5. Hogwarts Legacy (Xbox Series X|S)

As you're likely aware, Hogwarts Legacy was one of the most controversial releases of the year for various reasons, chief among them being J.K. Rowling's position on transgender issues and the resulting heavy backlash.

The game itself is a huge RPG that gives wannabe wizards the chance to walk the halls of a stunning rendition of Hogwarts, to learn the art of magic, take part in classes and choose which house they belong to, before being unleashed upon an open world that delivers the goods when it comes to both story and action.

There's a surprisingly dark tale at points here, and you can tell every effort has been made to ensure avid Harry Potter fans have the requisite amount of deep lore, nods and winks to enjoy in a video game take on this franchise that gets the important bits just right.

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As we said all the way back in February;

"Avalanche Software has managed to deliver an absolutely fantastic open world adventure that will surely go down as comfortably the best game based on the Harry Potter franchise so far. If you've been following its progress for a while and were keeping your fingers crossed for good reviews, we're pleased to report that it's definitely been worth the wait."

4. Alan Wake 2 (Xbox Series X|S)

If you'd told us a few months back that we'd be singing the praises of Alan Wake 2 come year's end we may have found it quite hard to believe. The horror novelist's first outing is a cult classic, that much is not in doubt here, but it definitely left a little to be desired when it came to the overall quality of its traversal and combat mechanics.

Fast-forward to 2023 and Remedy has created a complex connected universe of people and places in its games, a universe that this super-stylish, extra slick and fully absorbing sequel slots into perfectly. With a swagger and conviction in its oddball world that matches that found in the outstanding Control, Alan Wake 2 sees this award-winning studio firing on all cylinders as it serves us up a survival horror masterpiece.

"Where Alan Wake was a very good idea executed with a few too many flaws, its sequel serves up a survival horror masterclass. Yes, the combat is still not 100% there, but this one slight misstep aside, what we've got with Alan Wake 2 is superlative stuff. This is an incredibly clever, refreshingly grown-up and wonderfully well-made slice of psychological horror."

3. Hi-Fi RUSH (Xbox Series X|S)

We're into the top three now and Tango Gameworks dropped an unexpected belter right back at the start of the year in the form of the incredible Hi-Fi RUSH.

A fabulous art style carries and accentuates slick rhythm-based combat here, combat that delighted both hardcore rhythm game fans and newcomers alike back in January. This fantastic explosion of colour and music illuminated the tail-end of winter and introduced us all to the highly likeable Chai as he grabbed his guitar and got stuck into bashing the hell out of a whole robots en route to saving the world. Oh yeah.

There's a great appreciation for alternative rock on display and, for a dev who we usually associate with the likes of The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo, it was a delightful surprise to see something so vibrant, colourful, youthful and NOT TERRIFYING. As we concluded in January;

"It's all about having a grand old time as Chai, alongside a bunch of highly likeable sidekicks and some well-designed bosses, keep the jokes and the fun coming. Your catalogue of slick guitar-swinging combos grows steadily as you progress through the game, it's incredibly moreish at its core and it doesn't hurt that it all looks and sounds so bloody fantastic from beginning to end."

2. Baldur's Gate 3 (Xbox Series X|S)

Controversial! We're at #2 now and it may not be the game that some of us were expecting here. Yes, Larian Studios might just have delivered what could well be the greatest RPG ever made, but that's not enough for you lot is it? It's never enough.

Baldur's Gate 3 is, quite simply, stunning. It's stunning in its acting, writing and world-building. It's stunning in its complexity, in its deep and rewarding combat, its choice-driven narrative and in its endless replayabilty. We knew this studio could pull it off, you only have to look to their back catalogue for ample proof, but to take a classic franchise like Baldur's Gate, to take all the weight of expectation and pull this sort of an effort out of the bag? It's genre-defining, once-in-a-generation stuff, honestly.

As we noted in our recent review;

"Returning to Baldur's Gate and successfully serving up the best entry in the series to date must have been an absolutely monumental task, but Larian Studios has managed it with style to spare. With top class combat, writing, acting and world-building hiding all of the terrifying intricacies of a refreshed D&D rulebook, letting us players just get on with the fun stuff, there really is no finer adventure to take in 2023. What an absolute belter, and a perfect way to wrap up this most problematic of years in the industry."

1. Starfield (Xbox Series X|S)

Yep. After a lengthy period of vote counting, calculating and rolling around on the ground full of mince pies, we've finally got ourselves a Pure Xbox Game of the Year for 2023!

Starfield may not have been exactly what everyone was expecting in many ways - such is the trouble with modern levels of pre-release hyperbole - but it absolutely gave us a great deal of what we personally wanted from Bethesda once that same hype died down. This is, for better or worse depending on your outlook, Skyrim in space rather than the great revolution some had promised.

That promised freedom, the freedom to traverse huge swathes of space, to blast off into the endless void and make our own adventures, absolutely hasn't come to fruition here, only a fool would tell you it has. However, whilst it doesn't reach the heights it set out for itself, there's still a fascinating world to explore, a classic slice of Bethesda RPG action that sucked us in and kept us fully absorbed for its entire duration.

Some may have found it a little too empty, a bit too disjointed and slow-moving, but we thoroughly enjoyed it as we stated in our review at the time;

"Starfield is an enormous space odyssey that serves up some incredibly evocative and engaging exploration, satisfying combat, and a narrative that had us hooked right to the end. Yes there are issues here with the usual jank, and some very messy and fiddly menus and interactions, but all of these problems feel minor when compared to everything this game gets right.

In a year that's been packed full of absolutely essential games, Starfield manages to sit right up top with some of the best of them. After all the hype and bluster, this is just a very, very good RPG and a game we'll be playing and replaying for a long time to come."

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Starfield Digital Premium Edition [UK/EU Download Code]
Starfield Digital Premium Edition [UK/EU Download Code]
Starfield Standard Edition [UK/EU Download Code]
Starfield Standard Edition [UK/EU Download Code]

So then, in the end Starfield has triumphed, and surely there really is no greater triumph for a game dev than the validation of the very people who fork out their money to sit down and enjoy video games. 2023 has been an incredible year for us gamers, a non-stop rollercoaster of top-notch experiences and, from all of those many fantastic titles, you've chosen Bethesda's space epic as your Pure Xbox Game of the Year 2023. Congratulations to Starfield and to everyone involved in crafting and creating such a fantastic experience!

All that's left now is for us to wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year and, at the end of an incredibly busy 2023, we'd also like to give a big shoutout to all of the devs of all of the games we've played this year. Life has been hard, cruel and incredibly unfair for so many people in 2023, we've seen so many great studios shuttered and fantastically talented people left unemployed over the past 12 months, and it's worth taking a moment to spare a thought for those who may not be entering into the festive season quite how they may have expected.

Merry Xmas, pals.