Now that we are heading into October, normally this would be a time for almost all the high profile releases to come out. But the industry has shifted where everything that attempts to get released near the holiday usually gets pushed to spring or summer. And this year, what a spring and summer we had, with many people agreeing this has been the best year for gaming in 10 or 15 years.
Now, conversation turns toward GOTY 2023, and what might get nominated, and eventually take the crown. I believe at this point things have solidified to everyone more or less agreeing the “main” GOTY award is at The Game Awards, the closest we’ll get to the Oscars, despite all its integrated ads. Every outlet and YouTuber and Forbes writer will have their own individual picks, but the Game Award nominations and winners are huge pools of journalists, creators and developers all voting.
This was inspired by my friend Destin asking the question on Twitter, and now I’ll do my own picks here. Not what I think should get nominated or win, necessarily, but what I can see getting nominated or winning, based on how this year has gone. Last year there were six nominees, so we’ll go with that again.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – There’s no debate about this one, this only debate is whether it will win GOTY or not, and while I was positive it would at release, I have now changed my mind. No, I do not think an actual problem with the game is “reusing” the Hyrule map from Breath of the Wild, as everything it adds, including its new building mechanics, is incredible, and it’s an all-time classic despite being an unorthodox sequel.
Baldur’s Gate 3 – I have now morphed into being extremely confident that Baldur’s, not Tears, will win GOTY. It is absolutely astonishing what Larian created here, not just in scale, but in terms of creating some of the most memorable NPCs and dialogue in gaming history. Instantly classic characters interwoven into gripping storylines. A return to TTRPG combat in a way fans of the genre loved. A storied series given fresh life and absolutely what I would consider the GOTY favorite this year.
Starfield – I know that Starfield has had its ups and downs in terms of public opinion since its release, but fundamentally, this is a hugely ambitious, mainline Bethesda game, and when’s the last time we didn’t see one of those nominated in a list like this, short of Fallout 76? In another year, perhaps it could have won, but not this one, and it won’t be pulling a Fallout 3 or Skyrim this year, despite a potential nomination.
Spider-Man 2 – Can you assume a game that isn’t out yet will be nominated? I think you can. Insomniac does not miss, and this looks like it’s going to be another top-tier single player superhero experience from them. While I do have a review copy, I haven’t started it yet, so this is not based on inside information, just on how Spider-Man 1 and Miles Morales went. I would not be shocked to see it here, even if again, it doesn’t win.
Resident Evil 4 Remake – I know this came out all the way back in March, but I don’t think we can overlook just how well this reviewed, a 93 on Metacritic, another stunning update to the series from Capcom. While I would say a “remaster” would be cheating to make a list like this, a full remake? Nah, that counts. I think it will be here.
Sea of Stars – There is almost always at least one non-AAA game that makes the cut on lists like this, and no, I do not think those types of games should be ruled out as a contender to win. Just not this year. We saw this happen when It Takes Two beat out Resident Evil Village, Deathloop and Ratchet and Clank among others to win GOTY in 2021. This year, I’m getting the vibe that Sea of Stars may be that pick, but I guess we’ll see.
Armored Core VI – It may be somewhat niche, but it’s incredibly well done and I think it could snag a spot here. My other choices for this sixth spot (again, almost certainly not going to win over Tears and Baldurs) would be Final Fantasy XVI, Jedi Survivor or Street Fighter 6. I do not think Diablo 4 will be nominated based on it dropping the live service ball. The nominating group will not put Hogwarts Legacy on this list. And I do not think Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion will count as a full game for this list.
Those are my picks for what I think will be nominated. Feel free to share your personal GOTY with me on Twitter.
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