Unfortunately, 2023 wasn’t the best year for PlayStation exclusives. The only title from Sony’s stable to make it on our Game of the Year 2023 list is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. However, there were plenty of third-party masterpieces to make up for it. Check out our favorite games of the year below!

PlayStation LifeStyle Game of the Year 2023 List:

10. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Cyberpunk 2077’s had a long road to redemption. When Son kicked the game off the PlayStation Store because of technical issues, we never thought its DLC would end up on our Game of the Year list two years later. Phantom Liberty has enough content to be a game in its own right and offers an alternate take on how V’s journey could have ended up. Unfortunately, the DLC and the 2.0 update that launched alongside it are only available on PS5. However, if you have the PS4 version, you can still upgrade for free!

Buy Cyberpunk 2077 on Amazon

9. Final Fantasy 16

It seems inevitable that Final Fantasy 16 will be one of the more divisive entries in the series. It primarily concentrates on one character, Clive Rosfield, as opposed to a huge party, and the story is focused on his perspective. For some fans, that eschews franchise tradition, but we appreciated the narrowed focus compared to Final Fantasy 15, which was a bit all over the place. Clive’s story stands out as one of the more poignant we’ve seen in a Final Fantasy, and it’s a spectacle to behold.

Buy Final Fantasy 16 on Amazon

8. Assassin’s Creed Mirage

This pseudo-prequel to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla takes the series back to its roots and pays homage to the original. Unlike the sprawling epics we’ve gotten in the last few entries, Assassin’s Creed Mirage is localized to 9th-century Baghdad and ditches many of the role-playing elements to emphasize stealth, assassinations, and parkour. We couldn’t help but be relieved to play a distilled experience, and Basim Ibn Ishaq’s origin story reminded us why we fell in love with the franchise in the first place.

Buy Assassin’s Creed Mirage on Amazon

7. Hogwarts Legacy

Despite the controversy surrounding the Harry Potter franchise, Hogwarts Legacy managed to captivate us with its rendition of the titular wizarding school and the surrounding countryside. For those of us who grew up alongside Harry, the chance to attend Hogwarts was a dream come true. Exploring its nooks and crannies, attending classes, and seeing the many easter eggs the developers included was a treat. Where Hogwarts Legacy goes above and beyond, though, is that the gameplay is fun enough to stand on its own merits. Even if this is your first visit to Hogwarts, you can still have a blast and leave wanting more.

Buy Hogwarts Legacy on Amazon

6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order itched the scratch Star Wars fans had for years when it was released in 2019, and we couldn’t wait to get back to a galaxy far, far away in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. It’s everything the first game was, but bigger and better. Cal gets more abilities and equipment, environments are more expensive, and we even get to chill in a cantina whenever we want. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor provides the excitement that most of Disney’s projects have lacked and has done much more to keep the franchise alive than it gets credit for.

Buy Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on Amazon

5. Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter 6 is our favorite fighting game of the year because of its respect for newcomers and veterans. It’s an excellent point to enter the series, thanks to its revamped mechanics and multiple control options. However, it still retains enough of the franchise’s traditions to keep from alienating those who cut their teeth on SF 2-5. We also loved the absolutely bonkers story mode that channeled Yakuza to make one of the best create-a-fighter experiences ever. If you have even a little interest in the fighting genre, it’s worth checking this game out.

Buy Street Fighter 6 on Amazon

4. Resident Evil 4 remake

Resident Evil 4 revolutionized the series when it debuted in 2005 and is lauded as one of the best games ever. Its influence on gaming as a whole is so strong that many doubted that a remake could do it justice. However, Capcom managed to pull off a fantastic retelling that complements the original perfectly. Almost every aspect of the original has been remade or expanded, and the updated gameplay makes blasting through Ganados a thrill. Resident Evil 4 remake is another excellent entry in the alternate continuity started with RE2 remake, and we’re excited to see which game gets reimagined next (fingers crossed for Code Veronica)!

