We usually require more pins, but if medium-sized ESP32-C3 modules are priced near the ESP8266-12-style modules, we can’t see any reason to buy the latter; for us it will literally be an ESP8266 ...

The ESP32-S3 takes the ESP to a new level ... that it’s an easy chip with which to run out of available pins. These extra lines will make it more competitive with for example the STM32 series ...

We made something similar but using the RP2350A board, the Raspberry Pi Pico 2, and published a guide on how to get Wi-Fi on the Pico 2 using an ESP32 ... with more GPIO pins than the RP2350A ...