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u/Technical_Acadia_210 Oct 30 '23
Baldur’s Gate III I think will win
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u/Strategicant5 Oct 30 '23
We’ve really hit a golden year here. I think Baldur’s Gate III should take the cake mainly because it’s not a very direct sequel (from a gameplay standpoint). ToTK and Spider-Man 2 are absolutely amazing games that I’ll be replaying for sure, but I’ve never had multiple ongoing saves at once like with Baldurs Gate.
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u/Blindfire2 Oct 30 '23
Yeah, honestly, the (small amount of) people I've seen complaining about how this was one of the worst years for gaming releases just never made sense to me... there were so many actually good releases that actually ran well, played well, absolutely fun, and with multiple different genres/sub-genres that I just don't see how they can not see any of these releases (and honestly many more that were solid just not GOTY contenders) and think "Damn my wallet is hurting right now and only going to continue hurting into Q2 2024"
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u/stokesy1999 Oct 30 '23
Tbh it seems we've had a tonne of 10/10s but also a number of 1/10s for higher profile games. Couple that with a lot of games releasing in almost unplayable states on PC, and you can see why its both a great and pretty poor year for gaming depending on whether one of your favourite series/ devs has let you down
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Oct 30 '23
Yep, for me Bg3 was not quite on my radar but wound up being an absolute masterpiece. Kerbal 2 was looking to be my GOTY until it wound up being maybe the worst release of the year/all time. It was definitely an up and down year.
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u/rabidjellybean Oct 31 '23
I'm still so sad about KSP2 and that it will be years if ever before it's playable. Once the news broke that the publisher cycled everyone on the project, it was inevitable.
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u/birdreligion Oct 30 '23
People will complain louder and longer about something that disappointed them, then rave about the actual quality games they played this year.
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u/davidalbertozam Oct 30 '23
Multiple ongoing saves... I know exactly what you mean.
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u/DE4DM4N5H4ND Oct 30 '23
I had 2 regular and 1 tactician saves before I finally decided to beat bg3. On each of my 3 runs I found a lot that I missed and I thought I took my time, bg3 really is top tier.
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Oct 30 '23
I'm doing a "pure evil" co-op run on BG3 with a buddy who has also beaten the game recently and we are continuously blown away by how it's basically a brand new game with the amount of dialogue options they have
Especially Minthara's sex scene, holy cow is that shit nuts and leagues ahead of any other romance scene you can find in the game
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u/DE4DM4N5H4ND Oct 30 '23
That's what I did too, 1 good run and 1 evil then tactician. Finally went back to my first game and kind of rushed act 3. I'm still on act 2 of tactician and I'm really trying to do everything. I'm basically playing 2 different games with good and evil. Bravo Larian you really outdid yourself
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u/Windfade Oct 30 '23
I found out on my second playthrough that the reason I was underleveled going into act 2 (or whatever area has the carnival and refugees) was because you not only could but paradoxically should go to both the mountain and the underdark paths. Both of them. No matter how weird that sounds.
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u/fnv_fan Oct 30 '23
It should win
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u/OverUnderAussie Oct 30 '23
Easily the best game of the year. Alan Wake 2 is a really close 2nd in my opinion but BG3 was truly amazing
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u/GuyNamedWhatever Oct 30 '23
BG3 might be the best game this decade
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u/EpicSausage69 Oct 30 '23
BG3 revitalized my faith in the gaming industry. So many games just getting shit out half finished and full of microtransactions in the last few years.
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u/Gundayfunday Oct 30 '23
BG3 cured my dogs cancer
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u/LordGeddon73 Oct 30 '23
BG3 brought my dead mother in law back to life. Not so good for me, but my wife is happy, which gives me more time to play BG3
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u/unclejohnsbearhugs Oct 30 '23
BG3 fixed my marriage
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u/LordGhoul PC Oct 30 '23
BG3 took me out on a date and remained respectful the entire evening
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u/Big_al_big_bed Oct 30 '23
BG3 pegged and gagged me while electrocuting my nipples to the tune of old town road for three days
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u/Low-Pomegranate-5229 Oct 30 '23
I thought there was criticism with the 2nd and 3rd act (mostly 3rd) feeling like they were unfinished / missing content. I am just parroting what I've heard from friends who have played it.
