The Battle for Game of the Year in a Superb 2023 Begins on Monday

I think Zelda will win. Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2 and Mario Wonder being the runner up’s.

Great year for gaming

Baldurs Gate 10000%.

Zelda was shown up big time.

I don't think one game is a certainty! This year has been crazy good in quality of releases! I will be cheering on my favourite, Final Fantasy XVI. But I also wouldn't be disappointed if Baldurs Gate 3 took the win!

Although everyone will have different opinions on what should win game of the year, every gamer will agree 2023 has been one stacked year for great releases!

It will be either Zelda or BG3 in my opinion.

It's going to be a close one out of three games for me. Baldurs Gate 3, Spider-Man 2 and Zelda TOTK, not much else comes close.

Although I expect Mario Wonder, FF16, Pikmin 4 (my personal winner) and Hogwarts Legacy to atleast get nominated.

Balders gate 3 or Zelda totk.

I would probably die of shock if starfield won it though.

@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah it's been a crazy year, when I first played it I thought yeah this is deffo game of year, but 9 months later and I've played 7-8 games that I found better.

@PSme I wouldnt be surprised to see xbox fans flock to vote for the players choice award but for the critics award theres no way Starfield is winning, would be the lowest scoring game to ever do so.

I personally think Game of the Year 2023 should be decided in January 2024, not November 2023!

@BionicDodo That would make more sense, game likes Perosna 5 Tactica, Mario Rpg, Dragon Quest Monsters and Avatar Frontiers of Pandora all miss out.

@get2sammyb I agree with your prediction . Are remakes / remasters allowed though? i am never sure with the game awards.

Based on metacritic we can also expect street fighter vi, diablo iv, cocoon, sea of stars, metroid prime remastered, cocoon, quake ii, moss book II and Dave the Diver to be thrown in the mix. If dlc is allowed there's also cyberpunk and xenoblade chronicles 3. We'll see

BG3 will absolutely sweep the GOTY season, a fairly safe Zelda sequel won't be close regardless of its quality. Alan Wake 2 will likely be 3rd as its a big time GOTY type game. Games like Super Mario and Spider-man will underachieve relative to their reception.

@Lup its called spiderman, not spiderwoke.

I did a double take on your comment there, I had to check the box to make sure. Was worried I'd been saying the wrong name all these years

I hope it will be BG3. Larian Studios fully deserve it.

BG3 needs to win. The amount of work they put in and the quality of the output is insane.

Zelda will most likely get it though I was pretty disappointed by it personally. My GOTY is hands down Spiderman 2!

Baldur's gate for me.

For me, my game of the year is easily Baldur's Gate 3. No game has captivated me like this since Skyrim did in 2011! For anyone reading this, who loves fantasy role playing games and is yet to try BD3, I 10/10 recommend it 🔥💯
But what an amazing year for gaming 👏🏻
I do feel that Zelda will probably win, and I certainly would not be disappointed if it did so. As others have said, Spiderman 2 and Alan Wake 2 will be up there. Hogwarts Legacy, too. Even Diablo was fun, despite its seasonal content lacking. I felt Resident Evil 4 Remake was good, but not my personal favourite.
Sadly as PS5 owner, I am yet to play Starfield.
And having never played a Final Fantasy game, I cannot speak at how good the new game is....
But with Xmas coming, hopefully Santa can get it for me 🤣👍🏻

Easily Spider-Man 2 for me (but I haven’t played any of the others 🤪).

I really loved the pacing in SM2 - the slow build-up to the explosive final. It was a satisfying ending that left me wanting more. And the wing suit really improved the traversal a lot.

My personal favourite is BG3 by a country mile. Im not usually massively invested in these awards but I really hope it wins GOTY simply because of the obvious passion and attention Larian has put into it.

Apparently there’s gonna be a special category this year for ‘Game of the Generation’ - especially for a game that couldn’t get a ‘Game of the Year’ nom. This years quadruple A energy 🤣

It's another year of shlock that's gonna be worshipped because goty has meant nothing for a decade hence why tlou2 got goty when players lambasted it.

Console release of warhammer darktide or the long awaited dead island 2 those would be my votes because those are what i have played and thought were well crafted and enjoyable.

This is a tough year to judge and predict.

