GOTY 2020 Nominees:

[Blitzkrug]

I could definitely see the emotional aspect of it. But to me what made it perfect was the closure.

Spoiler

Regardless of whether you kill Shimura or spare him your fate is sealed: the Shogunate views you as a traitor and will now have to live your days out on the run or in exile. In essence, your actions lead you to morph into the Ghost of Tsushima since because of what you did, you must remain unseen. You yourself become the the very myth spoken of by the people of the island.

A rare case of closing the book on a story and setting up a sequel without being too hamfisted.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

So we have:

1) Casual favorite for gamers and non-gamers alike (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)
2) Raytracing showcase (Doom Eternal)
3) Nostalgia induced remake from Japan (Final Fantasy VII)
4) Game actually set in Japan (Ghost of Tsushima)
5) Yearly indie entry with critical praise (Hades)
6) Oscar bait Sony exclusive (Last of Us 2)

Contrast nicely with last year's selection that included:

1) Casual favorite for gamers and non-gamers alike (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)
2) Raytracing showcase (Control)
3) Nostalgia induced remake from Japan (Resident Evil 2)
4) Game actually set in Japan (Sekiro)
5) Yearly surprise indie entry with critical praise (The Outer Worlds)
6) Oscar bait Sony exclusive (Death Stranding)

Really threw me out for a loop

Assholery aside, I'm sure LoU2 will sweep. It's the ultimate critical darling.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

2) Raytracing showcase (Control)

I started playing Control yesterday on PC and the graphics are insane. I'm playing at 1440p with all the settings to max including raytracing and with DLSS enabled, I'm averaging like 100fps with a 2080Ti. The game looks and runs so damn great. I'm loving the combat but the story seems all over the place so far. I have no clue what's going on.

 

[JaegerDice]

So we have:

1) Casual favorite for gamers and non-gamers alike (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)
2) Raytracing showcase (Doom Eternal)
3) Nostalgia induced remake from Japan (Final Fantasy VII)
4) Game actually set in Japan (Ghost of Tsushima)
5) Yearly indie entry with critical praise (Hades)
6) Oscar bait Sony exclusive (Last of Us 2)

Contrast nicely with last year's selection that included:

1) Casual favorite for gamers and non-gamers alike (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)
2) Raytracing showcase (Control)
3) Nostalgia induced remake from Japan (Resident Evil 2)
4) Game actually set in Japan (Sekiro)
5) Yearly surprise indie entry with critical praise (The Outer Worlds)
6) Oscar bait Sony exclusive (Death Stranding)

Really threw me out for a loop

Assholery aside, I'm sure LoU2 will sweep. It's the ultimate critical darling.

Honestly, I think Hades is going to win every category it's been nominated for.

 

[Shareefruck]

Honestly, I think Hades is going to win every category it's been nominated for.

It'd be nice if an indie game was recognized for actual superiority for once rather than just token indie game consolation prize. Often the best indie game is better than the best AAA game, IMO, but it's never treated that way.

It's a pretty weak year, IMO. I wouldn't be opposed to Hades winning. I have way more respect and admiration for it than TLOUII, Tsushima, and Animal Crossing, personally.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

It'd be nice if an indie game was recognized for actual superiority for once rather than just token indie game consolation prize. Often the best indie game is better than the best AAA game, IMO, but it's never treated that way.

It's a pretty weak year, IMO. I wouldn't be opposed to Hades winning. I have way more respect and admiration for it than TLOUII, Tsushima, and Animal Crossing, personally.

All the awards are bought and paid for. That's why it's always AAA titles winning them.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Last of Us 2 shouldn't win jackshit because under the oscar bait there is a really, really shitty video game.

Butchered the games story and already established characters for the sake of shock value, doubled the length of the original which turns it into a repetitive, boring slog and the director of the game is a pompous hack who thinks his farts don't stink. I actually really liked the original and the DLC but it didn't need a sequel.

That's why it pisses me off when the neckbeards brigaded it for a completely BS reason (the whole reeee Abbey is trans shit) instead of hammering it for being a shit game and gave said pompous hack director a soapbox to stroke his ego on.

Ghost of Tusuhima does everything better. Does cinematic style better, does gameplay better, does story better. Full stop.

 

[Shareefruck]

Last of Us 2 shouldn't win jackshit because under the oscar bait there is a really, really shitty video game.

Butchered the games story and already established characters for the sake of shock value, doubled the length of the original which turns it into a repetitive, boring slog and the director of the game is a pompous hack who thinks his farts don't stink. I actually really liked the original and the DLC but it didn't need a sequel.

