Board 8 > So what wins Game of the Year, anyway?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Outside of GameFAQs, I feel like the five nominees are going to be:

RE2 Remake
Sekiro
The Outer Worlds
Death Stranding
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

and then RE2 remake wins.
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RySenkari posted...

Outside of GameFAQs, I feel like the five nominees are going to be:

RE2 Remake
Sekiro
The Outer Worlds
Death Stranding
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

and then RE2 remake wins.

This is a really sad list for some reason, not like these games are bad and you have solid, realistic picks, but for some reason this being the top 5 of the year casts a disappointing shadow on all of 2019
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JackMan posted...

I hope Outer Wilds gets some. More people need to play it.

I feel like Outer Wilds is going to win a lot of GOTY awards, people are sleeping on it but I rarely if ever see anyone say a bad word about it. (Don't think it will win here though.)
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bryans7 posted...

JackMan posted...

I hope Outer Wilds gets some. More people need to play it.

I feel like Outer Wilds is going to win a lot of GOTY awards, people are sleeping on it but I rarely if ever see anyone say a bad word about it. (Don't think it will win here though.)

Bloodstained has a lock on best indie game here I would think
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ZenOfThunder posted...

RySenkari posted...

Outside of GameFAQs, I feel like the five nominees are going to be:

RE2 Remake
Sekiro
The Outer Worlds
Death Stranding
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

and then RE2 remake wins.

This is a really sad list for some reason, not like these games are bad and you have solid, realistic picks, but for some reason this being the top 5 of the year casts a disappointing shadow on all of 2019

2019 was a rough year, a lot of the big games were either disappointing or delayed. So yeah, a sad list, but 2019 was a sad year for games.
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You are probably right, which is a shame as Bloodstained is essentially a de facto Castlevania game. Hopefully Outer Wilds can at least give it a fight as that game is amazing.
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RE2 winning GOTY in the year 2019 of our Lord is amazing band you can all shut up
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There's no obvious winner here since The Outer Worlds isn't typically something GameFAQs votes for. But we've seen CoD and Borderlands win GOTY in the past, so it's possible.

If not The Outer Worlds, I'd lean towards Link's Awakening or the RE2 remake.

The real correct answer, though, is Untitled Goose Game
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ZenOfThunder posted...

but for some reason this being the top 5 of the year casts a disappointing shadow on all of 2019

what

why

this year has been fantastic for games. there just hasn't been that one game that stands above everything else in the public consciousness
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This has certainly been a weak year for big games. However I am happy with the likely nominees. Let's not act like RE2 and Fire Emblem aren't amazing games.

swirIdude posted...

There's no obvious winner here since The Outer Worlds isn't typically something GameFAQs votes for. But we've seen CoD and Borderlands win GOTY in the past, so it's possible.

If not The Outer Worlds, I'd lean towards Link's Awakening or the RE2 remake.

The real correct answer, though, is Untitled Goose Game

Not so GameFAQs loves Fallout. But I don't think The Outer Worlds quite has the buzz here or with critics.
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ZenOfThunder posted...

RySenkari posted...

Outside of GameFAQs, I feel like the five nominees are going to be:

RE2 Remake
Sekiro
The Outer Worlds
Death Stranding
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

and then RE2 remake wins.

This is a really sad list for some reason, not like these games are bad and you have solid, realistic picks, but for some reason this being the top 5 of the year casts a disappointing shadow on all of 2019

I don't think it's sad, especially when there have been so many great indie games in the past year.

Death Stranding and The Outer Worlds are wholly original, and the other 3 are great entries in their genres.

Sure, TLoU2 isn't coming out until 2020, but that's just another thing to look forward to
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iiicon posted...

ZenOfThunder posted...

but for some reason this being the top 5 of the year casts a disappointing shadow on all of 2019

what

why

this year has been fantastic for games. there just hasn't been that one game that stands above everything else in the public consciousness

Eh, it has the least games with 90+ critical averages of any year this decade.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

Eh, it has the least games with 90+ critical averages of any year this decade.

it doesn't. by opencritic's standards, and not counting reissues, it has more than 2014, 2015 and 2016. i also don't think that's a great metric for determining anything, as the way games are released and covered has changed drastically over the course of this decade.
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iiicon posted...

Mac Arrowny posted...

Eh, it has the least games with 90+ critical averages of any year this decade.

it doesn't. by opencritic's standards, and not counting reissues, it has more than 2014, 2015 and 2016. i also don't think that's a great metric for determining anything, as the way games are released and covered has changed drastically over the course of this decade.

I don't think that is quite right. Excluding expansions, more than 10 reviews:

2019:
Resident Evil 2
Disco Elysium
Sekiro

2016:
Uncharted 4
INSIDE
Overwatch
Forza Horizon 3
Stardew Valley

2015:
Undertale
MGSV
Witcher 3
Bloodborne

2014:
SSB4WiiU
Bayonetta 2

It does beat 2014 though. Tops 2015 with expansions but not 2016.
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Lightning Strikes posted...

