In any other medium, a list of the year’s best offerings that was close to predominantly filled with sequels, spin-offs, and spiritual successors might sound warnings of an industry’s creative bankruptcy. Our list of the 25 best video games of 2023, though, signals just the opposite, with developers pushing familiar properties in exciting new directions.
Each and every one of the games below came as a surprise to us in one sense or another. Among those are a trippier-than-ever platformer that seeks to reconnect us to a wonderfully childlike sense of wonder; a self-referential horror sequel that uses tech innovations to rewrite its own rules as it goes; a role-playing game with writing so rich that we can’t wait to make more “bad” decisions; and a remake that feels like a genuine reimagining, driven by a need to retell a story as opposed to a way to cash in on nostalgia.
Each and every one of the games below came as a surprise to us in one sense or another. Among those are a trippier-than-ever platformer that seeks to reconnect us to a wonderfully childlike sense of wonder; a self-referential horror sequel that uses tech innovations to rewrite its own rules as it goes; a role-playing game with writing so rich that we can’t wait to make more “bad” decisions; and a remake that feels like a genuine reimagining, driven by a need to retell a story as opposed to a way to cash in on nostalgia.
- 12/4/2023
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
In Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson develops a soft spot for the pyrokinetic orphan Russell Collins, aka Firefist. Hilarious and terrifying, the teenage mutant is fueled by a seething desire to inflict pain on his abusers, and Deadpool is determined to stop him from becoming a murderer. The brotherly bond between Deadpool and Russell isn't limited to the big screen, though. Actor Ryan Reynolds also saw something in 15-year-old Julian Dennison after watching the New Zealander in his first major role.
Reynolds wanted to meet Dennison after seeing him star as protagonist Ricky Baker in Taika Waititi's 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople (pictured below). The movie is a comedy-drama about a defiant young boy from an inner-city neighborhood who moves to New Zealand's countryside. Besides receiving positive reviews, it also broke New Zealand box office records. Waititi himself isn't unfamiliar with the superhero world - in fact, he directed Marvel Studios...
Reynolds wanted to meet Dennison after seeing him star as protagonist Ricky Baker in Taika Waititi's 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople (pictured below). The movie is a comedy-drama about a defiant young boy from an inner-city neighborhood who moves to New Zealand's countryside. Besides receiving positive reviews, it also broke New Zealand box office records. Waititi himself isn't unfamiliar with the superhero world - in fact, he directed Marvel Studios...
- 5/23/2018
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
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