This year 2023, PlayStation players were once again able to discover a wide variety of beautiful productions in very different genres. Here are ten games that made the community's hearts beat faster on the console. And be careful, we're not just talking about the excluded here.
Summary
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- Wo Long: The Fallen Dynasty
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Street Fighter 6
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Resident Evil 4 (2023)
- Hogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy
- Season: A letter to the future
- Alan Wake 2
Marvel's Spider-Man 2
The PlayStation 5 exclusive we probably remember most this 2023 is Marvel's Spider-Man 2. New part of the flagship saga that brings together our two favorite protagonists Peter Parker and Miles Morales. A clever way to combine the extraordinary skills of these two characters in an adventure that, while not confusing, never ceases to amaze. Just walking through New York between two big confrontations with our little cobwebs is a real pleasure. On Metacritic the title inherits the very good average of 90/100. At JV it's a nice 17/20. We love the smoother and more dynamic exploration than ever before, the even more successful staging or even the dark Spider-Man, who is wonderful to deal with.
Spider-Man 2 is a very successful mainstream blockbuster that will easily delight fans of the license. The adventure is more explosive than ever, with some truly impressive technology, a New York twice as large as before and even more in-depth side missions. – Excerpt from our test of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on PS5
Watch Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on Carrefour
Wo Long: The Fallen Dynasty
In the large family of games for the bravest, a genre that has been very popular in recent years, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty delighted fans in 2023. The brand new game from Team Ninja, the creators of Nioh, produced by Masaaki Yamagiwa (Bloodborne), takes us into the heart of feudal China as a nameless warrior. We discover the Han Dynasty in chaos as a powerful artifact gives warlords crazy ideas. On JV the game has a very good rating of 17/20. We loved the great sensations, the “infiltration” aspect and the often successful atmosphere. On Metacritic, the game has an average score of 81/100.
After Nioh, Team Ninja once again proves their great mastery of the action RPG with Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. Sure, the copy isn't perfect (bestiary not provided enough, rather disappointing endgame, side missions that repeat areas already visited), but the gameplay is so solid that we're willing to excuse almost everything – excerpt from our Woolong Fallen Dynasty review on PS5
Baldur's Gate 3
It's probably the game of the year for every platform it exists on. Baldur's Gate 3 won GOTY at the Game Awards and no one will be able to say that it is stolen. The PC game also benefits from an excellent port on the Sony device: “Baldur's Gate III on PlayStation 5 is identical in some details to the PC version, which already included a user interface and controls aimed at eager adventurers who “You want to enjoy the game with a controller in your hand and not with a keyboard and mouse,” wrote our journalist Jay on this topic. For us the game is entitled to an excellent score of 19/20. We love its unique adventure and its thousands of different endings, its faithful adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons and its universe of untold richness. On PS5, it takes over the Metacritic average of 96.
Baldur's Gate 3 on PlayStation 5 is in no way inferior to Baldur's Gate 3 on PC. Larian Studios didn't sacrifice its RPG to run on the Sony console. This RPG retains all the content of the PC version (even split-screen local collaboration) and offers an optimal controller experience. BG3's few flaws are still there (especially the “pad” interface), but otherwise it's flawless – conclusion of our test of Baldur's Gate 3 on PS5
Watch Baldur's Gate 3 on GOG
Final Fantasy XVI
With an excellent score of 87 for the PS5 version on Metacritic, Final Fantasy XVI represents the long-awaited action-RPG turning point in the license. A title that, according to our journalist xsable, “delivers spectacular battles full of possibilities thanks to the powers of the Primordials”. The game is entitled to a very good 17/20 in our columns, thanks in particular to an easy-to-learn gameplay but rich in possibilities but also entertaining abilities with impressive animations and a staging of boss fights and spectacular primals.
Final Fantasy XVI is a title with an intriguing offering that is unfortunately marred by certain aspects. The game takes the action even further than its predecessor and offers spectacular battles full of possibilities thanks to the powers of the Primordials. These clashes have all the more impact because they take place within an exciting story and a fully developed and believable universe – excerpt from our Final Fantasy XVI test on PS5
Watch Final Fantasy XVI on Fnac
Street Fighter 6
fighting game monument, Street Fighter came back in great shape and presented us with a new installment that was unanimously celebrated, especially in terms of accessibility, but also fun with a modern and fresh single player mode in semi-open world and its super dynamic multiplayer mode. The rap atmosphere has it all, the animations are super fluid and the high quality production makes us forget a scenario without much interest. And then we also appreciate the detailed and vivid combat environments. The game received a good rating of 18/20 on JV and a score of 92 on Metacritic.
