The 20 Best Video Games of 2023 So Far

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – June 29, 2023

Which videogames impressed critics during the first half of the year? In the gallery on this page we rank the highest-scoring games released between January 1, 2023 and June 30, 2023. Titles are ranked by their Metascores (prior to rounding) as of June 28, 2023 and must have a minimum of 7 reviews from professional critics to be eligible for inclusion.

Note that ...

If a game was released on multiple platforms, we included only the version receiving the largest total number of reviews (usually, but not always, the PS5 or PS4 version).

Multi-game compilations and newly released ports of games released in recent years on other platforms are excluded, unless they are substantially different from the prior release(s) (for example, an HD remaster that also adds some new content or is multiple hardware generations beyond the previous release). We have also excluded expansion packs and other DLC.

1 of 21 photo by Iceberg Interactive

83DOOMBLADE (PC)

(#20) An indie 2D Metroidvania from the Finnish studio behind the Shadow Bug series, the PC-exclusive Doomblade traces the journey shared by the solitary Gloom Girl and a formerly trapped sentient weapon who seeks revenge against its captors. Cute and cozy it's not, but critics enjoy its fast-paced action.

“Doomblade is an incredible action-fest through a lively but broken underground world, and while one of its final major encounters is almost painfully non-fun, the journey there is irresistibly engaging from start to almost-finish.” —Hardcore Gamer

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