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[DenchDeckard]

Fucking banger list. I gotta play Norco and citizen sleeper.

So good to see these outlets waking up and awards to genuinely good games and not just flashy budget average tat.

 

[rofif]

Norco looks so fucking boring and pretentious and it's on everyone's list.
Is it a blm game or what ?
I just have a hard time getting pixelated games seriously by now... at least signalis has great atmosphere and really cool 3d parts... and bad shooting mechanics
or Mothmen 1966 are you fkn kidding me ?
edit: I know what these games are more than their simple graphics.. but I am checking gameplay... and it's often this super clunky turn based crap. Some of my fav games are 2d turn based crap like Dungeon of the Endless.. so I don't know anymore. It's impossible to tell without actually playing these fucking 36 games

edit2: I mean look at this fucking trailer. What am I even buying here? "oh yes, i do kill bandits sometimes uh yes".. and it's a fucking oregon trail mxied with text based adventure? seriously ?! in 2022 ?! I am past imagining the game I am playing lol. I can play Elden Ring and be in awe in every room.

edit3: seriously. Play Dunegon of the Endless or at least listen to the soundtrack
edit4: the list feels like it was composed by someone playing exclusively on switch in a back of a car whole year... and someone else forced AAA games in there

 

[ChoosableOne]

Speaking of niche games. This one should be on the list as well

They mentioned it on Nocho's review too.

 

[rofif]

Speaking of niche games. This one should be on the list as well

Looks cool but not even 50% as cool as return of the obra din
but ok. Better than some of the games on that list for sure

 

[VN1X]

seriously...out of that list in the op i only recognized elden ring lol

That is fucking sad my dude. Especially considering we're on an enthusiast forum lol.

Broaden your horizons.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I don't know if I'm going to word this right so bare with me.

Aren't we all fans of games, like pretty damn geeky?

I always see myself as a bit of a geek towards films and games...I've watched and played all sorts. So I don't look at games and films as budgets I just see what the directors going for and what they manage to pull of for their vision with the budgets. Same with a team on a video game.

So I can completely appreciate all kinds of games and if it grabs me it grabs me. It means I can also enjoy what I think is an incredible popcorn flick like top gun maverick but also feel the pain of a wrote by the numbers marvel movie. Some marvel movies nail it and are incredble to me as a comic book fan. Then some you can feel they've chimed it in and covered it with flash budget.

I feel this about games but we seem to have fans of gaming on this forum that turn their nose up over anything that isn't essentially the Hollywood summer blockbuster game.

I really don't get it.

Go play returnal. Perfect bridge of amazing game with a close to triple A feel to me.

I dunno, does this make sense?

 

[The Cockatrice]

no gow? really?

Virtue Signaling: The List.

That list is crap

Between this and edges list, I'm beginning to question Europe's taste in gaming.

These people above never played games.

 

[DenchDeckard]

These people above never played games.

good collection of people to put on ignore, clearly....If you are that way inclined lol.

 

[rofif]

These people above never played games.

I feel like I played every game on that list multiple times

 

[Punished Miku]

Bought Mothmen.

 

[Graciaus]

Doesn't include indies like Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga, Rogue Legacy 2 or Necrosmith. Shocked to even see Vampire Survivors.

 

[Bragr]

I can tell right away, this is a list where they give each staff a game to slot on there, so they end up with stuff like Warhammer III, and then right above it, Patrick's Parabox, just so they can please the one staff member who enjoyed Patrick's Parabox.

 

[Bragr]

Some of us are looking for new experiences instead of playing the same AAA 25 hours paper-thin story romp. Shocking, I know.

Half of these games rely on text because the devs aren't up to making complex gameplay systems, and the other half relies on puzzles, which is the most derivative and safe form of games in the medium.

Some of you overrate how innovative some of these games are and get carried away.

 

[FUBARx89]

Surprised H:FW isn't on there somewhere.

 

[Roberts]

I'm glad to see Pentiment on so many of these lists, because I'm still only an hour or so into the game and finding it hard to keep going. But seeing it lauded so, by players and journalists alike, encourages me to keep at, as the payoff should be great.

Yeah, it takes its time to get under your skin. It is not like the game gets better or more interesting from gameplay pov, but the characterisation and writing builds a layer upon a layer of thematic and narrative depth to the point where getting to the payoff at the end was so worth it.

 

[ungalo]

Norco looks so fucking boring and pretentious and it's on everyone's list.
Is it a blm game or what ?

I was skeptical. I thought it was praised for the environmental stuff. When i started the game and it's about a girl that comes back to her old house because she has to bury her mother who died from cancer i thought "yeah, 100% hipster shit right there".