For me so far I give the slight edge to Hogwart’s Legacy. But I’ve yet to play Spider-Man 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3, which I plan to do before the year’s end. I also am only halfway through FF16, so it might move up depending how the ending goes, because it’s turning out to be really good also. It won’t win, but I really enjoyed Jedi Survivor immensely. The remakes for RE4 and Dead Space are others I need to get to eventually, and I suspect will be nominated for some awards.

Zelda will probably be the safe bet. By all accounts it’s excellent. I wouldn’t know since I don’t play on Switch. Nothing against it, but I have my plate full with just PS5 right now. It will be weird to have a GOTY winner that’s confined to a last gen console though.

1. Baulder’s Gate 3
2. Final Fantasy XVI
3. Hi-Fi Rush

This is my list, though there was so many phenomenal games this year that there’s plenty of contenders for GotY.

Lies of P for me, it has me hooked but BG3 must be the winner, the amount of love and expertise put in to this game is phenomenal. BG3 should be the winner

This might be the only year there hasn't been a nailed down winner. 2018 was also tight with RDR 2 & GOW. I think it should go to any one of BG3, SP2, FF16 or Zelda.

Zelda, BG3, AW2, Mario, Spider-Man, SF6.

I think BG3 will win, or AW2. I think they both have the narrative. Zelda being great wasn't some surprise.

If Spider-Man 2 is nominated something it's wrong with the gaming industry lol. My choice goes to BG3

I guess the issue is with everyone who voted initially in these things; have they actually played all the games? I certainly haven’t.

Street Fighter 6 takes it for me easily but I know it won't win just because it's a fighting game. My second favorite of the year? I'm not sure but I think it's between Armored Core 6 and Spider-Man 2. Lots of great stuff this year though.

I expect Zelda is going to win though. It gets the Nintendo bump plus BG3 is still too niche to win.

TotK and BG3 are the only serious contenders. BG3 is also newer, and has that underdog energy, so I could see it winning.

Zelda won't win this imo. BG3 will.

I have failed to keep up with most games this year- A mixture of games being much, much bigger and spending the first few months of the year finishing games from last year like Xenoblade 3 has hindered me.
My Goty is TOTK (a game I've put about 90 hours into and still haven't finished, says it all really 😅) though my favourite game this year has been splatoon 3, but that launched last year so it doesn't count.
Resi 4 was great but it was a remake.
I just started Fire Emblem Engage, it's cool and enjoyable but hardly the best the series has to offer.
StarField, Armoured Core, SFVI and Sea of Stars I felt dissapointed me.
Still got to play BG3, Spiderman 2, FFXVI, Caccoon, Pikmin 4, Xeno DLC and Mario Wonder to play so I'm hoping for a quote year next year!

Zelda was fine. But I really hope BG3 wins.

The Zelda fanboys are too strong.
But I’d go Alan Wake 2

Going with BG3.

@BionicDodo I’m so torn about when these awards should happen. Logically it should be January so the full year is included but in my heart I know that I care about these lists in December because it’s a good time to reflect on the past year and I care much more about what is coming next year by the time January arrives. Perhaps because I have been trained for that cadence but still.

I think Alan Wake and BG3 will split voters who prefer more adult games and Zelda will win.

@RBRTMNZ Valid points for why December is better than January. I think we can agree that it shouldn't be mid-November though!

N.i.c.e.its going to be fun.word up son

I'm voting for Final Fantasy XVI or Spiderman 2 depending on which get nominated but I expect BG3 to win. Octopath Traveler 2 should be nominated in a few categories as well. It's been a CRAZY good year for games!

This has been a pretty stacked year so the competition will be fierce. Legend of Zelda and Baldur's Gate 3 are obviously the frontrunners, and I hope the latter takes it. I feel like Baldur's Gate was overall more innovative and came from a studio with far less name recognition and resources. Plus, Breath of the Wild already won a few years ago, so I think it'd be fair to give another franchise it's time to shine. I can't imagine some of the more unreasonable Zelda fans would be happy though. No offense to most of them, but some can get pretty overprotective of the franchise.

