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Discussion The TGA's and their GOTY choices by year - how do your tastes differ?

Kreese

Kreese

Koopa
Banned
I'm just going to list them and you can choose which games you would have picked on the given year.

Winners are listed first and boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).

EventGameDeveloperPublisherRef.
2014Dragon Age: Inquisition ‡BioWareElectronic Arts[23][24]
Bayonetta 2PlatinumGamesNintendo
Dark Souls IIFromSoftwareBandai Namco Games
HearthstoneBlizzard Entertainment
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorMonolith ProductionsWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
2015The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ‡CD Projekt RedCD Projekt[25][26]
BloodborneFromSoftwareSony Computer Entertainment
Fallout 4Bethesda Game StudiosBethesda Softworks
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainKojima ProductionsKonami
Super Mario MakerNintendo
2016Overwatch ‡Blizzard Entertainment[27][28]
Doomid SoftwareBethesda Softworks
InsidePlaydead
Titanfall 2Respawn EntertainmentElectronic Arts
Uncharted 4: A Thief's EndNaughty DogSony Computer Entertainment
2017The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ‡Nintendo EPDNintendo[29][30]
Horizon Zero DawnGuerrilla GamesSony Interactive Entertainment
Persona 5P-StudioAtlus
PlayerUnknown's BattlegroundsPUBG Corporation
Super Mario OdysseyNintendo EPDNintendo
2018God of War ‡Santa Monica StudioSony Interactive Entertainment[14][31]
Assassin's Creed OdysseyUbisoft QuebecUbisoft
CelesteMaddy Makes Games
Marvel's Spider-ManInsomniac GamesSony Interactive Entertainment
Monster Hunter: WorldCapcom
Red Dead Redemption 2Rockstar Games
2019Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice ‡FromSoftwareActivision[32][33]
ControlRemedy Entertainment505 Games
Death StrandingKojima ProductionsSony Interactive Entertainment
Resident Evil 2Capcom
Super Smash Bros. UltimateBandai Namco StudiosNintendo
Sora Ltd.
The Outer WorldsObsidian EntertainmentPrivate Division
2020The Last of Us Part II ‡Naughty DogSony Interactive Entertainment[34][35]
Animal Crossing: New HorizonsNintendo EPDNintendo
Doom Eternalid SoftwareBethesda Softworks
Final Fantasy VII RemakeSquare Enix Business Division 1Square Enix
Ghost of TsushimaSucker Punch ProductionsSony Interactive Entertainment
HadesSupergiant Games
2021It Takes Two ‡Hazelight StudiosElectronic Arts[36][37]
DeathloopArkane StudiosBethesda Softworks
Metroid DreadMercurySteamNintendo
Psychonauts 2Double FineXbox Game Studios
Ratchet & Clank: Rift ApartInsomniac GamesSony Interactive Entertainment
Resident Evil VillageCapcom
2022Elden Ring ‡FromSoftwareBandai Namco Entertainment[38][39]
A Plague Tale: RequiemAsobo StudioFocus Entertainment
God of War RagnarökSanta Monica StudioSony Interactive Entertainment
Horizon Forbidden WestGuerrilla Games
StrayBlueTwelve StudioAnnapurna Interactive
Xenoblade Chronicles 3Monolith SoftNintendo
 
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
My choice, Bayonetta 2

2015 - The Witcher 3
My choice, Bloodborne

2016 - Overwatch
My choice, Doom

2017 - BOTW
My choice, BOTW

2018 - God of War
My choice, Red Dead Redeption 2

2019 - Sekiro
My choice, Sekiro

2020 - TLOU 2
My choice, Doom Eternal

2021 - It Takes Two
My choice, Metroid Dread

2022 - Elden Ring
My choice, Elden Ring
 
Disagree with quite a few:

2014 - Easily prefer Bayonetta 2 and even Dark Souls II to DA:I. Probably the worst group of nominees in TGA history?

2015 - #BloodborneWasRobbed but W3 wasn't the worst choice.

2016 - Literally prefer every other game in that list to Overwatch. It'd have been between Doom and Titanfall 2 for me.

2017 - They got this one right.

2018 - I have too many issues with RDR2 so I agree with God of War being better. I'd probably put Monster Hunter: World over either but as for the real GOTY... #CelesteWasRobbed

2019 - Out of that selection, Sekiro would have been my pick as well. The Outer Worlds as a nominee over Disco Elysium is straight up comical though.

