The Punished Podcast: Episode 4 – Best of 2023 Recap

Update: 2023-12-13

Description

Happy Holidays! Episode 4 of The Punished Podcast marks our final episode of the year, but fret not—we have an awesome show in store for you.

The Punished Podcast Episode 4

To close out the year, we brought five of our writers together to reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2023. Which games wowed us? Which games punked us? What are we excited to play in 2024? Listen along as we tell all.

For the latter portion of the podcast, our editorial team reconvened to tally up the final scores for our 2023 Fantasy Gaming league. Despite a competitive draft (and some smart waiver wire pick-ups), in the end, there could only be one victor. Get the full play-by-play in this month’s episode.

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Timestamps

0:00 – Intro

2:03 – Grading 2023

11:02 – This Year’s Hidden Gems

18:16 – The Biggest Disappointments

25:00 – 2023’s Most Notable Trends

36:32 – Our Most Anticipated Games of 2024

38:14 – Fantasy Gaming 2023: The Finale

55:22 – The Results!

1:08:38 – Outro: Holiday Backlog Plans

<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sam Martinelli | David Silbert | Kei Isobe | Allison McDaniel | Jason Toro</figcaption></figure>

How Our Panelists Graded 2023

Allison — 4.5 out of 5

Pros: Lots of bangers.

Cons: Where’s Hollow Knight: Silksong? Metroid Prime 4?

David — 4 out of 5

Pros: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom.

Cons: Got nothing on the goat, 2007.

Kei — 4.5 out of 5

Pros: Huge variety of genres from a variety of developers. Global appeal.

Cons: Lots of remakes. Didn’t have a marquee hardware launch like in 2017.

Jason — 4.5 out of 5

Pros: Revitalization of the CRPG genre. 2D Mario games still rock.

Cons: In a world where Breath of the Wild came before, will Tears of the Kingdom truly stand the test of time?

Sam — 4.5 out of 5

Pros: Stellar new releases for beloved franchises: Zelda, Mario, Alan Wake, Street Fighter.

Cons: Hard to top 1998, where Ocarina of Time, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, and Starcraft all pioneered their respective genres.

<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sam Martinelli | David Silbert | Amanda Tien</figcaption></figure>

Fantasy Gaming 2023 — The Results!

Curious how this year’s Fantasy Gaming league panned out? Read up on the highlights below:

Act I – The Draft

December 2022

Our editorial team gathered to preview the upcoming year's gaming slate. We took turns, snake order, assembling a team of six gaming releases. The goal: End the year with the highest average Metacritic score.

Only the top four games from each team would count toward the average, meaning we could draft with our hearts and swing for the fences. So, we did. Check out the full 2023 Fantasy Gaming draft here.

By the end of the draft, we were left with three contenders:

Act II – The Grind

January 2023 to June 2023

For six months, our gladiators battled it out for goodness and glory. Each month brought new gaming releases—and with them, the promise of green Metacritic scores, universal acclaim, and more points for the Fantasy Gaming leaderboard.

We won't dig up the past, but if you want the full blow-by-blow, you don't need pay-per-view. Catch the full recap by reading each of our H1 2023 Fantasy Gaming updates:

Fantasy Gaming Update: Jan 2023 – Fire Emblem and Dead Space Kick Off the Competition!
Fantasy Gaming Update: March 2023 – Resident Evil 4 Retakes Its Crown
Fantasy Gaming Update: April 2023 – Jedi: Survivor Soars, Redfall Stinks
Fantasy Gaming Update: June 2023 – Zelda, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, and More!

Act III – The Mid-Year Standings

June 2023

By the end of June, the Fantasy landscape was well-established. Team Amanda had seen a massive dub in May with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but also a massive dud in Arkhane Studios' Redfall. Team Sam enjoyed two strong performances thanks to Resident Evil 4 (2023) and Street Fighter VI. And Team David, despite some decent releases, suffered two major game delays.

As the summer set in, the leading horses were creating some distance from the pack.