Buy Resident Evil 4 remake on Amazon

3. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Marvel’s Spider-Man and its Miles Morales-centric follow-up were hard acts to follow. Somehow, Insomniac Games managed to outdo themselves and then some with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Peter Parker and Miles join forces to take on a multitude of threats while navigating their personal lives. From Kraven the Hunter’s militaristic menace to the symbiote Venom sapping Peter of both his good nature and healthy relationships, this gutsy sequel took an already solid foundation and gave both heroes an expanded inventory of unlockable abilities, gadgets, and suits with which fans could explore and defend New York City. While this movie could have resulted in a tired storyline or rote gameplay loop, instead it strengthened an already excellent series with thoughtful writing, inclusive characters, and comic book-powered combat to satisfy all players. The biggest problem with this tandem adventure is that it eventually has to end.

Buy Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on Amazon

2. Baldur’s Gate 3

Player agency has been a hot topic in the gaming industry for decades. Some studios like to keep players focused on the task at hand, while others open their worlds up for a bit more interaction. However, with Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios went beyond this. It removed practically all limitations to how a player could affect their surroundings. See a locked door? You can talk the key out of an NPC, blow it down, find a hidden route to completely bypass it, or simply ignore it. The challenge in this CRPG is to find your way, and there are so many possibilities and so much raw content that everyone’s playthrough will be different.

1. Alan Wake 2

It took 13 years for Alan Wake 2 to be released, but the wait was worth it. FBI agent Saga Anderson joins Alan’s struggle to escape the Dark Place, and we’re once again thrust into the madness surrounding the town of Bright Falls. The plot is a roller coaster examining family, religion, and the supernatural, and it had us hooked from beginning to end. Excellent pacing keeps the lengthy story from becoming a slog, and the ability to alternate between Saga and Alan’s story means each player will have a slightly different experience during their playthrough. While it’s rooted in survival horror, we recommend this game to anyone who wants a strong single-player experience.

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Two years ago, it had been coincidentally decided that Tekken 8 and another fighting game, thought to be Street Fighter 6, were going to be released on the same day. Sensing that this might be an issue, Tekken 8 was delayed by Katsuhiro Harada and Bandai Namco to its current January 2024 date.

Tekken 8 was delayed by six months after the Street Fighter 6 release date

Harada never actually reveals the name of the fighting game in his video diary, merely referring to it as “that title.” However, a delay of approximately half a year would have meant Tekken 8’s original release date was around July 2023. Notably, Street Fighter 6 was released on June 2, 2023, making Capcom’s brawler the most likely candidate for the delay.

The revelation of the identical release dates was realized around two years ago, long before Mortal Kombat 1 had been officially announced. Despite this, the delay to Tekken 8 also pushed it clear of the release date of NetherRealm Studios’ latest fighting game, which was released in September, of course.

Tekken 8 will now be released on January 26, 2024. However, those wanting to get their hands on the game early could have applied to take part in next week’s closed beta test on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, or PC. The beta is due to begin on October 20, although preloads have been available since October 5 on PS5 and October 10 on Xbox and PC.

Some PC players have already managed to crack the beta update and have been playing ahead of time, leading to game footage leaking on social media and fears that early players will have a competitive advantage over others. When players cracked the previous Closed Network Test, Bandai Namco promised to ban those who had accessed the cracked version. So far, the only official comment about the early beta access has been from Harada himself, and I think it’s fair to say he’s slightly frustrated.

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A new character is set to arrive in Street Fighter 6 next month, with Capcom announcing that A.K.I. will be the second character to join the game.

When does the new Street Fighter 6 character come out?

The newest DLC character for Street Fighter 6 will arrive on September 27, 2023 after she was officially unveiled on Thursday. A.K.I. and her spare outfit will be available for those who own the Year 1 Character Pass, or for anyone who bought the Deluxe or Ultimate Editions of Street Fighter 6. The character will also be available to purchase separately as DLC.

