Twice in the past week, I have written about games on their tenth birthday. Something about the round number makes it so much more satisfying to write about than a game turning eight or four or 27. I find it's a good way to get the creative juices flowing, to look at games with upcoming anniversaries and either write in tribute to them, or have them spur on a broader idea that connects to a new release, a modern trend, or just adds the last piece of the puzzle to an idea that has been lodged in your brain unthought. 2023 brings with it a lot of anniversaries, and I can't wait to write about them all.
Here at TheGamer we've been cataloguing these anniversaries in anticipation for a while. Whether you're after shooters, RPGs, strategy titles, puzzlers, platformers, horror adventures, or just games that are plain old great, we've got a list of which ones are turning ten. There are far too many for one person to write about, even a genius like myself, and that's before you consider games that are five, 15, and 20 - all acceptable numbers, not like those games turning 12, ick. However, after taking a quick perusal, I'm already looking ahead to next year for all the games I'll get to big up when the big one-oh rolls around.
Saints Row 4 is turning ten this year, and I am a major SR4 apologist. After the debacle of the reboot and a severe lack of silly games that stick the landing these days, I think history may look kinder on Saints Row 4 as it hits the major landmark. BioShock: Infinite, however, will look worse in the cold light of day. Hailed at the time as the first game to really be art, whatever that means, the Citizen Kane of gaming has a thudding narrative with generic themes and loosely explained twists. Compared to modern games, which still have a way to go in their quest for maturity, BioShock: Infinite is B-level at best. Groundbreaking, but not timeless.
Rayman Legends, the best platformer of the past ten years, only has one year left with that title until it becomes too old to qualify. Then there's Fire Emblem: Awakening, which walked so Three Houses could run, as well as Pokemon X & Y, which like Saints Row 4 is due for a revisit. Papers, Please is also ten in 2023, and with the world growing ever bleaker and the plight of refugees even more of a hot button issue, it's more relevant now than it ever has been. An extremely depressing realisation. There's also the tiny matter of The Last of Us turning ten. You may have heard of it.
In fact, several huge games launched in 2013. As well as TLOU, we had GTA 5, the Tomb Raider reboot, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Gone Home, and The Wolf Among Us. Aliens: Colonial Marines is ten too, but I won't be writing about that and neither should anybody else.
Some older titles are in line for a write-up too. The likes of GTA 4, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Fallout 3, and Mirror's Edge are all turning 15. Gaming is a younger medium, so the further out you get, the fewer games we have in our history, but knowing we're already 20 years out from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Simpsons: Hit & Run makes me feel ancient. That it has been 25 years since Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Parasite Eve is even worse. Of course, we can also look closer to the present to wonder where the time went. God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Celeste are all turning five in 2023.
2023 is a big year for milestones, and with so many games to celebrate, I'll probably have something new to say about something old every week. There are some major games coming out too, as well as plenty of surprises still waiting in the tall grass of 2023, but it will be a year to look backwards as much as a year to peer forwards at the horizon.