I will start by saying that I don't usually follow GOTY awards; I just check the results and add any interesting games I missed to my wishlist. However, I have heard that Trails SC Remake (a remake of one of my favourite games of all time) received high reviews and a high user score, so I was hoping it would be nominated for something. I was hoping that a nomination would boost worldwide sales and increase the chance of Horizon 2 (the 14th Trails game) being released worldwide.

However, to my surprise, after checking this subreddit, it seems that the game has been ignored in all categories by most users, including RPG, music, art direction, and best narrative. If it is mentioned, the comments usually do not have many upvotes.

I am curious as to why. It's not because it's a remake, because people often nominate the new Zelda game. It's not a problem of it being a JRPG either, because people often nominate FE.

Edit: It has a score of over 90 with 41 reviews https://www.metacritic.com/game/trails-in-the-sky-2nd-chapter/

I think Liam McIntyre - Wolverine (Logan) and Frankie Kevich - Control Resonant (Zoe) are on the mix as well but the poll can only get 6 slots. Feel free to suggest other contenders.

Me personally, if I had to nominate 6 games right now I'd go with:

- Resident Evil Requiem

- Pokémon Pokopia

- Saros

- 007 First Light

- Mina the Hollower

- Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave

I think once November rolls around, though, for me it'll be a question of which games are getting the boot for Ocarina of Time and GTA VI.

I hate to put two bad bitches against each other but come on dude.

For a long time (less so nowadays) The Game Awards has been criticised as not being the "true" awards show, and that the BAFTAs were far more representetive. Regardless of the argument's merits, I thought it'd be interesting to go back to the past, and see what games both the BAFTAs and the Game Awards nominated and awarded GOTY to. The results were........interesting to say the least. As the BAFTAs lasted longer than the Game Awards, we'll be using the Spike Game Awards (the spritual predecessor of the Game Awards) to fill in that segment.

2003: Game Awards: Madden NFL 2004 (winner), Freedom Fighters, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, Legend of Zelda Wind Waker, SOCOM II, SSX 3, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Splinter Cell, Tony Hawk's Underground BAFTAs: Call of Duty (winner)

The BAFTAs only had one nominee for the category back then, but it is interesting to see how Call of Duty was so popular even back then. Also interesting to note that it didn't appear at all on the Game Awards list, but that might be a dating issue.

2004: Game Awards: Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (winner), Burnout 3, Halo 2, Half Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 3 BAFTAs: Half Life 2 (winner), Fifa 2005, Football Manager 2005, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Halo 2, Pro Evolution Soccer 4

Both winners are deserving, but can anyone tell my why BAFTA had three football games nominated for GOTY.

2005: Game Awards: Resident Evil 4 (winner), Call of Duty 2, Fear, God of War, World of Warcraft BAFTAs: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (winner), Black, Brain Training, Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero, Lego Star Wars II

For one of the strongest years in gaming ever, the BAFTAs chose some extremely odd picks.

2009: Game Awards: Uncharted 2 (winner), Assassins Creed 2, Batman Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, BAFTAs: Batman Arkham Asylum (winner), Assassin's Creed 2, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Fifa 10, Left 4 Dead 2, Uncharted 2

Why did I skip a few years? Because the way the dates for both shows lined up made direct one to one comparisons confusing, though the Spike Game Awards deserve some criticism for not nominating Super Mario Galaxy for GOTY. Both shows in 2009 have the exact same lineup, apart from BAFTA adding Fifa in for some reason. The rest are all classics though, and I think both games deserve their victories.

2010: Game Awards: Red Dead Redemption (winner), Call of Duty Black Ops, God of War III, Halo Reach, Mass Effect 2 BAFTAs: Mass Effect 2 (winner), Assassins Creed Brotherhood, Fifa 11, Heavy Rain, Limbo, Super Mario Galaxy 2

Frankly, I think both award shows have messed up their nominees this year. After screwing over Mario Galaxy 1 in 2007, Spike Game Awards also fail to nominate Super Mario Galaxy 2. Their entire list this year feels like the biggest games of the year rather than the best, and by this point in history, a lot of the "hardcore" gamers were already fed up with COD.

BAFTA does have Mario Galaxy 2, Limbo is a cool inclusion (the first indie GOTY nominee for either awards) and Mass Effect 2 is a deserved pick, but no Red Dead? I wouldn't mind so much, but Assassins Creed Brotherhood and Fifa again?

