VG247 GOTYs 2023: The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood

2023 was, for better or worse, a year. One of its good bits was The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, the only good game that came out in August. Ahem.

Much like that other story-driven masterpiece I’ve sneakily alluded to there (Baldur’s Gate 3, just in case you’re reading this before 8AM) Cosmic’s main draw lies in the fact it just feels wonderfully and unequivocally like something that was made for humans, by humans. This is something that’s become a hallmark of Spanish indie studio Deconstructeam over the years, with their works really capturing the emotion that fuels all of our real world lives and interactions with aplomb. In episode two of our Games of 2023 series below, I argue that this human factor is what sets all of this year’s most acclaimed games apart from all the usual cash grabs and Live Service Slop:

2018’s The Red Strings Club was a great example of what you can do with a compelling narrative, interesting characters, and lots of alcohol – with CWS building on that same narrative experience style, albeit with the booze swapped out for tarot cards. It’s got all the choice and consequence you’d expect from an RPG, along with the in-depth worldbuilding, and doesn’t suffer from not having any shooty or stabby bits in between the talky sections.