Given how great 2023 was for game releases, there are undoubtedly some games that you missed. Looking past the major releases like Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Starfield, and Resident Evil 4, there were many titles released within the AA and indie space that may have flown under your radar. Below, we will highlight four titles that we reckon are well worth a second look if they passed you by the first time.
The Gap: The Best of the Mindf**k Games That You Missed Last Year
The Gap is a set in the future and follow a man called Joshua who is suffering from a degenerative illness which he must find a cure for. He is a neuroscientist, having dedicated his life to understanding the depths of the human mind. In his quest to find a cure for his illness, he manages to access an alternate reality in the hope that it will hold the answers he seeks. However, entering that alternate reality comes with its own set of risks that end up taking their toll on our protagonist.
If you are into high-concept sci-fi and don’t mind a story littered with existential angst and psychological turmoil, then The Gap is definitely worth checking out. I loved how the player’s perspective shifts as the game progresses. You go from rooting for Joshua and his endeavor, to wondering if he is an unreliable narrator, then back to feeling sympathy for him, given the effect his quest is having on his mind.
Above all else, I love a great story, and The Gap manages to deliver a layered, captivating one in a relatively short amount of time. This game packs a great deal into its short runtime, but never feels bloated or rushed. It demands the player to remain switched on throughout and respects you as an individual with a working brain rather than talking down to the audience.
Given the fact that this wasn’t a major AAA release, it is also impressive how good this game looks six months after its release. The crisp, futuristic art style combines with the graphical fidelity to provide a visual feast that is striking and distinct. This look carries across the three separate decades that the game takes place across, taking players from the 2020s all the way through to the 2040s in a nonlinear fashion utilizing flashbacks.
I also appreciated the high personal stakes that the game presents. Having the protagonist’s seemingly mundane interactions with his family members become such a vital part of unravelling the game’s complex narrative is so effective and really tugs at the heartstrings of the audience in a way that doesn’t feel cheap or cliché, but clever and well thought out.
I also really liked the puzzles present in the game, and as someone who normally doesn’t have the patience for puzzle games, this means a lot. If The Gap is one of the games that you missed when it released last year, then I would highly recommend revisiting it.
El Paso, Elsewhere: The Best of the Max Payne Clone Games That You Missed Last Year
El Paso, Elsewhere presents a captivating experience that feels both familiar and fresh. It spins a narrative that tells of vampire hunting and romantic tragedy within a surreal setting. As the player falls deeper into the madness of the game, gateways to other realms are opened and reality itself begins to unravel. Despite this, our vampire killing protagonist James Savage continues on his macabre quest to kill his former lover.
Voiced by the game’s writer and director, Xalavier Nelson Jr, Savage is a hard boiled combination of Max Payne and John Constantine. His deadly ex Draculae, AKA Janet Drake, wants to unleash an army of monsters to plunge the world into violent chaos. The player’s job is to fight through hordes of vampires, werewolves, and the undead to put a stop to Janet’s apocalyptic plan.
This is probably the most stylized title that you missed when it released last year. It is a single-player, third-person shooter that’s main draw is its surreal visual flair and poetically told narrative. Beyond those elements, the combat plays out in a style similar to that of the PS2-era Max Payne games, with lots of slow motion diving and dual-wielding weapons.
The game gifts players with a pretty well-rounded arsenal of weapons and plenty of ammo to dispatch the creepy waves of enemies baying for Savage’s blood. The whole thing is accompanied by an original soundtrack made up of electronic music and hip hop beats that marry well with the trippy, adrenaline-pumping action unfolding onscreen. Xalavier Nelson Jr himself even raps on a couple of the tracks.
The game’s script is also pretty memorable, with the dialogue weaving together unexpectedly deep themes of love, loss, and redemption, like a Shakespeare writing with a neon vape in his other hand. Through the dramatic monologues and poignant words being spoken, the complex, toxic relationship between Savage and Draculae is explored, adding a melancholy emotional resonance to the carnage playing out.
