The Great 2023 Video Game Challenge

I can't believe I let this purge so close to the end of the year. For shame

Credit goes to tazzyboyishere for first starting this in 2016, and Robazoid for carrying the torch through 2020. Basically, there are 50 challenges outlined below that will require you to beat 52 games total. This isn't a competition and there's no prize for winning aside from a sense of accomplishment. This is just a fun thing to participate in while we all work through our video game libraries. It also gives us a place to discuss what we're playing. Feel free to join in!

Rules:
- A single playthrough of a game can only be used for one challenge
- Use your own judgment to decide if game fits in a certain category
- Games started in 2021 or earlier are fine as long as they're finished in 2022
- Please add your own games to the spreadsheet linked to below, which anyone can edit
- When using the spreadsheet, please don't mess with checklists/tallies that aren't yours
- There's a tab listing favorite games in the spreadsheet if you need help with Challenge 42
- If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SHwbTtsxvEZ1zyWoe72ORQyNM2WesSkzBW3A71xJJRs/edit?usp=sharing

Challenges:

Years (5)
1. Beat a game released before 1993
2. Beat a game released between 1993-2002
3. Beat a game released between 2003-2012
4. Beat a game released between 2013-2022
5. Beat a game released in 2023

Series (4)
6. Beat a game in a completely new series
7. Beat a game in a series you've already played some of
8. Beat a spin-off or a game that rebooted a franchise
9. Beat a remake or enhanced port

Creators (4)
10. Beat a game made by a director/composer/artist/etc that you like
11. Beat a game made by a developer you like
12. Beat a game made by a developer you've never tried
13. Beat a game made by an indie developer

Genres (10)
14. Beat an RPG
15. Beat a puzzle game
16. Beat a rhythm game
17. Beat a shooting game
18. Beat a simulation game
19. Beat a platformer
20. Beat an action game
21. Beat a strategy game
22. Beat a fighting game
23. Beat a sports game

Themes (6)
24. Beat a game with romance as a central theme
25. Beat a game with horror as a central theme
26. Beat a game with revenge as a central theme
27. Beat a game with mystery as a central theme
28. Beat a game with the supernatural as a central theme
29. Beat a game with comedy as a central theme

Demographics (6)
30. Beat a game with a female lead
31. Beat a game with a child lead
32. Beat a game with a non-white lead
33. Beat a game with a robot/artificial lead
34. Beat a game with an animal lead
35. Beat a game with a lead that's from a fictional species

Time (4)
36. Beat a game that's been in your backlog for a long time
37. Beat a game you'd dropped or had a long hold on
38. Finish a game in one day
39. Finish a game that took you at least twenty-five hours to beat

Stats (3)
40. Beat a game with a Metascore below 70
41. Beat a game with a Metascore above 90
42. Beat another user's favorite game

Adaptation (3)
43. Beat a game based on licensed stories/characters
44. Beat a game that's been adapted into another medium
45. Beat a game that features historical events or people

Miscellaneous (5)
46. Beat a game you received for free or through a paid subscription service
47. Play a technically unbeatable game for at least six hours
48. Beat a game that starts with the first letter of your username
49. Choose a random page on TVTropes and beat something from the video game section
50-52. Beat three games in a series

Not again!

Move We Love Katamari Reroll to 29. Beat a game with comedy as a central theme

9. Beat a remake or enhanced port
Pokemon Leaf Green

23. Beat a sports game
Tecmo Bowl

40/52

Move
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin to 39. Finish a game that took you at least twenty-five hours to beat
Pokemon Snap to 8. Beat a spin-off or a game that rebooted a franchise

34. Beat a game with an animal lead
Donkey Kong Jr.

17. Beat a shooting game
Donkey Kong 3

42/52

22. Beat a fighting game
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

I have been playing Adventure mode on and off since it came out... 5 years ago. Finally finished it!

43/52

moved Resident Evil to horror

42. Beat another user's favorite game

Disco Elysium. Really good but also very buggy

32/50

50-52. Beat three games in a series

Picross e2
Picross e3
Picross e4

3. Beat a game released between 2003-2012

Yakuza 4

30/50

12. Beat a game made by a developer you've never tried
Bleed

That was fun once I got used to the controls!

