A new study has found which 2023 video game releases have proved worth the spend as a Christmas Gift, and which have left players feeling disappointed.
As Christmas draws near, it can be hard knowing what to get your loved ones. Games are an ever more popular choice, and you can’t go wrong with getting the latest and best-rated releases for the gamers in your life.
The data, compiled by online betting company CSGOluck, assessed which games were the highest rated based on the percentage of people who completed the game, average rating, and average retirement rate- where players quit the game before completion. Each game was then assigned a score out of 20.
And it turns out that Resident Evil 4 is the 2023 release fans are most happy with this year. The game scored a rating of 18.7 when all three metrics are accounted for and has one of the highest player ratings at 92% – more than 10% higher than the average rating for this year’s releases (83%).
The second highest-rated release of this year is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 after receiving a score of 18.6. With an average rating of 89% and only 0.1% retirement rate, the game proved incredibly popular, selling over 5 million copies on PS5 alone.
The game has had a hugely popular release, but fans are eager to get a copy of the game for PC and Xbox with a release date unannounced so far.
The game was initially released on the 20th of October as a PS5 exclusive and has an average game time of around 18 hours for the main story line. This makes it a great choice for Christmas presents.
The third most popular game is Super Mario Bros Wonder with a score of 18.2 and an average player satisfaction rating of 90%. The Mario and Luigi game was also released on the 20th of October this year on the Nintendo Switch.
The fourth-highest rated game is Alan Wake 2, which was only released on the 27th of October but has proven popular online with a score of 18.1. The game reportedly takes users around 18 hours to complete the main story and proves popular with a 90% rating.
In fifth place is the much-loved Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with a score of 17.3. The game was released on the Nintendo Switch back in May, and in September was reported to have sold 19.5 million copies. The game has one of the longest times with around 59 hours of gameplay.
The top five gaming releases of 2023, according to players
| Game | Avg Rating | Retirement Rates | Completion Rate | Overall Score |
| Resident Evil 4 (remake) | 92% | 0.60% | 8% | 18.7 |
| Marvel’s Spiderman 2 | 89% | 0.10% | 11% | 18.6 |
| Super Mario Bros Wonder | 89% | 0.40% | 11% | 18.2 |
| Alan Wake 2 | 90% | 0.60% | 10% | 18.1 |
| Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom | 94% | 1.90% | 6% | 17.3 |
Another Mario and Luigi game places sixth, with receiving a score of 16.8, and boasting an average rating of 85%. Following this, in seventh place, is Baldur’s Gate 3 with a score of 16.8 (scoring only 0.1 lower than Super Mario RPG).
Dead Space ranked eighth with a score of 16.4 and a rating of 88% – which is 7% above average. The ninth highest-rated 2023 release is Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, which gained a score of 16.4 (0.8 points lower than Dead Space).
Like a Dragon Gaiden was released on the 9th of November but has already found immense popularity with an average rating of 85%. Lastly, in tenth place for the highest rated 2023 releases, Cocoon comes in with a score of 16.3.
The game, with one of the shortest gameplays of the year at only 5 hours, has an 86% rating and only a 1.1% retirement rating.
As for games that were the lowest rated, Starfield was found to be the biggest letdown of the year with one of the highest retirement rates at 7% despite its shorter 22-hour average gameplay. The game was given a score of only 4.86- a 65% decrease from the average.
The bottom five gaming releases of 2023, according to players
| Game | Avg rating | Retirement rates | Completion rate | Overall score |
| Starfield | 75% | 7% | 25% | 4.86 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III | 57% | 3.20% | 43% | 5.51 |
| Diablo IV | 79% | 5.20% | 21% | 8.55 |
| Robocop: Rouge City | 75% | 2.80% | 25% | 10.95 |
| Persona 5 Tactica | 69% | 1.60% | 31% | 11.07 |
Following this, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was also one of the biggest disappointments this year with a measly 5.5 score. The game has the lowest rating out of the games analyzed, with an average rating of only 57%.
Lastly, the third lowest-rated game this year was Diablo IV which received a score of 8.55- nearly two-fifths (39%) lower than the average score. While the game received an average of 79% rating, it unfortunately had a high retirement rate of 5.2%.
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