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How many Habibis does it take to make a Top 10 games of 2023 list? Three Habibis, it turns out: one to make the spreadsheets Fawzi can copy-paste into, one to correct Fawzi's copy-pasting skills, and one Fawzi.
Happy New Year, everyone <3
Happy New Year, everyone <3
Creators & Guests
Host
Host
What is The Habibis?
The Habibis is three game developers drinking some good Arab Tea for what should be about fourty minutes, inshallah, each week, inshallah. Fawzi Mesmar, Osama Dorias, and Rami Ismail discuss games and media and life as Arabs living all around the big world.
Welcome to the Habibi's god. I'm just I'm too nervous. I'm too nervous. I got it wrong last time.
Speaker 2:There's You're gonna get it right. You're gonna you're still talking. You could still get it right.
Speaker 1:We're going well. Welcome to the Habibi's, the podcast with the 3 Arab game developers drinking good Arab tea. I'm your host for this episode, Rami Ismail.
Speaker 2:And I was Salvador. Yes.
Speaker 3:Oh, no. I'm Fozi, Massmart.
Speaker 2:Amazing. You're almost amazing. Did you you said 3 Arab game developers. I know that that's accurate. That's not the intro, but, you know, you get a pass.
Speaker 2:You get a pass because this is part 2.
Speaker 1:This is part 2. This is our first post cliffhanger. This is so exciting.
Speaker 2:It is so exciting.
Speaker 1:Do you think do you think that it's it's the kind of thing where you're like, I never thought I would do a cliffhanger on a podcast.
Speaker 2:But I mean, not intentionally.
Speaker 1:We just talked too much last time.
Speaker 3:That's right. Previously on the Habibis.
Speaker 1:Previously on Habibis, we tried to figure out what our top ten games of the year were, but, eventually, we just had to make a a top ten list of games. We managed to make that, and now I think we need to figure out the order. So y'all have your list ready?
Speaker 2:My list ready.
Speaker 1:Ready to ready to copy paste? See what happens?
Speaker 3:Furiously.
Speaker 1:Yep. K. Let's go.
Speaker 3:I'm ready.
Speaker 1:But you're missing. Yes.
Speaker 2:So you're not ready. I'm turning.
Speaker 1:The boss is like top 9.
Speaker 3:I'm ready. I'm ready.
Speaker 2:Wait. You have the same one too. I have
Speaker 1:the same one too. Okay. Okay. Okay. There you go.
Speaker 1:Hi. There's some interesting stuff here.
Speaker 2:Very interesting.
Speaker 1:Some very interesting stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I I would I I am I'm shocked. Let me, let me redo some of this so that we have a slightly better idea of where things are.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's all over the place.
Speaker 1:Wow. This is this is an absolute mess. This is great. I am very happy about this. Okay.
Speaker 1:Osama Fauzi, I made a separate spreadsheet behind.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So let's see if any of us very strongly disagree with anything. Shall shall we read this?
Speaker 3:Yes. Let's read this. From the box stores.
Speaker 1:Shall we start shall we start from the bottom? Yes.
Speaker 3:From the bottom of the box.
Speaker 2:That way, there's anticipation for the
Speaker 1:But this is not a final. This is just what we're agreeing on for now. Exactly. Okay, Toman. So, shall I just read all of them?
Speaker 1:Go
Speaker 3:for it. Do it.
Speaker 1:Alright. On 10, we have Cobalt Core with 9 points, a space for the Unbound on 9 with 10 points. On 8, we have Final Fantasy 16 with 12 points. 7, Spider Man 2 with 14 points. 6, Cocoon with 16 points.
Speaker 1:5, Dredge with 16 points. 4, Alan Wake with 16 points. 3, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom with 19 points. 2, Baldur Skate 3 with 25 points, and 1, Venba with 28 points.
Speaker 3:You know what? I'm okay with this.
Speaker 2:Yeah. This actually part. So I think it's
Speaker 3:the only thing to discuss. Alan Wake and Reg are both 16, especially because you guys made the comparison earlier. Yes.
