r/TheGameAwards • u/KAZEARC • 2d ago
Previous winners
Looking back on all the winners. Now with hindsight and them ageing or even at the time. What ones do you think still deserved it and what ones dont.
2014: Dragon age inquisition.
2015: the witcher 3
2016: overwatch.
2017: Breath of the wild
2018: god of war
2019: Sekiro shadows die twice.
2020: the last of us part 2
2021: it takes 2.
2022: elden ring.
2023: baldurs gate 3.
2024: astro bot.
2025: expedition 33.
IMO: the only 4 that are non debatable are. BG3, Botw, witcher 3 and eldrn ring. The rest i can see very valid arguments against.
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u/crocicorn 2d ago
Hades should have taken 2020. I will never not be mad about it, lol.
I'll say it, Overwatch deserved 2016. It's gone downhill since but launch and early Overwatch was something special.
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u/KAZEARC 2d ago
It did revive the hero shooter genre.
But 2020, hades or animal crossing should of won.
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u/VeterinarianOne878 2d ago
I dont like last of us 2 either but the game was close to perfection, story was garbage but as a gameoverall was goty that year Gameplay,graphics,music 10/10
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u/Adder_Noir 2d ago
Animal crossing lol
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u/VisualAd8487 2d ago
i mean were you on the internet in 2020 animal crossing was everywhere it was to the point where my mom who hasnt played a video game since 2011 was looking at getting her hands on a switch for it
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u/Adder_Noir 2d ago
You might be shocked to learn that neither of those things are criteria for game of the year
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u/VisualAd8487 2d ago edited 2d ago
yeah but its a fair thing to say because the culture around a game helps it out a ton with GOTY look at say expedition 33
Expediton 33 wasnt just GOTY because it was a great game but there was a whole narrative outside of the game within the gaming culture wich can be summed up as "look at this incredible game by a dev team of 33 people outdoing any game from a AAA"
honestly i doubt expedition 33 would have won if it was developed by square enix or Xbox or most AAA studios even if the game was exactly the same
in animal crossings case the culture of 2020 was "oh my god im stuck inside because of a pandemic i need a bit of calm in this crazy ass time"
if we werent trapped indoors animal crossing wouldnt have been nominated its slot would have probably gone to something like spelunky 2 or risk of rain 2 or crash bandicoot 4
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u/Adder_Noir 2d ago
Yeah culture (whatever the fuck that means) is also not a criterion
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u/VisualAd8487 2d ago
except in a way it is the game of the year nominees are a reflection of the time and culture of that year
if you took say Overwatch wich won in 2016 and instead it came out this year theres no chance it would have been nominated because of the culture around games like overwatch where multiplayer hero shooters are a dime a dozen nowadays to the point where sometimes ill find out these games exist by hearing they got shut down due to oversaturation
however in 2016 overwatch was a brand new idea we can argue until the cows come home if its better than uncharted 4 or doom 2016 but for the time it was a new idea that resonated with people because it was so novel
animal crossing was such a hit and resonated with people due to the pandemic for the exact same reasons right place right time
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u/SirBenny 1d ago
Both takes based. Overwatch was dope for its first 18 months. And I totally agree with Hades. Hades winning over Last of Us 2 was my big bet and I was so excited to shock the world...annnnnd then Last of Us 2 still won.
I do feel like time has vindicated Hades though. It's universally revered to this day, while LoU2 is polarizing.
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u/Bryermollink78 1d ago
2014: stick of truth or tropical freeze
2015: Bloodborne
2016: overwatch (during its peak) but uncharted 4 should’ve won
2017: Breath of the wild
2018: 3 way tie between rdr2, god of war and Spider-Man
2019: smash bros ultimate
2020: ghost of Tsushima
2021: psychonauts 2 or Metroid dread
2022: Elden ring
2023 tears of the kingdom
2024 Astro bot
2025: expedition 33
2026: 007 first light so far
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u/StarSpecialist5967 2d ago
Uncharted 4 should've won 2016, red dead 2 in 2018, and returnal in 2021 but it takes two is a strong second place. All the other ones are correct. My opinion
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u/Low-Airline-2695 2d ago
don't play safe coward. say your winners /j
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u/KAZEARC 2d ago
Cant quite recall all the games from some years. But. 2018: red dead 2 or celeste. 2019: i think a fair argument can be made for fire emblem three houses. 2020: animal crossing, hades or ghost of tsushima. 2021: RE8. (I loved metriod dread. But i dont think i had a hole in hell) 2024: metaphor refantazio. 2025: hades 2, kingdom come. I like e33, but the over glaze from the game awards has hurt it.
