January 2023 will start with excellent game releases, unlike other years.
In addition to a prominent Brazilian game, Vengeful Guardian Moonrider, we still have the first exclusives for both Xbox and PlayStation 5 and also Nintendo Switch, and to complete an RPG by Pirata que Estica.
Check out, both in video and in text, which are the best releases of the first month of the year below.
The best game releases of 2023
Vengeful Guardian Moonrider
- Developer: Joymasher
- Release: January 12, 2022
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch
Vengeful Guardian Moonrider is the newest game from Brazilian developer Joymasher, which has already released excellent games like Blazing Chrome and Odallus.
In the game, you control Moonrider, a cyborg trying to overthrow a tyrannical government. The game brings the traditional difficulty of Joymasher games in a gameplay reminiscent of Mega Man Zero, in addition to excellent pixel art and a killer soundtrack.
One Piece Odyssey
- Developer: Bandai Namco
- Release: January 12, 2022
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series
One Piece is one of the most popular and successful anime of all time, do you know what it could very well become? A turn-based RPG, and that’s exactly what Bandai Namco is bringing in One Piece Odyssey.
Telling the story of the anime from the beginning of it, basically, you’ll live the adventures of Luffy and his band of pirates again, and since we’re talking about One Piece, you can be prepared to spend a shitload of hours in the game.
Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden
- Developer: Atlus
- Release: January 18, 2022
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch
Atlus is finally going to bring the classic Personas to consoles and also to PC in the case of Persona 3 Portable, as 4 Golden has been there for some time.
I have several Personeiro friends who are very excited about this news, and the best thing is that the games arrive day one on Xbox Game Pass, so here’s the tip if you’re a subscriber to the service.
Definitely Not Fried Chicken
- Developer: MergeGames
- Release: January 18, 2022
- Platforms: PC
Definitely Not Fried Chicken is a game that finally gives us the opportunity to play a manager that no one has done competently until today: a game where you manage an operation that manufactures and sells drugs using fried chicken restaurants as a front.
Where did I even see that? Oh yeah, on television. In addition to this bold proposal, the game still has a very interesting art style, and has everything to be those games that suck the life out of us by completing just one more objective at a time.
Fire Emblem Engage
- Developer: Nintendo
- Release: January 20, 2022
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch
The newest chapter of the Fire Emblem series is a kind of Best of, which brings the best heroes of the franchise to date in a new fight to save the world.
I particularly didn’t like the excess of activities that Three Houses had and that stayed between one combat and another. Let’s see if this one focuses on what Fire Emblem does best
Forspoken
- Developer: Square Enix
- Release: January 24, 2022
- Platforms: PC, PS5
Forspoken is the first PlayStation 5 exclusive of 2023, and that game looks to be pretty interesting. The game tells the story of Frey, a young New Yorker transported to the beautiful and cruel land of Athia.
In search of a way back home, Frey must use her newfound magical abilities to explore vast landscapes, face monstrous creatures and defeat powerful matriarchs, known as Tantas.
With very interesting combat and a navigation system focused on fluidity, the game has everything to show that it is much better than the confusing demo it ended up getting at the end of 2022.
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
- Developer: Marvelous
- Release: January 26, 2022
- Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch
Dead Space Remake is not the only January remake as we also have Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life which is a remake of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. Why not call it Harvest Moon, you ask? Well, because the holders of the Harvest Moon name are from the company that published the game here in the west, and when they stopped working together, this strange division ended up happening where the classic franchise continued with the name of Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon became something completely different.
Still, A Wonderful Life is one of the best games in the classic series, and it’s going to be really cool to be able to play it again.
Dead Space Remake
- Developer: Electronic Arts
- Release: January 27, 2022
- Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series
Dead Space Remake is exactly what the name suggests, a remake of Dead Space, a Survival Horror classic from a time when the genre was almost out of date, or at least within the universe of games with budgets of almost 100 million dollars.
With some modifications compared to the first game, such as the complete elimination of loading screens and wonderful graphics that take full advantage of the new generation of consoles, Dead Space Remake has everything to be one of the best games of this beginning of the year.
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition
- Developer: Xbox Game Studios
- Release: January 31, 2022
- Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series
Age of Empires 2 is one of the best strategy games of all time, and even though strategy and consoles are not the best combination in the world, Microsoft has decided to release this definitive version of the game on Xbox One and Xbox Series, as the first console exclusive of the year.
Who’s looking forward to doing a Fast Castle for their friends?
SEASON: A Letter to the Future
- Developer: Scavengers Studio
- Release: January 31, 2022
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5
SEASON: A Letter to the Future is one of those introspective games that sounds really interesting. In it, the world is about to end thanks to a cataclysm, and there’s not much you can do about it, so the protagonist goes on a bicycle journey to record the landscapes and memories of the places while that doesn’t happen.
A game that seems to be very interesting to relax and will also provoke strong emotions in the players.
All January 2023 game releases
January 13
- Dragon Ball Z Kakarot – PS5, Xbox Series X|S
- One Piece Odyssey – PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC
January 19th
- Persona 4 Golden – PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable – PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC
- Colossal Cave – PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC
January 20th
- Fire Emblem Engage – Nintendo Switch
- Monster Hunter Rise – PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
January 24th
- Forspoken – PS5, PC
January 27th
- Dead Space – PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
January 31st
- Raiden 4 x Mikado Remix – PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC
- Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition – Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
- Season: A Letter to the Future – PS4, PS5, PC
So, what games are you looking forward to in January?