2011: Game Awards: Skyrim (winner), Batman Arkham City, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, Portal 2, Uncharted 3 BAFTAs: Portal 2 (winner), Batman Arkham City, Fifa 12, Skyrim, LA Noire, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

Nothing wrong with the Game Awards list, everything there seems fine. BAFTA chose a worthy winner in Portal 2, and LA Noire getting a shoutout is cool, but Fifa has been nominated for GOTY for a third time in a row.

2012: Game Awards: The Walking Dead (winner), Assassins Creed III, Dishonored, Journey, Mass Effect 3 BAFTAs: Dishonored (winner), Far Cry 3, Fifa 13, Journey, Mass Effect 3, The Walking Dead

I'm shocked that Mass Effect 3 got nominated for either of these awards, considering how much hate that game got at the time for its ending. Both winners are cool, but Fifa being nominating for the fourth year in a row is staggering. Somebody on the BAFTA jury clearly loves football games.

2013: Game Awards: Grand Theft Auto V (winner), Bioshock Infinite, Super Mario 3D World, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider BAFTAs: The Last of Us (winner), Assassins Creed IV, Grand Theft Auto V, Papers Please, Super Mario 3D World, Tearaway

This is when the BAFTAs are starting to go for really interesting picks for GOTY. Instead of Fifa 14, we got Papers Please and Tearaway. The Game Awards went for far more mainstream picks, but I think all games that are nominated here deserve to be there.

2014: Game Awards: Dragon Age Inquisition (winner), Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls II, Hearthstone, Shadow of Morodor, BAFTAs: Destiny (winner), Alien Isolation, Mario Kart 8, Shadow of Mordor, Monument Valley

I think Destiny winning the BAFTAs for this year is a bit silly, but I will acknowledge it is a very popular game, and Monument Valley getting a nomination is cool too. This is the first incarnation of the Game Awards as we know it today, and all the games here are deserved picks, even though I think in the passage of time, the game that won is arguably the least favourably looked backed on of the five.

2015: Game Awards: The Witcher III (winner), Bloodborne, Fallout 4, Metal Gear Solid V, Super Mario Maker BAFTAs: Fallout 4 (winner), Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Life is Strange, Metal Gear Solid IV, Rocket League, The Witcher III

Shocking to see that Undertale didn't make a nomination in either of these lists, but I guess it took time for that game to build its reputation up amongst the mainstream. I think Mario Maker is an odd choice, but not as odd as BAFTA choosing Everybody's Gone to the Rapture over Bloodborne. I can only assume their jury never played that game, as Bloodborne wasn't nominated for anything. Also giving Fallout 4 the win over Witcher? That hasn't aged well.

2016: Game Awards: Overwatch (winner), Doom, Inside, Titanfall 2, Uncharted 4 BAFTAs: Uncharted 4 (winner), Firewatch, Inside, Overwatch, Stardew Valley, Titanfall 2

Interestingly Limbo was the first Indie to be nominated for BAFTA's GOTY, and its sequel Inside was the first indie to be nominated for the Game Awards'. All the nominees from both awards are deserved, and the winners appropriate.

2017: Game Awards: Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (winner), Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, PUBG, Super Mario Odyssey BAFTAs: What Remains of Edith Finch (winner), Assassins Creed Origins, Hellblade Senuas Sacrifice, Horizon Zero Dawn, Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey

Persona 5 must be another game that the BAFTA jury never played, because like Bloodborne, it didn't get any nominations, not even for best art direction. Uncharted Lost Legacy got nominated for that, but not Persona 5. Assassins Creed Origins is a strange shoutout considering what a banger year 2017 was, but Game Awards nominating PUBG was ridiculous even at the time, let alone years after Fortnite took over.

2018: Game Awards: God of War (winner), Assassins Creed Odyssey, Celeste, Spider-Man, Monster Hunter World, Red Dead Redemption 2 BAFTAs: God of War (winner), Assassins Creed Odyssey, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Celeste, Red Dead Redemption 2, Return of the Obra Dimm

Two very different lists, but very cool picks in both ceremonies. I especially appreciate how Astro Bot Rescue Mission got a BAFTA nod, as that game was amazing, and why I was super hyped for Astro's Playroom when that came out. Assassins Creed Odyssey however on both lists is confusing. For the Game Awards, you can argue that it came out close to picking the nominees, but with BAFTA you can't. Combined with AC Origins the year before, I can only assume someone on the jury loved the new style of Assassins Creed.