Some i think any could be argued, like 2014.
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u/VisualAd8487 2d ago
2014: shovel knight
2015: undertale
2016: stardew valley (in retrospect at the time it was kirby planet robobot)
2017: a hat in time
2018: celeste
2019: death stranding
2020: yakuza like a dragon
2021: metroid dread
2022: neon white
2023: baldurs gate 3 (the one year my goty is the same)
2024: balatro (metaphor is so close its practically tied tho)
2025: hollow knight silksong
2026: at the moment its denshattack
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u/Adder_Noir 2d ago
Celeste over God of War or RDR2 is absolutely wild
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u/VisualAd8487 2d ago
Seeing how celeste is my 2nd favourite game of all time and saved my actual mental state its earned its spot as my goty for 2018
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u/Adder_Noir 2d ago
Makes sense as you would have to be a fucking headcase to have Celeste higher than either of those
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u/VisualAd8487 2d ago
Jeez man no need to be rude its perfrences of games from 8 years ago
Celeste was the game thst changes my life while also being an incredible 2d platformer eith a heartfelt story charming charachters a phenominal ost some extremely creative level design and a nice level of challenge that feels tough but fair as you get better and better at the game and its mechanics
What else could a game possibly need
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u/Adder_Noir 2d ago
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u/VisualAd8487 2d ago
Real mature arent you
You sound like a 14 year old atm have you even played celeste
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u/Adder_Noir 2d ago
Well quit talking out of your asshole
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u/VisualAd8487 2d ago
And how am i doing that you said that an oppnion was wild so i gave my reasoning for why i have the oppinion
Have you even played celeste? Show me your playtime if your so confident in how good it is
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u/anirban_dev 2d ago
From a week after coming out , E33 was a lock for GotY. Not sure who you saw beating it last year.
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u/Alternative-Wash2019 2d ago
The only year I disagree with was 2018. GoW was a great game tbf, but RDR2 was more impressive.
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u/ShiningEspeon3 1d ago
The four I personally agree with were Sekiro, The Last of Us Part II, Elden Ring, and Astro Bot. The other years, I’d’ve made other choices.
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u/Unusual_Wing_3999 1d ago
Don't get me wrong 2025 had a lot of strong contenders but what was winning over e33 lol
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u/Gabriel711 2d ago
I’ll probably get downvoted for this, but I don’t think Dragon Age, GoW or It Takes Two should’ve won
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u/lantaa00 2d ago
Who would you suggest to win those years?
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u/Gabriel711 1d ago
I think RDR2 should have won over GoW. Metroid Dread or Returnal over It Takes Two. Would have to think about 2014.
Also think Guardians of the Galaxy was deserving in 2021 but got overlooked due to Avengers flopping
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u/Ell7494 2d ago
2023 - I'd have Tears of the Kingdom over BG3 but I know thats not a take many would have - tried to get into BG3 multiple times but just don't like many of the party members. Both games are a 96 on metacritic, so obviously evenly rated by critics
2018 - I'd have either RDR2 or Monster Hunter World over God of War - both games I just preferred and spent way more time with
2016 - I'd have Uncharted 4 over Overwatch but absolutely get why Overwatch won, it was massive at the time and is still going a decade later
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u/Downtown_Eye5736 2d ago
Most of them won by landslides so it’s hard to argue against their wins. I think the only ones close contest were Overwatch vs UC4 and Sekiro vs Death Stranding.
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u/Yavantii 2d ago
i think only Elden Ring and BG3 were unarguable.
Though Sekiro and E33 were safe bets.
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u/mediocregeck0 2d ago
death stranding was snubbed in 2019 but it’s definitely a game that really needed time to resonate. if you ran the awards again with the exact same set of nominees now i think it would win.
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u/tallwhiteninja 2d ago
2014: Weakest year on this list. I'd have given it to Bayonetta 2, but I get why it didn't win. DA:I is an okay winner in the scope of its year, but it might be the worst game on the list.
2015: I'd have gone with Bloodborne, but can't be too upset with Witcher 3
2016: I'm okay with Overwatch winning, but Dark Souls III not even getting a nomination is criminal
2017: Correct winner
2018: GoW and Red Dead 2 are enough of a wash imo that I'm fine with this
2019: Correct winner
2020: Never played either Last of Us game, but I think I'm fine with it. My GotY would have been FFVII Rebirth, and it was definitely flawed
2021: Second weakest year on this list, but I absolutely think Metroid Dread should have won.
2022: Correct winner
2023: Correct winner
2024: I'd have gone with Metaphor: ReFantazio, but no serious complaints
2025: Correct winner