2023 has been one of the best years for video games that we have ever seen. From start to finish, high-quality games that have received massive acclaim have launched on roughly a monthly basis throughout 2023. This is even more true when it comes to single-player games with a focus on story. Across a multitude of genres, a number of single-player games were able to set themselves apart from the crowd and make for some of the best gaming experiences we’ve seen over the past decade. With so much competition, it’s hard to choose just one title that can be deemed the “Best Narrative-Driven Game” overall, but after much deliberation, a clear answer did eventually emerge.
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And the winner of the 2023 ComicBook.com Golden Issue Award for Best Narrative-Driven Game is…
Alan Wake 2!
A sequel 13 years in the making, Alan Wake 2 is a game that developer Remedy Entertainment has been looking to make for a long, long time. Despite high expectations from fans, Remedy was able to deliver a game that not only met the ambitions of those who played the original Alan Wake, but it was able to create a third-person action title that is one of the best we’ve seen from the genre.
Part of what makes the storytelling in Alan Wake 2 so impressive is that it folds in a variety of elements from Remedy’s other projects. Beginning with Control, Remedy began establishing what it called the “Remedy Connected Universe,” which finds a way to link to the studio’s many other franchises that include Max Payne, Quantum Break, and Alan Wake. Building all that, Alan Wake 2 only furthers the tendrils between all of these projects, but it does so while still standing on its own and telling a compelling horror story.
Speaking of which, Alan Wake 2 is a bonafide survival-horror game, which is a first for Remedy. Although it was inexperienced with the genre, Remedy delivers enough scares in AW2 to match up with the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It also takes cues from those very franchises when it comes to the game’s inventory system and combat, all of which are far more engaging when compared to the first Alan Wake.
Even though its atmosphere is far more tense, Alan Wake 2 doesn’t lose Remedy’s distinct charm and humor. This is most noticeably seen during the game’s “We Sing” chapter, which is an amalgamation of everything that Remedy has done over the past decade. The sequence combines real-time combat, live-action video, and a song that was so good it had to be performed live at the 2023 Game Awards.
From start to finish, Alan Wake 2 is an absolute trip. This is an experience that not only shows the best of what Remedy is capable of as a developer, but sets a new bar for what other studios around the globe should be looking to do with their own third-person action games. While there were many worthy nominees to be dubbed the Best Narrative-Driven Game in 2023, Alan Wake 2 is the one that should stand the test of time and will be looked back upon as a turning point for storytelling in video games.
The nominees for Best Narrative-Driven Game included:
- Alan Wake 2 — WINNER
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