Speaker 2:So, like but I agree. In the most part, this feels right, except for figuring out the number 4, 5, and 6. But let's see. We could talk about, like, the any other disagreements that we find.
Speaker 3:With this order, really. I I feel like, you know, Venda being a Habibi game of the year makes a lot of sense, considering the 3 the 3 of us and our lives.
Speaker 1:Yep. Agree. Agree. Yeah. But I think Alan Wake should be higher.
Speaker 2:Wow. Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's that's my that's my only one. I think Alan Wake deserves to be up.
Speaker 3:I higher.
Speaker 2:I don't see how Alan Wake is gonna be either Baldur's Gate 3 or Zelda Tears of Kingdom.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I can see that.
Speaker 2:Haven't played it, I know, but those were all contenders. All 3 of the top 3 games were all potentially my top one. Right. Yeah. That is so strong.
Speaker 1:Alan Wake was potentially my top one.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Not even top 3, top 1. Like, for me, Alan Wake had impossible odds to face. Like, I am a huge fan of Alan Wake 1. I did not think they would be able to nail that. And Alan Wake 2 is just like it's it's decadent levels of of good game.
Speaker 1:It's narratively smart. It's mechanically smart. It's atmospherically smart. Like, just kinda everything about that game is good. Like, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I couldn't put it down the moment I started. You know, this was I I think for me, 2023 is the year of, like, Vybe, like, Vybe based games. So That's generally sort of how I think of of 2023. Yeah. And I have to say, like, in terms of vibes, like, I think Alan Wake can give Baldur's Gate and Zelda both a run for the money.
Speaker 1:I just think Venba hit so hard that there's no way for anything to pass it.
Speaker 2:Okay. I'm gonna say something. Don't hate me. Don't be mad. You have to promise not to be mad.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:We've missed a game, a really important one.
Speaker 1:Oh, no.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Know that we're very close to the final. We forgot to carry it over. Street Fighter 6. It was on all three of our lists, and somehow we got forgotten.
Speaker 3:Oh, you're right.
Speaker 1:He is right.
Speaker 2:So we need to at
Speaker 1:least I'll be very honest. If Street Fighter 6 makes it in, it is gonna be in place with Cobalt core for me, so it's not very complicated.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Not not complicated for me too. It definitely deserves the space of Cobalt core.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I'm okay with that.
Speaker 1:Yep. I'm okay with that too. But then we
Speaker 2:have to discuss where it is on the list for us. Sorry to introduce this, but I cannot not No. No.
Speaker 1:It's fine. Like, I'm we should make sure we get it right.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Because I was when I was telling you before that Venba, Baldur's Gate 3, and Zelda were the 3 I debated for 1st, and I'm like, wait. There was a 4th one Right. That I was debating, and then I remembered Streetfighter 6. So to me, that's the space it occupies.
Speaker 2:It is
Speaker 1:I don't know. Like like, for me, and I'm I'm gonna be very honest with y'all. Like, Venba, I'm I'm gonna remember for the rest of my life. Yeah. Same.
Speaker 1:No matter what. Right? Like, I'm gonna remember that game for the rest of my life. Balls of k 3, I'm gonna remember until they do a better one, which It's Larian. They will.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Zelda, you already forgot.
Speaker 1:I I honestly, I I I did. I genuinely like, most of it, I forgot. Like, I I think there's a few story beats that that I remember and a few, like, moments where I was like, that was cool. Like, most of that game was just kind of tedious for me, and it never evoked the sense of wonder or place. I'm never gonna forget either.
Speaker 1:Like, the the that is it it is an impossible game. It is an impossible achievement. It is an impossible it it it it shouldn't be possible to make Alan Wake 2, and they did it. And they did it with confidence. Like, that is not a game you make with confidence.
Speaker 1:And I appreciate that. I just I just very deeply appreciate that. I think for most of this, I'm fairly okay. I'm a little disappointed with Final Fantasy 16 sitting on the 8th place, but, like, hello. So I get it.
