PixlBit

One billion grossers for this year were: Puzzle & Dragons, Candy Crush Saga, World of Warcraft, GTA V, COD: Ghosts, and Crossfire. Tops critically were: GTA V, Bioshock Infinite and Last of Us. My wish list below has little to do with these. The ones I'd like to play now in 2023, allowing myself only 1 game per month, are as follows. 

January: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3 exclusive, now all): I was really excited for this RPG back then and may have bought it day-one. I, ultimately, found the battle system difficult and never finished it, but I'd like to return and take another stab at it. I love the Studio Ghibli made cutscenes and you can't go wrong with developer Level-5. 

February: Etrian Odyssey IV (3DS): I might have bought this RPG day-one too, but I can't remember. I used to own it though and played it a bunch. I must reaquire it and try and finish it. These games can get tricky though, but I don't care in this case. I love the Wizardry inspired design: first-person turn-based action with a grid on one screen for you to draw in the maze as you go. I love that. 

March: Bioshock Infinite (every darn thing): I definitely bought this day-one. For some reason though, I never played Bioshock 2, or very little of it. However, being as this is the return of Ken Levine and Irrational Games, I could't resist. I played it all the way through but not the DLC. I was a little disappointed that the world was as uninteractive as it was. It felt like a beautiful living room covered in plastic. I enjoyed it though and would like to replay it and all the DLC I missed. 

April: Dead Island Riptide (all over): Every time I've had a moment to play a little bit of this zombie horror series, I liked it. Riptide is extra content for the first game released as a standalone title. It's been remastered too. I'd love to just get in deep with this series. 

May: Metro Last Light (all over): This is the second FPS game in the Metro series. I've played some of the first game and really enjoyed it. I've been meaning to run the whole series and read the books by Dmitry Glukhovsky the games are based on. I love a dark tone to a game, grim and desperate. This wasn't on my radar at the time though. 

June: State of Decay (PC, Xboxes): I knew nothing of this Xbox Studios survival horror game until I was pressed to play its sequel for a Game Pass reward. Not generally my genre, but I found I really enjoyed it. I'd love to check out this first game in the series. 

July: Shadowrun Returns (every darn thing): TRPGs always get my attention but this was only on PC and phones back in 2013. Recently it was bundled with its expansion and sequel for every system out there. I played a few hours of it on Xbox and really liked it. The cyberpunk world is really cool and the gameplay complex but fun. 

August: Lost Planet 3 (PC, Xboxes, PSes): I must've got this as a Games with Gold freebie one month (when that service was around), and then played it as a random choice one day. I was surprised to really like it. I remember playing the first game in the series and liking that, but then being turned off by Lost Planet 2 because it seemed only playable in co-op, and I couldn't get my friend to play it with me. So I overlooked 3. Boy I missed a good one. I played several hours of 3 earlier this year but didn't finish it. I'd like to do that. 

September: Diablo III (all): I remember wanting this aciton RPG day-one but waiting almost a whole year and getting the Ulimate Evil Edition. My friend Mad Krammer and I played it incessently for a time in 2014. I'm sure I haven't done every little thing in the game, so I wouldn't mind seeing what else I could do in it. 

October: Assassin's Creed IV (all): I was never overly interested in the Assassin's Creed series because the gameplay (stealth and platforming) didn't appeal to me. But I always liked the settings, the historic recreations. III's American Revolution setting got my attention but IV's pirate one really had me thinking day-one buy. I didn't get it, but I've always wanted to play it. I love sailing ships in games. 

November: Zoo Tycoon (PC, Xboxes): The first two games were PC only, but this third game was developed for Xbox 360 as well. I discovered it later, but I got quickly hooked on it. Most simulation games are overly complex and difficult to get into, but some are very accessible, and those are the ones I like. This game is perfectly understandable and can be quickly learned and played. I jump into it from time to time and have no problem learning the ropes again in a few minutes. I haven't done every mission in this game though. I'd like to fix that. 

December: Halo Spartan Assault (PC, Phones, Xboxes): Without a firm choice this month, I went with this twin-stick shooter Halo game which, at the time, got me thinking about the next Xbox. The game was released first for PC and phones in July 2013 and then Xbox One later that year. So it was calling to me to buy a Xbox One, which had just released, to play it. It soon came out for Xbox 360 in 2014 though, and I played it first there. I think it was Wolfenstein New Order that really sold me on Xbox One. 

What did you play in 2013?