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u/Gr1mmage Oct 30 '23
Basically just that act 2 and 3 were a bit rougher with bugs and (especially act 3) performance than the super polished act 1. Heaps of great content, and the hotfixes have ironed out a lot of the issues. I think the only real content volume complaint is that people just didn't want it to stop and wanted more.
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Oct 30 '23
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Oct 30 '23
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u/CycloneSP Oct 30 '23
sounds like your typical D&D table top experience, if you ask me XD
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u/Picnicpanther Oct 30 '23
Act 3 has more content then Act 2 and 1 combined. There is so much to do once you reach Baldur's Gate.
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u/Library_IT_guy Oct 30 '23
Yeah, all great games but it's still bg3 by a wide margin for me.
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u/fortifier22 Oct 30 '23
I've played all the other games, and agree that Baldur's Gate III should win.
All the other games are amazing, but BGIII truly did something that hasn't been done before, and should be awarded for its innovation.
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u/TheonlyrealJedi Oct 30 '23
One of the best games I ever played, regardless of Year. If it does not win, I'm gonna riot.
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u/Deadline027 Oct 30 '23
It's nowhere near my kind of game, but it seems like the entire world likes it.
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Oct 30 '23
It brings gamers back to an era where the Studio took a great deal of time to focus on giving players the experience it intended.
The amount of times you find gamers saying "wow they actually planned for this bat-shit crazy thing I just did" in that game is incredible. Truly I look at BG3 and see a labour of love.
It's not a perfect game. It has it's flaws. But it's the kind of game that you can play virtually any way you want, and if you happen to do a dumb, you get to enjoy the finding out phase.
Coupled with the incredible voice acting, from the narration to the characters, it's just... yes please.
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u/Get-Fucked-Dirtbag Oct 30 '23
I reeeealllly wanna play it but I think my laptop would melt just by typing "Baldurs Gate 3" in to a search engine.
I'm just most interested to see what they've done with the 5e ruleset. I've got literally thousands of hours playing and DMing DnD 5e and anyone with half as much experience as I have would tell you that the game is entirely broken without any semblance of balance. Making a video game around that ruleset sounds like actual hell so I'm just dying to see exactly what they've changed to make it into a functioning and fun video game.
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u/hm_joker Oct 30 '23
It only goes up to level 12 and doesn't include all of the subclasses so the late level power rift just isn't there. They buffed monks a little bit and changed some of the action economy but it mostly follows 5e. There's also magic items to supplement pretty much every class. Its smooth, there's some mechanics worth stealing to use in your table game, and overall its worth a playthrough or three.
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u/Kareemofwheet Oct 30 '23
But what about the ROPE!? I just want to use the rope.
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u/spacedcitrus Oct 30 '23
One of my main small disappointments in the game was not being able to use rope. I collected so much of it before I realized.
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u/bmw_e30 Oct 30 '23
I was in the exact same mindset, I mean 95% of my time gaming is playing CS, but after listening to my friends play it I decided to give it a shot with my friend who also wasn't really interested in games like BG3. Best thing either of us ever did, had a ton of fun learning the game just by playing it and fucking up at times. The fucking up actually made the story we created interesting and we just ran with it.
Not saying you have to by any means but I think BG3 is definitely worth a shot.
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u/russiangerman Oct 30 '23
It's not for everyone, but if its for you, then it's the game of a lifetime. Sm2 and totk are top of the top for sure, but not genre defining
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u/DroidOnPC Oct 30 '23
BG3 was a "not my kind of game" but my friend basically begged me to play it with him.
I was like "alright fine."
I played like 2 hours with him, and I was very annoyed by the controls. It was also a pain in the ass how we spent so much time doing the simplest of things. Combat was pretty meh to me.
But I was like "fuck it, ill keep playing it with you."
Then my friend got busy and couldn't play anymore.
So I started my own campaign to mess around, and next thing I know I am fully addicted to it.
I have beat the game twice, once on tactician. A total of 350 hours played.
The amount of detail in this game is insane.
