This is actually a more interesting topic than I originally anticipated! I'm going to do 4 slots - TGA's pick, my pick out of TGA's nominees, my personal pick overall, and my runner up (copying
@Thunder84 here).
2014 -
Dragon Age: Inquisition
My TGA pick - Bayonetta 2
My GOTY - Bayonetta 2
My runner up - The Talos Principle
Overall one of the worst years in gaming in a while, but Bayonetta 2 really captured me that year even if I haven't revisited it and don't know how I'd feel nowadays with respect to the genre. I think the biggest takeaway though is that more people should play The Talos Principle. It's a 3D puzzle game where the levels are divided into worlds, and each level in a world has multiple standalone puzzles within it. It's essentially set up like a Mario game, but with the non-linearity of Mega Man, and its Mario Odyssey-esque way of world progression, where players only need to get a certain amount of puzzles completed in a world before moving onto the next one, means that players can learn how to do puzzles from earlier in the game by doing puzzles in later levels. The ability to chew on puzzles by doing other ones and coming back to them later is amazing, and the games themes of existentialism are fantastic. It's also extremely atmospheric. It's basically the closest you'll get to a Portal 3, just a lot more depressing. It's a fantastic zen game.
2015 -
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
My TGA pick - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
My GOTY - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
My runner up - ???? The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
This year is almost as bad as 2014. Every game in this lineup is overrated, except maybe Mario Maker which I didn't play. Bloodborne has never been my thing despite being a big From fan, it made me disconnect with the games even further. Metal Gear Solid V has amazing gameplay, but gets boring after a few hours thanks to having no story, and being disappointing when it is there. Fallout 4 is whatever, and even The Witcher, while pretty good, is wayyyy too long. I've never finished it, and it's combat is pretty bad especially on consoles. Surprise surprise Capcom saved the year.
2016 -
Overwatch
My TGA pick - Overwatch
My GOTY - Overwatch
My runner up - Hitman
This year was the first sign things were getting better. Overwatch was genuinely great in its first year, it got me into hero shooters in a way no other game has. People will act like it never deserved it because it sucks now and Team Fortress 2 existed, but this ignores that Team Fortress 2 was basically broken by this point, had a community of sweaty gamers, was very impenetrable for newcomers, and didn't have the same great roster. I also really loved Hitman and I can write an essay about how games like this are too underappreciated from a game design standpoint. The idea of a game that's based off repeating the same levels over and over again to soak in the details and find new ways of completing your objective is amazing, basically Super Mario 64 on steriods (Dark Souls III was also pretty good).
2017 -
Breath of the Wild
My TGA pick - Breath of the Wild
My GOTY - Breath of the Wild
My runner up - Resident Evil VII: Biohazard
I haven't actually beaten Breath of the Wild to be honest, and while I loved it in its release year I did have some problems with it. I think Tears of the Kingdom has me pretty confident though that it was my favorite game that year and would be now if I revisited it. Resident Evil VII comes close though, it's not as strong but it's really good.
2018 -
God of War
My TGA pick - God of War
My GOTY - God of War
My runner up - Spider-Man
Even as someone who doesn't like Playstation games too much, this was sort of a weak year for every platform but Playstation imo. It has two Playstation games that I think are genuinely pretty great or at least very fun, God of War and Spider-Man, and it also was the platform to play Red Dead Redemption 2, which to this day is the only Rockstar game I really like. Ultimately I'm conflicted between saying if God of War was better or if Spider-Man was better. God of War inspires video games to go in a direction I don't really like, but it's mixture of elements of Resident Evil 4, Souls games and standard character action games is pretty brilliant and too often overly criticized by character action snobs (even if I see where they're coming from). Spider-Man, on the other hand, is too one-dimensional and honestly pretty hard to go back to nowadays now that you know what to expect. But for the time it was very fun. If I played more of Valkyria Chronicles 4, that would probably be my Game of the Year.
2019 -
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
My TGA pick - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
My GOTY - Devil May Cry V
My runner up - Super Mario Maker 2
To be honest in that year I probably enjoyed Super Mario Maker 2 more than DMCV, but I think long term DMCV is probably the better game. Super Mario Maker 2 is the only 2D Mario game I've loved thus far, and DMCV is the best its genre has to offer.
2020 -
The Last of Us Part II
My TGA pick - ???
My GOTY - ???
My runner up - ???
Holy shit, super meh year. Can I pick the port of Pikmin 3 instead? I'd nominate Hades
if it wasn't so mid.
2021 -
It Takes Two
My TGA pick - Metroid Dread
My GOTY - Monster Hunter Rise
My runner up - Metroid Dread
Great year for gaming thanks to Metroid Dread, Monster Hunter Rise, and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. Those three saved this year.
2022 -
Elden Ring
My TGA pick - I've played none of those
My GOTY - Kirby and the Forgotten Land
My runner up - Splatoon 3
I don't think I played much new games this year despite having a decent amount. Still haven't gotten to Legends Arceus or Xenoblade 3 or Elden Ring. I played most of Tunic but don't want to give that game an award. So I'll give it to Splatoon 3, I guess. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is one of my favorite Nintendo games though. That was awesome! I also really like what I've played of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, but that's a 2019 release and not even a new localization like TGAA, so I wouldn't count it as it's just a port.
Overall this makes my taste look way more basic than I actually think it is : / I find myself rarely agreeing with TGA nominations so this feels a bit weird
My GOTY - The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
So fkin based
(I could legit not find a better gif)