2020 - Not unhappy with TLOUPt2 winning this one. It's a bit of a mess in terms of structure and pacing but what's in there is quality. Not sure what my actual pick would have been, though, wasn't a great year for my tastes. Maybe Pikmin 3 Deluxe Hades?

2021 - It Takes Two is kind of a tricky one because I don't think it's very compelling mechanically nor narratively (in fact, the story is kind of awful). But a game with local co-op that I can play with my girlfriend will always have a big advantage over other titles. That said, I think it should have gone to Psychonauts 2.

2022 - I have played but not finished any of the nominees of last year but I would easily give it to Elden Ring. Like, no contest.
 
Neat idea for a thread! Looking forward to this year's show. Lots of good games that've been nominated. Of all of them, Bloodborne, Resident Evil 2, The Last of Us Part II, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Metroid Dread would be my top five. Hades is a close sixth, and then Spider-Man seventh, with all the other games I like fairly close after that.

Most egregious omission is 2015 / 17's Yakuza 0. Total masterpiece that deserves all the love in the world.


2014 - Dragon Age: Inquisition
(I haven't played any of these games, unfortunately!)

2015 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
My choice: Bloodborne (one of my all-time faves!)

2016 - Overwatch
My choice: Titanfall 2

2017 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
My choice: Horizon Zero Dawn (not particularly big on any of these games, though I did enjoy the little I've played of Persona 5)

2018 - God of War
My choice: Marvel's Spider-Man

2019 - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
My choice: Resident Evil 2, though Sekiro is a close second.

2020 - The Last of Us Part II
My choice: The Last of Us Part II, one of my favorite games of the PS4 gen. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Doom Eternal, Hades, and Final Fantasy VII Remake were also fantastic. What a year this was!

2021 - It Takes Two
My choice: Metroid Dread (of course!), but It Takes Two was extremely good too, and definitely deserved its win. I found Resident Evil Village disappointing, sadly.

2022 - Elden Ring
My choice: Elden Ring, but I didn't really care for it too much. I prefer Bloodborne, Sekiro, and even Demon's Souls (specifically the PS5 remake).
 
Hmm...

2014: Bayonetta 2

2015: None

2016: None

2017: Mario Odyssey

2018: Celeste

2019: None

2020: Animal Crossing: New Horizons

2021: None

2022: Elden Ring (they got it right that time!)

The big problem is the choices just aren't that good a lot of the time. The stuff I like simply isn't there. No Famicom Detective Club in 2021, no Sylvie Lime in 2022... these award shows just aren't made for me!
 
Nearly completely. I only get their choices for '17 and '22. Keighley's events are overly focused on big titles, when some of the most memorable stuff comes from the indie scene.

I don't particularly like any entries for 2014, but I guess Bayo 2 despite its story and ending does edge out the compatition? If we don't count the list, I'd give it to Wolfenstein. Loved the story in that game.

Bloodborne is easily beating everything in '15's list, but if it were up to me I'd just give it to Undertale.

Not giving GOTY to DOOM in '16 is a crime.

I don't have strong opinions about '18, as God of War started and died with III for me, when the game had an escort mission for a half-naked sex slave just to jam her into a switch. Heard later entries are better, but I'd rather play something that doesn't remind me of that. I haven't played most of those games, and I don't really consider Celeste to be GotY material, even though I liked the game a lot. Looking at google, I'd probably nominate Obra Dinn.

I didn't care much for Sekiro in '19. It's an ok game, but even if you get battle system but dislike it, it's a bit of a one-trick pony compared to vast options in other Soulsy titles. Again, looking at google, this was the year Disco Elysium came out. How do you not even nominate that game?!

While I consider Eternal to be worse than DOOM 2016, it's a shame that it lost in '20. Not from the list my choice would be Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

'21 actually has a really good selection where everything kinda makes sense, I just didn't play It Takes Two. I don't actually know what my GotY for that year would be! I do remember enjoying Himan 3 a lot, I guess?
 
I was gonna answer this but now i'm too distracted by the realization that 2014 was 9 years ago

"2014? but Hearthstone didn't come out that rece......oh"
 
2014 - The only one I played is Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. It's a pretty fun AssCreed clone with an LotR skin. Not amazing, but I'd have no issue defaulting to that choice.

2015 - Only played Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 from that list, and I'd have to pick Witcher 3 because it at least has a great narrative.

2016 - The FPS that should have won is Doom. Bone-crunching, frenetic and nonstop adrenaline. Even double dipped on the Switch version when that came out. It's that good.