Excluding expansions

considering how live service heavy this industry is, i think this is a mistake
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If anything that suggests that expansions are less their own games and more integral to the original game.

More importantly you can't just pick up and play Shadowbringers. I can see Iceborne being counted though as it was sold standalone. Though that then further emboldens 2016 with Blood and Wine.

2016 great year!
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Lightning Strikes posted...

More importantly you can't just pick up and play Shadowbringers. I can see Iceborne being counted though as it was sold standalone.

you can jump right into Shadowbringers. You cannot jump right into Iceborne.
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swirIdude posted...

There's no obvious winner here since The Outer Worlds isn't typically something GameFAQs votes for. But we've seen CoD and Borderlands win GOTY in the past, so it's possible.

If not The Outer Worlds, I'd lean towards Link's Awakening or the RE2 remake.

The real correct answer, though, is Untitled Goose Game

It's such a weak year that I could see Untitled Goose Game getting memed into the win here.
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iiicon posted...

Lightning Strikes posted...

More importantly you can't just pick up and play Shadowbringers. I can see Iceborne being counted though as it was sold standalone.

you can jump right into Shadowbringers. You cannot jump right into Iceborne.

You're right about Iceborne, apologies - their use of the word "stand-alone" misled me. You need base FFXIV and additional purchases to get to Shadowbringers so I don't know if that counts.

It's weird, there is no perfect science about what is and is not a new game.
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Lightning Strikes posted...

It's weird, there is no perfect science about what is and is not a new game.

agreed! which is why I say count the expansions and then make arguments for edge cases. I think Iceborne and Shadowbringers are fully featured campaigns with significant gameplay improvements or changes in line with annual sequels. Whereas something like the Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is significantly smaller in scope, halfway between ongoing support for a live game and an expansion.
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Disco Elysium or Outer Wilds

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nothing this year has stuck out to me as "instant timeless classic that will be remembered for at least the last decade," i like seeing 2 or 3 of those on a yearly release calendar before declaring it a "good year."

maybe things will change in time, but right now nothing nominated for GotY anywhere really strikes me as "timeless," most likely because the heavy hitters were all moved to next gen
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ZenOfThunder posted...

nothing this year has stuck out to me as "instant timeless classic that will be remembered for at least the last decade," i like seeing 2 or 3 of those on a yearly release calendar before declaring it a "good year."

this is an effect of marketing more than it is anything else, but it should be said that shadowbringers has been hailed as both the best final fantasy game and most creative mmo expansion ever, while disco elysium has quickly taken up the mantle of best written crpg ever that its inspiration, planescape torment, has occupied for two decades
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I think people will be talking about Death Stranding for years to come

Maybe not always in a good way but nevertheless
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Leonhart4 posted...

I think people will be talking about Death Stranding for years to come

Maybe not always in a good way but nevertheless

that's the only one I was considering to maybe be a "timeless classic" but I'm waiting for the dust to settle

if Outer Worlds get a devoted enough fanbase like Fallout NV then maybe that, but right now I don't see a lot of people talking about it outside of the usual circle

Control got a lot of positive buzz, I'm betting if there's ever a Control 2 it will be a classic if they keep quality consistent

Right now most games in contention for GotY are just "really good games" to me
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Yeah I would agree that what's considered a 'timeless classic' is usually a result of pre-release hype. The game still has to be great but if there's not already a push for the game to be considered a big deal beforehand, it's very rare that it will be considered one of those Hall of Fame experiences.

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I feel like most of the time the GOTY contenders are just "really good games" and instant classics happen way less often than 2-3 times in a good year. To me that's a way higher bar to meet. Maybe I'm not playing enough games.

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For example of what I'm talking about: Horizon Zero Dawn is a very well-received game, but it was also a hyped game. It's always going to have a higher standing in the gamingverse than something like Nier Automata, which had to claw and scrape for the recognition it got. Not saying Nier Automata is intrinsically a better game, but yeah

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I feel like Nier Automata is considered MORE of a timeless classic than Horizon is.
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Yeah that post was a little weird to me. I hear Nier Automata get brought up on the regular but I've barely heard anyone talk about Horizon once its initial hype cycle died down.
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(Horizon was also not super great*)

*until it's snow dlc which was really good
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Why exactly is Smash included when it came out last year anyways?

swordz9 posted...

Why exactly is Smash included when it came out last year anyways?

It came out just after nominations closed last year, much like Jedi: Fallen Order did this year. Games in that situation are allowed to be included in the next year, it's kind of weird. (Doesn't always happen even when it applies, like Xenoblade 2 was in that situation and wasn't nominated for anything the following year.)
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Game Awards last year was on Dec 6. SSBU came out Dec 7.
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Why would everyone be so upset if Smash won? Semantics for a game released in 2018 or you think it's not deserving?
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skullbone posted...

not deserving

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There are definitely people who love love loved Horizon and it did sell more (though both sold millions, crazy to say that about a Nier game)though I am definitely in the good, not great camp on Horizon.
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I still need to play Horizon at some point.
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