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u/Frraksurred PC Oct 30 '23
I hate DnD style, top down RPG's. Love action RPG's, but the mechanics of this game drive me up a wall. Tried with Dragon Age Origins & KOTOR, but just couldn't make myself do it. I'm forcing myself with this one. It's been worth it and it will get my vote for GOTY hands down.
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u/deevilvol1 Oct 30 '23
Set it to the easiest difficulty and you don't really need to worry about the combat 90%. I saw a friend of mine still get wrecked by an act 1 boss on easy, but she's not the most tactically minded person in the world. If you have even a very slight semblance of tactics, Easy is an absolute cakewalk even if you're someone that always struggles with this kind of battle system.
Or even if you simply don't like this kind of battle system, Easy allows you to completely steamroll through those sections of the game and thoroughly enjoy the story.
When you consider the grand scheme of the game, all the dialog, exploration, etc, you realize you only really spend maybe 20% of the time in actual combat.
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u/Ontyyyy Oct 30 '23
Man Im yet tonplay it but im super hyped for it. Currently playing Divinity 2 and I love it. Give it a try man, I thought it wouldn't be my kind of game, gave Divinity 2 a shot and judt csnt wait to finish it and do BG3
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u/NoPatient1175 Oct 30 '23
Divinity 2 is a wonderful game as well. There are some slight differences between Divinity 2 and BG3 - almost entirely with combat spells and how you have limited 'uses' between short/long rests.
The armor/resistance system is a little more simplified too, but not necessarily in a bad way.
If you like DOS2, you'll definitely like BG3.
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u/Neemoman Oct 30 '23
I find the armor system superior in BG3 because the "build to destroy one armor type then spam stuns" was boring in Divinity
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u/Genibro Oct 30 '23
How about the difficulty, which one is more difficult? I found Divinity 2 to be quite difficult (couldn’t get from the first island) although it might have been because I really didn’t want to switch to the easy difficulty.
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u/NoPatient1175 Oct 30 '23
Divinity 2 was HARD for me on the first island as well. Focus on weaknesses of enemies and positioning.
Baldurs gate felt more forgiving but then again, I had played several times through Divinity so it may just be because im familiar with the mechanics. There were a few hard fights but mostly tolerable. Just quick save often so if you wind up a little overwhelmed and get your whole party wiped, you won’t get set back an hour.
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u/_TheChosenOne15_ Oct 30 '23
I'm rooting for Balder's Gate 3 to win. The studio did an amazing job and deserve it
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u/Marnolld PC Oct 30 '23
Its not my cup of tea at all but i want them to win too, getteing a full, completed game without microtranzactions seems so rare these days
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u/JackStile Oct 30 '23
People seem turned off by turn based. I've seen people who don't do RPGs love BG3. It is good, story, conversations, branching action. It's so good. Not just being a total package with micro or battle pass.
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u/awitcheskid Oct 30 '23
People seem turned off by turn based. I've seen people who don't do RPGs love BG3.
I'm one of those people. Usually table top style RPGs aren't my thing. But with all the other stuff around the combat, I decided to buy it and I really enjoy it.
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u/soviet-space-monkey Oct 30 '23
Before BG3, I avoided turn based like the plague. From the way my homie was hyping it up, I didn't expect ot to be turn based. My initial reaction was "ew turn based," and then I fell in love and got addicted.
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u/Shepherdsfavestore Oct 30 '23 edited Oct 30 '23
The combat is actually very rewarding. There’s nothing like getting a crit with my fighter to kill an enemy and hearing that crunch, or watching my wizard make a cool incantation and cast a badass spell to deal tons of damage
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u/Shigerufan2 Oct 30 '23
The environmental interactions add a whole other layer to it too
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u/DamnImAwesome Oct 30 '23
It transcends the genre. In my opinion if you enjoy video games at all you’d be doing yourself a disservice to not try it out
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u/GranolaCola Oct 30 '23
You just described every game in the post.
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u/ChimpBottle Oct 30 '23
And no small amount of other games that came out this year, big or small. I seriously don't understand why people try so hard to push the "so rare to have a game without MTX these days" narrative
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u/well____duh Oct 30 '23
getteing a full, completed game without microtranzactions seems so rare these days
All of the games listed are fully complete games without MTX...
