If you live for heart-pounding action games that get your blood pumping, 2023 was a year tailor-made for you. This past year was stuffed to the gills with white-knuckle titles spanning a wide range of genres. From the long-awaited return of classic franchises to bold new IPs making a smash debut, there was no shortage of ways to test your reflexes and give your thumbs a knockout workout.
Narrowing it down to just 10 games was no easy feat. The field was highly competitive, with many stellar contenders just barely missing the cut. The games that did make our final ranking rose above the rest thanks to exceptionally thrilling combat, slick movement or shooting, memorable enemies and boss battles, heavy metal visuals and soundtracks, and that elusive “just one more try” addictive quality.
Whether you wield swords, guns, lightsabers or a musical guitar, these are the 10 titles we believe delivered the most intense and satisfying action of 2023. So strap in and get ready for a white-knuckle ride through the year’s most adrenaline-fuelled virtual playgrounds. Things are about to get heavy.
#10 Blasphemous 2
The first Blasphemous game brought gory, Gothic action platforming to the fore when it launched in 2019. Developed by The Game Kitchen, this dark fantasy title featured satisfying combat but was criticized for feeling one-dimensional. In 2022’s sequel, Blasphemous 2, the dev team fully embraces the “action” half of the action-platformer equation to create more thrilling and versatile battles.
Our scarred, masked hero The Penitent One returns, continuing his brutal pilgrimage of vengeance across the hellish lands of Orthodoxia. This time around, he has an expanded arsenal to draw from in combat. Blasphemous 2 introduces new fervent prayers and abilities with delightfully sinful effects, like summoning a winged angel of death or encasing your weapon in holy fire. The game encourages mixing up weapons like swords, spears, whips, and claws to find a deadly combat style that suits you.
Most notable is how the team has tightened up and improved the overall flow of combat. Attacks contain more visual and tactile feedback, and balancing offense with well-timed parries and dodges is key to mastering fights. Rather than a repetitive hack-and-slash affair, the new systems make battles almost dance-like in their rhythmic back-and-forth. It’s a level of polish that was missing from the first outing.
Combined with the return of the game’s gothic Metroidvania-inspired exploration and striking, grotesque art style, Blasphemous 2 stands out as one of the most wickedly enjoyable action games of the year. It retains what fans loved about the original while also repenting for its sins, making it a blood-soaked good time.
#9 Dead Space Remake
The 2008 release of the original Dead Space was a watershed moment for horror games. Its strategic dismemberment-based combat and chilling, cramped setting raised the bar for action-survival experiences. Now in 2023, EA Motive has worked some black magic to resurrect Isaac Clarke’s sci-fi nightmare with a remake that retains the tense, blood-curdling fun of the franchise starter.
Things may be pretty on the surface aboard the mining ship USG Ishimura with the remake’s shiny new next-gen graphics. But make no mistake, this is still Dead Space at its dreadful best. The corridors are still claustrophobic, the lighting moodily ominous, and the irradiated crew members predictably unpredictable in their transformed, violent state. Motive sticks close to the original game’s beats, with some welcome quality of life tweaks.
The most terrifying change is the improvement of the Necromorphs themselves. Their AI is smarter and their grasping limbs faster, making Isaac’s pulse rifle and plasma cutter feel all the more necessary and barely sufficient to take down the shudder-inducing mutations. Stomping limbs off is as gruesomely satisfying as ever, made even more visceral by the game’s exquisite sound design.
By honing the combat and environments of this beloved sci-fi horror romp to a fine, polished point rather than altering its core essence, the Dead Space remake affectionately brings the USG Ishimura and its horrors screaming into the modern age. Series newcomers and veterans alike will relish the chance to severed some limbs and barely escape this haunted house in space again…or perhaps for the very first time.
#8 Turbo Overkill
There’s nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of a good retro-style FPS, and 2023’s Turbo Overkill delivers that bullet ballet in spades. This neon-drenched shooter feels ripped straight out of the early 90s glory days of Doom and Quake, serving as both a love letter to and evolution of those classics. Developer Trigger Happy and publisher Apogee have crafted a game that certainly lives up to its name.
Overkill’s gameplay loop is as simple as it is satisfying. You navigate creatively chaotic levels, from cities to deserts to space stations, while unleashing your wicked arsenal of firearms, explosives and sawblades upon hordes of enemies. Chromesoldiers, murder machines, and massive bosses stand in your way, but the game gives you plenty of tools and maneuverability to take them down while painting the walls red.