Weirdly enough, even though the art style in El Paso, Elsewhere is reminiscent of a PS1 demake, there is something extremely cinematic about the game’s cutscenes. This is mostly owed to the engaging camera work and stellar voice acting on display. If you enjoy an experience that contains both ball-to-the-wall action and romantic depth and El Paso, Elsewhere is one of the games that you missed last year, then you should definitely check it out.
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle: The Best of the Resident Evil Clone Games That You Missed Last Year
After watching some gameplay from this title, it may not come as a huge surprise that Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle actually started life as an unofficial remake of Resident Evil 2, despite the fact that it also serves as a prequel to Daymare: 1998. When Capcom announced that it would be developing an official RE2 remake, this game was reshaped into Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle.
However, it is much more than just a dollar store version of Capcom’s iconic zombie series. If you are a fan of third-person shooters and survival horror, then there is a lot to like here. It may not be quite as polished as the recent Resident Evil remakes, or the newest version of Dead Space, but it has a certain AA charm to it that makes it worth experiencing.
The game has players take control of Dalila Reyes, an ex-marine technician and elite agent of the special unit H.A.D.E.S. She is tasked with investigating a mysterious incident in Nevada, involving the unravelling of top-secret government plans. These classified federal operations involve everything from hidden research facilities conducting ethically questionable experiments, to the cover up of hostile otherworldly phenomena.
Although most of the gameplay systems will feel familiar to fans of recent Resident Evil titles, such as the health mechanics, item inventory, saving methods, and quick-time events, the major differing factor here is the weapon variety in the game. Instead of having an arsenal of guns in your back pocket at any given time, there are only two firearms present in Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle.
Although only allowing players to use either a shotgun or a submachine gun sound limiting initially, it makes sense when the game’s other unique mechanic is brought into play; the Frost Grip. This device weaponizes liquid nitrogen, allowing you to dispatch enemies by freezing them with the Frost Grip before shattering them into pieces with conventional weapons.
The game also features engaging puzzles that reward exploration with upgrades. Whether you are a Resident Evil fan or not, Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle is worth revisiting if it is one of the games that you missed last year.
Atlas Fallen: The Best of the Darksiders Clone Games That You Missed Last Year
What do you get when you take a developer accustomed to creating pretty hardcore Soulslike experiences and ask them to craft something closer in nature to a Darksiders game? The answer is a pretty decent fantasy action/adventure game called Atlas Fallen that comes packed with fun traversal options and some pretty visuals to boot.
The game allows you to create your own character and level them up RPG style, offering both cosmetic upgrades as well perks that affect gameplay scenarios. It takes place in a vast, desert world where you work with an enigmatic character called Nyaal to get to grips with the desolate open world and embark on an intriguing adventure filled with everything from class-based social warfare to ancient secrets never meant to be uncovered.
Between immersive voice acting and neat environmental storytelling, Atlas Fallen paints a detailed picture of a world that has greatly fallen from its former glory. You can also play through this experience along with a friend as the game allows for some pretty instinctive co-op options, allowing fellow party members to hop in and out on a whim.
The fast-paced combat system makes enemy encounters consistently fun. The Darksiders influence becomes particularly apparent during these combat sections, however that is a pretty favorable comparison in my eyes. The satisfying combo-based hack-n-slash action is a joy to behold and even allows for some experimentation in terms of playstyles once the basics have been mastered.
From the gorgeous lighting system, to surprisingly high fidelity particle effects, the visual identity of Atlas Fallen is strong. Whether you are fighting in a high-stakes, life or death battle, or just casually surfing the sand dunes of the game’s open world, the game is very appealing to look at.
These stunning visuals, paired with the fluid combat gameplay, vast customization options, and dynamic voice acting, make Atlas Fallen a title very much worth revisiting if it is one of the games that you missed last year. And best of all, it isn’t a Soulslike!
Were There Any Other Games That You Missed In 2023?
2023 was a stacked year for games, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you read through this list and wondered where your favourite underrated game from last year is. If that is the case, please do let us know in the comments section down below. Let’s hope that the latter half of 2024 can make up for the fairly sparse first half of the year and maybe even hold a candle to the madness that was 2023.
