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Every Video Game I Played in 2023

Published on Jan 20, 2024
A young Mike playing Cruisin' USA, probably at the mall.

Every year, I make note of every game that I play, both in my Hobonichi Techo and on Backloggd. I just like it! I like keeping track of and remembering things. I don’t really do anything special with this information, apart from occasionally reviewing things on Backloggd, I just like having it.

My rules for what I do or don’t record to the list have changed a few times over the years. Last year, I felt like I was too lax with my criteria for what made the list, so I resolved to tighten things up, and only record a game if I was earnestly playing it to finish it. I never really codified that rule in those words before, it was just sort of a vibe, which probably means it was a bad rule, but it meant I couldn’t write down just any old thing I was dipping into for a few minutes. Looking back through my list, I’m pretty sure I abandoned this rule fairly quickly, but it almost certainly still resulted in a shorter list. Unclear.

I no longer think this is the way to go. I think you can play a video game for a hot minute and get the idea, or get something out of it. I don’t think you need to have played a game from front to back in order to have “played” it, so why should I put some imaginary restriction on my list? Also, if the point of the list is recording and remembering, shouldn’t I want to record as much as possible? I think so.

That’s not what I did in 2023. But it’s what I’m doing in 2024 and going forward. I’m also going to try to keep my paper notes and Backloggd in closer parity this year, which I haven’t been doing. Expect the fruits of these decisions next year.

[Hold for applause]

Before we begin, here’s a quick key:

Games I completed in 2023 are bold.
Previously played games are italicized.

I played 69 games in 2023 (nice). Here they are:

  1. Dome Keeper
  2. Disco Elysium
  3. Adaca
  4. Filmechanism
  5. Sonic Advance
  6. Sonic Advance 2
  7. Stalcraft
  8. Hitman: Freelancer
  9. Lego Racers
  10. Steamworld Dig
  11. Steamworld Heist
  12. Final Fantasy VII Remake
  13. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  14. Phantom Brigade
  15. Motorsport Manager
  16. Terra Nil
  17. Dragon Quest XI S
  18. MegaMan Battle Network Legacy Collection
  19. MegaMan Battle Network
  20. MegaMan Battle Network 2
  21. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  22. 20 Minutes Till Dawn
  23. System Shock: Enhanced Edition
  24. The Ultimate Doom
  25. Deus Ex
  26. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
  27. Pyre
  28. Hacknet
  29. Nancy Drew: Alibi in Ashes
  30. Last Call BBS
  31. Xenonauts
  32. Microsoft Tinker
  33. SimCity 2000
  34. Another World
  35. Cogs
  36. Zachtronics Solitaire Collection
  37. Wolfenstein 3D
  38. Doom II
  39. Quake
  40. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
  41. MegaMan Battle Network 3: Blue
  42. No Man’s Sky
  43. Sea of Stars
  44. F-Zero 99
  45. F-Zero
  46. Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull
  47. Kirby’s Star Stacker
  48. Dungeon Defenders 2
  49. Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness
  50. Myst
  51. Powerwash Simulator
  52. Suika Game
  53. TIE Fighter (1998)
  54. Voxelgram
  55. Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy
  56. Cyberpunk 2077
  57. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
  58. Subpar Pool
  59. Umihara Kawase
  60. Sonic Superstars
  61. Digimon Survive
  62. Risk of Rain Returns
  63. Gubbins
  64. Patrick’s Parabox
  65. 30XX
  66. Steel Assault
  67. Moon: Remix RPG Adventure
  68. Tangle Tower
  69. Tactics Ogre Reborn

That’s my list!

20 games completed.
19 games replayed or continued from a previous year.
47 games played fresh for the first time.

Til next year,

– Mike



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