Expected like the Messiah by all fighting game enthusiasts, Street Fighter 6 manages to make us forget its predecessor thanks to a multitude of strengths. The appearance of a single-player mode will delight all newcomers looking to get into the franchise and those curious looking for an open world in a fighting game – excerpt from our Street Fighter VI test on PS5
See Street Fighter 6 on Amazon
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the continuation of the adventures of our good Cal Kestis and his adorable droid BD-1, five years after the events of Star Wars Fallen Order. Our charming young man is now an accomplished Jedi and is still trying to survive in the far corners of the galaxy. In this adventure he must once again face the henchmen of the Galactic Empire. In JV the game received a nice score of 17/20. What we like most about this action-adventure game is the solid technology, the very nice staging, the sense of the grandiose and epic, the touching side of the writing and the design of open areas. On Metacritic, the game inherits the average of 85 on PS5.
With Jedi Survivor, Respawn-Electronic Arts takes us into a real Star Wars adventure. The atmosphere and majesty of the settings change at the speed of light thanks to the use of ray tracing and the power of the PS5/Xbox series generation. The open areas are really pleasant to navigate and never fall into simple abundance – excerpt from our review of Star Wars Jedi Survivor on PS5
Check out the game Star Wars Jedi: Survivors for €54.69 on Amazon
Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Rated 18/20 in our columns, the excellent new version of Resident Evil 4 has been treated to truly refined gameplay. including some truly edgy, exciting thrills and art direction that hits the mark. We also note that the remake is often very beautiful and, above all, contains many small details, that it benefits from a still equally solid replay value, a rhythm and a better controlled scenario, but also a satisfactory lifespan. For all these good reasons, the game is entitled to a score of 93 on Metacritic.
No doubt about it: Resident Evil 4 Remake is simply an excellent horror action game and Capcom proves for the umpteenth time its ability to produce a controlled adventure with exemplary workmanship. The original game's foundations couldn't have been more solid, but the company was able to modernize everything to make the adventure more immersive, deeper into its gaming systems and even more exciting – test excerpt from Resident Evil 4 on PS5
Buy Resident Evil 4 Remake at a discount on Amazon
Hogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy
Coming out at the beginning of the year, Hogwart Legacy was simply the ultimate adventure for all fans of the license, who can finally embody a personalized wizard from A to Z in an open world full of magic and good feelings. The game is full of surprisingly good ideas and also has a very good longevity. Quick reminder of context: It's 1890 and you, as a student, find yourself in the middle of a goblin uprising that will motivate your main quest, which you sometimes want to get rid of to be able to enjoy the multitude of side quests.
What an adventure ! Hogwarts Legacy is definitely the game that all Harry Potter fans have been waiting for. Beautiful, vibrant, exciting and surprising, it is bursting with passion and magic and is a real pleasure to travel through. But that's not all ! With its very good ideas, its world just waiting to be explored, its art direction to die for and its combat system as addictive as it is magical, it is quite simply an excellent action and adventure game – review of Hogwarts Legacy on PS5
Check out Hogwarts Legacy on PS5, PS4, Xbox and Nintendo Switch at Carrefour
Season: A letter to the future
Now add a little poetry Season: A letter to the future, a very short and very relaxing narrative game. Overall, it is an atmospheric road trip that takes us out of time and whose beautiful panoramas exude a slightly mystical atmosphere that is striking. We also like the gallery of adorable characters and the super warm VF dubbing that sounds like a little candy.
A purely atmospheric experience, Season: A Letter to the Future is a little treat, a poetry about the passing years and their memories that strangely takes you completely out of time. A bicycle road trip with absolutely delightful encounters that benefits from excellent sound work. A must for lovers of short narrative experiences that we like to be carried away into – the conclusion of our seasonal test on PS5
Alan Wake 2
Thirteen years after a first episode that left a lasting impression, Remedy's psychological thriller is back, offering survival horror with a tighter narrative than ever before. “It is a game, a film, a book, an exhibition and a concert at the same time. In short, a unique, complex work in which we lost ourselves with great pleasure,” wrote our journalist Indee, who gave it the rating “very beautiful” Score: 17/20. The technology is excellent, as is the art direction, making it one of the most beautiful games of the year. This is an absolutely unique transmedia adventure that offers us two fascinating points of view: that of Alan and Saga, two remarkable heroes at the end of the year.
Alan Wake 2 is a completely unique adventure, an “author's game” that goes beyond the boundaries of video games… Here the Remedy studio appropriates all the art forms that it loves so much, moving from experiential video games to live action Film, from concert to photography. Clear prejudices that make up the entire appeal, but on the contrary can also be repulsive. In addition, this second episode as a video game is not without its flaws and we regret that jump scares are a bit too present and an open construction that quickly goes in circles. Otherwise, it is a remarkable adventure, if not unforgettable – conclusion of our test of Alan Wake 2
Check out Alan Wake Remastered on Amazon
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