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[Varteras]

It would have to live up to its hype. Which has been inflated by the hopes and squabbles of fanboys. It's not likely to happen. When this year has already had so many fantastic success stories and two other huge games on the way to potentially add to that list, yeah. Starfield being the overall GOTY would probably fall more into the "surprising" category.

 

[Mister Wolf]

The story will have to be legendary. Zelda pretty much has the whole block on lockdown.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

So here's the thing, since there is no real time transition to planet surfaces, to me that means that the game will just load a whole planet and unload the rest of the game while you're on said planet.

Have you never played Mass Effect?

You will have a ship, that acts or serves are a hub, and you pick the planets or points of interest on a galactic map. Think of the planets as levels.
Probably what they are going for, the easiest way to do it.

 

[SF Kosmo]

To win GOTY? A Delay to January...

 

[Bond007]

Would have to better than Zelda, which is unlikely.

 

[Cashon]

It will have to have "emergent" gameplay that makes the reviewers feel like they are discovering the world on their own.

It already has crafting mechanics, starship building, settlement building, combat, rpg elements, etc...

The new hot thing is to have an open, explorable world that doesn't feel limited and allows reviewers to feel like they can play it how they want to, rather than how the developers want them to. It can't feel overly guided or limited.

 

[Kvally]

They just need to tickle my taint and make the hair on my neck stand up when I am playing it.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Zelda will win Game of the Year.

Redfall will win Garbage of the Year.

Basically Starfield has no chance.

 

[FunkMiller]

Not come out in the same year as Tears Of The Kingdom, and not have a typical Bethesda launch.

 

[Success]

Starfield will need to be Elden Ring 2.

It would need to take storytelling and exploration to a whole new degree.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Just needs someone to consider it GOTY.

 

[reksveks]

Redfall will win Garbage of the Year.

Unfortunately Gollum might have won that award

 

[BootsLoader]

It can’t.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Unfortunately Gollum might have won that award

Oh wow. Maybe the Games Industry needs a Garbage of the Year Live Show. Gollum initially looked bad and I assumed it was going to remain that way. Worse then Redfall? That's quite an achievement.

 

[Rush2112]

Doesnt matter how starfield will be because all the fans will defend whatever it is no matter what.

 

[arkhamguy123]

This.

I half-way removed my comment when I saw yours pop up

There are already so many 88-90+ games this year that Starfield will have to be exceptional to join that list -- let alone win it. And that goes for almost every game this year. Lots of them, despite being good, will not make the list.

• Dead Space
• Resident Evil 4
• Hogwart's Legacy
• Street Fighter 6
• Diablo 4
• Metroid Prime Remastered
• Zelda TOTK
• Moss: Book 2
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Octopath Traveler 2
• Star Wars Jedi Survivor

etc.

Ehhhh respectfully I think starfield has it. It’ll be duking it out with Zelda from basically every publication that doesn’t happen to be a massive Spider-Man fan or something. Microsoft has been fucking up and they are truly incompetent but this is simply a prestige third party game that just happens to be an Xbox title now because of corporate maneuvering.

That list has 3 remakes of last-last and last-last-last Gen games, a respawn Star Wars game… and Hogwarts legacy… not exactly stiff completion.

People should go load up their save file of skyrim. The magic is still there. This studio has talent and this emerging narrative that this won’t be a 90+ metacritic gem will be put to bed.

 

[Games of Today]

Have you never played Mass Effect?

You will have a ship, that acts or serves are a hub, and you pick the planets or points of interest on a galactic map. Think of the planets as levels.
Probably what they are going for, the easiest way to do it.

I've never played but I am familiar with it's gameplay. It's similar to the new Jedi Survivor games too.

I just think it'll massively bigger than both, if not the whole planet.

 

[RoboFu]

It can’t .. it’s not that type of game.

So far we only have 2

Zelda - winner by a long shot.
HI FI Rush - good distant runner up.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

That list has 3 remakes of last-last and last-last-last Gen games, a respawn Star Wars game… and Hogwarts legacy… not exactly stiff completion.

People should go load up their save file of skyrim. The magic is still there.