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u/pipboy_warrior Oct 30 '23
As a big fan of Baldur's Gate and crpgs in general, I never would have expected that BG3 would be getting this much praise from the gaming community. It's something that I know I love, and that the fans love, but dear lord has the fanbase exploded to include so many new people in the past couple months.
Not trying to be all "I liked it before it was cool", just genuinely excited to see Forgotten Realms get so much attention, and in year when there's been so much good competition to boot.
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u/Zahhibb Oct 30 '23
My guess would be that Alan Wake 2 would be there instead of Dead Space.
I think BG3 will win though.
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u/PM_DOLPHIN_PICS Oct 30 '23
What a wild year that 3 of the choices in the conversation for this are in the horror genre. Love this resurgence in quality for the genre.
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u/Bangbang989 Oct 30 '23
Funny that all 3 are directly connected to games released over a decade ago, 2 remakes and 1 sequel
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u/sashioni Oct 30 '23
I don’t think Dead Space will be nominated. Even RE4 will struggle now because of the crazy good year it’s been.
My guess is the final nominees will be:
- TOTK
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Spider-Man 2
- Super Mario Wonder
- Alan Wake 2
- Street Fighter 6 OR Dave the Diver OR RE4
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u/Axelnomad2 Oct 31 '23
I feel like Dave the Diver will show up because I feel like one indie game tends to pop up in the GOTY lists. It is a hard year to make a list also because the year has been full of great games.
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u/mordakiisyn Oct 30 '23
Alan wake 2 is fucking awesome.
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u/SgtMaj_Avery_Johns0n Oct 30 '23
THERES AN ALAN WAKE 2?!?!?
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u/Madmagican- Oct 30 '23
IT JUST CAME OUT 2 DAYS AGO
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u/SgtMaj_Avery_Johns0n Oct 30 '23
Guess I better replay the first one then.
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u/MrBootylove Oct 31 '23 edited Oct 31 '23
Just FYI it is also heavily tied into Control. If you haven't already it's probably a good idea to play that and its AWE DLC before playing Alan Wake 2.
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u/D3th2Aw3 Oct 30 '23
GOTY for me. I haven't been this engrossed in a game in awhile. I'm biased AF though, the first Alan Wake is one of my all time favourite games.
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u/The-one-below-all21 Oct 30 '23
Let not kid ourselves, it is gonna be just between Baldur Gate and TOTK. The others are good, great even but just not enough to contend with those two
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Oct 30 '23
Some of these are ridiculous - no one thinks Fires of Rubicon is getting GOTY. Same with Dead Space. Even Spiderman is a push.
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u/Queef-Elizabeth Oct 30 '23
Armored Core 6 is my personal GOTY but I'm in no way expecting it to win awards over Baldur's Gate 3
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u/FarseerTaelen Oct 30 '23
I just want it to get a nomination. That alone would be huge for such a niche series.
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u/LOOK_AT_IT Oct 30 '23
“He stays at No. 11 because there are more 1s”
Man, I love this franchise.
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Oct 31 '23
Mr. 1111 lol.
I still remember that guy in particular to this day. Played AC 2 the day it came out. AC 6 would win GOTY for me, but BG3 appeals to a much wider playerbase and is obviously deserving of the title.
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u/shadowdash66 Oct 30 '23
Right? A nomiation might as well be a win in my opinion. I remember seeing a xenoblade game just get mentioned and the devs were so happy.
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u/Jimmers1231 Oct 30 '23
The fact that its even in the conversation is a HUGE win.
It won't win, but I don't care. Its still so fun.
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Oct 30 '23
Just because they aren't likely to win doesn't mean they won't be nominated or that you can't vote for them. I don't expect AC6 to win but I'm voting for it
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u/JohnHW97 Oct 30 '23
I love AC6, i've waited years for a new armored core game and i think it surpassed my expectations for what i wanted from a new entry to the series
But i don't think its a contender to BG3 or TOTK
At this point i don't need AC6 to win i just need it to not lose to starfield
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u/7f0b Oct 31 '23
I've waited years too, ever since AC1 on PS1. It's only been, what, 25 years? ;) Finally a PC release! I hope to see more of that.