She’ll join the game as part of the Year 1 batch of DLC that’s currently planned for the fighting game. Previously, Rashid was the first DLC character to be released into the game, and two more — Akuma and Ed — are planned to come out next year.

A.K.I. is the servant of F.A.N.G., a villainous character who was first introduced in Street Fighter V. A.K.I. will be playable across all three game modes of Street Fighter 6, with her single-player World Tour mode story exploring her association with the evil Shadaloo organization.

Check out a trailer for A.K.I. in Street Fighter 6 below:

According to Capcom’s announcement, A.K.I.’s entire array of moves are based around poisoning her enemy. To that regard, her moveset includes abilities that send nails raining down on enemies, shoot poisonous bubbles forward, or even drop a puddle of poison on the floor to trip up enemies who get near it.

A.K.I.’s full moveset can be seen below:

• Serpent Lash – From a distance, A.K.I. sends her nails flying forward like a chain, poisoning enemies she hits. When she strikes an opponent who is already poisoned, a Toxic Blossom will trigger an explosion and open enemies up to follow-up attacks.
• Nightshade Pulse – A.K.I. sends a bubble forward that also poisons enemies it hits. She can strike the bubble with Nightshade Chaser to pop it in advance, increasing its area of effect.
• Orchid Spring – A.K.I. places a puddle of poison in front of her which will affect opponents who step inside it.
• Sinister Slide – Slither across the screen to avoid threats while stalking forward and perform follow-up moves like Venomous Fang, Heel Strike, or Entrapment.
• Claws of Ya Zi – A.K.I.’s Level 3 Super Art pierces various pressure points on an opponent’s body and injects a poison that dangerously detonates from within.

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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have invaded Street Fighter 6. And they haven’t just brought pizza and rad vibes to the fighter, as they’ve also introduced wildly high cosmetic prices.

The Street Fighter 6 TMNT skins cost almost $60 total

The turtle skins themselves are the ones getting the most heat. There are four skins — one for each turtle — and they cost 750 Fighter Coins each. Fighter Coins can’t be earned in the game outside of premium battle pass (which also takes Fighter Coins to buy) and must be purchased with real money. Getting 3,000 Fighter Coins for all four skins costs around $55, which is close to the price for a new copy of Street Fighter 6. Players can also buy the four colored bandanas, which are 250 Fighter Coins ($4.99) each.

Playable DLC fighters aren’t sold individually, but the $29.99 season pass with four full combatants costs about as much as two turtle skins. This is all also just for the player’s World Tour and Battle Hub avatar, meaning those who buy the skins can’t put Zangief in a Raphael costume or Juri in a Donatello outfit.

And for added context, the current pirate bundle in the store costs 1,200 Fighter Coins, with other small bundles costing 480 or 320 Fighter Coins. However, these can also be purchased individually with Drive Tickets, which, while still scarce, can be earned through certain daily, weekly, or monthly challenges. And even though it is a different game from a different time, all four turtles were playable fighters in Injustice 2 for $9.99.

There are other cosmetic items in the game, too. These include emotes (250 Fighter Coins), sticker sets (100 Fighter Coins), frames (100 Fighter Coins), and wallpapers (100 Fighter Coins), adding another 1,300 Fighter Coins total. This means all the TMNT gear costs 5,300 Fighter Coins, or around $100 depending on what Fighter Coin bundles players buy.

This is only the first crossover Street Fighter 6, a premium game, has gotten thus far, so it remains to be seen if this pricing scheme will continue into the future.

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Rashid only just made it to Street Fighter 6, but Capcom is already teasing the next DLC fighter. The team showed off the Street Fighter 6 A.K.I. trailer, revealing her 3D render for the first time.

