As we round out 2023, we asked you to chime in with your own Game of the Year picks, as well as your own memories of wonderful gaming gifts from holiday seasons past. We also give you the lowdown on a PS5 controller that promises never to raise the spectre of drift. Venture forth for this and more, and we’ll see you in the new year. 2 / 6 We’re just a few short days away from the ball dropping and ushering in a new year. put out , but last week we also asked you, the readers, . While there were a few obvious frontrunners, folks did come through with some lesser-known picks. I’m proud of you. Let’s see what games stuck with y’all this year. – Kenneth Shepard 3 / 6 Earlier this week, I about my favorite Christmas gift. It was an Xbox 360 I had begged my late grandma for, which she bought alongside a copy of and a second controller for my bestie and I. This gift would set the course for my life’s current trajectory, one neither I nor my family thought would ever be possible. (Told you, grandma, video games can be a job. If only you could see me now…) Anyway, after sharing my memory, I asked readers to share their own favorite holiday gaming gifts, and y’all really pulled through with some hilarious and touching stories. – Levi Winslow 4 / 6 The design of the video game controller as we’ve known it has largely remained the same for the last 20 years: a d-pad, two analog sticks, four face buttons, and four shoulder buttons. It persists from the first PlayStation’s DualShock, all the way through to the modern PS5’s DualSense, as well as various Xbox and Nintendo controllers. – Claire Jackson 5 / 6 is worth checking out if only to shoot some biblically accurate angels. 6 / 6