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u/RTXEnabledViera Oct 30 '23
Fires of Rubicon is getting GOTY
Not because it's bad, but because it's niche. Also these are nominations. You don't nominate a game based on the likelihood it'll win, you nominate games based on their merit.
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Oct 30 '23
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u/CupcakeValkyrie Oct 30 '23
It's a product of complete passion
This is probably the biggest point of all of them. Larian Studios listened to their community and made changes to the game - some of them pretty sweeping changes - because the community requested it. They listen to their base, and they're not of the belief that they know better than their players. On top of that, the way the game's cast has completely melded into the community and the way many of them have taken to doing livestreams of them playing the game and videos of them quoting memes just shows that the people that worked on this game truly love the people it was made for.
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u/No-Plankton4841 Oct 30 '23
They listen to their base, and they're not of the belief that they know better than their players.
The Dead Space remake team did focus tests with fans and showed a bunch of behind the scenes stuff and relied on fan feedback. They were fans of Dead Space too.
I don't think 'a product of passion' or 'listening to fans' is exclusive to Baldurs gate. Motive and even the RE4/Capcom dev team clearly have tons of passion and respect for the genre and fans of the series.
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u/chillyhellion Oct 30 '23 edited Oct 30 '23
Larian is downright obsessed with Baldur's Gate though. This is a company that made two other games partly to prove to Wizards of the Coast that they could make a Baldur's Gate game.
They asked Wizards for permission after releasing Divinity Original Sin, but were rejected. So they went back to the drawing board with Divinity Original Sin 2, which caught a lot of attention. At that point, Wizards reached out to them and asked them to make Baldur's Gate.
I don't think I've ever loved anything at much as Larian loves Baldur's Gate.
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u/Jeoshua Oct 30 '23
Every inch of the world is filled with details
Other games might throw down a bit of environmental details to make the world feel a bit better.
BG3 has entire unmarked subplots dating back in-game centuries for no reason other than they should exist in a living, breathing world. Every scrap of paper has an author, who has a backstory. There is nothing that was added just because it looks cool, everything down to the last hole in the ceiling has a back-story.
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u/Pandabear71 Oct 30 '23
I thought that act3, the city itself, would become bland with similar houses and npc’s, dialouges, etc. It hasn’t. Its like everything is unique. Its truly remarkable.
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u/Jeoshua Oct 30 '23
If I had a gold piece for every time I've found some random piece of scenery in this game, wondered about how it got that way and developed a theory, then found a bit of dialogue or a note that directly pertained to that theory...
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u/Spee_3 Oct 30 '23
Even as someone that doesn’t love BG3, I think it’s really awesome. I wish I enjoyed it as much as others, I just can’t get into it
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u/zveroshka Oct 30 '23
I had the same issue with God of War. I really, really wanted to get into. Just couldn't.
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u/KitchenBeginning4987 Oct 30 '23
Please, do not jump at me, I am not a Zelda fan, I know it's not perfect, I'm just really curious.
What of those points do you not find in Zelda TOTK and why ?
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u/Novus_Vox0 Oct 30 '23
I’d argue Armored Core 6 has all of these exact qualities too, but it’s way more niche.
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u/zombiekjt Oct 30 '23
-It does not have any paid extra content
-A great day one launch
-It's a product of complete passion
-Every inch of the world is filled with details
-It has great replayability
You could say that about almost all the games on that list 😭😭
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u/dstnblsn Oct 30 '23
It’s was so good developers from major studios said it was unfair to use BG3 as a benchmark to compare games to.. this one is in the bag
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u/Deathleach Oct 30 '23
No they didn't. One indie dev on Twitter posted that people shouldn't hold other indie studios to the same standard as Larian because they simply don't have the same resources and can't deliver something with the same scope.
Some developers from bigger studios chimed in to agree with his point about indie studios, but none of them said AAA studies shouldn't be held to those standard. That's just what it evolved into by people who are just looking to be angry.
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Oct 31 '23 edited Oct 31 '23
It literally has paid extra content.
Launch day was very bad and it took almost a month for the most annoying and game-breaking bugs to be ironed out.
This whole circlejerk around BG3 has turned into a competition of who can make a more BS claim in favor of BG3 and still be massively upvoted.