2017 - Of course it's Breath of the Wild. Redefined open-world games for me, actually made me love a 3D Zelda, etc. Super Mario Odyssey is a close second though.

2018 - I did not actually know Celeste was a GotY nominee, and I am absolutely choosing that. It's dexterity puzzler perfection, with controls so smooth you can skate over it with your bare feet. Also: Spider-Man was the better Sony game that year!

2019 - Ohhhhhh, this is tough. I really, really, really love Resident Evil 2 Remake, but I have to give it to Smash Ultimate. It's just a wonderful celebration of everything video games, and it's the game I've put the most time into on Switch. They hype train with the character reveals kept on blasting at full speed, too!

2020 - I haven't played Doom Eternal yet, so I'm giving it to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Not a fan of the breakable tools but otherwise the cozy island life was a godsend for that cursed year. The Last of Us Part 2 winning is probably the most I've disagreed with a GotY pick lol

2021 - Haven't played anything on that list yet! But it would probably be Psychonauts 2.

2022 - Have to default to God of War: Ragnarok since that's the only one I played (just a couple months back in fact!). Elden Ring is the only one I can see standing up to it, but I'm not the biggest Souls fan, so.
 
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
This year just really sucked, my choice would have been ..Dark Souls 2? I think? Honestly DA:I winning isn't that weird to me.

2015 - The Witcher 3
Bloodborne was the better game here IMO, but Witcher 3 is a sensible pick, no real beef with this one.

2016 - Overwatch
I obsessively played Overwatch a LOT (like thousands of hours) in launch year up till like 2018, so this is fair to me. In retrospect I'd consider Doom a better game but if you transported me back to 2016 I would have voted for OW without question.

2017 - BOTW
In 100% agreement, P5 is dope but nothing really comes close to BotW.

2018 - God of War
I'd pick Monster Hunter: World over all of these, by a lot. My most played game on Steam and of my favorite games ever. RDR2 is fantastic too, God of War would have been a fourth place after MH, RDR2 and Celeste. Honestly I might even prefer Spiderman over it.

2019 - Sekiro
Sekiro is my pick too, but RE2 Remake winning would have been just fine.

2020 - TLOU 2
TLOU2 is fair, game is great despite it being like 10 hours too long and having some questionable pacing but the only TPS that comes close to it in terms of gameplay is MGS5. Personal choice would have been Doom Eternal.

2021 - It Takes Two
Fine with It Takes Two winning, novel experience and it made for a bunch of pretty fun evenings gaming with people I normally wouldn't really play games with. Metroid Dread was my favorite game that year though.

2022 - Elden Ring
Elden Ring is far ahead of all the other nominees, correct pick.
 
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2014: Disagree. Bayo 2 is one of my favorite games this century. Dragon Age is one of rare big series that I've never played!

2015: Agree, The Witcher 3 is one of the greatest open world games ever made.

2016: Disagree. I love Overwatch but should have had no chance against Doom...

2017: Agree.

2018: Disagree. Did not like the direction GoW2018 had taken. nordic mythology is boring as hell. RDR2 should have gotten the award...

2019: Disagree. Actually disagree every single From win. Just because the game is difficult doesn't make it any better. Smash Ultimate deserved the win more.

2020: Disagree. Nope. This is literally my least favorite SCE series ever. Hades deserved the win.

2021: Somewhat agree. Ratchet and Psychonauts also deserved the win but not more than It Takes Two.

2022: Disagree. As I said, I'll object any From win. Unnecessary difficulty (which is just hits taking too much health) and dependence on timing based actions such as parrying make none of the From games fun. XC3 the best game among the candidates, imo.
 
9-Volt said:
Actually disagree every single From win. Just because the game is difficult doesn't make it any better.
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Difficulty isn't the only thing these games have going for them, though. They're also appreciated for their settings, lore, music, atmosphere, responsive gameplay, novel online system, etc.
 
2014 was such a weak year. I’m not surprised DA:I won on that ballot but I don’t think any of the games on it stand up to the shortlist on any other year.

2015 I’d have given to Bloodborne or Super Mario Maker.

2021 I’d have given to Monster Hunter Rise.
 
Aurc said:
Difficulty isn't the only thing these games have going for them, though. They're also appreciated for their settings, lore, music, atmosphere, responsive gameplay, novel online system, etc.
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Only played Demons+ Dark Souls 1-2-3 and lore and universe weren't much interesting in those games. All three DS games built upon the back-to-basics gameplay and combat that made them so famous and everything else, like the characters and story, were just the whipped cream on the top. MC being silent and nameless puts even more emphasis on the gameplay.

