The 7 best trailers from The Game Awards, ranked

Let’s face it: The Game Awards is less of an actual award show each year and more of a pre-Christmas E3. Its current marketing showcase announced a ton of new games, plus offered a few updates on titles available now or those that disappeared.

While we do have a pretty hefty round-up of everything shown at The 2023 Game Awards, we still have some favorites to mention. If you don’t have time to check them all out, we’ve got a few of our favorite trailers ranked.

7. Marvel’s Blade

As teaser trailers go, Marvel’s Blade is a great one. Coming from Deathloop developer Arkane Lyon, even from the small amount shown, you can see that Marvel’s Blade has a similar style. This is great because Deathloop is one of the most stylistically satisfying games of the last few years.

It’s also interesting to see the French developer setting Blade in Paris. Hopefully, we’ll get more info and maybe even a release window next year, plus some actual gameplay, please.

6. Sega

It’s not often that developers or publishers put out a general trailer for seemingly everything they’re working on, but if any company could do it, Sega would be the one. Confirming Jet Set Radio, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Crazy Taxi (most importantly), “and more” in a single trailer is excellent.

Obviously, Crazy Taxi is the standout announcement here, and I’ll listen to no discussion that states otherwise. Unfortunately, there’s no more info on any of the games just yet, but I’m excited about what this “New Era” of Sega looks to have lined up.

5. OD

Okay, this one is less for the “actual best factor” and more for the what-on-earth-is-happening absurdity. I’ve got no idea what the OD trailer is supposed to be, but seeing Hideo Kojima take a bunch of Microsoft money to make something completely off the wall with a roster of great actors? Count me all the way in.

For better or worse, it’s something only Kojima gets away with. They could’ve spent a little less time talking about this, though.

4. Monster Hunter Wilds

The days of Monster Hunter games being an obscure niche to audiences outside of Japan look to be long gone. Monster Hunter Wilds is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and from the look of that trailer, the game is really benefitting from not being on the Nintendo Switch.

The number of monsters on screen and the vast terrain make this look like a truly next-generation Monster Hunter experience. Capcom confirmed that the game will launch in 2025, so we’ll hopefully hear more at E3 or TGS in 2024.

3. Jurassic Park: Survival

The Jurassic Park: Survival trailer had me at “spared no expense,” it might be low-hanging fruit, but what else are Jurassic Park fans looking for? Oh yeah, little everything else in that trailer. Running from velociraptors, slamming a door on the T-Rex, and surviving Jurassic Park, it had so much awesome crammed into two minutes that it had me wondering how nobody had done this type of game before.

We don’t know much, otherwise, but Saber Interactive’s action-adventure game will take us back to Isla Nublar for a post-movie dino crisis. Survival will on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

2. Light No Fire

Light No Fire is the next game from No Man’s Sky developer Hello Games. After creating a whole universe for gamers to explore in No Man’s Sky, it looks like the studio has decided to tone things down a bit by only creating an entire planet. You can’t say that they don’t have lofty goals.

Since the rocky launch that No Man’s Sky had in 2016, Hello Games has continuously improved the game for the last seven years. Building up a loyal following of fans in the process. If Light No Fire continues that trend, then we could be in for a very good time when it releases.

1. Exodus

A hard Sci-Fi action-adventure RPG from developers that previously worked at BioWare, Naughty Dog, and other AAA studios? That’s a mighty appealing combo, and after seeing that trailer (plus the extended look!) Exodus might now be my most anticipated game.

As a new studio, Archetype Entertainment probably could have gotten away with just the cinematic portion of the trailer, but to follow it up with pre-alpha gameplay, too, is commendable. That is how you announce a game. All of that is before we even get to the fact that Matthew McConaughey will be in it, too.

Fingers crossed, Archetype Entertainment can fulfill the hopes that they’ve raised after what they’ve shown so far. There’s no news yet on when to expect the game, but hopefully, whatever is shown next is as good as that first trailer.