Baldur's Gate 3, without a doubt. As I have been saying for months now... 😂

I played Hogwarts, Zelda TotK, FFXVI, Octopath 2, Baldurs Gate 3, and Theatrhythm Final Barline. And while I thoroughly enjoy most of them, I don't think any of them are particularly GOTY worthy

BG3 is definitely the most fun I had out of those though, when all of its systems and menus are not so daunting anymore. But my bias wants me to root for XVI lol

@Qu1n0n3z Why can't Spiderman 2 be nominated?!

I’ve only played Zelda and don’t see any reason why it should win. I did watch my kid play FFXVI and after a really boring first half it did get really good, but when they were done we traded it in for Mario Wonder, which we have yet to play, but I expect Wonder to win Family GotY.

Seems like Baldurs Gate 3 should and will win it, I’m mostly curious to see if FFXVI gets nominated after all the ‘ is it or is it not a FF game”, but I guess I’m not that invested.

Question - are there any really stupid indie games with a woman sitting in a room spinning around on a chair talking to herself about her daddy issues I don’t know about, b/c if there is, I predict that game to win.🤪

I just did not love BG3 as much as everyone else especially in terms of story or gameplay/combat. It was a really good game but not as legendary as I expected. Cleary in the very deep minority but my top contenders are RE4 remake and Hogwarts Legacy

@Rafie To me a GoY should be a well crafted and innovative game from a gameplay and narrative perspective, something really fresh. SM2 is just a sequel that does not have all those key components to become a GoT plus the theme of the game is 0% new or original.

I'll be rooting for FFXVI, SM2, SW:JS, TotK, & Wonder (the games I personally played this year that I'd rank highly), but I wouldn't be sour if BG3 won given what I've heard of it.

I'm thinking BG3 will get Game of the Year but I hope Hogwarts Legacy gets something, because they started the great year of gaming that we had, this year!

I think Baldur's Gate 3 will ultimately get the nod, but my personal GotY is Lies of P. Currently on NG++ and haven't gotten tired of it yet!

@Friendly 💯

@Qu1n0n3z That's a fair assessment. So do you think ToTK should be GOTY?

@Deityjester

Remember...not all players "lambasted" it. Lots of players liked it. A very vocal very minor segment of the fanbase had various issues, but the general populace and most level-headed gamers did not.

There is no question. The best game this year is Baulders Gate 3. It's not even close.

@RBRTMNZ

Have you ever played a Zelda game? Don't let the cartoony graphics fool you into thinking these games are for kids.

@Rafie Thats a tricky one, it is true that everything is the same as the orginal but with a new important component which is the new mechanics (building) which by its own at least deserves to be nominated but perhaps not winning IMO.

Alan wake 2 zelda baldur's gate 3 ff16 and Alan wake 2 will win

BG3 should win hands down. Re4 remake was great but won't win. Spider man was an 8/10 at best strange story choices and obvious box checking. Alan woke 2 won't have gotten enough support in so short a time. BG3 all the way

@MikeOrator I don't think the people who complained about what they did to Joel and the character on TRT are the minority. Really Druckmann should have gone further and had Abby take out Ellie at the end too so i don't have to suffer the ravenous fans of a game series that was never above mediocrity chomping at the bit at another game.

The first game was balls too and only gained popularity because the YouTube grifters crying over a character that was in the game was a mere 10 minutes, game is pretty much move box so ai can climb obstacle and throw bottles at corners so blind enemy doesn't instantly cutscene you.

@MikeOrator I don't think Zelda is childish but it’s also not a specifically adult experience like BG3 or AW2. The people who are attracted to more mature games will be splitting their votes between the two mature games. I think it’s ultimately a close two way race between Zelda and BG3 and Zelda gets the win because AW siphons votes from BG3.

My list would include

Lies of P - surprise love from and for the Soulsborne community!

Baldur's Gate 3 - Headline: Indie darlings make a fantastic game that makes AAA developers jealous and then try to temper future expectations of upcoming AAA games. In spite of it being digital only

Tears of the Kingdom - Rabid Nintendo fans are Rabid

Alan Wake: Crazy psychological survival horror just in time for Halloween turns out to be really good. In spite of it being digital only

Final Fantasy - Even though it split the fanbase with the new combat.

Spiderman 2 - The tech on display in this game is actually quite incredible even if some feel the story/characters/runtime lack, but also because rabid Sony fans are Rabid.

Special mentions:
Armored Core IV
Starfield
Dead Space
RE 4
Super Mario Wonder.

