Although it’s already too late for these games to join the 2023 Game Awards, the December 2023 games roster is looking solid. 2023 has been a wild year for gaming; it had good games, amazing games, and bleach-your-eyes levels of bad games. Will it end with a bang though?
December 2023 is packed with interesting titles. Whether it’s new games or ports of older games. But games with interesting premises or IPs can definitely still flop. Just take one look at Avatar: The Last Airbender – Quest for Balance or Skull Island: Rise of Kong. If you’re ready to take the risk though, here are the best upcoming December 2023 games you wouldn’t want to miss.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Release Date: December 7, 2023
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Developer: Massive Entertainment
Publisher: Ubisoft
The hype for the Avatar franchise hasn’t died down after its return to cinema in 2022. From the looks of it, this game will play similarly to Ubisoft’s Far Cry games. A first-person open-world action game.
You play as a Navi slowly working to retake your world from the RDA’s industrialist advances. You can harness the power of nature through bonding with animals and crafting bows, or use the RDA’s technology against them. The game boasts alive and vibrant environments you can easily get lost in for hours. Hopefully, they do the franchise justice.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
Release Date: December 1, 2023
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Square Enix, Tose
Publisher: Square Enix
As big as the Pokémon franchise is, it isn’t without its competitors. Enter Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, a mysterious world with monsters you can’t physically harm as a human.
So what now? Well, if you can’t beat them, wrangle them! Capture and raise your own army of monsters to defend you on your adventures. Or, if you’re up for the challenge, duel other monster wranglers.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince feels like a proper competitor to the new 3D Pokémon games in both concept and gameplay. The combat is turn-based, but you can fight with multiple monsters at the same time, similar to Final Fantasy.
Sonic Dream Team
Release Date: December 5, 2023
Platforms: Apple Arcade
Developer: Sega, Hardlight
Publisher: Sega
Gameplay videos for Sonic Dream Team are pretty scarce right now, but from the little we’ve seen, it seems that it’ll be a 3D Sonic game. The last 3D Sonic game is Sonic Frontiers, which was a huge success, so expectations are high for Dream Team.
The only iffy part about Sonic Dream Team is the fact that it’s exclusive to Apple devices. Some Apple Arcade games have been ported to other platforms before, so fingers crossed.
House Flipper 2
Release Date: December 14, 2023
Platforms: PC (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions scheduled for March 21, 2024)
Developer: Frozen District, Empyrean
Publisher: Frozen District, PlayWay S.A.
Here’s a December 2023 game that isn’t from a super popular IP, but still incredibly exciting to hear about. If you haven’t heard of the first House Flipper, the title says it all. You help people turn dirty, run-down houses into beautiful, sparkly masterpieces.
The sequel will hopefully provide even more detailed renovation methods and satisfying ways of tidying up messy locations. House Flipper 2 will probably be an OCD gamer must-have.
Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance
Release Date: December 7, 2023
Platforms: PC
Developer: Slitherine Ltd.
Publisher: Slitherine Ltd.
Real-time strategy (RTS) isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Terminator, yet here we are. Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance has set out to please both Terminator and RTS fans alike with its slow, methodical gameplay similar to Men of War or Company of Heroes.
Plotwise, the game takes place in the Dark Fate timeline, where humanity has rallied and declared war on Legion’s machines. Command humanity’s armies and lead them to victory!
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2
Release Date: December 14, 2023
Platforms: PS5
Developer: Steel Wool Games
Publisher: Steel Wool Games
Just when you think the FNAF movie is the last bit of FNAF lore you’ll be ingesting this year, BANG! FNAF Help Wanted 2 jumpscares its way into the December 2023 game lineup.
Five Nights At Freddy’s Help Wanted 2 will send you back to the world of VR. This time, you’ll be visiting the underground compound from Sister Location. Like the last Help Wanted, this game will likely be a series of mini-games like the Bonk-A-Bon featured in the trailer.
Get your tinfoil hats ready to dissect the lore on this one. Bring some blindfolds and earplugs too if you’re squeamish.
Batman Arkham Trilogy (Nintendo Switch Port)
Release Date: December 1, 2023
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros. Games
This entry isn’t exactly a new game. But the Batman Arkham Trilogy coming to the Nintendo Switch is definitely something to look forward to. The trilogy has been highly regarded as one of the best superhero game series, right up there with the Marvel’s Spider-Man games.
Get ready to fight Gotham’s most twisted and darkest minds as the world’s greatest detective himself.
The Arkham trilogy includes the following games:
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Batman: Arkham City
- Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Origins isn’t included because it was produced by WB Games Montréal and not Rocksteady. It’s also generally criticized for not adding much to the plot or formula of the gameplay. These three are the must-plays, and now you can play them all on your Switch.
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Xbox Series X|S Port)
Release Date: December 2023
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S
Developer: Larian Studios
Publisher: Larian Studios
Rounding up this list of December 2023 games is the Xbox port for Baldur’s Gate 3. A Tweet from Larian Studios confirms that the Xbox version of the game is indeed coming this December. An exact date hasn’t come out yet, but that won’t contain an Xbox player’s excitement.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a nominee for Game of the Year in the 2023 Game Awards, so the more accessible it is, the better.
Enter the Forgotten Realms and… do whatever you want. Honestly, the freedom they give you in this game is outstanding. Annoy ancient creatures, break or make relationships, and join the forces of good or evil; the choice is up to you. And now, even the number of choices of platforms you can play it on has gotten better.