2023 Video Games Thread
 

There should be some good games coming out this year.

Personally I'm looking forward to the new Zelda game and the translations of past "Trails" games.

Plus maybe we'll get Star Citizen*

*who are we kidding we're f***** on this one.

Can't get here soon enough include "Baldur's Gate 3" and "Starfield"

Next tier includes "The Last of Us"

Honorable mention for "Hogwarts Legacy" (and "Star Citizen")


Link for 2023 releases

https://www.thegamer.com/video-game-release-dates-2023/

I'm beyond ready for BG3. That is going to be a fantastic game. Hogwarts Legacy will be a game I'm excited about but probably will totally suck playing.

I will be very surprised if BG3 doesn't end up being a disappointment to most people. Anytime a franchise with that long of a tail gets a new entry, even if it's designed and implemented absolutely perfectly - which of course won't happen - it is basically guaranteed to upset a significant part of the fanbase which wanted it to emphasize different elements of the series than whatever vision ends up coming out.

I'm both anticipating and dreading (due to the continuation of the retcon-heavy elements of the story) Homeworld 3.

I've been following the forums, early access etc. and all indications are that BG3 will live up to expectations.

Yeah, there'll be bugs, some folks are questioning about what races will be released initially, stuff like that. But it does look like Larian is genuinely doing a good job with early access, testing, and not rushing a release.

I'm embarrassed to say I've never played Homeworld. I know there's a remastered edition that is pretty cheap right now. I'm a sci-fi, Battle Star Galactica fan, so it should interest me but I generally don't like RTS.

Yeah, BG3 is already a good game with only one act out and still some polishing to do before release. I mean, it was solid in early release when I played it for a couple of weeks in 2020. I've tried not to diddle with it since, but have created characters and played the beginning every time they have brought in a class except this latest one. I just don't want to burn out on it before it ever hits full release.

Urban Strife (which has a demo out now) is one I am looking forward to a lot. Jagged Alliance with zombies and it should scratch that itch while I wait for JA-3

Thanks for this, added to my wishlist. It was not on my radar but sounds like something I'd enjoy. The zombies in XCom WOTC are fun but not that big of a deal.

Also, found out that Microprose is still around!

Hopefully this game will be what I wanted “Dead State” to be all those years ago.

I picked up Midnight Suns yesterday and played the heck out of it all day. Probably going to do the same today. Super fun game, and with a couple of tweaks to settings it plays like a dream on my Steam Deck.

Thanks, your comment made me look at it on Steam and … surprise, there’s a sale!

Below made me look. Hogwarts on sale now for $60 on Steam

I'll have to check and see what the price is on the PlayStation store then. More comfortable for me to play that on console

I'm still hesitant that the PC game might not be a complete version of the console game.

What makes you think that?

There's a PS5 exclusive quest line and some exclusive cosmetic stuff.

Exclusive quests are usually filler content and nor very good. With that said it's annoying to see.

The recent game play stuff that's been released has me at least interested in this but its going to be a wait for reviews before I pull the trigger.

There have been pre-order discounts just about everywhere for Hogwart's Legacy, so you just need to shop around a bit to find the best one

The reason I am afraid of that is several games, especially sports games, are ported to the PC from last generation console versions and have several feature not included. I would think it wouldn't be the case with this, but until I have hard confirmation and I am holding off. I much rather have it on PC because I can just imagine what modders will be able to do to it over time.

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I will say it is a good sign that the PC version isn't being delayed like the last gen versions. I hope that means that it is the same as current gen.

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I didn't think about Steam Hogwarts being ported. Have to believe they put more emphasis on testing & debugging on the consoles so wouldn't surprise me if the PC is more buggy at release (so many different GPUs, drivers etc.).

I really do hope its a success (I can get my wife to play it instead of her iPad Bejeweled, farming type games). And I do hope its pretty open world with a bunch of stuff to do.

It needs to be successful on the PC. That's where the mods will be.

The recommended specs on PC are out of the norm high for Hogwarts which should atleast put some fears to rest. They suggest atleast a 1080ti or equivalent.

To compare to some other recent games (Next Gen only games) you can look at GPU requirements for Gotham Knights requires a 2070 for recommended (30% worse on benchmarks than a 1080ti which was a flagship GPU)and Marvel Midnight Sons just a 1070.

There really shouldn’t be a question that it’s a next gen game based on these requirements. But I guess you don’t really know until it is released.

Yeah, that some good indicators.

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Great looking potential game out next week callled Forspoken.

On pre sale for 70 bucks and I had to laugh. Not at the price, but at the recommended sys req to get 30 fps..

Then I checked on my video card PC specs. Its from 2014

"Yeah, I play old sports and sport simulator accessories" - Hank Hill

No review copies being sent out before release is a massive red flag.