@RBRTMNZ

I get what you are saying but is it an ESRB/PEGI ratings thing or a visuals thing?

I think the noms will be Zelda, Alan Wake for sure. I haven't played Baldurs Gate so I honestly can't comment on that, but it has a great reception - FF16, Spiderman 2. I don't think Zelda should win it even though I thought it was a great game - too much of the same as BOTW. so far my pick is Alan Wake 2.

@Deityjester

I see...you're just a malcontent. I used to be that way with music. If too many people liked a band or a song and it became too popular it must be crappy. I've since changed my ways and now people find me less insufferable and obnoxious.

My guess is: TotK, SMB Wonder, Spider-Man 2, BG3, FFXVI, RE4 with Zelda winning.

I don't think Alan Wake 2 will get nominated because of the PC side of things.

@MikeOrator It’s that one is a legitimately scary horror game with complex story telling and the other includes bear ***** among many other adult appropriate themes. Zelda is targeted at everyone, the other two are specifically for adults.

Resident Evil 4

Should be baldurs gate 3 but will probably be spider-man 2 it does/says all the right things for media and twitter ppls as well as being a fundamentally fun game so...

TotK filled me with joy and wonder for a few months, like Elden Ring the year before, but then I just fell off it hard, unlike Elden Ring. It just got very repetitive and side content just blurred into nothingness. I still need to finish the damn thing 😅 but it is an excellent choice this year.

For me though, BG3 is just far superior, as you get the joy and wonder, but also the depth of story, characters and even more freedom of choice.

Then, as it's such a great year you've got FF16, Spider-Man 2, Mario? Pikmin? And Alan Wake surging late, as a game that potentially does something more unique. And maybe some disappointed Bethesda fans to tip of the festivities 😬

@JonnyAces I would want it to win but most people have seem to have forgotten about it compared to Baldur's Gate 3 and Zelda. But still FF16 is my GOTY!

Totk was a shoe in for this until BG3 dropped. I’d respect either decision but it’s BG for me.

I've yet to play BG3 or Alan Wake 2 yet so Phantom Liberty or Hogwarts would get my vote.

@Deityjester .....After all the stunning games released this year, Dead Island 2 would be your choice ?? ..I'm not just saying this, but that game is the biggest pile of ***** I started to play. I uninstalled it after 5 hours.

Personally, I think you'd have to be huffing a significant amount of copium to believe that Alan Wake 2 will get a slot over RE4 or Dead Space. That being said though I think the nominees will be:

Baldur's Gate 3
Resident Evil 4
Sea of Stars
Spider-man 2
Starfield
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

And either BG3 or Zelda will win, I think it could go either way

Pretty great year for me with FFXVI, Spidey 2 and RE4. I’ll lean FFXVI all the way and hope Ben Starr gets best voice actor for his role as Clive. Such a bad ass performance.

Star Wars Survivor was one of the game of the years for me.

Game of the year is Baldurs Gate 3. Nobody else come close. The closest is Zelda but it’s just a reimagined BOTW with new mechanics and story. BG3 is a game like nothing in 10 years. Packed with content and so many hidden things to discover and story you can easily miss. Plus all that you do effects the outcome and it’s just simply stunning. I have been gaming since 1986 and only a couple other games have grabbed me like it. If anyone chooses a different game than it for GOTY you’re just plain wrong lol. Facts.

@SterlingEyes my thoughts too. Zelda was it but BG3 just blew everything else away

@Sh3p3000 no way in hell spman2 is even close to GOTY material lol. If they pick it they are mentally handicapped lol. BG3 is stunning and easily the winner

@EquiinoxGII then you haven’t played the best game of the year lol

@KundaliniRising333 finally someone who is sensible lol. Nothing come slightly close to BG3. Zelda was great but my winner by a landslide is BG3. I have played Alan wake and Spider-Man recently and I couldn’t finish them without going back to the gate.

@jwn85 I would like to, but never played a game like this before, so it's very difficult to stump up the money for it. especially as it's download only. so if I don't get along with it, I've spent a good chunk of money.

TOTK is the God of War: Ragnarok of this year. A largely similar, safe, bigger sequel of a more innovative previous part. And it'll lose to BG3 just like GOW lost to Elden Ring.