Action-adventure games bring us thrills and chills through our controllers and keyboards. A good action-adventure game engages us with smooth combat, often fast-paced storytelling, and fantastic art styles. The best of them bring both flash and substance. When you’re looking for a good time, boot up one of your favorite action-adventure games and settle in for hours of bombastic entertainment.
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2023 wasn’t just a great year for games, it was a particularly great year for action-adventure games. Whether you were swinging through the streets of New York or wielding a lightsaber against the Empire, heroics were at an all-time high this year. We saw franchises elevate their work to new heights, while newcomers impressed with unique ideas and strong execution. Together, franchises old and new made this a memorable year for the action-adventure game genre.
10Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Go-Go Graffiti
The soundtrack forBomb Rush Cyberfunkis one you may jam out to for a long time! It’s memorable, distinct, and hard to resist. The animation in this game is also incredible. With grind rails absolutely everywhere, you can jet-boost and grind your way around the city in a graffiti-fueled frenzy.
The game drips personality, and its characters take center stage over the main story. The game’s level design is outstanding as you grind and slide your way around. Collectibles are everywhere, and finding them is an addictive pastime. If you like paint and a whole lot of personality, don’t overlook Bomb Rush Cyberfunk as one of 2023’s best games.
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Falling Into A Storybook
Ravenlokis a bright, youthful experience where you’ll explore a world that looks like something out of Alice in Wonderland. The story starts small in the modern world before the young protagonist is thrown into a new world filled with adventure. It’s a classic setup for those of you looking for a wonderful fairy tale experience.
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While it may not be the most challenging game, the laid-back atmosphere focuses on having a good time instead of a difficult one. This is a third-person adventure game that relies on its charm and charismatic art design. The consistent beauty of the setting makes for a memorable experience among this year’s many amazing titles.
8Assassin’s Creed Mirage
A Stealthy Success
Assassin’s Creed Mirageis a return to form for the franchise. Switching between weapons and fighting styles is satisfying. The slower and more deliberate combat is a welcome change from the more action-focused combat of recent entries. Likewise, the story is also more focused and linear than the recent games.
The bustling streets and quiet rooftops of the city feel alive.
Baghdad itself is the most impressive character in the game. The bustling streets and quiet rooftops of the city feel alive. The people in the streets feel natural, and stealthing out of sight is a satisfying experience. Having to rely on environmental traps to take out or distract enemies is a welcome change from the in-your-face approach of the most recent games.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
7Metroid Prime Remastered
Prime Perfection
Metroid Prime Remasteredis more than a basic remaster, but it’s not quite a remake. The updated controls make it feel modern, while the improvement to graphics allow it to go toe to toe with today’s Switch games. The mix of shooting and puzzles makes for a fantastic and varied experience that never lets you get too comfortable.
It’s a testament to the original game that the remaster is still something very special in 2023.
WhileMetroidis a solitary experience where you’re dropped onto a hostile planet, that planet’s environment is itself a character. Metroid Prime Remastered encourages you to get lost as you backtrack, explore, and progress. It’s a testament to the original game that the remaster is still something very special in 2023.
Metroid Prime Remastered
6Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
Escaping The Past
Kiryu is back inThe Man Who Erased His Name, and the story is one you’ll want to experience. While this is a shorter entry in the Like A Dragon series, there’sno shortage of mini-games and side quests to enjoy. Combat is familiar but reinvigorated with the ability to choose between the classic brawler style of fighting and the techier agent style.
The main story will take you through twists and turns as Kiryu tries to live in the shadows and leave behind his former life. However, it would seem Kiryu’s legend and larger-than-life presence will never go unnoticed. The Man Who Erased His Name’s engaging story and zany mini-gamesare part of why I gave it an 8.2/10.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
WHERE TO PLAY
5Hi-Fi Rush
Feel The Beat
The fusion of rhythm and action withinHi-Fi Rushmakes every encounter a joy akin to jamming out with your favorite band. It’s full of flash and heart as the story (which is great) takes a backseat to the fantastic characters you will get to know during your time with the game.