EDIT: A correction, it seems like some review copies are going out but Square is being very selective about who is getting them. Recommended specs of as 3070 and 24gb of RAM screams poorly optimized.

It’s so bizarre that it’s almost like someone made the list of component requirements that doesn’t understand the components at all. 4K 60 FPS you need at minimum a 4080 or a 6800 XT. Only problem with these are they are no where close to comparable. And 24gb RAM 🤣.

Reviews for Forspoken starting to trickle in.



The IGN reviewer beat the game in 15 hours....which is shockingly short for a AAA RPG.

From what I've read so far the verdict is wait a year and get it on sale assuming they patch it up and fix it first.

I love the game Banished. It is a beautifully soothing game to play. I pulled up an old campaign and just let it run on 10X speed overnight. The village did surprisingly well maintaining itself.

For fun I decided to cut down all the trees around the village. Everyone died within a year.

It's funny they mention tech demo because this was a PS5 tech demo that was so well received they decided to cash in and try to make it a full game.

On Banished, have you tried the North mod?

I would say that wasn't very fun for the villagers :)

I have not. I'm not really good with that sort of thing. Is it easy to download or whatever you need to do?

If you have the game on Steam, you just hit "subscribe" from the workshop. If you don't like it, unscribe and it is gone.

I’ve been wrong before but it does seem there should be more hype as it’s a 1H release. I would not be surprised if it gets pushed but let’s hope not

Pardon my ignorance, but what is '1H'?

First half

Actually, don't do that. The version on Steam is bugged, and you have to download it from the creators site. Very fustrating, because the mention here gave me the itch to try it. Started two games, and no matter what I try the villagers won't build anything. Then I discovered others reporting the same thing. Grrrr..

Can anyone recommend a good iphone game that might keep me occupied during airport / flight time?

Have you looked at the Kairosoft "X Story" games? Like Grandprix Story, etcetera.

Marvel Snap, Diablo Immortal

I think FM Mobile is available for iphone.

Snap is great


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80 days, Rival Stars College football, and then there is retro bowl. It is my personal all time favorite mobile game.

Thanks for the recommendations. I forgot all about 80 Days. Had on my PC but iPhone seems like a better platform for it.

Hogwarts Legacy reviews drop tomorrow. Hope they are great or ‘almost there’.

One of the guys I follow on Twitter posted all the review score he could find:


Hogwarts Legacy - Official Review Scores:


PSU - 10 IGN - 9 XboxEra - 9 PowerUp - 9 Well Played - 9 Gamerant - 4.5/5 Pushsquare - 8 VGC - 4/5 ACG -



Buy Metacritic - 86 https://metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/hogwarts-legacy Opencritic - 85


Opencritic - 85 https://opencritic.com/game/13898/hog


I have to say I'm surprised that they are all so good given the hatred of many people towards Rowling on trans and other issues. The Yogscast has some trans members and I think some or all of them will not be playing it and wish people don't.

Maybe a negative troll attack will come, but it seems like a lot more a right-wing thing. They can rally a bunch of other trolls to post reviews that say "woke" as many times as they can. Trans supporters are more "just don't buy" rallying cry. I suspect it will hurt the sales, but just marginally. It is just too big an IP, and there are many people that love HP that don't follow all the social media.

For me, being gay, it did give me pause about whether I wanted to support the game. What I've read about Rowling's presence in the game is that she is not involved with it other than making money off the sales. I like that the game does not include any of the modern-day HP characters (I think-still working my way through the books). So its in its own way, a new game and world. I would love to see some trans/gay/lesbian characters in the game, but we shall see.

I'm an ally, but the way I feel is I'm not going to let that evil harpy take something a way from me that I love.

It looks like Early Access opens tomorrow morning. I have to work, but I will be firing it up once I get home.

Thanks for the initial review ratings. Glad they are positive

I'm seeing some reports that the PC version specifically has some performance issues.

That doesn't surprise me. Did you see the requirements for max settings?

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In progress review by PCGamer and I’m liking what I’ve read. Large world to explore.

Hopefully my i7 12th gen iGPU will work on min settings

I think you are going to be ok. On the console the highest setting is only getting 30 fps and they said it drops frames lower than that at times. But on m id settings it is smooth with no drops.

I havent read much on it. Is this an MMORPG or a pokemon go type game?

Neither. It is a open world single player game set in the HP universe a couple hundred years ago.

Well, I guess this is the verdict:

Some news: Marvel's Midnight Suns was a critical success but a commercial flop. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told me in an interview this afternoon that "it's possible the release window wasn't perfect" but that he thinks it could have a long tail, like other Firaxis games

— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) February 6, 2023

I'm still playing (and loving) Midnight Suns. 55 hours in, still on Act 2. I really hope there is a sequel, but if not I'll just be happy to have had this gem.