44/52

37. Beat a game you'd dropped or had a long hold on
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!

According to my trophy list, I started this back in March of 2022. It has a lot of easy trophies which I abused to keep a few trophy streaks alive, but never finished it. I only needed to collect 3 orbs to fight the final boss, whoops.

45/52

43. Beat a game based on licensed stories/characters

TMNT: The Tournament Fighters (NES)

33/50

21. Beat a strategy game
Into the Breach

Bought this during a Steam sale many moons ago. It's a lot of fun! I got a two island victory with Blitzkrieg, so I'm counting it as beaten but I'm definitely going to play a lot more.

46/52

33. Beat a game with a robot/artificial lead

Mega Man

36. Beat a game that's been in your backlog for a long time
Yoshi's Story

Got it with my N64 about 4 years ago, but ended up playing it on Switch Online!

47/52

9. Beat a remake or enhanced port

Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir

31/50

43. Beat a game based on licensed stories/characters
Dragon Ball FighterZ

48/52

As we approach the end of the year, now's the time to make an suggestions you have about modifying challenges, etc.

I haven't been posting updates but to me the hardest challenge by far is the TV tropes one. I'm at 51/52 with 20+ extra games beaten and still struggling with that one

Kenri posted...

I haven't been posting updates but to me the hardest challenge by far is the TV tropes one. I'm at 51/52 with 20+ extra games beaten and still struggling with that one

It's totally fine to reroll if you get something with a really small video games section, or even if there's just nothing you're even remotely interested in

I think I'm going to end the year on 38. I'm working away at Yakuza 0 and Ocnus Theory but there's no way they get beaten in the next couple days.

Still a pretty good result though. This was a nice prompt to play some different stuff and I'm curious what next year's list will look like.

Move Final Fantasy VI to 24. Beat a game with romance as a central theme

42. Beat another user's favorite game
Celeste

Beat it on Steam last year, now beaten on PS4 and probably going for the Platinum eventually

45. Beat a game that features historical events or people
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

I'm more of a Skate guy tbh

40. Beat a game with a Metascore below 70
Touch My Katamari

Sitting at a very nice 69 on Metacritic. It's hard to mess up Katamari, but this is indeed the weakest entry imo

51/52

One more for 2023 for me.

5. Beat a game released in 2023
Pseudoregalia

28. Beat a game with the supernatural as a central theme
Luigi's Mansion

See ya next year

52/52

One more update

4. Beat a game released between 2013-2022

Mahjong Adventure DX

Moved Our World is Ended to 32. Beat a game with a non-white lead

32/50

Hopefully with me dropping Gems of War which took over 275 hours this year I'll do much better at this in 2024

10. Beat a game made by a director/composer/artist/etc that you like
Monster Train

11. Beat a game made by a developer you like
Marvel vs Capcom 2

20. Beat an action game
Sanabi

28. Beat a game with the supernatural as a central theme
Slay the Princess

30. Beat a game with a female lead
Gone Home

32. Beat a game with a non-white lead
Alan Wake 2

34. Beat a game with an animal lead
Pseudoregalia

37. Beat a game you'd dropped or had a long hold on
Freedom Planet

48. Beat a game that starts with the first letter of your username
Touhou: Lost Branch of Legend

42/52

First year I participated, but didn't finish this. Too much time spent on unbeatable games/replays/long games I didn't end up finishing. Saved the best for last with Sanabi, at least (which I of course immediately added into the list of replays the following day.)

31. Beat a game with a child lead
MalViolence

Sneaked in a 14th last minute! Few hours long, worth checking out if you like puzzles, Fawful, Monokuma, or femboys.

AriaOfBolo posted...

Few hours long, worth checking out if you like . . . femboys.

i'm sold

I did beat a few more games than what I posted but couldn't really fit them in the other slots I had left, some of those categories are difficult for me to get. I might not bother this year, IDK.