The Street Fighter 6 A.K.I. trailer seems to be from World Tour

This trailer wasn’t a typical gameplay trailer, as it featured what appears to be her intro scene in World Tour. It showed her messing with the player character by force-feeding them poison and getting into their mind, all while acting a little like Harley Quinn by giggling and making off-kilter remarks. With her affinity for poison and acronym name, it’s likely she has at least some ties to F.A.N.G., who made his debut in Street Fighter 5.

It’s unclear when gameplay for A.K.I. will drop since she’s not scheduled make her Street Fighter debut until sometime in the fall. Capcom also didn’t show much of Rashid until around two weeks before his release. She’s also only the second of four DLC characters announced, as Ed and Akuma are scheduled for winter 2024 and spring 2024, respectively.

A.K.I. wasn’t the only Street Fighter 6 news to come out of Evo. Capcom revealed a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover that’s slated for August 8.

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Capcom has announced a Street Fighter 6 x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collaboration that’ll see TMNT content added to the fighter on Tuesday, August 8. A trailer showcasing the content was unveiled at Evo 2023.

Street Fighter 6 Battle Hub will also get a TMNT makeover

Street Fighter 6 players will get TMNT gear and emotes for their custom avatars along with “fun” new titles, TMNT stamps for chat, in-game mobile wallpaper, and camera frames. Additionally, World Tour and Battle Hub avatars can be turned into a Turtle of the player’s choice.

In a press release, Capcom hinted that it’ll continue pursuing branded partnerships for Street Fighter 6. TMNT is the second such collaboration since Onitsuka Tiger at launch. The TMNT collaboration coincides with the latest movie, Mutant Mayhem, which is running in theaters now.

Street Fighter 6 is off to a great start for Capcom. The game has already sold over 2 million copies worldwide. In the U.S. alone, Street Fighter 6 launch month sales more than doubled those of its predecessor. According to Circana, which tracks U.S. video game market data, the game saw “the highest launch month dollar sales for a head-to-head fighting game since the April 2019 launch of Mortal Kombat 11.”

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Street Fighter 6 has received a chunky update, adding Rashid to the roster while making improvements to other fighters. In order to play Rashid, players must either have the Year 1 Character Pass or the Year 1 Ultimate Pass. The fighter can also be purchased from the Goods Shop or trialed for one hour using a Rental Fighter ticket.

Street Fighter 6 July 2023 update overview

An overview of the update is as follows:

New items in Goods Shop

• Playable character Rashid
• Rashid Outfit 2
• Rashid Color 3 – 10
• Avatar gear: Pirate Captain Bundle, Resort-Style Bundle, Breezy Resort-Style Bundle (also available as individual items)

Fighting Ground

• Rashid’s story added to Arcade Mode
• Easier way to switch between Record and Playback in the Training Mode pause menu
• Master League added *Coincides with the beginning of Phase 1 on August 1

Battle Adjustments

• Warning regarding replays: Past replays cannot be played back with this new battle update.
• CFN > Replay: Replays saved to your Replay List or Local Replays will remain saved, but cannot be played back.
• Fighter Profile: Data from earlier versions will not be displayed.

World Tour

• Rashid’s Master Missions added
• Missions featuring Mike Haggar Memorial Stadium Tournament and Suval’hal Arena. You must complete the main game to access these missions
• New comic cutscenes were added to the Gallery under Cutscenes > World Tour

For the full list of battle changes, check out the complete patch notes. For more on Street Fighter 6, read our review.

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Diablo 4 has become the best-selling PS5 game on the PlayStation Store for June 2023, beating Final Fantasy 16 to push the latter into second place. However, these weren’t the only new releases to make their way into the PS5 or PS4 download charts for last month.

Diablo 4 was nearly the best-selling game on PS5 and PS4 on both charts

According to Sony’s chart, Diablo 4 was the best-selling PS5 game on PSN in both the United States and Canada (which are paired together) and Europe during June 2023. While it was also the best-selling game on PS4 in the U.S. and Canada, it didn’t quite manage a clean sweep. The game only managed to get third place on PS4 in Europe behind Minecraft and FIFA 23. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise bearing in mind it made $600 million in its first five days of release.

