I know we’ve only just done The Retro Arcadia Top Ten Countdown & Game of the Year 2022, but what I didn’t do there was the regular quick predictions about what might make the grade next time because that’s what we’re going to do right here instead! Obviously part of the fun is not even knowing that half the stuff that might appear on next year’s top ten even exists yet, but I thought it would be cool to check out a few of the tasty-looking morsels we do know should be coming, and even look at a few trailers too, so let’s do it!

My biggest hope for the year is that this is the last of too many times I predict my next game of the year is going to be Hollow Knight: Silksong! The original is an all-time favourite (apart from pure hatred for about 15% of it) and there’s nothing to suggest this won’t be more of the same and maybe even more besides! Still no fixed release date but I reckon it’s coming this time, and to Xbox Game Pass too!

I was planning on doing the rest in order of release date, but then there’ll be a load of stuff without one and what then? Well, probably alphabetical, but anyway, it all sounds like a lot of hard work, so as I started with my most anticipated I reckon I’ll stick with that order now and go with Resident Evil 4 Remake next. The original isn’t just also an all-time favourite, but a top three one at that, so this has a lot to live up to! I know it won’t be the same, of course, but I’ll take anything on a par with the last two Resident Evil remakes and I can’t wait for the end of March for this! Credit to GameSpot for the gameplay trailer.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom would be my next most anticipated. My only concern is following up its incredible predecessor with something even bigger or better or both within the constraints of the Switch’s creaking hardware, especially now we’ve had a whole new generation of other consoles since the last one. Always trust in Nintendo on their big-hitters though! Just a shame it arrives a couple of days after my birthday in May so I’ll have to cough up for it myself! By the way, exact dates for everything is also too much work, and anyway, that’s what our monthly Retro Radars are for so be sure to check them out around the start of every month, like the brand new January one right here!

I’m not sure that Silent Hill: Ascension even counts as a game, but it’s got the words Silent Hill in the title so I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt! I’m also giving the benefit of the doubt that it will come in 2023 at all, but currently that’s all we’ve got. We also know it’s a MILE, or massively interactive live event, where you and everyone else will somehow be immersed in the Silent Hill world, but how and what platform you’ll be doing it on is a still a mystery. Bad Robot involved though, so high hopes for whatever it turns out to be. And there’s always Silent Hill 2 Remake, Silent Hill Townfall, Silent Hill F and a new movie coming sometime too.

Last year’s Capcom Fighting Collection really reignited my passion for the genre, which had mostly been dormant since IK+ on Atari ST, so while a year ago I probably wouldn’t have batted an eyelid, I can’t resist going with Street Fighter 6 next! Not sure about the open-world nonsense but they’re not idiots, and so far the action – whether in a static picture like at the top of the page here or in motion like the trailer above – looks incredible. Just hope it’s as accessible to a born-again but ultimately useless fan of the genre like me! We’ll find out at the start of June.

Likewise, I hope exactly the same for Tekken 8! By coincidence, as I write I’m playing Tekken 7 on PlayStation 4, which I’ve been sitting on since I got it for my birthday a couple of years ago. Despite what I just said about IK+ I did play a fair bit of the first three Tekken games, and I’m a fan, although in reality there can be only one this year when it comes to bandwidth for new fighting games (as well as the new backlog of old ones I seem to have recently amassed) so this one might be for a sale and a rainy day. That said, it’s not even clear this will land at all in 2023, so we’ll need to stay tuned.

In terms of stuff I’m really looking forward to as dead certs for my game of the year list, that’s about it, unless any of those proper new Silent Hills appear earlier than expected, but there’s plenty more I’m very interested in, and I suppose Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is best of the rest! It’s set five years after Fallen Order, and while it’s the same dude, he’s picked up some new combat skills in the interim, as well as some cool new ways to get around. The first one wasn’t my favourite Star Wars game ever but it’s no Super Bombad Racing either, so while it might not be day-one in March for me I’ll definitely get to it sooner or later.

As I said in our Retro Radar for January the other day, it’s controversial opinion time… I think the original Dead Space, which thankfully I only rented on PlayStation 3 from LoveFilm around 2008, is a bit of a snooze-fest! But there’s no chance the remake can be, right? As it’s already imminent at the end of this month we won’t have to wait long to find out. It’s looking like a very immersive and very atmospheric bit of sci-fi horror so far though, and I’m ready to give it a second chance.

I still haven’t got anywhere near the end of the original, but that doesn’t stop me being intrigued by Octopath Traveller II, although as a Switch exclusive in February I can probably wait until I’ve finished the first, which eventually found its way to Xbox Game Pass… Anyway, the pixel art meets CG-HD-2D visuals are looking more stylish than ever, and with eight new characters there’s sure to be plenty more RPG-ing to sink your teeth into!

I’ve played the last couple of Forza Horizons since jumping ship to the Xbox, but never a Forza Motorsport. When this one arrives in the Spring well apparently be getting the “most technologically advanced racing game ever made” which sounds alright to me! It does look absolutely incredible and I do love a racing game, and it will be a nice change to get into more of a sim as it’s been a while, though I do hope it just lets me race rather than shove me too far down under the hood!

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion was one of my favourite Game Pass surprises from last year, with you bringing down the corrupt vegetable government by exploring, puzzling and slashing your way through a load of deceptively whimsical dungeons. It even made my halfway point top ten of the year back in June! This new Turnip Boy looks like a cute take on Ocean’s Eleven, with the same roguelite gameplay but maybe a bit more intense this time around judging from the trailer. Not sure exactly when it’s coming yet but maybe it will make the cut at the end of the year this time around!

I’m not sure why RoboCop: Rogue City didn’t appear right near the top of this list, although I am sure that I’m too lazy to move it up there now! Possibly because I don’t have too much to reveal yet beyond what you can see in the trailer, except it’s an all-original tale built on elements from the three movies (that dreadful remake doesn’t count) and has you, Alex Murphy, aka RoboCop, spectacularly waging war on the latest crime wave sweeping across Detroit. And it’s out in June. Credit, once again, to GameSpot for the video.

I did think about including Bethesda’s upcoming Xbox exclusive Starfield here but the chances of me playing it this year even if it does turn up are minimal – I’ve always left these things to settle a while! There are also loads more outliers like Super Bomberman R 2, Metal Slug Tactics, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Aliens: Dark Descent, Star Wars: Hunters and Blood Bowl 3, where I definitely like or even love the subject matter but maybe not so much the look of the gameplay, so I think we’ll leave our look ahead there. Before we go, though, I do want to mention a bit of upcoming DLC… Thought I was done with Dead Cells but quick shoutout for the Return to Castlevania DLC announced at The Game Awards in December. Can’t exactly resist a bit of that when it comes sometime in the first quarter of this new year! And with that, I hope you enjoyed this foray into what I’ll be looking out for in 2023, as well as what I reckon might well populate this year’s top ten game of the year countdown. And we’ll reconvene around Christmas to see how that turned out! In the meantime, I’d love to hear what’s going to be big for you in 2023 too!

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