad story” narrative needs to die
Baldur’s Gate 3 felt like how buying a game in the 90s and early 00s used to feel. You’d buy the game from the store and it worked. It had tons of content and that’s that. ❤
In that regard, they nailed the legacy of Baldur’s Gate 1 and II
Yeah, unless it doesn't work after you got to act III
BG3 should be on the worst games list
@@radiantveggies9348 more like of „Meh” list. Not bad, not awesome, just niche game for people who enjoy D&D and fantasy
@radiantveggies9348 why??
Armored Core VI DOES have a story, and an amazing story at that. The choices you have to make are really heavy and difficult being forced to side with very deep characters on every side of the games conflict.
In the end, you always have to turn on someone who had your back. Carla, Rusty, Walter, Ayre..... You can't save them all
@@elk3407which sucks, because somehow even without ever seeing them, I like all of em. Coming to like many of the characters so much only to have to turn on and choose how to kill was tough. When the mission for Michigan came up in the first play through, i didn’t choose it hoping that he’d survive. When I learned Rusty killed him instead, I was like, “Damn, if I knew he was gonna die anyways, I would’ve rather been the one to do it out of respect.” The Michigan mission is one of my favorites tho.
@@elk3407What can I say being a Raven is tough. Freewill you champion comes with a steep price.
@@elk3407
Sounds like someone didn't get the third ending.
@@KiddBuu_
They do make it clear that mission will get done no matter if you choose it or not.
Armored core 6: "the story doesn't exist"
Has to be your worst and most factually incorrect take ever...
I'm glad someone else caught that. Seems like he didn't really play the game
Act Man is a Souls simp.
He has videos about the lore and story of Dark Souls, yet he cant see the see the story of AC6.
LOL! Maybe I missed it somehow or there are like hidden logs in the levels I didn't find? But I don't remember anything that happened in the first 6 or so hours
@TheActMan
Listen to the mission briefs and listen to dialogue in missions and at the end of missions, each little piece of dialogue adds to the story and NG+ and NG++ Adds to the story as the arena expands.
@@TheActMan fair enough if the game didnt grab you that much, it's a nieche mecha game after all but lemme tell you...the story, while not very expansive in dialogue is absolutely brilliant and very philosophical! Most of it is told in the form of the comms conversations with the actual true ending only being unlocked in ng+2 (you really gotta play it 3 times to get the full picture). Most of the characters are described in their arena bios, while the cooperations get lore in the parts descriptions!
Oh and...yeah of course...the logs also give A LOT of insight.
“Armored core 6’s store is non existent”
Say you have no media literacy without saying you have no media literacy
The Jedi Survivor issues were predominantly on PC, but were not exclusive to it. I encountered severe frame drops and texture popping fairly regularly on PS5, but it played good enough for me to Platinum it without too much problem.
Me too. I still very much enjoyed it, the frame drops were just annoying.
My friend said that game was often very blurry on his PS5 like resolution was probably below 1080p and then upscaled with FSR.
They never really fixed it on PC
Don't listen to this comment. Jedi Survivor was busted on ps5. The intro to the game jumped from below 30 to well below 20. Updates have made it much more stable. But anyone that says it was a PC issue is smoking grass.
@@kyleh636 I played it straight through to plat from release day, so my comment was 100% my experience with the game, yours was clearly different but doesn’t make others invalid… I also never said it was a PC only issue if that’s what you’re referring to, I stated the opposite.
the boss fights in spider-man 2 went so insanely hard that it actually made the previous game look like a beta
Everything else felt a bit weird for me tbh. Loved the boss fights but the no return of some gadgets or suit effects really made the game feel less customizable to a play style.
@D44RK_Iced_Yogs i agree with you on the suit powers/gadgets, however I think adding that stuff on top of the venom suit powers and the larger skill trees in general, I think it's sorta balanced out a little bit.
that being said, I do miss suit powers a lot. would be cool to see more custom powers for the newer suits in the game
@@D44RK_Iced_Yogsbring back the gadgets and allow load outs and map any ability to any button so I can have unique combos.
calling the boss fights in spiderman 2 insanely hard is insane.
@@DirtyBonj i think he meant that they "went hard", like they were really really good.
