Best of January 2023 –

There’s no denying that January 2023 has been a pretty steady month for entertainment, but that hasn’t changed the fact that we’ve had quite a few exciting games, movies, TV series and new pieces of hardware. That’s why we’ve picked a list of our favorites from the past month, so you can be sure to stay on top of all the latest products and content.

Bank of Dave

We kick off with a film that took Netflix by storm. Bank of Dave is a heartwarming family comedy that tells the true story of a man from Burnley who took on the financial system of the United Kingdom in hopes of starting his own community bank. Starring Rory Kinnear as the titular Dave, this movie was a charming biographical film perfect for a lazy Sunday.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake

We probably didn’t expect SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake to be on our “Best of” list at the beginning of the month, but Purple Lamp proved us all wrong, as this silly and fun platform game ended up being the perfect experience for fans of the yellow sponge. With all kinds of nostalgic hits and entertaining gameplay elements, this game ended up being a truly fun title for all ages.

HBO’s The Last of Us

Naughty Dog’s game is excellent. We knew this meant the HBO -series had a huge task to make the video game true, but it has managed to do so – or at least so far. The live-action retelling, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as the duo of Joel and Ellie, gave us an authentic representation of the world Naughty Dog created and then built on it with exciting and emotional performances from the cast. We can’t wait to see how February’s episodes continue the story.

Fire Emblem Engage

Whether or not you were a fan of the Fire Emblem universe, Engage was finally the perfect place to jump on this iconic JRPG bandwagon. With a story told over a millennia and featuring a collection of beloved and recognizable characters, this game seemed to elevate the series’ tactical combat while offering an exciting new story set on the mystical continent of Eylos.

Gigabyte RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC 12G

Generally, January is not the most exciting of months for new technology to debut, but that didn’t change Gigabyte’s plan at all. At the beginning of the year, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming OC 12G debuted and as we said in our review, provided a piece of hardware that delivers great performance even on the most demanding titles while incorporating some of the best cooling systems we’ve ever seen. It may be pricey, very pricey, but it is a very capable graphics card.

M3GAN

If The Last of Us was the talk of the day in the TV room, M3GAN was the film industry’s most popular subject. This horror film introduced the world to the titular robot doll, which quickly became a terror on the city it inhabited, all in an effort to protect the young girl she was built to be best friends with. Not only was M3GAN one of the biggest blockbusters of the month, but the terrifying doll became a sensation on social media, which was enough to warrant a sequel only a few days into theaters.

Dead Space Remake

It says a lot about a month when the best game was a remake of a title only 15 years old. EA Motive did wonders with the Dead Space Remake, prioritizing favorable improvements and additions that increased immersion and made the already unsettling game even more freaky. It proved to the world that remakes should be more than HD upgrades in this modern age of gaming, while once again placing the Dead Space series on top of the survival horror genre.

Shrinking

In his long and illustrious film career, Harrison Ford has never really been known for his TV comedic talents. Until now. As the Apple TV+ series Shrinking, proved that Ford can be hilarious in the right TV environments, even as the overall plot of this show sees Jason Segel’s main character struggling with all sorts of emotions after the eventual death of his wife. Hopefully the rest of the season can continue to deliver in the coming weeks.

There are plenty of interesting shows, movies, games and pieces of technology that debuted during the month, and these are just some of the best in our opinion. If we missed one that you think should make the cut, let us know in the comments below.