I love the concept and I frequently find the games chosen across the outlets I trust jumping up my must play list
Personally I struggle to complete my own list because I usually feel I've not played enough of every game to truly make a Game / Favourites of the year list.
As a result I prefer to focus on my 'Experiences of the Year' which is a pretty granular list focused on parts of games that have really stuck with me that year. As an example, the Alan Wake content in Control really stuck with me this year, in particular the way it was woven into a certain mission, and when combined with playing Alan Wake 2 the same year it was all the more memorable.
Another example would be Session - not a classic but learning the controls whilst my kids watch me hilariously bail over and over was a fantastic experience
I would bet that few outside of us that are deeply connected to games pay much attention to GOTY outside of potentially purchasing a GOTY Edition of a game (less prevalent these days probably) but that doesn't invalidate them imo. They're not yet at the level of The Oscars for bringing people to the yard (as the reliance on trailers and 'Exclusives' at The Game Awards suggests the content is not enough to draw folks) but that could change if Keighly is able to keep that train going year after year!
I put a lot of stock in GotY awards, particularly DLC's. It's the main reason I've played games like HZD, Spider-Man, and (the new) God of War and not the 100s of other games similar to those, but not quite GotY status. I do wait for sales on almost every game (including all of those listed above) except for 1-2 (usually multiplayer) games per year, and I always have an extensive backlog of single player games since I spend 90%+ of my game time with multiplayer games I'm married to.
those are all certainly great games. Hope you loved them too! I do see lists working to highlight games for folks for sure. Thanks for reading and taking the time to reply!
Given the constant negative engagement around games, I do appreciate that GOTY give us some positive discourse. Otherwise, I don't put much stock into game awards. I think the most meaningful would be something like GDC Awards; where the recognition is from peers instead of fans, journalists, or YouTubers. I do enjoy the DLC Favorite GOTY episode, though!
Good call on the positive aspect of awards. I wish the conversation stayed positive, however. Often times thought I feel like the discussion turns negative about why X game was actually crap, or why Y game actually deserved the award... but that's a larger issue than just games for sure! Thanks for reading and replying!
I love the concept and I frequently find the games chosen across the outlets I trust jumping up my must play list
Personally I struggle to complete my own list because I usually feel I've not played enough of every game to truly make a Game / Favourites of the year list.
As a result I prefer to focus on my 'Experiences of the Year' which is a pretty granular list focused on parts of games that have really stuck with me that year. As an example, the Alan Wake content in Control really stuck with me this year, in particular the way it was woven into a certain mission, and when combined with playing Alan Wake 2 the same year it was all the more memorable.
Another example would be Session - not a classic but learning the controls whilst my kids watch me hilariously bail over and over was a fantastic experience
I would bet that few outside of us that are deeply connected to games pay much attention to GOTY outside of potentially purchasing a GOTY Edition of a game (less prevalent these days probably) but that doesn't invalidate them imo. They're not yet at the level of The Oscars for bringing people to the yard (as the reliance on trailers and 'Exclusives' at The Game Awards suggests the content is not enough to draw folks) but that could change if Keighly is able to keep that train going year after year!
I mean, look, if you wanna put up your Personal Favorite Experiences of the Year based on an Incomplete Sampling.... I TOTALLY SUPPORT THAT! :)
I put a lot of stock in GotY awards, particularly DLC's. It's the main reason I've played games like HZD, Spider-Man, and (the new) God of War and not the 100s of other games similar to those, but not quite GotY status. I do wait for sales on almost every game (including all of those listed above) except for 1-2 (usually multiplayer) games per year, and I always have an extensive backlog of single player games since I spend 90%+ of my game time with multiplayer games I'm married to.
those are all certainly great games. Hope you loved them too! I do see lists working to highlight games for folks for sure. Thanks for reading and taking the time to reply!
Given the constant negative engagement around games, I do appreciate that GOTY give us some positive discourse. Otherwise, I don't put much stock into game awards. I think the most meaningful would be something like GDC Awards; where the recognition is from peers instead of fans, journalists, or YouTubers. I do enjoy the DLC Favorite GOTY episode, though!
Good call on the positive aspect of awards. I wish the conversation stayed positive, however. Often times thought I feel like the discussion turns negative about why X game was actually crap, or why Y game actually deserved the award... but that's a larger issue than just games for sure! Thanks for reading and replying!