The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
by Ian McCormick
Staff writer
Some people complained that 2023 was a bad year, from “still recovering mentally after covid” despite it being three years ago, to “struggling to keep up with school work”. And while it’s evident that those things had an impact on this year's overall outlook, 2023 was an undeniably great year for gamers.
If further convincing is required then just take a look at the lineup for the game of the year awards. From Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (which arguably got robbed of several nominations) to Baldur's Gate 3 which took the cake and won the most awards; there were some fantastic experiences, many of which highlighted a good year of gaming for students and staff at Bradley.
Last year had as much appeal to long time gamers as it did to newer ones, making it fantastic for everyone involved.
French teacher Eric Howard recollects “this year was also nostalgic for me, as I had the chance to revisit some of my favorite franchises through new games and remakes.” Mr. Howard continued “Resident Evil 4 is one of my favorite games from when I was a kid and I grew up reading Harry Potter,” showing how games like the RE4 remake and Hogwarts legacy had a significant impact on him.
Moving away from the realm of single player story based games, some gaming last year was more about the experiences meant to be shared.
Alex Schafer (11) adds “Overwatch, Fortnite, GTA5, and a new game that recently came out called The Finals, those all highlighted 2023 just because [they’re] games I played with my father and his friends and my friends.” Last year’s gamers found just as many fun experiences with others as they were able to on their own.
What made this year such a memorable year for gamers? Making a game is one thing, pleasing the community around it is another.
Jorge Morales (11) says “Some games that highlighted my year [are] Siege, Battlefield, and Evil West, the updates and communities made them better,” highlighting how gamers want to spend more time with games that actually care about their fan base.
So was 2023 a good year for gaming? What’s it looking like for this year? Mr. Howard states “In my opinion, 2023 was the best year in gaming since at least 2017.” Jorge Morales explains “2023 [was] a pretty good year on multiplayer games and 2024 has [a] good chance to be better.” Finally Alex Schafer concludes “I think 2023 was an excellent year for gaming and I think 2024 will be even better.” With that, expectations are high going into 2024.
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