But it turns out it's some tech-noir investigation with very weird things going on that keep you entertained all along. At least until the moment i lost my save file for a dumb reason and i couldn't finish it.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Norco looks so fucking boring and pretentious and it's on everyone's list.
Is it a blm game or what ?
I just have a hard time getting pixelated games seriously by now... at least signalis has great atmosphere and really cool 3d parts... and bad shooting mechanics
or Mothmen 1966 are you fkn kidding me ?
edit: I know what these games are more than their simple graphics.. but I am checking gameplay... and it's often this super clunky turn based crap. Some of my fav games are 2d turn based crap like Dungeon of the Endless.. so I don't know anymore. It's impossible to tell without actually playing these fucking 36 games

edit2: I mean look at this fucking trailer. What am I even buying here? "oh yes, i do kill bandits sometimes uh yes".. and it's a fucking oregon trail mxied with text based adventure? seriously ?! in 2022 ?! I am past imagining the game I am playing lol. I can play Elden Ring and be in awe in every room.

edit3: seriously. Play Dunegon of the Endless or at least listen to the soundtrack
edit4: the list feels like it was composed by someone playing exclusively on switch in a back of a car whole year... and someone else forced AAA games in there

Dude you having a metal breakdown over some pixels or what.

I don't get why you can't enjoy a type of game you could enjoy in the past (text based adventures). I think that kind of stuff is nice, it makes you use your imagination which imo is a cool thing specially since a lot of modern games try to aim for the realistic look.

I'll make sure to try Dungeons of the Endless btw, game looks cool.

 

[Chukhopops]

Downloaded Neon White and Drainus on Steam Deck after reading this list, that’s another reason why it’s great to give spotlight to more indie games. Also Tunic is awesome.

Surprised H:FW isn't on there somewhere.

It deserves some technical award for sure but otherwise I don’t see why it would be in any GOTY list. At least Dying Light 2 tried to innovate a little bit.

 

[ungalo]

From what i see Horizon 2 did try to improve everything but it somehow backfired. They did an immense work that turns the game into something more indigestible.

 

[Clear]

Anyone else feel like Elden Ring is ending up at #1 on many of these lists is not because they like it particularly, but because they have to in order to retain some semblance of relevance?

I mean, generally people like certain sorts of games, and yet ER really is the only thing of its type on there. The majority being made up of indies typically with a heavy emphasis on story or pure gameplay.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Half of these games rely on text because the devs aren't up to making complex gameplay systems, and the other half relies on puzzles, which is the most derivative and safe form of games in the medium.

Some of you overrate how innovative some of these games are and get carried away.

Spoken like someone who started gaming with Call of Duty instead of games like:

Everything you just said is absolute dogshit nonsense and has nothing to do with the list. No one called them innovative. Theyre amazing games, that released this year.

 

[SlimySnake]

Beautiful, good acting, but if you played the 2018 game there is absolutely nothing special about Ragnarok. It's more of the same, now with less troll bosses, more annoying Atreus and the dullest less memorable ending possible (for a game called Ragnarok, one would expect Ragnarok to be the climax of the game, instead of its dullest part).

I agree but in a trash year like this, it should be up there by default.

 

[rofif]

Spoken like someone who started gaming with Call of Duty instead of games like:

Everything you just said is absolute dogshit nonsense and has nothing to do with the list. No one called them innovative. Theyre amazing games, that released this year.

gtfo with this shit.
Icewind dale 2 is where it's at.

 

[TintoConCasera]

gtfo with this shit.
Icewind dale 2 is where it's at.

I'm more of a BGII enjoyer myself.

What happened to IWD2 remaster? Did they really lost the source code of the game and can't remaster it like with the first game?

 

[rofif]

I'm more of a BGII enjoyer myself.

What happened to IWD2 remaster? Did they really lost the source code of the game and can't remaster it like with the first game?

I think there was some enhanced edition in the works.

Btw. This is why ragnarok is not a game of the year. My screenshot. YOU CAN'T GO THERE. NO FREEDOM ALLOWED

 

[Uiki]

Tunic was robbed

 

[cormack12]

If you're gonna make a list like this, you can't be a coward and put Elden Ring at #1.

 

[Represent.]

Text based indie game
Puzzle based indie game
Text based indie game
Puzzle based indie game
Elden Ring
Pretentious and predictable. Joke of a list. Can see right through it.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Imagine thinking there were 25 better games than Ragnarok this year, Christ almighty, these indies are becoming the equivalent of Oscar Bait films in Hollywood

I love indie games and think they should get their dues. But lists like these are a complete joke. Tunic deserves to be up there but including so many other no-names partially invalidates it. Can they seriously say Mothman 1966 is deserving of that slot above games like GOWR or XC3? And to omit Bayonetta 3 entirely, lol.


These are the lists created to stand out, or in response to “boring, safe” criticisms of actual good lists.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Can they seriously say Mothman 1966 is deserving of that slot above games like GOWR or XC3?

I would not put ER in my top 5 list this year. People have different tastes. Shocking, I know.

 

[Bragr]

Spoken like someone who started gaming with Call of Duty instead of games like:

Everything you just said is absolute dogshit nonsense and has nothing to do with the list. No one called them innovative. Theyre amazing games, that released this year.

Ah yes, the old "you only play casual games, not like me hur hur" argument.

Do you know how hard it is to design triple-A systems? it's way beyond most indie devs because of the cost and manpower needed, hence you see these indie genre patterns, 2D, pixel art, heavy text-based narratives, etc...

