I remember the early days of 2023 as a strange, restless period. We were still trying to pretend that the pandemic hadn’t reshaped everything, desperately clinging to the pre-2020 normalcy like a fading dream. Yet in the midst of that uncertainty, video games offered plenty of distraction, and the editors at TheGamer were churning out some of the most thought-provoking features of the year. Now, from the vantage point of 2026, I can look back on those pieces with a mix of nostalgia and a deeper understanding of how they foreshadowed the industry’s path. Let me walk you through the moments that stuck with me the most.

Hitman 3 was the quiet achiever that nobody wanted to label a live-service game. When IO Interactive announced that all three modern Hitman titles would merge into the single World of Assassination package — and that Hitman 3 owners would get the first two games plus their DLC for free — it felt like a revelation. I had been playing since the episodic launch of Hitman 2016, and this consolidation finally gave me a complete, seamless playground. Features Editor Ben Sledge argued that Hitman 3 was the best live-service game precisely because it never felt predatory. Seasons, elusive targets, festive themes, and even the weird Seven Deadly Sins DLC kept me coming back without ever shaking me down for cash. In 2026, as I watch other service games collapse under the weight of their own greed, I miss that understated elegance. Hitman’s rebrand was just the beginning of a steady stream of content that, even now, remains a gold standard for how to treat players right.

Then there’s my all-time favorite RPG beatdown: getting utterly destroyed by Beatrix in Final Fantasy 9. Evergreen Editor Ryan Thomas Bamsey kicked off a wonderful column called My Favourite Moment with exactly that memory, and it resonated deeply. I still vividly recall the first time I faced her — the swelling music, the flash of her sword, and the sheer impossibility of victory. No matter how much I grinded or cheated, she would just blink and wipe my party with Stock Break, then scold me like an errant child. That scripted humiliation taught me something profound about inevitability. In a genre obsessed with player agency, Final Fantasy 9 reminded me that some obstacles can’t be brute-forced. You have to understand the character, talk to her, and accept that fate is bigger than your level 99 party. Even now, when I watch a streamer try to sequence-break that fight, I smile at the futility. Some moments are designed not to be beaten, but to be felt.

Esports representation was another topic that blossomed beautifully since that time. Cross-department Editor Issy van der Velde’s interview with Velly, Vansilli, and Iain Chambers about the Red Bull Campus Clutch Valorant tournament opened my eyes to how casting can shape culture. Chambers refusing to sand down his Hull accent because “you should celebrate the way that you sound” became a quiet anthem for authenticity. I remember the coded comments Velly faced — people saying he sounded like he was commentating an NBA game — and his response: “I’m here to educate the world one broadcast at a time.” That spirit stuck with me. In the years that followed, I noticed more regional accents and diverse voices popping up in esports streams, and I believe those 2023 conversations were a catalyst. By 2026, the scene has evolved to a point where a caster’s identity is a strength, not a liability, but we needed these pioneers to speak up first.

And then there’s the sting that never quite healed: Overwatch 2’s monetization. Features Editor Eric Switzer poured his frustration onto the page, and I felt every word. I had poured hundreds of hours into the original Overwatch, where loot boxes rained cosmetics simply for playing. Sure, they were gacha mechanics, but at least I could earn everything through gameplay. When Overwatch 2 deleted the first game and replaced it with a battle pass that offered fewer cosmetics than a single event used to provide, my heart sank. Switzer called it a short-term cash grab built on corporate greed, and in 2026 that diagnosis seems almost too generous. The game’s player count has fluctuated wildly, and I’ve since moved on, but I still mourn what was lost. That feature captured the exact moment when many of us realized that our beloved hobby was being hollowed out by a free-to-play model that demanded money for everything.

Finally, Square Enix’s blockchain fixation felt like a cautionary tale delivered in real time. Lead Features Editor Jade King dissected that infamous 2023 New Year’s letter, noting the word “blockchain” appeared 14 times. Even then, NFTs and the metaverse were punchlines, but Square Enix doubled down with a vision that King called “cynical and unappealing.” I recall reading that article and feeling a cloud settle over the publisher’s future. In the years since, many blockchain projects have either fizzled or been quietly abandoned, and Square Enix’s reputation took a hit from which it is only now beginning to recover. It was a vivid lesson in how chasing trends for profit can alienate the very community that built you up.

Those 2023 features were more than just weekly distractions; they were mirrors held up to an industry in flux. Looking back in 2026, I’m grateful for the editors who called things as they saw them, because those calls helped me decide where to spend my time and money — and which games truly deserved my love.

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