Absolutely amazing video. The only thing I would add to this video was a section about my favorite indie title this year, Lethal Company, the game that can be absolutely terrifying while being hilarious and with probably the best proximity chat integration, in any game. Keep up the great work, and I hope you have a great 2024. ❤️
The boycott of Hogwarts Legacy was so huge that the game sold 2 million copies between Black Friday and Christmas.
Goodluck with 2024 actman, cant wait to see the new content, always enjoyable watching you when times are rough
I absolutely loved this video, I really do wish marvel's Spider-Man 2 and lethal company were included in this video. Take care man! Very excited for your next video!
I'd definitely put Dredge near the top for the year's indie games. It was so refreshing and unique.
Baulders Gate 3 came out of nowhere for me. Never heard of it, barely knew anything about DND but it blew my mind and everything else out of the water.
Glad Hi-Fi Rush got the love it deserves!
Honestly, one of the most unique and refreshing game I’ve played in a while
Thank you for addressing the disaster with Payday 3, I and many other fans were worried you'd try to ignore it and move on, but you owned up to it. That's why you're one of the best, man.
About Pizza Tower, I've been following it's developement for the past 5 years via Vinesauce. I'm glad that game came to fruition and you acknowledging it as arguably one of the best Indie games does put a smile on my face
If you’re into puzzle games, The Talos Principle 2 should be on this list. An amazing example of a sequel done right!
Both those games are awesome
Hi-Fi Rush was the herald of the greats of 2023. It deserves more recognition as the first thing the come out in a while that felt like a genuine "We're trying to make something good and not a vehicle for monetization and engagement metrics" game. If you haven't tried it, please do. You can definitely tell if you'll like it or not within the 2 hour steam refund window so there's not much reason not to.
It's the one game in my backlog i keep telling myself I need to play but still haven't
It’s also on gamepass
Cries in PS5
Just finished it last month, worth it. Its only 8-10hrs. Not too long and not too short@@matthijsweststrate5552
@@Toneokoyou can get a series S used on eBay for 120 dollars
Shoutout to the day before for setting a new low for the gaming industry and subsequently making all other games slightly better by not being like the day before
20:25 "At the time..." I am happy you included that critical point. It's easy to label something, avoid putting a date on it, and the untrained human mind will assume "for all time". I was one of the people who was 'hmmm...' after the PayDay 3 launch. Glad you addressed this.
Act man, I love your content and have been watching you for a long time. You’re DEAD WRONG about armored core 6. That story has so much more depth than you think and I implore you to go back and give it another shot.
Shame monster hunter wilds reveal wasn’t brought up. Don’t know if anyone here is into the franchise but the amount of hype it brought upon its reveal and the amount of players that played it recently on both steam and consoles with there Return To World event was something crazy
whats this? They resurrected MHW??
@@gotenks5633Kinda. There's a massive spike in the player base. It had a 24 hour peak of 145k a couple days ago
People hype for GTA6 and i'm here "SCREW GTA6. NEW MONSTER HUNTER IS COMING OUT!!!"
Almost at a loss for words with how well this video is made and the care put into it honestly. Great job, Acting Male. Let’s see what 2024 has in store for us 😎
Act, great video as usual. I have to disagree about the AC6 not having a story point. AC6 story was amazing. This is FromSoftware and their non-direct way of telling the story. You had to beat the game 3 times to get the full scope of the world, the characters and how your decisions directly impact the people and world around you. It's one of the better narratives I had the joys of experiencing this year. Really think you should revisit it at some point to get the endings if you haven't done so because it's well worth the few hours you have to invest to get the full lore of Rubicon and it's inhabitants.
He's Souls Fan, how did he not get the story, pieces of the story literally play before and after missions in breifs.
It's honestly insans for Act Man not to get the story of AC6.
He definitely only did one playthrough lmao, Act Man is literally quoting game journos' day 0 reviews with one ending.
His synopsis came of like he never played the true ending.
A fellow Metroid Fusion enjoyer... YOU are my favorite TH-camr now. Without a doubt.
I keep an old GBA SP just so I can play Fusion on it... and when Dread came out I was so happy that it's the continuation of the story!
Fusion and Super are peak. And while Dread doesn't reach those same heights, it's still a damn good game, and it did pretty much everything I wanted.
