Action-adventure is one of the pillar genres of the gaming industry. It aims to provide players with a high-octane action-packed story, along with fun engaging gameplay. Overall, action-adventure games are a favorite among people who enjoy a good adrenaline rush as well as a nice amount of critical thinking.
In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase the top 5 best action adventure games to play in 2023.
1. Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts Legacy's world is so well crafted and there was so much love put into it, it's kind of absurd. You start off in the castle, it's bloody massive and very faithful to the template - it's clear they tried their best to do a 1:1 replica. Walking through the halls and rooms, never did I feel that exploration is in any way forced - the game encourages me to explore. It just doesn't get old and dozens of hours in I still keep bumping into corridors that eluded me, still finding new things.
That's JUST the castle, the moment you look past the castle and take in the sheer scope of the world, it is positively jaw-dropping.
Combat is satisfying, you generally play with a selection of 4 main spells you chose, from what you have learned, but you're not limited to them. You get up to 4 spell tabs for a total of 16 spells at the ready that you can switch between during combat at will. You'll learn combos of spells that work well together and swinging your wand around will feel really good.
2. Hi-Fi Rush
This game is definitely Devil May Cry meets your favorite rhythm game and it's a match made in heaven. Even if you don't have rhythm, the game has accessibility options and various difficulties to make sure that everyone can enjoy it equally.
I consider myself to have rhythm, but I don't have very good mechanical control to make combo-heavy action games easy for me. I played on the Hard difficulty and still had a blast. I used a lot of continues so my stage ratings were usually poor, but that's okay. I found that the increased challenge let me appreciate the combat more and ultimately made me better—even if I had to redo some encounters and bosses so much that my thumb cramped up.
Hi-Fi Rush's story is pretty straightforward and you get into the action from the second you pick up the controller. There's never really a lull—the story doesn't stop for the entire 15-18 hours you're playing the game. If nothing else, the writing is efficient. It takes you where you need to go and shows you what it needs to show you in order to tell the story that wants to be told.
3. Dead Space Remake
Dead Space Remake has excellent visuals, up to par with modern standards in all fields. The game never looked better and feels just as eerie as the original for the most part. There is more content, with a side-quests system and more optional areas. Clearing everything will require much longer than in the original.
They also overhauled/reworked gameplay mechanics with better alternate fire modes, quality-of-life improvements, and mechanics from other chapters, like free flight in Zero-G. The technical issues of the original, related to running it on modern systems, are no longer present. This is overall a carefully done remake that respects the original vision, atmosphere and gameplay loop, without deforming it too much with modern implementations.
It took me around 20 hours to complete DS Remake on Hard difficulty, taking considerable extra time to fully explore the Ishimura and clear all side-quests. ‘Impossible Mode’, NG+ and a secret ending may be an incentive for a second run, however, most of the content will stay the same; replay value is overall low.
4. Grounded
Grounded is an open-world survival craft game, loosely based on the movie "Honey I Shrunk the Kids". The main characters get shrunk down to bug size and have to survive in their backyard. The map may be small, but it is dense. There is not a single foot of wasted space. The crafting tree is enjoyable. The base building, while more limited in piece and furniture variety than I would prefer, is solid. I was able to create a player home for myself that I am quite proud of.
I love the whimsy of this game. They had a lot of fun at Obsidian designing this. The backyard has a surprising number of biomes (including a desert setting thanks to the sandbox). There are several "dungeons", but the best is the one with the bees. I won't spoil it for you. And I get a real kick out of the attacks based on the elements of candy.
The combat is fierce and feels great. There are a healthy variety of enemies, many of which have fun combat styles. I also appreciate that there is a respectable number of non-hostile critters spanning all tiers.
5. God of War
God of War is a 5-year-old console game, that was released on PlayStation and then ported to PC - and their PC port stands up better than most other AAA titles that have been released. It didn't crash once, and neither did I have any fps drops throughout my journey. I was surprised by how stable the port was.
The game comes with a mechanically sound and fairly satisfying combat system. If you know the trilogy you will be happy to know the fighting is very much the same - to a degree. Hack and slash, but remember - there is a boy traveling with Kratos now, so the extreme and brutal god that Kratos used to be, is repressed by the fact he now has to fight alongside his son. But that allows for an exciting new set of fighting mechanics. Kratos is the front-line powerhouse and Arteus is the back-line archer. This mixture makes for a very interesting battle mechanic.
An interesting world based on Norse myth, full of lore to discover and things to learn. Perhaps most importantly, some absolutely beautiful vistas and many wonderfully fantastical locales to discover. The game does allow you to visit several realms, so there is a fair amount of variety. The world is further enhanced by the obviously high production values. The graphics and music is absolutely breathtaking and fitting - I was left standing around on occasion just admiring the view.
>>> Read more: 5 Best Video Games Inspired By Norse Mythology