Vaulting on to platforms, blast jumping across gaps, and sliding at high velocities keeps the action slick and frenetic. The retro-futuristic settings let the team go wild with bold colors and designs amidst the carnage. And the thumping synth soundtrack pairs perfectly with the mayhem, like you’re raging your way through a rave gone wrong.
While the story is bare bones, the wacky worlds and addictive run-and-gun gameplay form their own compelling core. For anyone missing the glory days of shooters or discovering them for the first time, Turbo Overkill is a riotous, radical ride.
#7 Hi-Fi Rush
January 2023 featured a major surprise release in Hi-Fi Rush, the latest title from horror veterans Tango Gameworks. But rather than terrifying players, this flashy action game looked to wow them with its unique rhythmic combat. Leaning into music-infused mayhem, Hi-Fi Rush hits all the right notes to earn its place as one of the year’s most innovative treats.
Our rock star hero Chai finds an experimental arm surgery goes very awry, resulting in a device that turns combat into a jazz-fueled dance. Attacks and abilities sync perfectly with the soundtrack, challenging you to string together combos to the beat. It’s part music game, part extreme action, blending both genres seamlessly through slick direction and motion capture performances.
Backing up the tuned-to-perfection gameplay is an energetic personality, with Chai’s rebel spirit against an oppressive corporation matched by Tango’s vibrant, graffiti-tagged open world. Throw in collectible tracks from bands like Nine Inch Nails and The Black Keys, and the style bleeds through every aspect along with the high-fidelity tunes themselves.
For those wanting combat you can groove to that’s as flashy as the neon lights streaking by, Hi-Fi Rush hits a perfect high note. Let the rhythm move you.
#6 Remnant 2
The original Remnant: From the Ashes took the challenging combat and boss battles of Souls-like RPGs and blended them seamlessly with third-person shooter action. Its 2019 release built a compelling gameplay formula focused on skill progression and epic battles. In this year’s bigger, bolder sequel Remnant 2, developer Gunfire Games expands that formula into an addictive adventure across visually stunning and wildly varied worlds.
Like its predecessor, Remnant 2 employs procedural generation to create constantly fresh apocalyptic realms, enemies, and challenges to overcome. The overhauled weapon modding adds even more variation alongside expanded classes and skill trees, letting you carve out a unique path of destruction. Whether blasting baddies with assault rifles, hacking away up close with melee combos, or slinging spells from range, Gunfire gives you plenty of approaches to try.
Of course the stars of the show remain the colossal boss encounters. Battling massive beasts and demons across the realms continually tests your skill and demands mastery of Remnant 2’s third-person mayhem. And revisiting worlds in new game plus modes makes pursuing the ever-stronger weapons and armor worth the effort.
For those who enjoy crafting their own OD, the blend of heroic boss battles, diverse worlds full of secrets, and varied combat options makes Remnant 2 an essential action fix.
#5 Metroid Prime Remaster
2002’s Metroid Prime stood as a defining game for Nintendo, marking iconic heroine Samus’ long awaited leap into a 3D first-person adventure. As her first real outing in eight years, Retro Studios took a risk bringing the traditionally 2D Metroidvania into a modern perspective. But with intricate worlds begging to be explored, environmental storytelling, and action perfectly translating the feel of Samus’ abilities into an FPS shell, it paid off to wide critical acclaim.
Now in 2023, Nintendo has given Prime a proper glow-up with a new lick of HD paint. Visuals and controls have been updated to match modern standards, transforming Tallon IV and its caverns, jungles, and machinery into an even more atmospheric and living place. It also makes spending hours traversing every nook and cranny scanning lore or blasting baddies with ice and plasma beams as addictive now as it was over 20 years ago upon first launch.
For longtime Prime fans, new players, and really anyone who loves sci-fi exploration action, Metroid Prime Remastered lets you (re)discover a Nintendo masterpiece. Beam up and blast off.
#4 Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC
Motion Twin’s Dead Cells made a splash when it launched in 2018, blending tightly tuned 2D combat and Metroidvania-style exploration into an addictive and challenging roguelite action platformer. Its DLC expansions have continued adding enemies, biomes, and weapons without losing sight of what makes Dead Cells so special. This year’s Return to Castlevania DLC stands out in particular for making a deliciously daring something borrowed and something new.
Instead of brand new environments, Return to Castlevania translates elements, enemies, and areas from the gothic Castlevania franchise into the tense gameplay loops Dead Cells is revered for. There is a true sense of traversing and doing battle within Dracula’s castle as a Belmont descendant or Alucard stand-in, enhanced by Michiru Yamane’s iconic music. The DLC strikes a smart balance between challenge and approachability for newcomers without losing enriching depth for veterans.