Speaker 1:You know, if I have to hold any game hostage here, it will be Cocoon. I'll say, okay. Move that down. Move something else up. But I'm also kind of like it was really well done.
Speaker 1:I just I would play as Alan Wake above Baldur's Gate 3 even.
Speaker 2:Oof. Yeah. Well, I'd but very friendly, the pillows fight you for that one.
Speaker 1:Well, you haven't played Alan Wake too.
Speaker 2:No. But, like and and that's why, like the thing is if you noticed my cut list, the only game I had on my cut list that I didn't play was Karateka because of the the the reasons. Like, I'm I'm judging based on your feedback of it. And Builder's Gate 3 really deserves to be top 3 in my opinion. I agree.
Speaker 2:If I would squeeze 1 in, I would actually squeeze Streetfighter 6 between Zelda and Alan Wake 2, and I know you'll fight me for that. But that's that's the placement that I
Speaker 1:I won't fight you in Streetfighter, though. I'm gonna I'm gonna get bodied.
Speaker 2:Fosey will will body both of us. That's just
Speaker 1:how it works. Now for me for me, if if I would move Alan Wake to to second place, probably.
Speaker 3:I I can't see Alan Wake being more than Baldur's Gate than Zelda for me.
Speaker 2:Neither. I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry. Bulgarian than Zelda.
Speaker 1:It is the Khabib list. It's not the Rami list.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. I don't have those
Speaker 3:Streetfighter, I can I can replace it with space on the, for the outbound for it to be number 9? What's that?
Speaker 2:Not higher than that? Because I would I I actually think 246 is better than Spider Man 2. Like, Like
Speaker 3:I would agree with that. I would agree with that. So I
Speaker 1:would agree with that, but I but then I I would argue that space for the unbound is better than both of them. I for me.
Speaker 3:Better than Spider Man.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Again, like, I did not enjoy Spider Man Fousey. Like
Speaker 3:Better than Street Fighter.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. Because here's the thing. Like, Street Fighter is a very good execution of something I've seen before. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And it is the best execution of it. No question about it. But for me, there's a difference between building on something and achieving it and doing something that has never been done before and doing it. And they get no shortcuts in talking about Indonesian culture, Indonesian history, Indonesian music, and then they get no shortcuts. They get nothing.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's like it's like they they had to build you know, it's it's the old video game development joke. Right? They had to build the rails on the train as it was moving Yeah. With no destination, and they landed exactly where they needed to go.
Speaker 3:I think this is why it deserves the recognition. But, also, gameplay wise, there's a lot there that we've seen
Speaker 1:from emerging territories always walk into is their location and culture is the risk.
Speaker 3:Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And that's unfair.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Right? And and this and this is why I wanted it, on the list.
Speaker 1:Right. You know?
Speaker 3:And it's like and I think it deserves to be on Habibi's, top ten list.
Speaker 1:For me, comparing it to Street Fighter 6, which is a sublime sublime fighting game or Spider Man 2, which is a very well executed Spider Man game, not for me, but very well executed.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:I just I think I will always and I'm an independent. Like, I can't help it. I will always rate risk very high on my, like, sort of, like, what do I value. It's basically, Humba is a risky game. It's a very risky game.
Speaker 1:And I think Street Fighter is a risky game. I thought Spider Man 2 was less risky. Yeah. So for me, it makes sense that it would go, you know, space for the unbound, street fighter Spider Man. And then Final Fantasy, I'm okay with dropping that all the way to the bottom.
Speaker 1:Like, it it was cool and interesting. I think they didn't really know what they were doing, but they did a lot of cool things.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. I I won't
Speaker 1:be That's kind
Speaker 2:of where I would Final Fantasy, but I definitely think that Spider Man should be below Street Fighter 6. And I like what you're saying about space for the inbound. If it's higher than Spider Man, I respect that, but I didn't play it for long enough to comment.
