2013 was a monumental year for video games, with a surprising number of critically and commercially well-received launches that made history in the gaming industry.
Despite this, most gamers will remember 2013 as the year Grand Theft Auto 5 was released. The franchise is such a behemoth in the video game world that several games unlucky enough to have launched around the same time largely get overshadowed.
With that in mind, we’re looking at seven iconic games released in 2013, as they all deserve to be remembered just as much as GTA 5. They’re all memorable in their own ways and deserve some love and attention. We still love you, GTA, we just want to spread the love a little bit, too.
The Last of Us (2013)
The Last of Us wasn’t just one of the best games of 2013, it’s one of the best games of the decade. It’s still remembered now, 10years on, as an iconic title and one of Naughty Dog’s best games. The first was so successful that it led to a sequel and a television adaptation, both of which released to critical acclaim.
The game is set 20 years after an apocalypse caused by the Cordyceps fungus—a very-real species of fungus that controls the minds of its hosts and turns them into mindless husks. In TLoU, the fungus infects humans and turns them into zombie-like infected creatures. Zombies were a dime a dozen in the gaming industry in 2013, making it all the more impressive that Naughty Dog created a game that stood out and became an icon despite relying on overused tropes.
With characters beloved by gamers everywhere, a captivating yet simple story, emotional moments remembered for years to come, and genuinely frightening encounters with the infected, The Last of Us easily held its own against Grand Theft Auto 5 when it launched in 2013, despite being an original IP.
Bioshock Infinite
Like GTA 5, Bioshock Infinite was a highly-anticipated follow-up to a revered franchise. It made a departure from the previous two Bioshock games by taking to the sky with its setting in the airborne city of Columbia, rather than the underwater dystopia of Rapture.
Despite the change in setting, Bioshock Infinite was a smash hit with fans and critics, garnering scores of nines and 10s across the board. The game is very philosophical at times, and deals with intense themes surrounding topics like religion, racism, populism, nationalism, and extremism, to name a few.
The gameplay doesn’t get completely lost in its themes, though, as Bioshock Infinite is also an engaging shooter with a range of weapons and powers to choose from as you fight your way through Columbia.
Pokémon X and Y
The 2013 Pokémon X and Y games were received well by fans and critics at launch but are best known for being the first Pokémon games that fully transitioned to 3D. Despite being so dated, the sprites from the older Pokémon games were beloved by fans and will always have a place in our hearts, but it was time for something new.
Developer Game Freak took a risk, and the gamble paid off. The 3D models and world of X and Y were universally praised, even if the story and characters weren’t quite as well-received. The fact that this was the first Pokémon game entirely rendered with polygonal 3D graphics rather than sprites was a major milestone for the franchise and earns Pokémon X and Y a spot among the most memorable games of 2013.
Super Mario 3D World
Super Mario 3D World was iconic, with its 3D isometric perspective opening the door to a fresh take on traditional Mario platforming. It features lots of fun power-ups, both new and old, and the most well-known is undoubtedly the Super Bell power-up that turns Mario and his friends into cats.
This power-up became a meme of sorts thanks to its bizarre yet endearing nature—so much so that it was even featured in the 2023 Super Mario Bros animated movie. Adding a cat-themed power-up was a bold move, but Nintendo managed to do it without it feeling unnatural.
As well as its cat power-ups, Super Mario 3D World is also notable for being a successful release on one of the worst-performing Nintendo consoles—the Wii U. The game was a financial success as well as a critical one, and became the second-best-selling game of all time for the Wii U console.
The fact that Super Mario 3D World was successful and memorable and performed well despite all the issues of the Wii U platform makes it absolutely worth remembering alongside Grand Theft Auto 5 as one of the best games released in 2013.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
This 2013 game has a special place in my heart. It’s one of my favorite games in the Assassin’s Creed series and one of my favorite games of all time. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag lets players combine the stealthiness of an assassin with the swashbuckling adventure of pirate life.
For the sixth major title in the franchise, it’s impressive that Black Flag manages to be one of the best AC games. That said, although it’s far from the first mainstream AC title, Black Flag introduced several new elements that were incredibly popular and still common in AC games 10 years on.
The most notable of these features is the ship gameplay, where you can captain your own pirate ship and sail the West Indies, plundering, exploring, and singing sea shanties with your crew. Black Flag is an iconic staple of the Assassin’s Creed series and a game that deserves to be remembered as a standalone classic, too.
The Stanley Parable
One of the most unexpectedly brilliant games of 2013 was The Stanley Parable, an indie gem developed and published by Galactic Café.
The Stanley Parable begins in an office that is empty except for the player character, creating a slightly ominous and mysterious vibe. As you continue through the game, it becomes clear that this is far from just your run-of-the-mill office block, and there’s definitely some weird stuff going down.
The game centers around a silent protagonist, controlled by the player, who is guided by a narrator. The Stanley Parable was well-known for its humor, which comes from the narrator, voiced by Kevan Brighting, who reacts to the player’s actions with often hilarious results, especially if you don’t do what he asks.
The game is story-based and very original, making it a little different from the big-name, action-fuelled AAA titles that also came out in the same year. This difference made The Stanley Parable stand out from the crowd, as well as making it one of the best games of 2013.
Tomb Raider
Last but not least is the 2013 Tomb Raider game. The reboot of the classic Tomb Raider video game series was eagerly anticipated, with a new take that offered a more intimate look at the origins of Lara Croft.
Tomb Raider 2013’s Lara is far more human in both her looks and demeanor than in previous games. She isn’t the cocksure and confident character the world knew from the original PlayStation games. Instead, she is a frightened yet capable young woman struggling to survive after she is shipwrecked and left to survive alone after an expedition goes wrong. The humanity of Lara doesn’t hinder her likability—instead, her vulnerability and emotion make her more endearing than the Lara Croft of the 1990s.
The narrative and gameplay mechanics of the 2013 game are all still very much in line with the Tomb Raider franchise, with puzzles being a key feature and the storyline focusing on Lara’s desire to explore and uncover secrets. But the refreshing take on the series and character made Lara popular once again with a whole new generation of gamers and old fans alike.