I haven't played Sekiro, Bloodborne and Elden Ring though. I hear they are the ones with better story, world building and lore. I don't know if any of those would be enough to put up with all those endless enemy attack pattern counting.
 
Aurc said:
Difficulty isn't the only thing these games have going for them, though. They're also appreciated for their settings, lore, music, atmosphere, responsive gameplay, novel online system, etc.
Click to expand...

Yep, exactly. Not to mention the games aren't that difficult when you use magic. When you get Fire Storm in Demon's Souls (the best of From's Souls series), it's over. You've won the game. Watch in glee as you one shot each Bell Gargoyle. Elden Ring? Let your buddies distract the Elden Beast while you Comet Azure it into oblivion. And the best part? It's way more fun that way! Kamehamehaing my way directly into the Age of Stars (whatever that means).
 
2014 - Only played Bayonetta 2 out of them, so that
2015 - Bloodborne is close to a masterpiece. I thought witcher 3 was just a very good game but not a masterpiece.
2016 - only played U4, Doom and nothing else from that year. I don't either would be a winner in that one so it's a skip for me
2017 - Odyssey, though if Nier Automata had been nominated I would have chosen that
2018 - Skip. Only played God of War and Celeste Dropped Red dead after the first hour due to controls. Don't feel like choosing
2019 - agree. Sekiro is probably From's best game with only one minor hiccup (demon of hatred). Absolutely wonderful game
2020 - disagree. Hades would be my pick out of the ones nominated
2021 - Disagree. Metroid dread is my pick
2022 - Agree. Nothing came close to elden Ring.
 
Clov said:
Yep, exactly. Not to mention the games aren't that difficult when you use magic. When you get Fire Storm in Demon's Souls (the best of From's Souls series), it's over. You've won the game. Watch in glee as you one shot each Bell Gargoyle. Elden Ring? Let your buddies distract the Elden Beast while you Comet Azure it into oblivion. And the best part? It's way more fun that way! Kamehamehaing my way directly into the Age of Stars (whatever that means).
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Yup! There's typically a few ways to mitigate the difficulty that folks tend to overlook, and at least in that regard, Elden Ring is From's most accessible title to date. I'm a stubborn dude who prefers to go melee only, but I've never felt like it was the only way to play. I'm just fond of the 'ol whack-and-roll loop, and getting my ass kicked until I finally win brings me some sense of satisfaction. Radahn and Malenia got me good three or twenty dozen times.
 
Mainly due to my tastes leaning indie there's only two years where my GoTY pick was even nominated

2014: Hohokum
2015: Ori and the Blind Forest
2016: Stardew Valley
2017: BoTW
2018: Wandersong
2019: Outer Wilds
2020: Hades
2021: Chicory
2022: Tinykin

If I had to pick a game from the nominees only, this would be my list but there are years where I just kind of shrug my shoulders

2014: Bayonetta 2 I guess. It's the only one I've played, and it was only for half an hour
2015: Another year where nothing really spoke to me. I put most time into The Witcher 3 so probably that
2016: A better year, would probably leant towards Uncharted 4 but Inside and Titanfall 2 were both great
2017: BoTW
2018: Celeste. Spider-Man was fine, God of War was okay and I still haven't got round to RDR2
2019: Probably Control, but RE2 is a close second
2020: Hades, but the year itself was actually really good
2021: Psychonauts 2 by a long way
2022: Plague Tale: Requiem beat out Elden Ring by a hair thanks to the voice performances.
 
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Aurc said:
Yup! There's typically a few ways to mitigate the difficulty that folks tend to overlook, and at least in that regard, Elden Ring is From's most accessible title to date. I'm a stubborn dude who prefers to go melee only, but I've never felt like it was the only way to play. I'm just fond of the 'ol whack-and-roll loop, and getting my ass kicked until I finally win brings me some sense of satisfaction. Radahn and Malenia got me good three or twenty dozen times.
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I somehow always felt it in my heart of hearts you'd be a fellow disciple of the school of hitting your head against a wall until it breaks. 🤝
 
Just based on the nominees

2014: No strong opinion. I have only played a few hours at most of all the nominees. My GOTY was probably Tropical Freeze.

2015: I don't disagree. I do like Bloodborne slightly better but in 2015 this would have been my pick as well.

2016: I would probably go with Inside from the nominees. GOTY was Dishonored 2 though.

2017: 100% agree. No contest.