Probably the greatest remake of the greatest TPS of all time. Hogwarts, Jedi…not sure why they are being hand waved as they are greatly reviewed and received, of comparable quality or better than anything Bethesda has released recently

I actually loaded up Skyrim a few weeks ago and it had aged pretty poorly in my view

 

[MaKTaiL]

Minimal amount of bugs.

 

[MMaRsu]

But a whole planet of random generated shit can never be fun as a well crafted smaller experience.. I dont have a lot of faith there

 

[ebevan91]

Starfield could be the greatest game of all time but it still would not win against Tears of the Kingdom.

 

[Hero_Select]

erase TotK from existence and then be a 10/10 game

 

[Danjin44]

Here is better the question, why the game needs to win GOTY? If it doesn't you gonna enjoy the game less?

 

[Cashon]

Here is better the question, why the game needs to win GOTY? If it doesn't you gonna enjoy the game less?

Who said it needs to? The question was what would Starfield need to do to win Game of the Year? i.e., what factors would contribute to the game actually winning the award (presumably from the most sources)?

 

[Danjin44]

Who said it needs to? The question was what would Starfield need to do to win Game of the Year? i.e., what factors would contribute to the game actually winning the award (presumably from the most sources)?

In actual GOTY show, it mostly comes down to popularity in social media.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Aonuma and Miyamoto should publicly declare how much they loved Hogwarts Legacy.

 

[fermcr]

Starfield and Baldur's Gate 3 will likely be my GOTY's for 2023.

 

[Gudji]

Be the best game of the year? Easy task for Todd.

 

[sendit]

I thought it was shoo in this year but the competition is tough.

Can they pull it off and what parts of the game do you think need to improve from the traditional Bethesda open world?

It's not going to win GOTY. Zelda has that in the bag.

 

[DeepEnigma]

 

[Mozzarella]

TOTK is very hard to beat, but if there is one game that can snatch that award from it, then its Starfield.
However.. There needs to be something extra for it to win.

If its like any other Bethesda title, then thats great, it means the open world is great and the sandbox gameplay is addictive which means the purchase is definitely worth it and the game has long standing legs.
But but but... This is not enough to win GOTY in 2023.

The first and biggest X factor that Starfield can have over Zelda is the Story.
If the writing is good and the story is memorable and interesting and leaves a mark on people then thats a huge plus in its favor, since Zelda doesnt do this thing good and the journalists who hand over awards will sympathize with you if the story is good, thus having higher chance of winning the award.

The second biggest X factor is the Presentation.
Zelda presentation is good but nothing impressive, so if Starfield can come up with some neat high quality presentation it can also increase its chances of topping TOTK, we can see from previous GOTY winners that presentation and good quality production values help a lot. Starfield budget is probably bigger so that should land in its favor, but it needs to go beyond the average AAA quality. It needs to be in the tier of RDR2.

The third biggest X factor is the Open World.
Zelda nailed the open world, its masterclass, but Bethesda has been a veteran in open world design, and i have no doubt their open world is going to be fun and good to explore, but this time they need to crank it up all to 11, they do have the potential because Space is amazing and has so much amount for creativity that this should be possible. So yeah, if they surpass its open world then the chances are even higher.

The fourth and the last X factor is the Polishing.
If the game is a buggy mess this time it will not be nice, this is not 2011 anymore and games with bugs and lots of jank are getting flacked, so Todd and his friends need to make sure the game is polish as much as possible and near bug-free so that it could compete with TOTK which is already bug free.


4 Factors, if they nail them all, then i would say its EASY win for Starfield, if they nail 2/4 then its possible, if they fail to nail 2 or more then there is NO CHANCE. the more they nail the higher the chance to win GOTY.

 

[The Tourmaline Gorilla]

I thought it was shoo in this year but the competition is tough.

Can they pull it off and what parts of the game do you think need to improve from the traditional Bethesda open world?

Simple; under promise, overdeliver.