That's why it pisses me off when the neckbeards brigaded it for a completely BS reason (the whole reeee Abbey is trans shit) instead of hammering it for being a shit game and gave said pompous hack director a soapbox to stroke his ego on.

Ghost of Tusuhima does everything better. Does cinematic style better, does gameplay better, does story better. Full stop.

Don't forget the whole reeee, I expected to play as Joel because I grew attached to him, I want my money back thing.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Don't forget the whole reeee, I expected to play as Joel because I grew attached to him, I want my money back thing.

The Joel thing should have been expected since they heavily pushed Ellie in the promotional material.

That absolutely doesn't excuse how they butchered his character in the context of the story, but not playing as him is the most "well duh" thing of the year i feel like.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

Last of Us 2 shouldn't win jackshit because under the oscar bait there is a really, really shitty video game.

Butchered the games story and already established characters for the sake of shock value, doubled the length of the original which turns it into a repetitive, boring slog and the director of the game is a pompous hack who thinks his farts don't stink. I actually really liked the original and the DLC but it didn't need a sequel.

That's why it pisses me off when the neckbeards brigaded it for a completely BS reason (the whole reeee Abbey is trans shit) instead of hammering it for being a shit game and gave said pompous hack director a soapbox to stroke his ego on.

Ghost of Tusuhima does everything better. Does cinematic style better, does gameplay better, does story better. Full stop.

Not the worst video game at least.

 

[Oogie Boogie]

 

[tacogeoff]

^ Hells ya. Very easily the best game of the bunch .

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

FF7 remake >>>>>

 

[Master P]

Voted Ghost in the poll but my personal GOTY is Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Game is simply fantastic.

 

[robertmac43]

I'm totally fine with Ghosts winning, great game!

 

[Khelandros]

Games don't usually get to me on an emotional level, but that arc and the ending to GoT, right in the feels.

 

[JaegerDice]

Based on hours put in, my GOTY list (excluding games released before this year) is:

1) Hades
2) Destiny 2: Beyond Light
3) Spiritfarer
4) Spelunky 2
5) F1 2020
6) Doom Eternal
7) FF7 Remake
8) Nioh 2
9) The Last of Us 2
10) Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Honestly, I think Hades is going to win every category it's been nominated for.

Hades looks like a pretty cool game, might have to pick it up sometime.

Alas, Oscar bait won this round.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Game designed to win awards, wins awards.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Objectively TLOU2 is better than the original in almost every single aspect. People must really hate the story.

 

[JaegerDice]

TLOU is a better choice than Ghosts of Tsushima, at the very least.

It at least tried something interesting narratively, even it didn't nail the landing. As compared to a game that basically tried nothing new, and hit all the old ideas out of the park.

Still think Hades should have won, and given the people who are voting on these and the enthusiasm they've espoused over various games this year, I'm surprised Hades didn't do better.

Ah well.

 

[Blitzkrug]

And Ghost of Tusuhima didn't? How many games take place in that time period/setting besides Sekiro?

Not like it matters since Ghost won the award where people who actually played the games in question got a say. I can see TLOU2 winning for the voiceover performances and technical achievement but it has no business winning game of the year

 

[Commander Clueless]

Objectively TLOU2 is better than the original in almost every single aspect. People must really hate the story.

I don't think TLOU2 winning GOTY was that surprising at all. I didn't play it so I don't really have a personal opinion on it, but the production value is no doubt off the charts and that holds a lot of value in the industry. It's quite impressive from an outside look no doubt.

I will say, Laura Bailey winning best performance and the game winning best narrative were pretty ballsy choices, considering the frankly over the top backlash against those aspects of the game.

Again, I don't disagree with their choices having not played the game....especially with Laura, who is a phenomenal voice actor and deserves all accolades coming her way IMO.

 

[Shareefruck]

Objectively TLOU2 is better than the original in almost every single aspect. People must really hate the story.

But the original was mediocre in a lot of ways and propped up/reliant on a crowd-pleasing story/dynamic/delivery/production values. It's entirely logical that improving the mediocre aspects while arguably screwing up some of the things that it was reliant on can still absolutely tank a game.

And Ghost of Tusuhima didn't? How many games take place in that time period/setting besides Sekiro?

I don't know if I'd consider making something that takes place in a less often represented time period/setting "doing something interesting," personally.

 

[JJ68]

The Joel thing should have been expected since they heavily pushed Ellie in the promotional material.

That absolutely doesn't excuse how they butchered his character in the context of the story, but not playing as him is the most "well duh" thing of the year i feel like.

They butchered him because you liked him and wanted a good guy. Things dont always turn out rosy. It;s like dumbass Game of thrones fans who got mad Dany was a bitch when the books even predict that.