The Game Awards 2024

Nice to see Balatro got a nomination for GOTY. The time I've spent on the toilet has increased to dangerous levels because of that game.

Very weird for a DLC that's not even a standalone expansion to be nominated as GOTY.

Geoff Keighley rubs me the wrong way. There's something off about him I can't quite put my finger on

In fairness, it's a DLC that's probably longer than a lot of other games that get nominated. It's substantial enough to warrant it imo.

Seems this year remakes and remasters were also eligible alongside DLC and expansions.

So in theory, the GotY contenders could've been Last of Us Part 2, Luigi's Mansion 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, Until Dawn, Dead Rising and Braid as the indie contender.

But out of all the games nominated in all the categories, I've only played Animal Well. So safe to say I won't be voting for any in the Boards awards. 😀

I could nearly vote in the Adaptation category though since I've seen all but Like a Dragon.

The ads are less "commercial break" and more "this company paid us money to integrate their sh*t into the event". So while there might be a few movie/tv trailer spots, a good bit of it will be presenters or guests who are there to promote things.

Like The Rock with his "Enjoy your gaming!" a few years ago at Summer Games Fest

Yeah I would have loved it if Animal Well had gotten a GOTY nomination, but ultimately I think "Game of the Year" is more about what got the most people talking about it, enthused about it, took over the gaming landscape for a few weeks, showcased excellent design and craft etc. In that regard I do think its fair that (substantial) DLCs and remakes can and should be in the discussion for GOTY.

BM Wukong definitely feels like the outlier. I know it had a lot of buzz on release, but it was only generally well-received and felt like a bit of a flash in the pan, and a lot of that felt like it was down to how heavily it was being pushed in terms of marketing rather than actual love for the game.

I had to google 'Metaphor ReFantazio' as I had not heard of it, and I just copped it's directed by Katsura Hashino?!

I loved Persona 5, so I'm tempted to give it a go, but also kinda wary of the time commitment.

Actually the outlier is that feking poker-with-a-twist card game, I know it's addictive (I mean, it is gambling) but that doesn't make it GoTY material. There, rant over. Black Myth: Wukong is a great game, better than a lot of AAA slop we got this year, hugely popular and 100% deserving the nomination.

No matter how good or addictive a card playing game is it's still a card playing game and honestly the praise I'm hearing makes me reluctant to even try it, simply because I can't see anyone saying what exactly is good about it other than it being addictive. I have enough vices as it is, I don't need a new one…

As for Black Myth:Wukong in my opinion is the second best game of 2024 after Shadow of the Erdtree so I'm delighted to see it getting the recognition it deserves, even if it is for the, let's say, wrong reasons.

It’s genius because it’s poker but it isn’t, so everyone has a good starting point and can basically jump right in. It’s not gambling because you’re not trying to win money as you are trying to complete a run. Each completed hand gives the opportunity for you to buy special cards, level up hands or get multipliers by buying certain jokers. The fun is in experimenting with what bonuses work best with each other to see how effective a run you can put together.

I’ve been travelling recently and it’s the perfect mobile game imo. Easy to get into, endlessly replayable and no microtransactions. Makes plane journeys literally fly by!

It's easy to break down any game to its most base-level concept and say it's bad. Balatro is more than just a "card playing game" because the rogue-like elements, the variety of different cards which change your playstyle, and how you mess with the formula of what a standard poker-type game is gives it a level of strategy and enjoyment beyond just "three-of-a-kind beats a pair" card playing game. There are layers of risk & reward built in, randomised elements and so many different ways to approach things to build your own strategy. With the right combination of modifier cards, a 2 of clubs will beat four aces.

There's both an incredible simplicity to it but also substantial depth. The more you play the more you unlock different types of modifiers, learn different strategies, and how to adapt to what cards you're getting and how to abuse/maximise them. And a big part of the joy of the game is the simplicity of the design.

It's not good because it's addictive; it's addictive because it's good. But, if you go into it with the mindset of "It's just an addictive card playing game", it's likely that's all you're going to see.

It is definitely GOTY material though. No reason why it shouldn't be.

I would say GoTY must go to games that are big in terms of popularity, games that will be remembered years after their launch, and games that positively make an impact on the gaming industry. So that would exclude small niche titles, I mean, "game of the year" must be a game everyone playing games at least know, right?

And fine, Balantro seems hugely popular and probably will create a series of other classic-with-a-twist card games, so, I reluctantly accept that it's deserving the nomination.

No, not by popularity alone, but it's can't be some niche obscure game either. Popularity is (and it should be) a criteria, but being popular is not enough.

And popularity is an objectively measurable quality, and the awards can't ignore what people like.

popularity alone isn't enough to carry a game

I never said otherwise, so I don't understand why we're debating it.

In the same post you extracted that line I literally said exactly that popularity alone isn't enough. Good games will be popular, and that doesn't necessarily mean all popular games are good. But if they nominate or award games that no one like then what's the point?

To me what would make game of the year would be a breakdown of:

Gameplay

Graphics

Story/Writing

Sound design

Presentation/controls

You could get away with being weak in probably graphics and sound, depending on the type/style of game.

That's pretty much how most would factor it also, its just mainstream media/influencers tend to also include popularity/sales/bribes/whatever else bullsh!t. Which is what takes the sport out of it and makes most people mock them or not take them serious. And rightly so, most of them are compromised.

However, Geoff Keighley's game awards I myself kinda like, because looking back over the history of it, i cant see a case of the winner of the game of the year being a biased pick in any of its history. Now there haven't been many close calls so thats likely why, the only years with a load of great games were 2015 and 2018.

In 2015 it was won by Witcher 3, while if it was given to Bloodborne I wouldn't have had an issue..

And 2018 is the only year i can see where pretty much, nearly every game had the potential to win over the other, crazy year for gaming.

So I'm all for the way Geoff is doing it.. so far.. You complain of ads? Money needs to be made as people need to get paid, be thankful its at least gaming related and the potential for excitement :D

Oh im not suggesting it should have been nominated for the GOTY award itself because it was great or anything, i havent actually played it myself, but it wasn't included in any award nomination at all. And not because it was bad, it was well received by pretty much everybody that played it, it wasn't put in for political reasons apparently.

I mean ****, it was one of the highest rated games of 2023 and sold the most copies, 22 million. And not in one category at the game awards? not saying those should be factors but games that popular usually get thrown into at least some categories, its insane!