Speaker 1:Let's let's just agree. We we all agree that Street Fighter should be above Spider Man.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Fousey, is that correct?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. I agree.
Speaker 1:Alright. Alright. Cool. I'd because I think that's not a a big a big thing to argue about, and I think we all agree that Final Fantasy 6 should be below Spider Man and Street Fighter.
Speaker 3:16. 6 is a different discussion.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Sorry. My apologies. Not my apologies. On the fantasy 16.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Should be below be both of them.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:So then, really, our big question is where does space of the?
Speaker 2:I would high put it higher than Spider Man 2. The street fighter 6
Speaker 3:space for the unbounded more than Street Fighter?
Speaker 2:I you liked Battlefront Streetfighter is what you said?
Speaker 3:What's that? No. No.
Speaker 1:No. He said should it be should space for the outbound be above Streetfighter or under it for you?
Speaker 2:To me, it's under, but I I'd I'd accept over. But for me, it's under.
Speaker 3:I think for me, I'd be happy with street fighter, space for the unbound, Spider Man, and then Final Fantasy.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That's that's what
Speaker 1:we do. That is 2 votes, and 2 votes means we lock it in.
Speaker 2:Excellent. So now Alright. The conversation is between the three way tie. Alan Wake to Dredge and Kahoot.
Speaker 1:K. Because to me Oh.
Speaker 2:I'm I'm
Speaker 1:My argument is made.
Speaker 2:Yeah. To me, the the it's Dredge, then Alan Wake 2 and then Cocoon. It's I would swap those 2. And I know you Ravi, you're gonna fight me, but I'm just saying
Speaker 1:Yep. 100%. I
Speaker 3:haven't played reps, so I can't make that argument, but I did play Alan Wake and Cocoon. And, yeah, I'm I'm happy with the order. Alan Wake 2 Dredge then Cocoon. I'm fine with that.
Speaker 1:I mean, for me, it's impossible to think Cocoon ends above above Dredge. Like, personally, like, dredge to me is is it it is subtle in such a beautiful way that yeah. No. I don't I don't think so. And while I think Dretch nails the sense of anxiety at times better than Alan Wake does, I think Alan Wake as a package is just one of one of the best games of the year.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Sounds like we have
Speaker 1:a broad consensus.
Speaker 2:We have a list.
Speaker 1:I mean, you know, we I can fight for years about Alan Wake to Baldur's Gate and Zelda, but I'm not gonna make that. So No. I will I will I will yield. Are we happy? This is actually, I think, one of the biggest questions of the year.
Speaker 1:Are we happy with Baldur's Gate versus Zelda?
Speaker 2:To me, it's really difficult to compare the 2. My Zelda is higher for me than Baldur's Gate 3, but I'm okay with.
Speaker 3:It's the opposite for me, which is strange. Like, for me, every time a Zelda game came out, it won my game of the year every time. This is probably the only year which I will give it to Baldur's Gate over Zelda. Yeah.
Speaker 1:K. Yeah. I I for me, it's Baldur's Gate over Zelda. Like, we've we've been clear on this one. So I think we'll leave it at that.
Speaker 1:Well, then we have a top 10.
Speaker 2:We have a top 10. Do you wanna count from the bottom up Yes.
Speaker 1:From the bottom up. Everybody takes turns. We do. Yep.
Speaker 3:Let's do it. So at at number 10, we have Final Fantasy 16.
Speaker 2:At number 9, we have Spider Man 2.
Speaker 1:At number 8, we have A Space for the Unbound.
Speaker 3:At number 7, we have Street Fighter 6.
Speaker 2:At number 6, we have Cocoon.
Speaker 1:At number 5, we have Dredge.
Speaker 3:At number 4, we have Alan Wake 2.
Speaker 2:At number 3, we have Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom.
Speaker 1:At number 2, we have Baldur's Gate 3.
Speaker 3:And the Hamibi's game of the year at number 1 is Vemba.
Speaker 1:And so well deserved. Yeah. So well deserved.
