Summary

• 2023 is an exceptional year for the gaming industry, with unparalleled releases and a raised bar for quality games.
• Metroid Prime Remastered, Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are standout games that received 5-star reviews for their excellent design and innovation.
• Street Fighter 6, Final Fantasy 16, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Alan Wake 2 are also highly praised for their accessibility, gameplay depth, engaging stories, and immersive experiences.

2023 will go down in history as one of the best years the gaming industry has ever experienced. With the current generation of consoles in full swing for harnessing latent technological innovations, the only limitations this year felt like imagination - and developers are clearly not lacking in that department.

The quality of game releases in 2023 is unparalleled in modern memory. Just look at the games that didn't get scored 5/5: Baldur's Gate 3, Sea of Stars, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder all stand out as frontrunners of their genre not just for this year, but for the past five. The bar was definitely raised in 2023, and the debate over which games should take home a coveted perfect score was everywhere, as seemingly each month a new Game of the Year contender arrived (often unexpectedly).

With all of that said, there were several stellar releases that our reviewers fell in love with in 2023. Here's every 5-star game review published by Screen Rant this year in chronological order, including a few sleeper hits you'll want to check out if you haven't played them before:

Metroid Prime Remastered

Screen Rant's Review (originally published Feb. 11, 2023)

Metroid Prime Remastered was always likely to be good just based on its source material, but the release sured expectations. Rather than a delicate balance of give-and-take between original mechanics and innovations, Metroid Prime Remastered managed to preserve pretty much everything people loved about the original release and then added bonuses on top. Our review calls it "the definitive version of the classic" and that's held true in retrospect, with the game widely praised for its excellent design.

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC

Screen Rant's Review (originally published March 6, 2023)

Not that Dead Cells really needed any help - it's an immensely popular game in its own right and beloved by its players - but the Return to Castlevania DLC really cemented its status as an all-timer. Our review described it as "a cathartic experience akin to your favorite author reading you their favorite book," and there's really no better way to frame it - it's like a director's cut of new content. Crafted with reverence for Castlevania and the deft design Dead Cells is known for, it's a must-play for anyone who enjoys Metroidvanias.

While Dead Cells originally released in 2018, this DLC released a full five years later, qualifying it for our 2023 list of 5-star games.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Screen Rant's Review (originally published May 11, 2023)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was perhaps the most anticipated release of 2023, and it didn't disappoint. Following in the footsteps of the genre-redefining Breath of the Wild was a tall task, but the introduction of two new layers of the world map in the Sky Ruins and Chasm helped expand the range of options within the game. That, coupled with a more refined exploration and power system, helped maintain the stellar record of Switch era TLoZ games. Our review called it "a monumental achievement" and that's exactly what Tears of the Kingdom is, with modern design likely to riff on it as a means of inspiration for many years to come.

Street Fighter 6

Screen Rant's Review (originally published on May 30, 2023)

Street Fighter 6 is the latest entry in a storied fighting game franchise. While Street Fighter has never really faded away from the fighting game community, there's never been more competition - which meant it needed to establish an identity and a means of attracting players to try out its fairly robust, complex systems. Street Fighter 6 needed to be the most accessible entry in the franchise, and it was, with an incredible array of tutorials and control schemes that drew people in. Once they were there, SF6 didn't relent - our review says it still manages to deliver on "the depth and precise gameplay that pros expect," making it a success for all comers.

Final Fantasy 16

Screen Rant's Review (originally published June 21, 2023)

Following the divisive Final Fantasy 15 (and, arguably, the much longer shadow of the excellent Final Fantasy 14), Final Fantasy 16 establishes itself quickly as a grittier, darker, and more action-oriented entry in the series. Building on the dynamic systems of FF15, FF16's combat is equal parts strategic and flashy, with an eye for aesthetic that makes it feel like watching an older Final Fantasy's cutscene despite playing it out in real time. Perhaps the most understated element of Final Fantasy 16 is its excellent story, which creates an engaging world and side characters who feel like they really matter. Our review summarizes it best: featuring "an incredible score, an enthralling story, and an eccentric and electric gameplay approach, Final Fantasy 16 is, quite simply, a modern masterpiece."

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Screen Rant's Review (originally published Oct. 16, 2023)

One of two late arrivals to Screen Rant's 5/5 game reviews in 2023, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 follows developer Insomniac Games' electric take on the webhead's universe and expands on it in an enthralling manner. Following both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as the two Spider-men see their stories intersect and diverge in exciting ways, the story of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a vast improvement on its predecessor. That's to say nothing of just how good the combat in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is, with cinematic and dramatic boss fights peppered into a world that just begs to be explored. Our review states that the "gameplay is singularly engaging, varied, and inventive, constantly rewarding the player," and we couldn't agree more - Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a game that simply gets better the more you play it.

Alan Wake 2

Screen Rant's Review (originally published Oct. 26, 2023)

The back half of October turned out to be one of the most important two weeks in 2023 for video games - almost immediately after Marvel's Spider-Man 2 captivated audiences with its comic book action, Alan Wake 2 arrived to engage players in a moody, cinematic masterpiece of horror and intrigue. The follow-up to cult classic Alan Wake, Alan Wake 2 features a multi-character narrative with a penchant for frightening those who explore its mysteries deeply.

It's also more evidence that developer Remedy Entertainment is, perhaps, the best studio in the world right now at creating its own game universe - Alan Wake 2's ties to other Remedy games just make it more interesting without taking away from its contained story. Our review goes so far as to say that the game is "Remedy's magnum opus," which may be true for now - but the sky is the limit for a studio with this kind of talent in place.