 

[DryvBy]

Become Zelda.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I just want Starfield to be classic Bethesda a la Daggerfall/Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim but in space. I do worry though, space makes things a lot more complicated than a province on a map as far as making clear obvious limitations to the player that wouldn't often be thought about when limited to a provincial area. Plus additional systems in place such as travel, etc. I really want to be blown away, but I'm worried about the project.

 

[Camreezie]

Not be a bug ridden piece of trash. Judging by previous Bethesda releases the chance of that being the case at launch is quite low

 

[Unknown Soldier]

It would actually need to be better than Zelda, Diablo, Final Fantasy, Harry Potter, and I'm not sure what else is lined up for this year.

In other words: It's not gonna fucking win.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I mean, in a year that Tears of the kingdom launches? I think the game will be good, but to top that?

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Be better than the greatest game of all time that released this year. Tears of the Kingdom.

 

[LaughingStock]

It must have a fun sandbox. And it must be meme worthy.

 

[Cashon]

TOTK is very hard to beat, but if there is one game that can snatch that award from it, then its Starfield.
However.. There needs to be something extra for it to win.

If its like any other Bethesda title, then thats great, it means the open world is great and the sandbox gameplay is addictive which means the purchase is definitely worth it and the game has long standing legs.
But but but... This is not enough to win GOTY in 2023.

The first and biggest X factor that Starfield can have over Zelda is the Story.
If the writing is good and the story is memorable and interesting and leaves a mark on people then thats a huge plus in its favor, since Zelda doesnt do this thing good and the journalists who hand over awards will sympathize with you if the story is good, thus having higher chance of winning the award.

The second biggest X factor is the Presentation.
Zelda presentation is good but nothing impressive, so if Starfield can come up with some neat high quality presentation it can also increase its chances of topping TOTK, we can see from previous GOTY winners that presentation and good quality production values help a lot. Starfield budget is probably bigger so that should land in its favor, but it needs to go beyond the average AAA quality. It needs to be in the tier of RDR2.

The third biggest X factor is the Open World.
Zelda nailed the open world, its masterclass, but Bethesda has been a veteran in open world design, and i have no doubt their open world is going to be fun and good to explore, but this time they need to crank it up all to 11, they do have the potential because Space is amazing and has so much amount for creativity that this should be possible. So yeah, if they surpass its open world then the chances are even higher.

The fourth and the last X factor is the Polishing.
If the game is a buggy mess this time it will not be nice, this is not 2011 anymore and games with bugs and lots of jank are getting flacked, so Todd and his friends need to make sure the game is polish as much as possible and near bug-free so that it could compete with TOTK which is already bug free.


4 Factors, if they nail them all, then i would say its EASY win for Starfield, if they nail 2/4 then its possible, if they fail to nail 2 or more then there is NO CHANCE. the more they nail the higher the chance to win GOTY.

In my limited time on this forum, this is the best and most appropriate response to a thread I've ever seen.

 

[BrutalTruth_]

It would require Bethesda taking risks and showing things that's never been done or innovating something that makes it next gen

I personally don't think Zelda will be dethroned

 

[Salty Popsicle]

Release with less bugs and performance issues than is typical of a Bethesda RPG game and capture a least a fraction of the magic/exploration/mystery that Skyrim produced back in 2011.

 

[Stamps1646]

Nintendo would need to reverse the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

 

[j.k.2021]

Game award voters are big Nintendo stans.No other game stands a chance anyway.

 

[j.k.2021]

Release with less bugs and performance issues than is typical of a Bethesda RPG game and capture a least a fraction of the magic/exploration/mystery that Skyrim produced back in 2011.

Bethesda games have bugs because of it's complex systems.You can't compare a big rpg with linear games as It's very easy to release a linear game without bugs.

 

[Markio128]

It’s very rare that the media’s GOTY has been my favourite game of the year. Cool for those that need validation I guess.
I just hope it’s a stonking good game. I personally think I’ll prefer Starfield to TOTK, mostly because it’s a new IP, and that alone elicits more excitement from me.

 

[MarkMe2525]

It just has to be the best game of the 2023

 

[Fuz]

Bribe judges.

 

[Kurotri]

Zero chance, Zelda has it in the bag this year.