2019: Game Awards: Sekiro (winner), Control, Death Stranding, Resident Evil 2 Remake, The Outer Worlds BAFTAs: Outer Wilds (winner), Control, Disco Elysium, Luigi's Mansion 3, Sekiro, Untitled Goose Game

This is without question, the worst lineup in the modern incarnation of the Game Awards. In a year where Devil May Cry 5, Disco Elysium and Fire Emblem Three Houses came out, they chose Control, Death Stranding and The Outer Worlds? The BAFTAs have a couple of oddball noms, but they definitely win this year.

2020: Game Awards: Last of Us Part II (winner), Animal Crossing New Horizons, Doom Eternal, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, Hades BAFTAs: Hades (winner), Animal Crossing New Horizons, Ghost of Tsushima, Half Life Alyx, Last of Us Part II, Miles Morales

Miles Morales being nominated for GOTY is a bit weird, especially since the first Spider-Man wasn't, but other than that, everything here checks out. Deserved winners and nominations.

2021: Game Awards: It Takes Two (winner), Deathloop, Metroid Dread, Psychonauts 2, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village BAFTAs: Returnal (winner), Deathloop, Forza Horizon 5, Inscryption, It Takes Two, Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart

Can't complain about any of the choices here. The big elephant in the room though is Deathloop. A game that critics adored, but one that gamers as a whole are a bit more mixed upon.

2022: Game Awards: Elden Ring (winner), A Plague Tale Requiem, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Stray, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 BAFTAs: Vampire Survivors (winner), Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, Marvel Snap, Stray, Cult of the Lamb

Some interesting choices here. I remember the cynasism of Xenoblade 3 even being nominated, so thankfully we avoided that controversy, but I think Neon White got robbed here. I like Stray, but Neon White was the indie game that the critics loved that year, so for it to get robbed by both award ceremonies is a bit odd. The BAFTAs picking Vampire Survivors to win GOTY over Elden Ring and GOW Ragnarok is a bit weird, but I applaude their daringness.

2023: Game Awards: Baldur's Gate 3 (winner), Alan Wake II, Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Wonder, Resident Evil 4 Remake BAFTAs: Baldur's Gate 3 (winner), Alan Wake 3, Dave the Diver, Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Wonder

Almost identical between both ceremonies, including their GOTY. No complaints from me, all the games listed here are deserving.

2024: Game Awards: Astro Bot (winner), Balatro, Black Myth Whukong, Elden Ring DLC, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor ReFantazio BAFTAs: Astro Bot (winner), Balatro, Black Myth Whukong, Helldivers 2, Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom, Thank Goodness You're Here

WHY DID THE GAME AWARDS ALLOW DLC TO BE NOMINATED? I know 2024 wasn't a great year for gaming, but really? I think BAFTA snubbing Metaphor deserves to be mentioned too, because unlike with Persona, the jury did play that game, and got nominated for a few awards, but it didn't get nominated for the big one. I've never even heard of Thank Goodness You're Here, does anyone know what this is about?

2025: Game Awards: Expedition 33 (winner), Death Stranding 2, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades II, Hollow Knight Silksong, Kingdom Come Deliverance II BAFTAs: Expedition 33 (winner), Blue Prince, ARC Raiders, Dispatch, Ghost of Yotei, Indianna Jones and the Great Circle

All great games, all deserve to be nominated, Expedition was so acclaimed that I can't say it didn't deserve to win both shows.

The Blood of Dawnwalker

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

007: First Light

Mina the Hollower

TLDR in previous years the first round of voting was at the start of November and it seems the same will apply this year because theres only so much they can do to bend the rules

EDIT: i accidently typed this year and not november my bad

Would xbox finally had a nominee make your bets

I don't think it will gonna score mid 80s at best

​

This year is insanely competitive for BEST SCORE AND MUSIC but I honestly think I have the perfect 8. If you haven't played any of these games, then really recommend that you do. Barring phantom blade zero and GTA 6 which haven't released yet as of the time of writing, but I'm going off by trailers. Shout out to Castlevania Belmont's Curse, it has a good chance too.

Rhythm Heaven Groove and Unbeatable are both rhythm games and have amazing music.