I figured that may be the case when they slashed the price of the game fairly early.

I should probably get the game, I love X-Com 2 and I'm a casual fan of Marvel (ie I watched most of the MCU up to End Game). But there's just been so many other games to play. Right now I'm working my way through Wasteland 3. Not to mention all the games in my backlog. I can't justify spending $60 on a game that will be $20 in a year or so.

I agree. I am really enjoying it, too. The game play is fun, the writing is actually really good, and I am digging the story. I, too, just started Act 2 and have sunk many hours into it.

I'm not a Harry Potter fan and I don't really know much of all about it, but my 1 hour review of Hogwarts is it's outstanding. The attention to detail, the voice acting, the production values, everything looks and feels great so far.

I feel no conncetion with Marvek, so I am constantly skipping any and all plot/dialog/cutscenes and I am still enjoying myself.

Looks like there's a Nintendo Direct tomorrow.

All aboard the Zelda hype train!

Played a couple of hours, and completely agree. As far as performance, I used the recommended detected settings (Ultra, 4k, no Ray tracing) except I bumped it up to 120fps. Runs smooth with no stuttering at all so far. Just scratched the surface of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, but the the map seems huge.
BTW, the proprietor of the Three Brooms Sticks is a Trans-Woman. Bit of a thumb of the nose at Ms. Rowling.

I doubt Ms Rowling even cares.

When you’re richer than the UK monarchy (I think I read that somewhere?), no you don’t give a crap

I mean, why would JK Rowling care about a trans-gender business person?

I doubt she cares about anyone other than family and $100m+

I will eventually buy this game for myself on PC (holding out hope it hits gamepass or epic gives it away for free next Christmas), but what I played helping my son do harder fights on the XBox I can say the game is outstanding.

Especially a fictional one at that.

Hogwarts Legacy sets a concurrent viewers record on Twitch

It's outstanding. Probably the closest thing to witcher 3 and red dead 2 as far making a world that feels active and alive.

The 85 or so it has on metacritic is underselling it a bit imo. This should easily be on the shortlist for game of the year and based on last year I would have put it 2nd to Eldin Ring.

My wife has no interest in video games but loves the Harry Potter books and movies has commented several times on how good it looks and the great job they did creating Higwarts.

yeah, I entered about a gazillion giveaways for it, so hoping I get lucky soon.


I saw today that it is second behind Cyberpunk 2077 for concurrent players on Steam and this was just the early access.

DLSS 3.0 out for Cyberpunk and the hype behind Hogwarts has me thinking about hibernating for awhile. Time to put this 4090 through its paces.

You made me check for an update to my video drivers, and low and behold there was one from yesterday. After the update, the recommended for HP:Legacy went up to two of three Ray-tracing settings. Made a difference.

The world is really amazing. Sometimes I just stop and just take in how deep the details are. Just a beautiful game. Combat is fun, and yet not over my poor abilities. The story so far is excellent as well.

My only minor quibble, time passes as you go yet you seem to never get tired. At night, Hogwarts just becomes a ghost-town (literally. You only see ghost about) yet the dorms are also empty. I feel like there needs to be some kind of rest mechanic.

As a function of my limited game-playing time, I'm still working on Red Dead Redemption II. I just started the 4th chapter of the game (Saint Denis), and I'm still having fun. I mostly just goof around and see what misadventures I can get into, but sometimes I focus on moving the storyline along. Anyhow, yesterday as I was winding down my session before the Super Bowl, I ran across a Ku Klux Klan initiation ceremony. It was fun heaving a stick of dynamite into the works and then shooting the survivors of the blast. Such a great game.

My older child likes to make fun of me when I accidentally shoot someone by hitting the wrong button (one trigger brings up the talk option, the other is the shoot button). The best instance of this was when, in an attempt to talk to a random man in the wilderness who was next to a fire, I accidentally hit the shoot button, and the poor fella fell face-first into the fire. After that, I've kinda made it a point to throw as many people into fires as possible. There's something satisfying about it.

Note to self: Do not go camping or attend any bonfires with Kodos...

It’s really good to know you guys are really happy with the game. Keep your opinions coming.

I'll bring marshmallows! They're so fun to roast!

I was just approved as a playtester for the alpha version of A More Perfect Union. I think a lot of folks here might be interested in this game. Basically, the idea of the game is that you control a faction within a political party. At that point, it is up to you to determine how your faction goes. It uses real politicians, and you have to shape them to how you feel is the best fit. They can become governors, members of congress, cabinet members, ambassadors, even Supreme Court justices, as well as president and VP. The link for the kickstarter is Just a moment....

I think I might start a dynasty thread about my faction, which should explain how the game goes. I was assigned the moderate Democrats, and the era I am playtesting is starting in 1928. My faction isn't super strong, but I do have a young Harry Truman in there, so perhaps I can get him back to the presidency.