Speaker 3:Do you guys wanna say a couple of words about why Vemba is our game of the year? Yes.
Speaker 2:Yes. I do. Can I go first? Go.
Speaker 3:Go for me.
Speaker 2:Vemba is a game I will think about forever. It's it basically, it mirrors a lot of my childhood. So a little bit about it in case you're just, you know, don't know what Vemba is. Vemba is about a woman named Vampas. That's the the titular, character, who is of Indian descent.
Speaker 2:Her and her husband moved to Canada to seeking a a a
Speaker 1:a new
Speaker 2:life. And, eventually, they have a child, and the story is about all of them, mostly about, but also about the child. And the child, even though I'm I'm not from India, I'm from Iraq, the child's experience mirrors my own in in many ways, I can't as as an Iraqi, you know, the diaspora, It it mirrors there are some scenes in it that are so me that in some some way some of them I've thought about for a long time, and others I've forgotten. I've completely forgotten that I had that experience. And this was a stark reminder of it.
Speaker 2:Venba is art. Like, you know, the whole argument over is games are or not? Venba is undeniably art. It is an incredibly meaning meaningful experience for me. I cried happy tears.
Speaker 2:I cried sad tears, and I will think about it for forever.
Speaker 1:It's for me, it's really a game about finding who you are and rejecting who you are. And I think any child that grew up between cultures or moving between cultures, Any child that ever had to deal with the disconnect of the otherness of not being from a place. Any child that had to deal with parents from a culture that is, you know, I think primarily non Western, but pretty much global culture everywhere else, I think will recognize themselves in this in some way, shape, or form. I I described it for myself as a game about having parents, and I I I cried a lot. And there's one particular game in scene in the game that I don't wanna I don't wanna talk about it, I don't wanna spoil.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:But there's a particular scene in the game that just had me bawling for, like, 20 minutes or something, and then I called my parents because I I could, and I I wanted to, and I I didn't wanna miss the opportunity to because the game reminds you that there is an enormous sacrifice in trying or having children in a place that you don't recognize Mhmm. And knowing that they might not understand you or connect with you throughout your life. And I think there there is something I I'm gonna tear up again. So I'm just gonna that Vemba is my game of the year because it'll make me cry just talking about it. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:I it's, I love what you guys said about, and it was the same for me. You know, I finished finished playing the game in the plane. I landed, and I called my mom. So, you know, the the minute I landed, and it's exactly that. It's the game that makes you it it speaks to reality so much that it makes you appreciate, aspects of the struggle of 1st and second generate, generation immigrants or people living between cultures.
Speaker 3:Or just, like, the idea of coming into terms, with your own identity, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's it's so honest. I think one of the things that really stood out to me is that there is a tremendous level of empathy that Vizai Games must have had to make the point of view character the mother.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Right? It it shows a level of self reflection, and understanding that I think is is really powerful. It also reminded me that kids, even when they don't try to kids are mean, y'all.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Kids are mean. They don't try to. They're just figuring their life out, but, like Yeah. Gosh. And it the game never tries to smoothen that out.
Speaker 1:It never tries to sugarcoat it. It's like, hey. Listen. This was us, and it's very clear that this is a game about the developers. Right?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Even though it's it's probably like a a a sort of, like, averaged out or even out or, like, a selected collective memory. But, like, it is so honest. It's so genuine. It's so vulnerable.
Speaker 1:It is so self reflective. It doesn't hide. It's not embarrassed. It's not ashamed. It just says, this is the line we took to who we are.
Speaker 1:And now we are making a game that's proud of our culture, of our history, of our people, of our parents and of us. Mhmm. And I'm just I just nobody made anything like this in games ever, and I'm I'm I just I can't. I can't. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I can't.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I love it.
Speaker 3:Agreed. So
Speaker 2:that was the number one. They really don't.
Speaker 1:We also all agreed about Baldur's Gate 3. I don't think we need to say many words about it. Nope. Great game. I I did I did wanna say one thing about Baldur's Gate 3.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Which is there is this TV show called Foulas. You know it? No. No.
