Topic: GOTY 2021 Nominees Discussion

@VoidofLight i'm the same. I actually bought Nier super cheap a little while ago. It'll be my first time playing it but I already know it has a bunch of endings. That kinda stuff always sits in my mind when im playing a game. I think thats why I like Nintendo stuff so much, it doesn't bother me to talk about it or watch trailers.

@Krull, yeah, I'm generally not big on racing games myself, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

I think my favorite of the objectives were the "barn finds", where a part of the map would be highlighted and there would be a garage hiding somewhere in the vicinity (with a new car to be added to your collection) and you just had to explore around & find it. Usually hidden in places like deep inside a forest, on top of a mountain, and even one on a little island out in the middle of a lake (it had some sort of seasons system, so you'd have to wait until it was winter, in game, for the lake to freeze over so you could get to the island).

@Losermagnet I hope you end up enjoying it! Both NieR games are great experiences, and are worth going in blind for.

As much as I love Dread, I'll be giving my vote to It Takes Two. It's definitely not going to win considering how niche it is, requiring 2 players to play, but I absolutely loved playing that game with my partner. That game packs in so many fun ideas and is a total joy the entire way through. As for which game I think is going to win GoTY though, probably Resident Evil Village.

The nominations reminds me I still need to play Psychonauts 2, played the first one and it was great.

@VoidofLight Thanks! I'm just about done with my Soulsborne games (until Elden Ring) so I'm hoping Nier will be my next gaming obsession lol.

@Pizzamorg Went back to read that article, and I think I just fundamentally disagree with the writer on several points. They also argue that the public should have a bigger vote: hard disagree. You’d just end up with the most popular game winning. In which case, go check the bestsellers charts, not the awards lists. It would be like selecting the Oscars based on box office takings - which I know some people favour, but I don’t.

I do agree that it’s a nonsense that cinematic action games sweep the board half the time, though. So, OK, Forza can play this year, if SMT V gets to join the party too. 😜

@Grumblevolcano The Mario movie won't be out until a year after TGA, so I really doubt they'd have a trailer ready. Movie trailers typically don't come out until a few months before the movie releases, it's not like games where trailers tend to drop at least a year before the game releases.

I mean I would argue the Oscars is a poor example, given that too has become increasingly farcical over the years with studios trying to create the ultimate “Oscar bait” template. Trying to tick the right diversity points and other such things, to guarantee their film is nominated and wins because an Oscar rarely goes to the best film, but rather to the film that ticks the right number of boxes. It is why, during Oscar season, we see so many films that are in many ways almost identical, because they are all trying to find the algorithm, rather than creating anything with genuine soul.

And we’re already seeing things like this starting to happen in gaming as well, with things like the “Sony game”. It kills creativity and that is just sad.

In regards to SMT V, I am pretty sure it isn’t reviewed higher on average than any other game put forward in that category, so I can’t agree it deserves a place over any of those other games more. But, had there been a split between a public vote and the panel thing they already use, then it would allow people to make cases for the inclusion of stuff like SMT V, which is relegated to a sub category only under the existing system.

@Pizzamorg We’re going to bore everyone else on this topic, but… Forza having the highest average rating on Metacritic isn’t the be all and end all, either. It’s still just a critical consensus - and some of those sites it trawls are not exactly my go-tos when I look for a review. The Game Awards are also a critical consensus, but TBF it does draw from a well of highly regarded critics. You just have to decide who to trust, I guess. If someone else’s values don’t align with yours, find another awards panel. You’re right that we can see the patterns for GotYs, just as we can with the Oscars.

If someone thinks an MCU movie should win best film every year (huge box office, generally critically appreciated), for example, then maybe follow the Saturn awards rather than the Oscars?

Nothing you are saying is inherently wrong and I risk simply flogging the same points, but I still stand by the general thesis of the argument. There are pretty much no surer metric one can quantify than the critical consensus and in Forza’s case, it is by a significant margin. That alone is enough for me. It is all subjective, I recognise, but this isn’t someone’s personal list, this is an award ceremony. If you don’t put forwards the six best reviewed on average titles for that category, then what are you even basing it on? Assumed engagement metrics? Because again, Forza would rank at the top, due to the type of model the game uses.

And yes, the problem exists in the Oscars too, which is why it is almost a flawed comparison. MCU movies really should be nominated every year for best picture at the Oscars - but that is a discussion for another thread.

However, to tie it back in, the same problem exists there people look at a superhero movie as being at a lower standing than say some drama biopic, even though this argument is nonsense. To write a game off as “just a sports game”, despite the millions of lives it’ll touch all years round, versus some Sony game that gets hyped for five minutes before people move onto the next hot thing, but you’re telling me the sports game is the one that doesn’t belong in the conversation?

@VIIIAxel I think maybe a very short teaser just kinda showing mario running in a white void could happen. Just a little teaser for what it's gonna look like.

I'll add that it annoys me to no end that the GOTY awards always ignores Visual Novels. They may be a bit more niche but some of the absolute best experiences have been from visual novels this year. Also Eastward was robbed for best indie nomination

On balance, yes, I do think that. A GotY list dominated by racing games, Fifa, Football Manager, Madden and NBA2K would bore the living snot out of me, even if they really are the games everyone plays the most and a large majority like most. They come from genres that have already been pretty much perfected, and generally all the newest iterations bring is a slight improvement on simulation, graphics, whatever. There is rarely a step change that catapults them into the conversation.

Maybe Forza Horizon 5 is a step change. I’ll cede the point. And above all, this is just my opinion, based on my own tastes. I don’t think you’re wrong, but our values don’t align.

And Dune should get the Saturn, even if the MCU movies do better at the box office. As for the Oscar, no idea!

While it's been awhile since I've played a new visual novel, I can't help but agree. Some of the ones I've played has been some of the best story driven experiences I've played.

@Blooper987 That's a fair point. A short teaser would make sense, especially since it could help stem some of the skepticism if it's well-animated. I just doubt we'll see a proper trailer until next summer at the soonest personally. If we do get a teaser at TGA, I'd imagine it'd probably come alongside another announcement since Nintendo would probably want something bigger to show off as well. My best-case scenario would be a reveal of whatever Monolith Soft is working on, but I'd be cool with some more BOTW2 footage or whatever else Nintendo might have up its sleeve.

I'd have given it a shot over the extremely flawed 12 Minutes at the very least.

To be fair, the only visual novels that aren't super niche here are either partially point and click adventure games or intentional subversions/parodies. I can't be shocked they get overlooked when they always get overlooked.

That being said, I doubt any notable gaming site gave Trials and Tribulations GOTY in 2007 or Virtue's Last Reward in 2012, which is just wrong. For that matter, the best rated game of the year I think is still a visual novel.