Does sound like good game.

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I have to believe there will be Hogwarts DLCs. Maybe not planned right now, but has to happen.

Anyone know how good modding will be?

Modders are already working on a 6 person co-op play. I don't think it was particularly made Mod-friendly, but that won't stop them.

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Nice. Hopefully the mods will be on the level of Skyrim and Fallout stuff

Not sure if anyone remembers a game called Power Politics. I played it as a kid a lot and it sounds similar. Looking forward to seeing how this game turns out.

Diablo 4 Open Beta was announced for next month. Gameplay looks really good, they're taking the art style back to diablo 2, and it sounds like they've admitted that a lot of decisions made with Diablo 3 were mistakes.

Wandering Sword has been a fun demo so far. Feels like Octopath Traveler meets Jade Empire. No release date as of yet - just 2023.

I think the demo shuts off on the 28th. On Steam FWIW

I played the original Diablo when it came out decades ago. I don’t think I played much Diablo 2, but played Diablo 3 with some friends on the PS 4 and enjoyed it.

So, what are considered the changes/mistakes that were made in 3? I’m really just curious, since I’m looking forward to Diablo 4!

They eliminated a lot of choice and build variety in Diablo 3 while Diablo 4 is bringing back the skill trees and they're focusing on wanting each build to feel like it has its own identity rather than in D3 where every monk played like every other monk, every barbarian feeling like every other barbarian, ect.

In D3 the best in slot for pretty much everything was a unique. So it would hit a point where you really just ignored anything that wasn't a unique. They're reworking how affixes work on all tiers of items to make magic and rare items potentially useful into the late game. Plus, like in D2, items can drop with skills attached to them which could give you build defining items on any tier of item.

In D3 the only thing that mattered for a weapon was DPS. The higher DPS weapon was 99.9% of the time better. With the change to affixes that should change (wider range of potential stats), but they're also adding weapon speed to each drop. So every dagger doesn't have the same weapon speed, ect. So if you want to run an on-hit build you probably want the fastest hitting item with good DPS rather than the one that just does the most damage. Shields had a static block % in D3 while it's a random number for D4 so you have to weigh block % with the affix stats on a shield. More items choice and thought is always a good thing for these games.

Those are biggest changes from D3 that I remember seeing. The art going back to Diablo 1 and 2 style is great as well. The colorful Warcraft/Diablo hybrid we saw for D3 just didn't fit the game.

I'm also excited to see how the open world works and the psuedo-MMO approach with world bosses and such.

I played a lot of D3, but as POE improved over time I ended up spending more time in that. Blizzard makes great engines, but POE did loot, classes, builds, and nearly everything else better IMO. I'm hopeful D4 fixes a lot of the issues with D3.

So has anyone tried Pharaoh: A New Era?

I'm a big fan of the old Impression's City Building series. But the reviews seem to range from "Great" to "Buggy Mess".

Do any FOFCers have any impressions?

I haven't played it but Nookrium just did a 4-hour stream on YouTube. Seems just like I remember but with much better graphics

Thanks for this! Super helpful and interesting.

I think I played this game on a DEC PDP-11 (?) green screen that was dialed into Berkeley.

Will have to download and check out the ‘spiffed up’ graphics

This fan remake of a Star Trek text game from 1978 is way better than it has any right to be | PC Gamer

I love the Blood Bowl series of video games. But boy howdy am I down on recently released Blood Bowl 3.

First off is the usual server problems on a game's pre-release and release

Second, they got rid of a lot of singleplayer stuff because programming a difficult AI is apparently too hard (and to be fair, it is really complicated)

And most egregiously, the customization/monetization is the WORST I've seen.

Unlock most stores, where it features more of an unlock binary "you can't use it"/"You can use it" oin all of your players, spending warpstone (the meta-currency only allows you one copy of the item each time you purchase it.) So, want that helmet on your team's players? You're going to have to be purchasing 11+ copies of that helmet, (nearly $10 in Warpstone costs) and it counts only for that helmet. So, for a customized team, we're talking oh, about $50 or so (head/right and left hand, legs, chest, etcetera)

There's going to be a free and paid "Blood Pass" that will allow you to earn warpstone (at a yet unannounced rate), but man, I've never seen a game this rapacious on trying to nickle and dime you (or in this case, close to $1.50 per single use cosmetic) into spending

Thanks for that info. I was looking forward to BB3, but that is a definite no buy for me.

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Here's how blatant it is (to provide context, 1,000 warpstone is 9.99)



8 pages of Left Arm cosmetics. None of them free (so you have the race default and that's it). Some of them (again, just the LEFT FREAKING ARM) are 750 warpstone, or $7.50.

Okay, played it some. Not quite as good as I remembered but will keep on laptop for some mindless fun.