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It’s been a storied year for gaming.
Every inch of this game is imbued with cool. When you look closely,there’s rhythm and music everywhere. The attention to detail is stunning, and the animation harkens back to some of our favorite cartoons growing up. When it’s all said and done, this bombastic adventure will capture your attention and your heart.
Hi-Fi Rush
4Armored Core 6: The Fires Of Rubicon
The Fires Of Fun
Armored Core 6is the triumphant return of a classic franchise, and it’s absolutely fantastic. With incredible mission variety and vicious boss fights, this is a game meant to challenge its players in a way that’s completely different from the Souls formula. Flashy combat is an absolute spectacle that makes every encounter feel epic.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of Armored Core 6 is the mech customization. There’s a lot to juggle as you consider firepower, weight, energy efficiency, and speed. But all of that is part of the fun. you may make the mech you want to make and take it into battle to see how it handles. Whether you decide to make a speedy shooter or an absolute juggernaut, how you approach missions and combat is completely up to you.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
3Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
The Force Is Strong With This One
Star Wars Jedi: Survivortakes everything we loved about the first game and turns it up several notches. The combat is smooth and varied. The addition of two new lightsaber stances makes combat feel distinct from the first game.Having Cal start the second game with all of his abilitiesfromFallen Orderwas a pleasant surprise. It truly feels like Cal has ascended to knighthood, and us along with him.
Survivor isn’t just one of the best action games of the year, but one of the best Star Wars games ever made.
While the story may feel less organized than the first one, it’s also a more expansive story with significant character growth. Survivor isn’t just one of the best action-adventure games of the year, but one of the best Star Wars games ever made. In fact, our reviewer,Jeff BrooksgaveStar Wars Jedi: Survivor an 8.9/10. It’s no surprise that Survivor took 20% of our vote for Action-Adventure Game of the Year.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
2Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
A Perfectly Spun Web
It would have been easy forMarvel’s Spider-Man 2to deliver a standard sequel with minor improvements. They didn’t. They revisited and reworked their entire movement system. With faster swinging, web gliding, and a bunch of new ways to launch yourself into the air, fast travel almost feels like an unnecessary feature. Combat has also never felt better. The addition of parrying and Symbiote Surge bring the excitement of taking on large groups of enemies to new heights.
Insomniac put their own spin on the Venom story, and to say it worked would be an understatement. The inner struggle of Peter with the Symbiote suit feels so relatable. The turmoil and desire to be more, to be enough, especially when stretched in so many directions, is very relatable. That’s part of whyI gave the game a perfect score in my review, and a big part of why it took a sizable 50% of our vote. Swinging and slinging has never felt so good.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
1The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
The Only Limit Is Your Imagination
Tears of the Kingdomis pure magic, and playing it is bound to be one of the best gaming experiences you’ll ever have. The ability to dive from the highest sky island down to the deepest depths without a load screen (and on the Switch) is truly impressive. It isn’t often that a game has other developers scratching their heads and asking how such a game even exists.
It isn’t often that a game has other developers scratching their heads and asking how such a game even exists.
Among the game’s many triumphs is the ability to construct anything you put your mind to. People have made vehicles, mechs, andKorok torture devices. On top of all of that, you have a story that stands taller thanmany of the previous Zelda games. It’s no surprise our reviewer, Jeff Brooks,gave the game a perfect score. It’s also no surprise that it took a whopping 80% of our votes for Action-Adventure Game of the Year. Every pixel of this game oozes creativity. Whether you’ve put 100 hours into it or haven’t even started yet, you should probably just go play it right now. You never know what you’ll find over that next ridge.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
DualShockers Definitives: 10 Hardest Games Of 2023
2023 was a year full of unforgettable titles, some of which were more challenging than others. Here are the hardest games of the year.