Several people in here are claiming triple-A is generic trash and indie is some revelation. Yet games like Tunic and Cult of the Lamb are still using the oldest most-trite combat out there, but people don't bash them for it.

It's clearly a staff list mash-up list.

 

[tmlDan]

I would not put ER in my top 5 list this year. People have different tastes. Shocking, I know.

These are outlets, you can have a personal list but this is just a joke.

Like, me personally, would not put ER in my top 5 (id have HFW and GOW in my top 3) - but if i was in charge of an outlet i would put it as #1. It's called credibility and respect, you pick based on it's impact on gaming as a medium and what a dev achieved, not a need to stick out and put games nobody gives af about.

I've played most of those indie games and most are okay to good, not GOTY convo worthy at all, objectively.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Half of these games rely on text because the devs aren't up to making complex gameplay systems

Complex systems like get more gear, get more loot, higher number is better? GoW: Ragnarok systems? C'mon.

 

[geary]

Half of these games rely on text because the devs aren't up to making complex gameplay systems, and the other half relies on puzzles, which is the most derivative and safe form of games in the medium.

Some of you overrate how innovative some of these games are and get carried away.

Any crpg has more complex systems than all AAA game together. Pathfinder, Divinity: Original Sin or Pillars of Eternity mops the floor with all AAA from the last decade in complexity.

 

[reksveks]

Like, me personally, would not put ER in my top 5 (id have HFW and GOW in my top 3) - but if i was in charge of an outlet i would put it as #1. It's called credibility and respect, you pick based on it's impact on gaming as a medium and what a dev achieved, not a need to stick out and put games nobody gives af about.

The job of an individual outlet is to represent their own and honest views, not to represent the medium/consensus. True for reviews and true for GOTY lists.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

I want to try that Kirby game. I never finish those though.

 

[Fredrik]

If you're gonna make a list like this, you can't be a coward and put Elden Ring at #1.

GOWR at #26 is ballsy enough I’d say!

 

[Punished Miku]

I want to try that Kirby game. I never finish those though.

Its probably the best in the series. Really enjoyed it.

 

[Celcius]

Gran Turismo 7 at 22? No King of Fighters 15? eh?!?!

 

[The Cockatrice]

These are outlets, you can have a personal list but this is just a joke.

Outlets are also humans just so you know. They are not machines and they have different tastes like everyone else.

Several people in here are claiming triple-A is generic trash and indie is some revelation. Yet games like Tunic and Cult of the Lamb are still using the oldest most-trite combat out there, but people don't bash them for it.

Because indies are done by a few people in a basement, usually and triple-a games are done by multi billion dollar corporations that have yet to push the medium forward. Its pretty normal to trash triple-a stuff and this is coming from someone who generally plays only big titles, I aint some indie dweller.

 

[Bragr]

Any crpg has more complex systems than all AAA game together. Pathfinder, Divinity: Original Sin or Pillars of Eternity mops the floor with all AAA from the last decade in complexity.

Complexity for complexity's sake means nothing.

What exactly do you think is complex in Original Sin and Pillars?

 

[Bragr]

Complex systems like get more gear, get more loot, higher number is better? GoW: Ragnarok systems? C'mon.

What? It's the indie games that deal in number dealings and pen-and-paper style systems.

Ragnarok's character movement alone is a complex project to get right.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Already know about most of these but I’m interested in checking out Mothmen and Saturnalia.

And I don’t understand why Norco and Citizen Sleeper keep getting so much cred. They did nothing for me.

 

[Bragr]

Because indies are done by a few people in a basement

That was my whole point to begin with. That's what you went against.

That doesn't mean that the games are worse, but the point is that people praised the list for being unique, yet it has some really derivative games just like some of the triple-A games people are bashing.

 

[AutumnLeaves]

Why is everyone angry?

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Ragnarok's character movement alone is a complex project to get right.

Does that make it GOTY worthy?

Even if indie games used simple systems, there are a lot of factors that lead to player engagement.

I played Pentiment and Assassin's Creed Odeyssey this year. I liked them both but had a better time with Pentiment. Despite its simplistic design. It's possible.

 

[reksveks]

Complexity in one way is good
Complexity in another way is bad or 'just for the sake of it.'

Based on arbitrary and personal opinions is how I am reading this argument. People aren't making CRPG complex for the sake of it, they are making it complex for the users who enjoy it. It's equally valid that designing the most complex characters model.

 

[vodka-bull]

Haven‘t played any of them and don‘t feel any fomo.

 

[Chukhopops]

Complexity for complexity's sake means nothing.

What exactly do you think is complex in Original Sin and Pillars?

Original Sin has probably the most advanced system to handle elements where every combination is possible and useful in certain scenarios. You can make holy fire areas, combine water and fire to make steam then combine with electricity to make thunder clouds, etc.

And this comes on top of the also excellent class system, the myriad of ways you can handle each chapter, the branching storyline, etc.

This is the worst example you could find honestly.

 

[Fredrik]

Why is everyone angry?

Everyone? I’m not angry, they had my GOTY as their GOTY. I’m definitely a bit surprised of some other choices but I’ve played too few games on their list to say much about it.