Best Simulation Game of 2023 - Article
by Craig S , posted on 14 January 2024 / 3,625 Views
2023's nominees for Best Simulation Game of the Year demonstrate both the continuing growth of the life simulation sub-genre and the everlasting appeal of the ability to create, manage, and expand your own life-like city. Harvest Moon and its rival sister series Story of Seasons continue to prove popular, as evidenced by their newest entries making the final four; Disney Dreamlight Valley took a page out of the Animal Crossing book while leveraging the many Disney & Pixar licences to great effect; and finally the hugely successful Cities: Skylines received a sequel within months of its surprise announcement.
The Shortlist:
Cities: Skylines II
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
The Runner-Up:
Disney Dreamlight Valley
This cosy life sim capitalised on the Disney & Pixar licences, not only by allowing players to inhabit and tend to a town populated by dozens of the most beloved animated characters ever created, but by developing its own excellent word-building and strong narrative threads. The result is an engrossing and addictive adventure. Creative freedom, polished production values, and some surprisingly strong dialogue rounded out a package that clearly had wide appeal last year, netting Disney Dreamlight Valley the runner-up spot.
The Winner:
Cities: Skylines II
Cities: Skylines was a breath of fresh air when it released a couple of years after the catastrophically poorly received SimCity. That made it an instant hit, and it went on to sell over 12 million copies. Support in the form of both free and paid-for updates, DLC, and expansion packs continued for years. Then, earlier in 2023, a sequel was announced; unusually, the launch date was set for just seven months later. The result was a game that showed much promise, but which was clearly not quite ready for launch - a fact acknowledged by developer Colossal Order in a remarkable pre-launch statement.
Despite that, Cities: Skylines II is an ambitious simulation game full of excellent ideas - of innovative features, remarkable depth, and addictive 'one more hour' gameplay. That foundation, plus good will built up over the last few years, is no doubt what allowed Skylines II to win through with both our staff and community in the end. Hopefully Colossal Order makes good on its promise of continued improvements. The history of the original game suggests it will.
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Well that was unexpected, considering the troubled launch of CS2, to put it nicely. I think I voted for the game because it's still a lot of fun and I haven't personally had much trouble with the game, but I also can't have been the only one to have voted for it - and I don't think I've seen much love for the game on the site.
My vote for this year would have gone to A Wonderful Life. With that said, I'm hoping that Cities Skylines 2 will become a successful comeback story in the vein of No Man's Sky or Cyberpunk 2077.
Wait, is the new Harvest Moon game ACTUALLY good??
Great to see cities win