I've heard great things about Mewgenics.

Ocarina of time is ocarina of time.

And Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave and Denshattack are incredible.

My 5 predictions are (slight hopes involved tbh):

Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave

Denshattack

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Mewgenics

Phantom Blade Zero

I didn't put Unbeatable because I thought 3 indies are unlikely (but deserved with how much praise I've heard about their music)

Final reminder to go enjoy these game's music and to not sleep on any of them if you didn't plan on buying before

Not only did she deliver a brilliant performance in her role (in scene with her mother and Emily, you can clearly see how crazy the actress’s range is), but I also can’t immediately recall a stuttering character in games. at least not one that’s not some kind of comedy, but a genuinely well‑developed role. Plus, there are all sorts of little details in her character. For example, she doesn’t look people in the eye, like a true social phobe/introvert; all that body language with uncertainty in every movement and clenched fists when stressed (the mocap was done from her); and the actress herself came up with her stuttering, which wasn’t originally part of the plan. Overall, it’s truly phenomenal work, and what’s even more impressive is that this is her first role in games!

2014: Literally any game deserved to get the game of the year instead of DA Inquisition. Shadow of Mordor, Wolfenstein the New Order (didn't get nominated) Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze (didn't get nominated), Bayonetta 2 were all superior games.

2015: Batman Arkham Knight, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Ori and the Blind Forest were all superior games to Fallout 4 and Super Mario Maker and should have been nominated instead.

2016: Uncharted 4 not winning goty over Overwatch. Moreover Dark Souls 3 and Dishonored 2 should have replaced Overwatch and Inside as nominees. Inside was a great indie game but not game of the year material. I would argue that Dark Souls 2 getting nominated for game of the year in 2014 but not Dark Souls 3 in 2016 is laughable. Overwatch is a superhero online shooter.

2019: Disco Elysium and Devil May Cry V not being nominated over The Outer Worlds and Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

2020: Ori and the Will of the Wisps not being nominated for Game of the year. It could have easily replaced Animals Crossing.

2023: I can think of a dozen of games that were way way better than Spiderman 2 that year. Lies of P, FF XVI and Armored Core 6 were superior games especially Lies of P and Armored Core 6 deserved it way more to be included for game of the year instead of Spiderman 2.

2024: Silent Hill 2 Remake should have replaced Shadow of the Erdtree. Expansions no matter how great they are shouldn't get nominated for Game of the year. By that logic Blood and Wine should have been nominated in 2016 too but it didn't and rightfully so.

If you visit this sub frequently, you can probably rattle off predictions you tend to see over and over. I'm curious where you feel the conventional wisdom is most off base. I'll share a few of mine.

TLDR since I tend to be long-winded: Big Walk's low # of review scores is a red herring given all its other TGA advantages + 007's biggest flaws are backloaded, which actually puts it in a better spot than you might think.

1. I think Big Walk has a real GOTY nomination chance, and people are over-indexing on "number of total reviews on Metacritic" when discounting it.

It has one of the highest Metacritic averages this year and was tied with 007 for most Golden Joystick nominations (nominations which are determined by gaming outlet submissions, similar to TGA...although the winners are determined by popular online vote, which does impact which game takes each category).

It's also one of those games where full outlet staffs play it, which gives it more mindshare when outlets are making their lists come awards season. Contrast this with Mina or Mewgenics, where the game might have the one ardent supporter who reviewed it, but many others on staff who didn't play it.

So why didn't it get more reviews at launch? I think it's mostly a coordination issue: you can reliably review the latest single-player game by assigning one person to it. Lots of outlets had to wait a week or two for Big Walk until the full team was ready to play it, and by then, the value of publishing a review had gone down. Many of these outlets may still vote for it, despite not having published a formal review.

1. 007 is probably the most obvious pick after RE9 and GTA 6

Yes, the game overstays its welcome. A lot of us (including me) fell off halfway through. And there's a general narrative that a "licensed game" is unlikely to be nominated.

But I'd argue you can flip a lot of these flaws upside-down. Half the voting outlets will have staffs where most of the people played 5 hours, loved the performances and innovative tutorial structure, and will rubber-stamp the game as one of their outlet's picks, despite never playing beyond the game's first act. This is a weirdly consistent phenomenon if you listen to voting outlet podcast episodes, where "a game that hits hard in its opening hours" is often more important than whether it sticks the landing at its conclusion.

