Monkey Thunder's Top 3 for 23'

 

My Two Cents: 

KerryMike here! We made it! We made it through another year! Respectfully, I know that 2023 was extremely difficult for many of us. On a personal note, toward the end of 2023 MuteDawg, Xomber, and I lost a dear friend to a brain aneurysm. Many of us were sick, lost our jobs, lost friends and/or loved ones, and endured other tragedies. But one of the things that kept us going was good old gaming. I love our Discord Community and our Fearless Leader, MuteDawg. It would have been a very tough year if it weren't for all of you. I appreciate all of you and can't wait to see what fun things we can get into in 2024! 

Someone who has made quite an impression on me in 2023 is Mr. MonkeyThunder himself! Mr. Monkey Thunder is knowledgeable when it comes to the world of gaming. He brings terrific input and contributes so much to our wonderful Discord community. He was the first individual I thought about when I wanted to collect opinions about your top games from 2023. Without further ado, here goes Mr. MonkeyThunder's top three for 23! 

My name is Taylor, otherwise known as the one and only Mr. MonkeyThunder.

I've been a member of the Work For Games Discord since its inception in the beginning of 2023. I'm 31 years old and I live in Utah.

I've been playing video games for pretty much my whole life. Some of my fondest gaming memories are sleepovers with my friends and we would play games like Kirby Air Ride, Star Fox Adventures, and Smash Bros on the Gamecube. We would occasionally branch out to other games like Age of Empires or Halo, but we would always gravitate towards Nintendo games.

When the DS released, all of my friends got Animal Crossing Wild World and we would visit each other's towns and do turnip parties. We would stay up all night and find the best turnip prices to get super loaded and buy whatever we wanted in the game.

Overall, 2023 has been a good year for me. I purchased my first home in April, which was a big decision. I have loved it so far and have a decked out man cave with all of my cool gaming things. I decided to go back to school online to try and get a degree in IT. It has been a busy year, but rewarding.

Given the fact that I have been super busy this year, I haven't had much time for video games, unfortunately. But, there have been a lot of fantastic games that have been released this year! My top 3 games are as follows:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

- Could there be any other game at the top of this list? As good as this year has been, nothing can top Zelda. A lot of people, including myself, wondered how Nintendo could surpass the masterpiece that was Breath of the Wild. Oh man, did Nintendo do it. And more. The feeling you get while exploring the extensive land of Hyrule is hard to match. The terror you feel when you first encounter the gloom hands. The awe you feel when first exploring the vastness of the Depths. I still haven't finished this game, and I honestly don't know if I will ever "finish" it. There are so many things yet to be discovered.

 

2. Octopath Traveler II

- The first Octopath Traveler game was quite an experience. I was never sold on this game until my friend convinced me to play the demo. I played the demo of the first game and instantly fell in love. Octopath Traveler II, much like the first game, is a beautiful 2.5 HD game. The music is phenomenal. I find myself still humming some of the themes because they are so well-made. The gameplay is so much fun. The stories are much better in the second game compared to the first. I highly recommend Octopath Traveler II.

It's really difficult to pick a 3rd game. There are so many good games that have been released this year. There's the Fire Emblem Engage, Metroid Prime Remastered, Pikmin 4, Super Mario Wonder, Kirby... And those are just the Nintendo games! There was also Resident Evil 4, Spider-Man 2, Starfield, Diablo 4, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Hogwarts Legacy... the list could go on and on. Had I played most of them, my #3 might be different. The Nintendo fanboy in me wants to pick Wonder, but I haven't played enough of it to judge. So, for my #3, I am going to have to pick....

 

3. Spider-Man 2

- What a game. A highly anticipated sequel, Spider-Man 2 has not disappointed so far. The opening of the game is one of the most epic openings I have ever played. The graphics are great, the gameplay is fun, and the story has been fantastic. The only complaint that I have heard about this game is that it is fairly short. But, with the amount of time that I have to game, I'm not complaining.

This is MonkeyThunder signing off