I am not nearly as pleased as you are with games this year. But I do enjoy your enthusiasm and opinions. Thanks for a great year. I can't wait to see what you do this year.
"Story is nonexistent" tell me you skipped all the cutscenes without telling me you skipped all the cutscenes
About what game?
Armored core
Yawn
You and me both Act Man, I always wanted to go to E3, but never got a chance, what started off as place to present to investors, grew to become a place for every gamers to come together to celebrate the gaming industry, it had a lot of amazing moments that honestly digital events cannot create, but like all good things it must come to an end, and in my opinion, E3 failed because it focused too much on business rather then fun
5:27 what song is that?
Edit: Found it, it's I can feel it coming in the air tonight by Phil Collins.
It's remix ?
Fantastic video as always!! I will say it was a bit weird not seeing Alan Wake 2 mentioned as it did win best narrative. That’s my personal best game of the year. Keep up the great work!
Update: BG3 quickly replaced it
@@ZelBellz Now that's character progression, right there
@@ZelBellz Opposite for me. BG3 deserved to win GOTY but narrative is still AW2
What I learned from this video is neither the BEST or the WORST game(s) of 2023 but the fact that there is now another layer to the inner core. What a very informative video lmfao
Lethal company and Risk of Rain returns are a couple more examples of great indie work
Both incredible games
At 28 I was in the theatre singing the DK Rap with kids looking at me like I was a genuis for already knowing the song.
Then I was joined by all the dads who beought their kids to see the characters they grew up with
I'm happy Pikmin was mentioned cause it isn't really talked about often since they are small yet really fun games.
Would love to see you go back and try Cyberpunk again and see your thoughts. When it was released, I dropped it so fast because of all its issues. It's not until I came back to it later that it became one of my favorite games of all time.
"Video games are the only thing that brings me joy in life..."
-Bilbo Baggins
"Armored Core 6 has no story"
So you just played through the story with your game muted and skipped every briefing then
Love the list, I hope for 2024 you make a category called cutting it close where you discuss games that have entered in 24 but will probably take off in 25. For example The Finals launched in Dec. 23 but I feel its momentum is just getting started
Walking Dead: Destinies was so bad that Act Man had to repress memories to forget it even existed.
He didn’t mention 4 major things.
Walking Dead: Destinies
Bobby stepping down
Lethal Company
Spider Man 2
Ngl I don't get the whole "AC6 doesn't have much in the way of story" thing. It had more of a playable narrative than most (if not all) other FromSoft games. I was hella invested in what was going on.
I never experienced cyberpunk before the 2.2 update, but I just finished the game and it is probably one of my favorite games of all time just based on its style and storytelling, personally a masterpiece to me!
Very good video, as always.
However, Alan Wake 2 was a hell of a game to be left out of the list. For me, is one of the few games that truly explores the next gen features that we are so hungry for.
So what I'm hearing is we bully Act Man into playing the brilliance which is Alan Wake 2.
Maybe he hasn’t played the previous games, so maybe he chose to hold off on it?
Alan Woke 2 should left of any list
Shit take@@Valhura77
I just played the first one for free as a ps monthly game a few months ago. So cool and original
“non existing story” in Armored core 6 is wild i love your critiques normally but bro the game has 3 endings???
I feel like not enough people talk about Hi-Fi Rush. The studio behind them is the same one who brought us Evil Within and Ghostwire. Great studio, great games, can't wait for what comes next!
Ngl 2024 is gonna be fire for indie games, silksong, killer bean, new game by cruelty squad dev, etc
I’m glad you touched on Pizza Tower.
The Indie Game scene was cooking this year. DREDGE, Blasphemous 2, Dave The Diver, COCCON, Sea Of Stars, Lethal Company. So many bangers for so many different reasons!
2023 was the year we needed for games, nice to finally have a backlog of new games and remakes I’m genuinely excited to hop into
I'm surprised that you didn't talk about Dead Island 2 Actman. Did you not play it, or did it just fly under the radar?
I guess it just isn't a good or bad game. Just fine. At least to me anyway
Hearing you say AC6 story is non-existent, makes me question if I should take any of your video game takes seriously.
At least I'm glad you clarified PayDay 3 situation.