Speaker 1:It's, a Penn and Teller magic show. It's a US television show.
Speaker 2:Foulas. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Do you know it.
Speaker 1:It it's a television series where magicians go, and they try to do a magic trick in front of, like, super famous magicians, Penn and Teller. And, there's this particular episode where a magician goes up, and he does this kind of amazing trick. Right? Basically, what he does is he he I think he forces a guard, right, on on Ben Arteller. And then near the end of the trick, he he drops the deck of cards.
Speaker 1:And then as the cards are falling, he just snatches out from the falling deck the correct card. Wow. Right? And it's a magic trick.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's a magic trick. And Penn and Teller, they they always go after the magic trick is done, you know, they kinda keep the they they talk to the contestant. And then as the they talk to the contestant, Ben and Taylor, like, discuss whether they can figure out how the trick was done, and then they try to communicate it in code words
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:That a magician would understand
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:That the audience would not to see if Penn and Teller figured it out. And then it's an honor system. Yeah. Right? The magician will either admit Right?
Speaker 1:Exactly. Yeah. So the the the magician will reveal whether they were correct. And and this one, something really, interesting happened because Penn and Teller kind of explained that there's 2 types of magic tricks. There there's magic and there's juggling.
Speaker 1:With magic, you say you're gonna do something that is that is impossible, but you do something else. And with juggling, you say you're gonna do something pretty much impossible, and then you do it. And the argument that they made is that this this this contestant hadn't done magic, that there was no trick, that they had just trained long enough to be good enough to snatch the right card from the deck.
Speaker 2:Wow. That is impressive.
Speaker 1:And then the contestant was like, so you're saying that I trained for decades to do superhuman reflexes. And then it just burst into green. I was like, yep. Wow. That's what I did.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:And you know what? That's how Baldur's Gate 3 feels to me. Baldur's Gate 3 to me feels like you know, our job as magicians.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And Larian just rejected it and just went like, oh, wait. No. We're just gonna do it. There's no shortcuts here. We're just we're just straight up gonna do it.
Speaker 1:We're gonna make all this content. We're gonna spend 20 years getting good enough to do it, and then we're just gonna do it. No tricks. No fakes. No get arounds.
Speaker 1:Just, like, straight up here it is.
Speaker 2:Ravi, Fousey, have y'all watched the movie Catch Me If You Can? Yeah. Liam Hanks. So in that movie, it's about a con artist who goes from place to place, played like Lina and Leonardo DiCaprio, and pretends to be a million different things. He pretends to be a doctor.
Speaker 2:He pretends to be a lawyer. He pretends to be a whole bunch of different things. At the very end, the Tom Hanks character, who's, I think, CIA or, I I remember, FBI, one of those, he catches him. And he tells him, listen. I found out how you did all the things, how you forged these checks, how you got this certificate, all of it.
Speaker 2:The one thing I can't figure out is how you pass the lawyer bar exam. And then Leonardo looks like, the the the Caprio's character looked at him and says, I studied. And that was the trick. Yep.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Right? That's that's Baldur's Gate.
Speaker 2:That's Baldur's
Speaker 1:Gate. Me, that's Baldur's Gate. Yeah. It's just it is it shouldn't be possible, and they did it.
Speaker 2:They did it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I love that.
Speaker 3:And, like, in, a lot of, like, games where your actions affect gameplay or affect the narrative. Yes. It's usually like, all narrative threads, they will connect back. And your decision actually didn't really matter. We just gave you the illusion that it matters.
Speaker 3:Yep. And those are the 3, and that's not the case. The wildly different things happen depending on what you choose.
Speaker 1:It's a completely different games. Completely different video games. Yeah. Like, it's just incredible work. Yeah.
Speaker 3:My Anyway That that that's why I was, like, you know, number 2, the lowest. Yeah. The lowest. Is what I'm gonna think of this thing.
Speaker 2:Number 1.
