Helldivers 2. Enjoyed the first one. Although I was skeptical of the third person view they proposed for the second one because the game can be so chaotic, I am enjoying the second one even more.

According to Steam, I spent most hours this year playing Book of Hours. (The word “Hours” is in the name of the game, so what choice did I have?) It is an amazing game, and I recommend it to anyone who likes cozy games with lots of lore to explore.

However, there is one game that I must confess I had even more fun with, even though it’s relatively short: The Pristine Cut of Slay the Princess.
I can’t really say much about it other than that it’s a horror visual novel with excellent voice acting and incredibly good writing, as almost any detail of the game’s story would be a spoiler.

(Edit: I know, both of those games released last year, but the question was about which Steam Replay and which games one had fun with this year - not about games that released this year.)

No love for Against the Storm? Technically it released 8th of December last year, but that’s not enough time for it to be able to get GotY for 2023, so it’s got to fit in here. (also I only played it after new years)

Other than that Balatro has got to be a strong contender for me. PoE2 is looking more and more likely to take it home next year for me.

Haven’t really found anything particularly interesting from this year, so I’ve been playing mostly older games: my favorites were probably Trails from Zero/Azure and Chrono Trigger.

Some games I’m mixed on were Final Fantasy XIV and Metaphor ReFantazio. Both of them have parts I really enjoy, but also feel like they never reach the heights they could, both in gameplay and writing.

Animal Well, UFO 50, and Balatro in that order.