My favorite games of 2023 that came out before 2023

Not all of the games I played and loved in 2023 actually came out in 2023. The three titles covered here -- About An Elf, Dragon Quest Treasures, and Pokémon Violet -- are prime examples. They're also among my favorite games of last year.

About An Elf (Switch)

Developer and publisher Meringue Interactive describes About An Elf as a "point-and-click-ish, RPG-ish, visual-novel-ish game." Though accurate, it doesn't do this 2022 eShop release justice.

About An Elf may be the strangest game I've ever played. Nearly every aspect of it will have you scratching your head -- from the outlandish cast (which includes an Ulala-esque elf and her "oh noes"-spouting cat companion), to the nonsensical save-the-world story, to the inscrutable battles, and more.

They'll also likely put a smile on your face and keep you engaged for the few hours About An Elf lasts, though, which is the main reason I'm giving it a nod here. Another reason: despite the fact that About An Elf is a fairly silly and superficial experience, I regularly think about returning to it and its fever-dream world.

Dragon Quest Treasures (PC, Switch)

A lot of folks turned up their noses at this release as soon as they realized it wasn't a new Dragon Quest Monsters game. I feel no allegiance to nor nostalgia for the Monsters series, so I went into it with few biases or expectations.

I'd like to think that's at least partially responsible for why I enjoyed it so much. Also helping matters was that Dragon Quest Treasures reminded me of a similar offshoot, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, that quickly won me over in recent years. Both games offer up open worlds that are thrilling to explore and more action-focused gameplay than their parent series provide.

Sure, Treasures could and probably should include a wider selection of Dragon Quest's iconic enemies, but I had a blast even with the palette-swap-heavy crew that currently fills the game's varying environs.

Pokémon Violet (Switch)

Well, well, what have we here? Another game that message-board denizens love to hate and yet I adored. For me, Pokémon Violet was one of the best experiences I've had with a Pokémon game to date.

Of course, how could it not? It took what was my favorite aspect of Pokémon Shield, the Wild Area, and expanded it to cover the entire map, after all. Another draw for me was the three storylines you can tackle at your discretion. I get the feeling it would be difficult, if not impossible, to finish the game without completing all three stories, but I appreciated the increased freedom all the same.

Really, though, the highlight of playing Pokémon Violet for me was the same highlight of all my favorite Pokémon games so far: the simple joy of spotting a new Pokémon, trying to and (hopefully) succeeding at catching it, and then moving onto the next, rinse-and-repeat style. 

See also: my favorite games of 2023 (that actually came out in 2023)

My favorite games of 2023

A lot of blockbuster games released in 2023. None of them made it onto my list of favorite games of the year. (Shocking multitudes, I'm sure.)

I don't say this to suggest those AAA titles are beneath me or anything of the sort, of course. On the contrary. For various reasons, I either didn't play any of those games or I played them and they just didn't gel with me like they did so many others.

Which games did gel with me last year? The handful of indie or otherwise small releases you'll read about starting now.

Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society (PC, PS4/5, Switch, Vita)

I adored this game's predecessor, Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk, despite its dark-as-tar story. Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society is a lot lighter in that area, though no less enthralling overall. Labyrinth of Galleria doesn't do as much to alter or update its forebearer's wall-breaking, pit-jumping, dungeon-crawling gameplay, which is sure to disappoint some, but it still offers enough unexpected twists and turns to make it well worth playing by series veterans and noobs alike. Bonus (or word of warning, depending on how you look at such things): Labyrinth of Galleria is a long game. To see its true and final ending, you'll likely need to devote well over 100 hours to it. You can experience a ton of what the game offers and see its initial credit roll after 40 to 60 hours, though, if that sounds more manageable.

Metro Quester (PC, PS4/5, Switch, Xbox One/S/X)

Don't judge this retro-inspired dungeon-crawler by its "unlicensed NES game" title or similarly cheap-looking cover art. If you tend to enjoy hack-and-slashers like Wizardry or Etrian Odyssey, you'll dig Metro Quester (or just Quester, if you play it on PC), too. Which isn't to suggest Metro Quester is some kind of ripoff of those classics. It's viewed from a top-down perspective, for starters, plus there's a survival element to Metro Quester that not only helps differentiate it from the competition but also adds intrigue and tension. Metro Quester's story is minimal, but can still manage to surprise and impress if you pay attention to the occasional bits of text that pop up along the way. The battles here are the real selling point, though, thanks to their flexibility and exhilarating, whiz-bang snappiness.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Mobile, PC, Switch)

I've enjoyed a lot of adventure games (or visual novels, VNs, if that's the verbiage you prefer) in my time, but the ones I've enjoyed the most have featured spooky or scary elements. Raging Loop and Gnosia are two examples from previous years, and now Paranormasight can be added to the pile. At its heart, Paranormasight is a murder mystery. There's more to it than that, though, as you might imagine -- with supernatural urban legends and curses both playing important roles in the proceedings. Another interesting quirk to Paranormasight is that you'll occasionally replay portions of a character's story, which helps the experience feel less boringly straightforward than the bulk of its genremates.

Suika Game (Switch)

Does the world really need another match-things-that-drop-from-the-top-of-the-screen puzzle game? Suika Game provides a firmly affirmative answer to that question. The rules of Suika Game are so uncomplicated that you could play it in any language and not feel lost. The gist: get two fruits of the same type (cherries, strawberries, oranges, and more) to touch and they'll become a bigger one -- up until you reach the big kahuna, the watermelon. (Fun fact: suika is Japanese for watermelon.) Rinse and repeat until your accumulated pile of fruit hits the top of the screen. It sounds simple and even a little stupid, but it's also intoxicatingly addictive.

World of Horror (PC, PS4/5, Switch)

I never knew how much I needed a Junji Ito-inspired horror roguelike RPG VN until I started through World of Horror in early December. World of Horror is both not at all what I expected and far beyond what I expected of it. In doing so, it bizarrely and even bravely defies categorization. Hell, I'd go so far as to say it deserves a genre of its own, should any future games dare to follow in its footsteps. At any rate, if you've ever dreamed of playing a game that makes you feel like you're living -- and attempting to survive -- in a post-apocalyptic Japanese city right out of one of Ito's macabre manga, here's your chance.

What were your favorite games of 2023? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

See also: my favorite games of 2023 that came out before 2023