That sounds like a perfect time to peruse your gaming library and wonder what you could play. Look at all those games you haven’t got round to yet! Maybe 2023 should be the year you really commit to learning Dwarf Fortress, now the Steam version is out. Maybe this is the year you finally give an MMO a try or see your first JRPG to completion. Or maybe this year you’re going to uninstall your backlog in its entirety and just accept you’re only ever going to play Spelunky from now on. What are your gaming ambitions for 2023? Tell us in the comments below. Acceptable answers include: what hardware you hope to buy; a general desire to play more on your Steam Deck rather than your desktop; new genres you wish to finally conquer; or the joke, “My new year’s gaming resolution is 1920x1080.” This is a time for naive proclomations and bold commitments. Personally, I feel like I’ve already shifted into a new way of playing over the past 12 months. Last Christmas, I introduced my son to video games via the Nintendo Switch, and we’ve spent the past 12 months playing New Super Mario Bros. U, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Mario Kart, and several other first-party games. These sessions have formed the largest part of what I’ve played this year - and several of my happiest gaming memories ever - and I doubt that’s going to change anytime soon. I also picked up a Steam Deck and it has made booting up a PC game for a quick session a much easier decision than it has been on my desktop. This is partly that the Steam Deck is so quick to turn on and off, and partly that my desktop PC is most strongly associated with work email and spreadsheets. At the very least, the Deck has increased my playtime in arcade racers. A sneaky race in Horizon Chase Turbo or Circuit Superstars in between other tasks? Yes, please. So my new year’s resolution is: 1920x1080. But my ambition is to continue along these same paths. Turning on the Steam Deck for a cheeky few battles in Chained Echoes until, eventually, finally, I complete a JRPG for the first time? It could happen. (Or maybe six-year-olds really like Xenoblade Chronicles 3?) Anyway, how about you? The floor is open. And whether you have anything to share or not: happy new year. I hope your next trip around the sun is a good one.