2018: Disagree - would have gone with Red Dead Redemption 2 from the nominees.

2019: Probably the right pick even if I'm too much of a scrub to fully appreciate it. I voted Smash Ultimate.

2020: Agree from the nominees (though my personal GOTY was either THPS 1+2 or Kentucky Route Zero)

2021: Disagree - I would have gone with Psychonauts 2.

2022: Like 2017, there was no contest. 100% agree.
 
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2015 - edit MGSV: Phantom Pain > Rocket League
2016 - Uncharted 4
2017 - BOTW
2018 - Celeste
2019 - Outer Wilds (although in other years Sekiro, RE2 and Death Stranding could have also been goty material)
2020 - Doom Eternal
2021 - Tie between Re Village and Metroid Dread
2022 - Elden Ring
 
Dardan Sandiego said:
I somehow always felt it in my heart of hearts you'd be a fellow disciple of the school of hitting your head against a wall until it breaks. 🤝
Click to expand...
🤝 It's all part of the process. Every fallen king with a tragic backstory, Eldritch god from another dimension, or inexplicably huge mound of shit can be bested through enough perseverance... and something to whack them over the head with. That knowledge itself is enough to inspire determination.
 
Aurc said:
🤝 It's all part of the process. Every fallen king with a tragic backstory, Eldritch god from another dimension, or inexplicably huge mound of shit can be bested through enough determination... and something to whack them over the head with. That knowledge itself is enough to inspire determination.
Click to expand...

Or you could best them by lighting them on fire. Just saying... :devilish:
 
  • 2014: My GOTY was MK8, Dragon Age wasn’t even in my top five for the year lol
  • 2015: Bloodborne was my GOTY, Witcher 3 was #2 so it’s not the hugest discrepancy
  • 2016: Hitman was my GOTY; I have not played Overwatch to this day
  • 2017; Yup, Breath of the Wild
  • 2018: My GOTY was Monster Hunter World. My #2 was Dragon Quest XI. I do not like GOW2018, and it was nowhere in my top beaten games for the year
  • 2019: ¯\(ツ)/¯ don’t feel too strongly about this year. I guess my GOTY was Fire Emblem or something?
  • 2020: my GOTY was Persona 5 Royal, Yakuza: Like A Dragon was #2. Zero issues with TLOU2 winning, which was my third favorite game of the year
  • 2021: my GOTY was NEO: The World Ends With You. #2 was Metroid Dread. Don’t feel too strongly about ITT, but I don’t mind it winning because it’s different from the usual GOTY bait that does win
  • 2022: my GOTY was Pokémon Legends. Ragnarok was #2, Elden Ring was 3. I guess I’m fine with ER winning, because Pokémon was never going to take it, but I wish Ragnarok had put up a better fight.
 
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
My choice, Bayonetta 2
My actual GOTY - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

2015 - The Witcher 3
My choice, Super Mario Maker
My actual GOTY - Xenoblade Chronicles X

2016 - Overwatch
My choice, Overwatch
My actual GOTY - Steamworld Heist

2017 - BOTW
My choice, BotW
My actual GOTY - BotW

2018 - God of War
My choice, Celeste
My actual GOTY - Frostpunk

2019 - Sekiro
My choice, -
My actual GOTY - Astral Chain

2020 - TLOU 2
My choice, Hades
My actual GOTY - Hades

2021 - It Takes Two
My choice, Metroid Dread
My actual GOTY - Metroid Dread

2022 - Elden Ring
My choice, Xenoblade Chronicles 3
My actual GOTY - Xenoblade Chronicles 3
 
I basically don't agree with any of their choices barring OW and Elden Ring. Overwatch at the time was tremendous, but in typical Blizzard fashion the game fell apart with terrible post launch support. Kind of the hard part of assessing long running service games, but it made sense in 2016. My other main choice that year is probably Dishonored 2. Elden Ring kinda wins by default for me in 2022 because I didn't play much outside of the big ones due to massive mental health issues cutting down my playtime. Most of the big games did not do it for me last year, but there's a lot of smaller games I have my eye on finishing that I think could change that.

Also Elden Ring definitely bridges the gap for Souls formula in a way that rules. Learning how to no hit that game is a hilarious challenge if you want to try it, but you can also self tune it down to be much easier with the magic tools. It's not very surprising that it's doing so well now that they've managed to formulate their modular difficulty in a way that (mostly) works.
 