Whip-cracking skeletons and axe-throwing armors pair nicely with flying Medusa heads that long-time vampire hunters will smile at. Exploring familiar yet still unfamiliar grounds captures the spooky thrill of the later Igavanias. Combined with the already exceptional mobility and combat at the core of Dead Cells, The Return to Castlevania DLC is a macabre match made in heaven…or hell.
Put on your cape and grab your holy whip of choice. There are fiends to slay.
#3 Final Fantasy XVI
Square Enix’s iconic JRPG series has continuously redefined its style with each numerical installment over 35 years, but never has it leapt as far from expectation as with the bombastic Final Fantasy 16. While story and characters firmly inhabit traditional franchise fantasy affair, the combat exchanges turn-based beginnings for thrilling real-time physicality. Under the direction of Naoki Yoshida and his FFXIV team, FF16 confidently branches into action game territory withdecidedly spectacular results.
Our tale centers on Clive Rosfield, a young man bound to a powerful Eikon who must act as protector to Joshua, the next Chosen One. This lends to a decidedly hands-on approach for preventing calamity. Clive’s sword swings with weight, enhanced by flashy ability spells and spectral summon attacks. Encounters feel like bombastic movie spectacle, rivaled only by the colossal battles against other Eikons and grueling multi-stage bosses.
Yet beneath the surface of all the magic missiles and screen-filling finishing blows lies a combat system full of depth. Well-tuned enemy patterns allow for rewarding aggressive offense for those who master parrying and combo chaining. The action remains demanding even as allies prove useful for diversion rather than carrying. Combining action satisfaction and RPG depth, FF16’s battles will leave your pulse pounding as fiercely as Clive’s Eikon heart.
#2 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order marked an exciting new canon chapter for the galaxy far, far away. As fugitive Padawan Cal Kestis, players embodied thrilling lightsaber combat and Force powers. It laid a promising foundation as a soulslike action-adventure that felt right at home within Star Wars’ lush worlds. In this year’s epic sequel, Respawn Entertainment builds on that strong core with a blockbuster-worthy saga we’re overjoyed to cut down to our #2 action game of 2023.
Survivor polishes everything that worked while upping the ante to meet the title. Motion capture and cinematics feel straight out of the films. The intuitive parry and dodge-focused battles reward aggression and proper timing. Iconic abilities like force push and pull or strategic new ones like force shield lend excitement and options to tough enemy encounters within larger-than-life levels. Iconic beasts like AT-ATs and the chilling Inquisitors also stand out as memorable adversaries.
Just as importantly, Survivor expands on the deeply-layered RPG progression systems by giving Cal more freedom. The branching skill trees, upgradable lightsaber and custom outfits return. But now new traversal abilities unlock more nooks and crannies of intricately designed planets and bases ripe for combing over. Chasing 100% completion across Zeffo, Koboh, and the other stunning locales alone is reason for repeat visits.
Top it all off with an emotional story swelling with twists and turns that fits right alongside the Skywalker Saga’s most poignant moments. The Force is truly strong with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. In a franchise first, it makes playing as the iconic warriors and using their mystical arts feel as heroic as they deserve to be. May the Force be with you, Cal Kestis.
#1 Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
The Armored Core series holds a special place in many gamers’ hearts as the premier mech action franchise, despite laying dormant for over a decade since 2012’s Verdict Day. This year, FromSoftware marks an explosive return to form by unleashing the long-awaited Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. It proudly rockets AC action combat to new heights while retaining the cerebral, customization-focused gameplay flow beloved by cult followers.
Fires of Rubicon transports players to the war-torn worlds of Rubicon 3 as a Raven mercenary. Our silent protagonist must take on dangerous contracts battling bandits and colossal corporate Abandoned Weapons (ASWs). The planet’s hostile climate and terrain add new mobility challenges to overcome alongside violently overwhelming manmade threats. Piloting your Armored Core against these lethal odds makes mere survival feel like sweet success.
Yet the biggest draw is fine-tuning your personal mech loadout to match your preferred playstyle and excel against adversaries. Fires of Rubicon introduces breakthroughs like Assault Boost dashing and dynamic Radiator defense that make ACs feel less clunky and more elegant than ever before. Striking the right balance with limbs, generators, processors and weapons to become a nigh-unstoppable war machine is infinitely rewarding.
Combine that depth with gorgeously realized confrontations against towering enemies and multiplayer versus modes, and it’s easy to see why Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon has unanimously conquered our list as 2023’s greatest action experience. FromSoftware has unleashed a triumphant return that reminds the gaming world why we loved this once niche mecha title so much while winning a legion of new fans. Long live the Raven and his merciless Steel.
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