Final Fantasy 16 came in a solid second place on PS5 in both regions. The game wasn’t released on PS4. However, this is a high performance since the game released on June 22 and only had nine days to claim its spot. FF16 has since become the fastest-selling PS5 exclusive. On the contrary, Diablo 4 had more than three weeks to notch up its sales after it was released on June 5.

Other new games to enter the top PS5 downloads chart include Street Fighter 6 (#3 in U.S./Canada, #6 in Europe) and AEW: Fight Forever (#12 in U.S./Canada). The former also made an appearance at #11 on the PS4 chart for U.S./Canada, but neither managed to chart in Europe.

Elsewhere, Beat Saber continues to dominate the new PSVR2 chart, although it is replaced by Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition on the original PSVR headset. Fortnite, unsurprisingly, remains the most popular free-to-play game on PS5 and PS4.

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Capcom has announced yet another sales milestone for Street Fighter 6. The critically acclaimed fighter has now sold over 2 million copies worldwide, and Capcom is celebrating the occasion with in-game freebies for all players as a “token of appreciation.”

Street Fighter 6 sales celebration freebies now available in the game

Players can head over to Street Fighter 6’s news section to claim a special Photo Mode frame as well as a background for the in-game smart device.

Street Fighter 6 has been somewhat of a redemption arc for Capcom after the lackluster launch and reception of its predecessor. The game launched packed with features that earned praise from critics and caters to veterans and newcomers alike. Street Fighter 6 sold a million units within a week of launch.

Capcom previously revealed that Street Fighter 6 helped push the franchise’s cumulative sales to over 50 million units and acknowledged that making the game approachable was key to its success.

“As a result of providing features for a diverse range of players, the title was met with broad acclaim,” Capcom said in June.

Street Fighter 6’s first DLC fighter Rashid is also due out on July 24.

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Rashid was already announced as Street Fighter 6‘s first post-launch fighter, but he was only attached to a vague “summer” window. Capcom has now gotten more specific and revealed that the Rashid DLC is coming to the acclaimed fighting game on July 24.

Street Fighter 6’s current battle pass is all about Rashid, too

Capcom tweeted out the news with a short trailer that shows how players can use his agility to strike from a distance, get around quickly, or slide under projectiles. His signature wind-powered attacks are back, too, which give him unique moves that he can use to pressure the opponent. The trailer not only ends with his most powerful super, but also his alternate outfit, which is his default getup from Street Fighter V. Street Fighter V also marked Rashid’s debut in the franchise.

Capcom went into more detail on the PlayStation Blog. Rashid is searching for the stronger fighters on the planet so he became a vlogger to livestream and “capture the spirit of strength.” Capcom also confirmed that players can meet him in World Tour, learn his past, and train under him to get his skills. Maxing out his bond with him will unlock his second outfit.

Game director Takayuki Nakayama explained that Rashid’s updated look was meant to convey his acrobatic nature, as he’s covered in thin materials that flutter in the wind as he jumps around. And since he’s often recording and loves gadgets, he has a smartwatch and a camera attached to his belt. Nakayama also said that Rashid was still easy to control but has an expanded move set and tools that give him more utility and a strong neutral.

Rashid is just the first of four announced DLC fighters. New character A.K.I. is up next for sometime in the fall, Ed is slated for winter 2024, and the notorious Akuma is coming to the game in spring 2024. More are likely planned, especially given the game’s success, but they have not been revealed yet.

Street Fighter 6 is also celebrating Rashid’s arrival with its current season, which is aptly titled “Rashid Arrives.” It has many rewards that are inspired by the Middle Eastern warrior, including his theme song, stylized stickers, a wallpaper, and Rashid-esque gear for the player’s customizable avatar.

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