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2014 : Mario Kart 8/ Tropical Freeze
2015 : Bloodborne
2016 : Doom
2017 : Breath of the Wild
2018 : Red Dead Redemption 2
2019 : Sekiro
2020 : hard to tell, really a Coin flop between Hades and Tlou 2
2021 : Monster Hunter Rise
2022 : Elden Ring
 
I'm gonna be honest, every time I watch the TGAs I feel a weird cross between alienation and imposter syndrome with how out of alignment with my own taste in games they feel.
 
Honestly, they have about a 50% hit rate for me. That's really surprisingly good! That said, I've never watched a minute of them and I never will - no interest in awards shows.

2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
Me: DKC: Tropical Freeze. Never understand why this game is so ignored in 2014 GotY polls. Otherwise, Mario Kart 8 or Alien Isolation. Honestly, this is not even close to the weakest year here, lol.

2015 - The Witcher 3
Me: Bloodborne, but it was a toss-up with Witcher 3 so no harm

2016 - Overwatch
Me: Dark Souls III

2017 - BotW
Me: BotW

2018 - God of War
Me: Rain World (Released in 2018 on Switch). Otherwise, God of War. And if I had played RDR2 at that time it might have been that.

2019 - Sekiro
Me: Sekiro

2020 - The Last of Us 2
Me: Animal Crossing: New Horizons. This was a really weak year on nominees, imo.

2021 - It Takes Two
Me: Hitman 3 - Shocked none of the Hitman trilogy games ever got nominated. Some of the best games of the past decade.

2022 - Elden Ring
Me: Elden Ring
 
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
My choice, Bayonetta 2 or Dark Souls 2

2015 - The Witcher 3
My choice, Bloodborne

2016 - Overwatch
My choice, Uncharted 4

2017 - BOTW
My choice, BOTW

2018 - God of War
My choice, All meh

2019 - Sekiro
My choice, Sekiro

2020 - TLOU 2
My choice, Ghost of Tsushima

2021 - It Takes Two
My choice, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

2022 - Elden Ring
My choice, Elden Ring
 
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
My choice, Mario Kart 8. Weak year if you didn't own a Wii-U, tbh

2015 - The Witcher 3
My choice, Splatoon. For some it was a banner year. For me, it was just ok.

2016 - Overwatch
My choice, Uncharted 4, but I can't hate Overwatch.

2017 - BOTW
My choice, GOAT year, but Zelda reigns supreme.

2018 - God of War
My choice, AC: Odyssey. I didn't play it at launch so this is kind of cheating. I would have said Smash Bros in 2018.

2019 - Sekiro
My choice, Smash Bros Ulitmate (even though it is technically a 2018 game), but Luigi's Mansion would be close.

2020 - TLOU 2
My choice, TLOU 2, but it was a great year on PlayStation. Too bad FFVII Remake didn't get more love.

2021 - It Takes Two
My choice, Metroid Dread, but I can't hate It Takes Two

2022 - Elden Ring
My choice, Horizon: Forbidden West. I will stan Aloy for life.


Even though my tastes tend to skew towards Nintendo, I still have a lot of love for PlayStation, which gets a lot of GOTY winners.
 
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
My choice, Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker

2015 - The Witcher 3
My choice, Splatoon

2016 - Overwatch
My choice, Fire Emblem Fates

2017 - BOTW
My choice, Super Mario Odyssey

2018 - God of War
My choice, Soul Calibur VI

2019 - Sekiro
My choice, Fire Emblem Three Houses

2020 - TLOU 2
My choice, Streets of Rage 4

2021 - It Takes Two
My choice, Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

2022 - Elden Ring
My choice, Triangle Strategy
 
Gonna do both my pick from the nominees and my GOTY for the year regardless of the nominees. Parentheses indicate the best version of said game. Asterisk indicates that its the only game I played out of the nominees.

2014 - Dragon Age: Inquisition
My choice - Bayonetta 2*
My GOTY - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

2015 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
My choice - Bloodborne
My GOTY - Bloodborne

2016 - Overwatch
My choice - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
My GOTY - Hitman World of Assassination (I know this is technically three games in one, but it started here so this is where I'm gonna put it)

2017 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
My choice - Persona 5 (Royal)
My GOTY - Persona 5 (Royal)

2018 - God of War
My choice - Red Dead Redemption 2
My GOTY - Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Definitive Edition)

2019 - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
My choice - Resident Evil 2
My GOTY - Outer Wilds

2020 - The Last of Us Part II
My choice - The Last of Us Part II
My GOTY - Yakuza: Like a Dragon

2021 - It Takes Two
My choice - Metroid Dread
My GOTY - The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

2022 - Elden Ring
My choice - Xenoblade Chronicles 3
My GOTY - Xenoblade Chronicles 3
 
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
I'd go with Dark Souls 2 out of these, but I'm a weirdo who really likes that game despite some of its issues. Hearthstone would be my runner-up, I used to be pretty into that game.