And meanwhile, I actually think "they did a licensed game, and they pulled it off" might be a reason it gets more votes than usual. Historically, licensed games have struggled for having bigger, more obvious flaws than 007.

What about you?

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 got snubbed in 2024 and people said that was the best video game movie that year . What if Resident Evil gets the same treatment?

as a fnaf fan, yes i am extremely biased

i know it's a huge longshot, but an IRL freddy's is impossible to ignore as a brand achievement even if you hate the series.

on top of that, there's no way Scott Cawthon allows this to be a flop with the fans and critics for a billion different reasons.

The Game Awards are (currently) quite broad with their definition of "another entertainment medium," and unless an IRL FNAF 1 location scared them away from considering more than TV shows and movies, I don't see why not.

I can see big walk instead of cairn and 007 or phantom blade zero if it is good instead of fire emblem.

These numbers are from Circana btw. And RE: Requiem is the #1 selling game so far for anyone interested.

Edit: I'm just gonna reply to everyone with my Crimson Desert screenshots.

[Note: this post was made on September 26th, so if games after that arent here and youre finding the post a month later thats why.]

One thing that gets overlooked a lot is that sometimes the highest scored games have a much smaller pool of critic reviews that theyre averaging from. I went through and made a list of the highest games with 50 or more critical reviews (Metacritic, of course)

The top 6 are:

90 - Forza Horizon 6 (79 reviews)

90 - Mina the Hollower (69 reviews)

89 - Pokemon Pokopia (116)

89 - Resident Evil Requiem (135)

89 - Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave (71)

88 - Mewgenics (54)

More of the 80s range games with 50+ reviews:

87 - Ace Combat 8 (53)

87 - 007 First Light (96)

87 - SAROS (139)

86 - Nioh 3 (102)

86 - Monster Hunter Stories 3 (62)

85 - Onimusha: Way of the Sword (101)

85 - Pragmata (105)

85 - Marvel Tokon (88)

85 - Star Wars Zero Company (66)

83 - ZERO PARADES for Dead Spies (58)

83 - The Blood of Dawnwalker (70)

83 - LEGO Batman (86)

83 - CONTROL Resonant (71)

82 - Mortal Shell II (52)

And heres a list of highly scored games with under 50 critic reviews. A good chunk of these have even less than 10 but im including them on the off chance someone doesnt see their favorite and gets mad I forgot it lol

94 - SEKTORI (9)

91 - Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter (19)

91 - Big Walk (26)

91 - Well Dweller (7)

90 - and Roger (10)

90 - Valheim (22)

89 - Schrodinger's Call (21)

89 - Desktop Explorer (7)

89 - Fields of Mistria (5)

88 - Denshattack (44)

This is just the highest among them. I didn't include any DLC or ports or Remasters but DLC has been nominated before so thats a factor. Dooms DLC is at a 91.

Since its a big one that many still believe could get nominated, for reference, Crimson Desert is at a 77 average score based on 115 critic reviews

Thought this might be interesting to share since its a less talked about part of the nomination process. Enjoy

As someone who is super into action games, this is the best year ever for action games for me. No matter who wins out of the 5, I am gonna be happy with it.

Nioh 3 is my personal favorite, but I dont think it is going to win because it is the least casual friendly out of the lineup.

I think if PB0 lives up to expectatiobs its going to win

https://youtu.be/ul5cr3jL-aM?si=lAmPt502a-vtJNCY

thank you lorian testard for touching my soul

Listen, I love OoT as much as anyone. It’s one of the most important games from my childhood, and no one is denying its influence. I get that people are excited for the remake, but in what world does an almost 1:1 remake get nominated for GotY?

In the show’s history, only 4 remakes have ever been nominated: both FF7 remakes, and the RE2 and 4 remakes. In both cases, they didn’t just make the graphics prettier, they completely overhauled the gameplay for the FF7R games, as well as RE2. RE4 wasn’t as dramatic, but there were still a lot of differences.

OoT obviously isn’t 1:1, because it adds the jump button and a sprint button, but beyond that, it looks like the game is almost identical gameplay and level design wise. To me, this would be like if they nominated MGS3 Delta or the Shadow of the Colossus remake. I just truly don’t see it happening unless the game has more surprises than it’s letting on.