So I decided to run with the post by Lethn about looking forward to things in 2024, and decided to make a thread about both your favorite games (or shows, anime, movies, what have you) from 2023, as well as the ones you are most looking forward to in 2024.

For me, the best of 2023 (in no particular order):

1. Last Train Home: In essence, it is if you took the tactical gameplay of Company of Heroes, and combined it with the survival of Frostpunk. You are in charge of the last train out of Russia of the Czechoslovakian Legion. You have to make sure you have the food to keep your soldiers alive, coal to keep your train running, and ammo to keep your soldiers fighting (even grenades are a limited resource instead of just an ability). Honestly, I even find managing the train to be more fun than the fighting. Game is also very clear about showing the Reds/Bolsheviks are vicious, evil bastards instead of the whitewashing they get by many today. Highly recommend for RTS fans.

2. BattleBit Remastered: You want to talk about Indie succeeding where AAA fails? This is probably the peak example. A fucking $15 Voxel art game managed to feel more like classic Battlefield and Call of Duty than actual Battlefield and Call of Duty. Not much to say beyond that.

3. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon: I managed to beat Balteus before he was nerfed! Get gud, son! Being more serious, I had an absolute blast with this game, and will probably have to dive back in soon now that they gave it a pretty major update.

4. Jagged Alliance 3: Showing that just being true to yourself is all you need to do. It stayed in character of the series, with everything about it being stereotypes of every action movie you have ever seen, sold tactical gameplay, and characters that are actually fun and over the top.

5. WarTales: A tactical RPG where you play as the leader of a mercenary band. You start off with just 4 soldiers, a pony, and rusty gear and farmers outfits, but it is up to you how your band develops. You can be swords for hire for desperate farmers and townfolks, you can be extra muscle for a military campaign, you can become a merchant with your own private mercenary guard, you can be cannibalistic bandits roaming the countryside. It is all up to your choices you pick.

6. Age of Wonders 4: I got in on the Age of Wonders bandwagon late, but I will be hard for me to go back to other 4X games after it. There is just so much more to do and so much more to manage, as well as actually being the one who does the fights being a fun change.

As for upcoming in 2024:

1. Broken Arrow: Setting itself up as a spiritual successor to World In Conflict in terms of being a cinematic RTS experience. But it also draws on newer tactical RTS games to have more options for your units, with units being customizable with upgrades and loadouts. They also have said they intend to have military units be asymmetrical to match real life (the example used by the Devs is that Russian helicopters are tougher, have more guns/ammo, and are usually multirole, while US helicopters are faster, significantly more accurate, and have superior optics/sensors).

2. Frostpunk 2: There has barely been a dribble of information about this coming out at any given time, but it looks like they insist it will be coming out this year, and more information about the story and gameplay will show up then. We have already seen some gameplay and stills, and it looks both promising and interesting.

3. Homeworld 3: If you are an RTS fan, nothing more needs to be said. Homeworld is considered one of the kings of the genre, and a new game from the mold is greatly appreciated. Especially since it has been 10 years since Homeworld 2 came out.

4. War Hospital: You are in charge of a British field hospital in WW1, set up to be in the same vein as Frostpunk in that you are managing scarce resources against having to save as many people as you can.

5. MechWarrior 5: Clans: I enjoyed normal MW5, so I am interested to see what they do with this one, as well as the adding of Clantech to the game. I am also interested to see what they are planning for the campaign, considering they are having you play as a member of Smoke Jaguar (who are for all intents and purposes the "designated bad guys" of the Clans).

6. Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age: Made by the same devs as Cold Waters, but with surface ships instead of just submarines at your command. Very interested since Cold War naval warfare is criminally underrepresented, and even less so for surface combatants. Official date is still not listed, but the devs insist it will be in early access in 2024.

7. Manor Lords: It has been a long time coming, and I enjoyed the demo they released earlier this year. Will probably shake up its genre upon release.

8. 40K: Space Marine 2: Another one that has been running around and dribbling its release date. But they are finally at the point they want to be, and it looks like it will be a blast to play, with some pretty significant improvements to AI and game engines that could be interesting for future games.