2015 - The Witcher 3
It's really hard for me to go against Witcher 3 since it is fantastic, but Bloodborne is Bloodborne so that'd be my pick. Both games are amazing and could easily win most years, though, so this is a tough one.

2016 - Overwatch
Of this list, uhhhh... Overwatch is a fine choice, I guess, but I don't have strong opinions. 2016 was a rough year, I'd maybe give it to Hyper Light Drifter

2017 - BOTW
And then there's 2017, oof. It's really hard not to say BOTW, but Persona 5 is a game I honestly like more. However since P5Royal is even better I'll cheat and give it to BOTW this year and do P5R later

2018 - God of War
Of the list I'd vote for Celeste, 100%. But for not nominated: By the rules of the TGAs, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as a December 2017 game would be eligible so that's my pick. Also criminally not nominated Return of the Obra Dinn would be runner up.

2019 - Sekiro
Sekiro wins from the list, definitely, I think they nailed it. But my real GOTY would be Fire Emblem: Three Houses which got pretty shafted that year in TGAs.

2020 - TLOU 2
Of the list... Hades, I guess? No strong opinions. My choice would be not-nominated Persona 5 Royal by miles.

2021 - It Takes Two
I'd give it to Metroid Dread. Not-nominated runner up being Returnal for me.

2022 - Elden Ring
Elden Ring easily. Good pick and they nailed it, probably the year I've agreed most with the noms and awards in general (other than music, but I literally never agree with their music category). Xenoblade 3 is my runner up.
 
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

2015 - The Witcher 3
Yakuza 0

2016 - Overwatch
Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth

2017 - BOTW
Breath of the Wild

2018 - God of War
Celeste

2019 - Sekiro
Dragon Quest XI S

2020 - TLOU 2
Paper Mario: The Origami King

2021 - It Takes Two
Ender Lilies

2022 - Elden Ring
Triangle Strategy

I went with my personal GOTY picks and not based off the candidates. I honestly play very few games anymore that get nominated for these types of things. They're just not my kind of thing anymore. I think of the games I've actually played that have been nominated for GOTY going back to 2014, I may be negative on more games than I'm actually positive on.

I looked back at my spreadsheet I use to keep track of what I play so some of the release years are a bit weird since I usually put the original release date next to games (Yakuza 0 and Utawarerumono weren't localized until after these years).

Origami King and Ori and the Will of the Wisps is basically a coin flip decision for me and depends on my mood, but I'll take the chance to highlight how good Origami King is.
 
lightning16 said:
2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

2015 - The Witcher 3
Yakuza 0

2016 - Overwatch
Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth

2017 - BOTW
Breath of the Wild

2018 - God of War
Celeste

2019 - Sekiro
Dragon Quest XI S

2020 - TLOU 2
Paper Mario: The Origami King

2021 - It Takes Two
Ender Lilies

2022 - Elden Ring
Triangle Strategy

I went with my personal GOTY picks and not based off the candidates. I honestly play very few games anymore that get nominated for these types of things. They're just not my kind of thing anymore. I think of the games I've actually played that have been nominated for GOTY going back to 2014, I may be negative on more games than I'm actually positive on.

I looked back at my spreadsheet I use to keep track of what I play so some of the release years are a bit weird since I usually put the original release date next to games (Yakuza 0 and Utawarerumono weren't localized until after these years).

Origami King and Ori and the Will of the Wisps is basically a coin flip decision for me and depends on my mood, but I'll take the chance to highlight how good Origami King is.
Click to expand...
This thread is a good reminder of games I forgot the year they came out or forgot to mention. Both DQXIS and Ender Lilies are good picks that would be in my top two or three.
 
here are my choices, different for every year.

2014: Mario Kart 8

2015: Journey I guess (Haven’t played Xenoblade X so it would probably be that if I could play it)

2016: Stardew Valley

2017: Persona 5

2018: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

2019: Fire Emblem Three Houses

2020: Yakuza Like A Dragon

2021: Tales of Arise

2022: Xenoblade 3

2023: Tears of the Kingdom

Hopefully this year isn’t different though, really hope that TotK doesn’t get snubbed.
 
