2022 was a pretty big year for video games. From ginormous triple-A titles, like Horizon II: Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring, to smaller games like Stray, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and Sifu, as well as one or two additional Pokemon games thrown in, there was definitely a ton of games to keep us happy in 2022. Last year was a stellar year for gamers, to say the least.

And it looks like 2023 will be another banner year for the realm of video games. I’m personally excited for the upcoming year but, as there are so many great games coming out this year, I may have to get a little more selective on what I’ll be getting. Even while paring down this list to just seven entries, I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to play them for one reason or another. I’m still eager to see what the games are going to be like. So, let’s go look at just five games to look out for in the coming months.

#1 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Finally! A reason to bust out my Nintendo Switch out again!

I am a proud owner of a Nintendo Switch but, unfortunately, I just never felt the need to really play on it recently. I wish I was big on games like Pokemon and Animal Crossing but, sorry, I’m not. I only really extensively used my Nintendo Switch when I got The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Well, with Tears of the Kingdom coming out on the quasi portable system later in May, it looks like I’ll get to brush off the dust off my Nintendo Switch soon!

There’s a lot of things to like. For one thing, it’s an actual Legend of Zelda sequel, occurring after the events of the 2017 game. This is one of the rare, if not the first time, Nintendo is releasing a direct sequel for a Legend of Zelda game as all previous entries were sort of self-contained entries with very little connection to the previous game. Also, the game looks gorgeous, probably utilizing most of the processing power the Switch can muster. Of course, I’m expecting really good action and puzzle solving like the previous game. I’ll probably be crying tears of joy while playing Tears of the Kingdom later in May.

#2 Resident Evil 4 Remake

Call me a hyprocrite… but I can’t wait for this to come out.

When it came to thoughts on what Resident Evil should Capcom give the Remake treatment to next, I didn’t want them to pick the fourth entry because I thought the game was fine the way it was. Flash forward to last year and the debut of the Resident Evil 4 trailer and gameplay featurette, well, I’m certainly changing my tune. While I am kind of disappointed that it looks like Capcom might be cutting out a lot of the cheesiness of the original, I can’t deny Resident Evil 4 Remake looks like a mighty fine game.

What’s even more amazing is that it’s still coming out on both the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. I was half expecting the game, with all of its graphical upgrades and bigger maps, to be locked on the latest Sony system. So you can imagine my giddiness to learn Resident Evil 4 Remake is also coming out on the PlayStation system I own. I still want a Resident Evil: Code Veronica Remake in the future, Capcom. But I’ll be more than happy to get this game when it launches in March.

#3 Street Fighter 6

From one Capcom game to another.

I have this weird theory that every even numbered Street Fighter game is good while the odd numbered ones are cursed. Well, since the next entry to Capcom’s fighting game franchise is the sixth entry, then, if my theory holds out, Street Fighter 6 is going to be great. Right now, there’s nothing that seems to be proving me wrong.

Street Fighter 6 has already gone through a couple of closed beta tests and both have come out the other end looking incredibly polished already. So the battle system already looks like it’s going to be a killer fighting game. But I’m also excited for the other bells and whistles Capcom is including, such as a deep Create a Character system, an open world single player adventure and some great tutorials for newbies. You can bet I’ll be one of the first people buying this game when it comes out on June of this year.

#4 Starfield

Well, I now have a more beefy PC. Maybe I can finally play a Bethesda game the way you’re supposed to now.

I’ve played several of Bethesda’s open world RPGs already but, each time, there’s always been an asterisk to those entries. I played Fallout 3 originally on my PlayStation 3 until it became a jittery mess the deeper I got into my adventure. I played Fallout 4 on my old PC but I could only play using minimum settings since that’s all my previous system could handle. Well, now that I’ve got a more up-to-date gaming laptop, I’m more than prepared to play Starfield.

I will say I’m more cautiously optimistic with Starfield than any of the other entries on this. This is the first entry to a new franchise, after all. I do wish they were more forthcoming with what to expect with trailers and such. However, Bethesda’s track record with making this kind of games has been more than just good. Hopefully, they can pull off their pitch that Starfield will be “Elder Scrolls in space” with flying colors whenever they do release it in 2023.

#5 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Hopefully, I have purchased a PlayStation 5 before this is released.

Like many gamers out there, Final Fantasy VII Remake was my favorite game of 2021. I will even say it reinvigorated my love for the Final Fantasy series. I am intrigued by the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI with the giant Eikon battles mechanic and how that’ll work within the gameplay. But still, I’m much more looking forward to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as it will continue the story of Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Aerith and the rest of the gang.

There are a couple of snags for me, however, The biggest one is it’s a timed PlayStation 5 exclusive so, hopefully, I’ve gotten one whenever Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is released in the year. So I’m praying stores over here finally have an abundance of stock of Sony’s new system. There’s also the matter of if it’ll actually be released in 2023 as Final Fantasy XVI is slated to launch in June of this year. And I’m not sure if Square Enix is too keen on the idea of releasing two Final Fantasy game within the same financial year. Still, if it is released sometime in 2023, you just know Square Enix will be all Scrooge McDuck as they’ll be swimming in all that money they’ll make.

BONUS: Colossal Cave 3D

Any other Sierra gamers out there?

A big reason why I love playing all kinds of video games is because of the people behind Colossal Cave 3D. I grew up playing old Sierra adventure games like King’s Quest, Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry and the like. They, in turn, were inspired by playing old text adventures like the original Colossal Cave. So it kind of comes full circle as the founders of Sierra, Ken and Roberta Williams, is remaking their favorite game. It’s nostalgia all around.

But, in all seriousness, there is a lot of potential to Colossal Cave 3D. It may not be the biggest game when it comes to graphics, budget, marketing and… pretty much everything else out there. But the mere fact that Colossal Cave 3D will harken back to “the good old days” when adventure gaming was big, an era I grew up in, I can’t help but get excited. It’s probably going to be skipped by a lot of gamers… but the nostalgic gamer in me will not let Colossal Cave 3D slip by when it comes out this month.

What other video games are you looking forward to playing in 2023? Let me know what they are in the comments section below!