Speaker 1:For me, the the weird thing is, like, I think for me, it's one of those things where it's just really Baldur's Gate 3 and Alan Wake are completely different possible achievements. Yeah. So it's hard to compare them for me, but I have to go with, like, I believe that Larian will do a better game. Mhmm. Right?
Speaker 1:I I have no doubt that you can take Baldus gate 3 and do a better version of it. Or I don't think you can. I don't think I can. I don't think any of us can. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Larry and can.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Right? Alan Wake 2, I think Remedy knows this is the only Alan Wake 2 they're ever gonna be able to make. Mhmm. They can do an Alan Wake 3, but it will be a completely different video game.
Speaker 3:Never say never. I mean, we waited 13 years for this one.
Speaker 1:Right. But Alan Wake 2 is not like Alan Wake 1.
Speaker 3:No. It's not.
Speaker 1:It is a completely different game. Baldur's Gate 3 is a much better iteration of
Speaker 3:Divinity.
Speaker 1:You know, divinity. Yeah. So I believe they can do that again. I don't think anybody can do a better version of Alan Wake 2. I think that is the summit of an Alan Wake 2 style game.
Speaker 2:I really need to play this game. I'll get it.
Speaker 1:Oh, you should. You should. On it. Anyway, I am very happy with this list, y'all. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yes. Habibi's game of the year list.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:2023.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1:We kept people busy for 2 hours.
Speaker 2:Wow. We've been talking for 2 hours.
Speaker 3:Oh my god.
Speaker 1:2 hours.
Speaker 2:With you, honestly, HeavyV's, the time just goes. It just It flies. It just flies, honestly. I can't do forever. Good.
Speaker 3:And now I have more games to play, thanks to you 2.
Speaker 1:Dredge, mate. You're gonna have a good time with Dredge.
Speaker 2:This year is is worse than 2017 because, like, 2017 had so many good games that were long, and so, like, was only able to sample them. And then I kept playing 2017 games in 2018, in 2019, in 2020 till I caught up with the best games of 2017. I feel like I'm gonna be playing 2023 games in like, into 2030. Like, I feel
Speaker 1:Let's let's hope the industry picks up because it looks like it's gonna be a quiet year otherwise.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So Maybe maybe in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, there's so many games we didn't even talk about. Right? Like, El Paso elsewhere, we didn't mention.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's a good game.
Speaker 1:Really good. Yeah. Really good game. Yeah. But I think I think garage was really special.
Speaker 1:Really good. Really special.
Speaker 2:Had some like, was the
Speaker 1:game possible
Speaker 2:game? Like, Viewfinder should not have, existed. There was
Speaker 1:But it does.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But it does. There was, sea of stars. That was really good. There was, Starfield, Dead Space.
Speaker 2:Like, those are great. So many good games this year.
Speaker 1:For a beautiful 2023 and for a better 2024. Because
Speaker 3:Happy New Year, everybody. Wish you a wonderful 2024.
Speaker 1:I think, I think that's it. We love you, We love you all. If you strongly disagree with any opinions we've had on the show, please email info at the habibis.com. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. That'll make Osama very happy to receive this agreement. Especially if we make disagree Robbie's terms.
Speaker 1:If you wanna argue with us or with the community, we have a lovely community over at discord.thehabibis.com. Join us there. For now, I think we're signing off 2023. We'll be back 2024. This was another episode of Habibis.
Speaker 1:That was Rami. My fellow hobbyies were Osamadores, who you can find on Twitter at Osamadores, and Fawzi Musmar, who you can find on Twitter at Fawzi Mesmer. Send us your questions, stories, and suggestions via info at the habibis.com. The intro and outro music was provided by Malik Subaydah, and the logo was provided by Ebrahim Hamdi. The Habibys is a weekly podcast about 3 game developers drinking good Arab tea with new episodes launching every Friday.
Speaker 1:If you enjoyed the show, don't forget to subscribe on your favorite pot casting service or check out the hamibis.com for more information. Thank you for listening.