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I will abstain from commenting on 2014 as I don't have enough familiarity with any of the games.

As far as the rest go:
  • Overwatch is easily the most egregious
  • Sekiro and It Takes Two are both slightly eyebrow-raising, but both released in much less competitive years so it's understandable
  • The rest are perfectly reasonable picks

In terms of what I'd personally pick:

2015: The Witcher 3
Bloodborne would have been a good alternative, and Mario Maker would have been an interesting choice. I didn't care for Fallout 4 or MGSV.

2016: Inside
Honestly, I'm gonna have to give it to Inside here, although I think Uncharted 4 and Doom both would have been solid choices.

2017: BOTW
Come on now. Although Odyssey would have been an acceptable choice, too.

2018: God of War
I think RDR2 and Celeste are both top-tier games too, I honestly would have been happy with any of these choices. Spider-man was a great game, though not on the same level. How the hell did AC:O slip in here lmao

2019: Smash
I'll have to admit that I didn't play any of the other nominees, but I've heard Control, RE2, and Sekiro were all quite good and deserving, in that order

2020: TLOU2
No contest here - one of my favorite games of all time. Hades is also brilliant, though, and would be a winner in a few other years

2021: Metroid Dread
Like I said, It Takes Two is not a bad choice, but I would have gone with Dread or Deathloop, personally. R+C was fun. Didn't play Psychonauts

2022: God of War Ragnarök
To be clear, Elden Ring is absolutely the correct choice here, but I personally preferred GOWR. I liked Stray as well, but not in the same class. Xenoblade didn't deserve the nomination, fight me
 
SammyJ9 said:
This thread is a good reminder of games I forgot the year they came out or forgot to mention. Both DQXIS and Ender Lilies are good picks that would be in my top two or three.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I didn't bother to look up every year for games that weren't nominated but I've already seen several games mentioned in this thread that I'd rank among the best of their respective year.
 
Split it in terms of what I think should win regardless if it got nominated and my favorite game that year

2014 - Dragon Age Inquisition
GOTY: Alien Isolation - one of the best horror games ever
Favorite: P.T - also one of the best horror games ever

2015 - The Witcher 3
GOTY: Bloodborne - Fromsoft's opus.
Favorite: Bloodborne

2016 - Overwatch
GOTY: Inside - I still remember everything about this even though it's been so many years
Favorite: Uncharted 4 - one of the best treasure hunting story's in any medium (extra points for being pirate themed)

2017 - BOTW
GOTY: BOTW - innovative and influential. deserves the spot
Favorite: Super Mario Odyssey - had the most fun with this

2018 - God of War
GOTY: Astro Bot Rescue Mission - deserves more love. The most innovative 3D platfomer in a long time
Favorite: Celeste - Loved the story and the gameplay

2019 - Sekiro
GOTY: Sayonara Wild Hearts - a short experience but it was also perfect
Favorite: Crash Team Racing remake - nostalgia

2020 - TLOU 2
GOTY: Half Life Alyx - VR is still trying to catch up to this. Really ahead of its time
Favorite: TLOU2 - This game has an argument for best TPS ever. The story ripped me to shreds also which I enjoyed

2021 - It Takes Two
GOTY: Psychonauts 2 - waited 16 years and it delivered
Favorite: Life is Strange True Colors - Didn't really care for the other games in the series but really connected with the story and characters in this one

2022 - Elden Ring
GOTY: Elden Ring - This game would have been better if it wasn't open world but what was there was incredible
Favorite: Kirby and the Forgotten Land - 3D platfomer is my favorite genre and this is a joy to play
 
2014 - Mario Kart 8
2015 - None
2016 - Inside
2017 - Hollow Knight
2018 - RDR2
2019 - Disco Elysium
2020 - Animal Crossing
2021 - None
2022 - Elden Ring
 
Mostly realizing that GOTY nominations and games I actually play are basically a venn diagram of two separate circles. I've played six of these.
 
9-Volt said:
Only played Demons+ Dark Souls 1-2-3 and lore and universe weren't much interesting in those games. All three DS games built upon the back-to-basics gameplay and combat that made them so famous and everything else, like the characters and story, were just the whipped cream on the top. MC being silent and nameless puts even more emphasis on the gameplay.

I haven't played Sekiro, Bloodborne and Elden Ring though. I hear they are the ones with better story, world building and lore. I don't know if any of those would be enough to put up with all those endless enemy attack pattern counting.
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Play sekiro lol
 
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