If you had told 80’s/90’s me that in my 40’s, I would still spend hours playing video games…I would assume you fell off your bike too many times. But here we are, 2023. I’ll be 45 this year, and I’m still looking forward to new video games.

Let’s take a look at the top 5 on my list for this year:

Hogwarts Legacy – (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) February 10

This one will not be a shocker to anybody that knows me. My username has been SnapeFantasy since the days of LiveJournal (for you youngins, that’s older than MySpace). I love the Harry Potter books and the world within them. It will be interesting to see Hogwarts in the 1800s and get to play a whole new story. I know there is controversy around this game. While I do not personally agree with Rowling’s views, the community that the book series created has done wonderful things over the years. I made several friends while beta reading fan fiction in the community, whom I am still friends with decades later.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) - May 26

I have not played any of the games in the Arkham series. None of the trailers or gameplay videos screamed, “You gotta play this game!!!” to me. I enjoyed both of the Suicide Squad films. Their soundtracks are great, and the movies are funny and just a good time. The trailer for this game promises everything you expect from Suicide Squad. A little cheese, a lot of humor, explosions, and the joy of being good at being bad.

What’s not to love?

Spider-Man 2 (PS5) TBA

This one is a no-brainer if you played Sony’s Spider-Man or Miles Morales. The stories are good, and the graphics are beautiful. Not much more to say.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage – (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Luna) TBA 

The 13th installment of Assassin's Creed gives us the backstory of Basim, who we met in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The game is set in Baghdad around 850-860 AD and appears to be more like the classic AC games than the more recent, open-world RPG-leaning ones. As much as I enjoyed the storylines in Odyssey and Valhalla, I prefer linear gameplay..so I’m excited about this title. This one can get a little intense at times so take a breather with freecell in between plays.

Skull and Bones – (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S) March 9 

Here there be pirates! Think Assassin’s Creed Black Flag meets MMO-style play. If you read my article on Ultima Online, you know I like a good MMO. I’m hoping to give this game a go with my fellow contributors. 

This game has been delayed a few times. But, if we learned anything during the covidpocolypse, we should know that rushing a game out doesn't end well. *cough* Cyberpunk *cough*  I am willing to wait.

Bonus:

The Last of Us Part 1 (PC) - March 3

I found the controls on PS4 for this game very fiddly. I could not get the hang of them and got extremely frustrated. I am looking forward to giving it a try on PC. I love the story of TLOU games, so I’m hoping my aging self can handle the PC controls.