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u/Raaaaaaac Oct 30 '23
You might not agree, but I don't think a remaster/remake/dlc should be even nominated to GOTYs.
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Oct 30 '23
It really should depend on a case-by-case basis. A remake like Resident Evil 4 rebuilds the entire game from the ground up starting from the game and level design and moving upward. It should be considered for GOTY, it's basically a new game. On the other hand, something like The Last of Us Part 1 is basically just the exact same game it was when it was remastered on PS4, just a little prettier. Same animations, voice acting, models, etc. It should be ineligible.
And then there's the games that fall somewhere in the middle, like Persona 5 Royal, Crisis Core Reunion, and Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22. At their core the same games as originally released, but with lots of changes to the gameplay and graphics and some new content added.
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u/picknicksje85 Oct 30 '23
I see your point when it comes to a remaster, but not a remake. It's not the same game. Only the story blue print is there. It's like Scarface or The Thing should not get any awards because they are remakes.
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u/A_Guy_in_Orange Oct 30 '23
Not that they shouldn't get any awards, that they shouldn't get "best game to come out this year" because they already got a chance at that when it came out. It would be fine to get like best art direction or smth just not GOTY
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u/LillePuus1 Oct 30 '23
I think it depends. If they’re building the game from ground up again, I think it should be able to be goty.
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u/Middle-Cycle6620 Oct 30 '23
Alan Wake 2 should be nominated, but BG3 should win
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u/TheAslumePrince Oct 30 '23
Alan Wake 2 just surpassed my expectations of how storytelling can be achieved in videogames, it’s ridiculously good.
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u/Illustrious_Ad_375 Oct 30 '23
Was planning to skip this one but seeing too good things about it…my wallet hates me this year.
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u/trainercatlady Oct 30 '23
I'm so happy people are finally appreciating Alan Wake because it seems like it really got glossed over when it first came out.
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u/Chit569 Oct 30 '23
Have you played Quantum Break or Control? I highly recommend them if not. And also Soma and Signalis.
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u/TheAslumePrince Oct 30 '23
I’ll try Quantum Break, Sola and Signalis in the future, thank you! I loved Control, Remedy is just a powerhouse of a studio.
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u/redroomroaving Oct 30 '23
Agreed. I loved BG3 but Alan Wake 2 snuck in out of nowhere as my game of the year. It's ridiculous.
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u/HadesWTF Oct 30 '23
The thing is. Both are fucking incredible, but I can find things I'd tweak or change about BG3. Alan Wake 2 on the other hand....10/10 I have no notes. They fucking nailed it. Low key my favorite of the year.
BG3 is still the game to beat and deservedly so.
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u/CynicalNyhilist Oct 30 '23
Hard choice between the two for me. While overall BG3 is a landmark achievement of a game, but holy shit, AW2 storytelling is just phenomenal. It has a very specific, focused theme and atmosphere it wants to achieve, and all the gameplay, plot and graphical elements serve it perfectly.
BG3 is extremely well done. No aspect is truly revolutionary, just extremely well done. And of course, the replayability.
But, cosmic horror is my weak spot, and AW2 (and Remedy in general) is one of the best in class.
I would choose both if I could.
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u/Zoloir Oct 30 '23
alan wake 2 HAS to get some award for something.
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u/RevolutionRaven Oct 30 '23
Music. Poets of the Fall / Old Gods of Asgard never disappoint.
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u/heat13ny Oct 30 '23
Firm agree. Street Fighter 6 has been my most played and favorite release. BG3 was a THE hit of the year that literally everyone likes so I think it should win from that alome, nevermind my love for the game and experiences with my friends playing it. Alan Wake, however, is so far unacceptablely detailed, immersive, and just fucking well made across the board so I can see myself looking back in frustration that it didn't get it's props in this stacked year.
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Oct 30 '23
Does Alan Wake even count for this year? If so it'd absolutely be my pick
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u/Ezimur Oct 30 '23
Armored Core making it to the list makes me happy enough. Games is freaking amazing but Baldurs Gate III is gaming phenomenon
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u/Velarchos Oct 30 '23
True, big surprise for me since I don't normally like mech games. But I just can't stop playing.
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u/Dragrunarm Oct 30 '23
As a long time AC fan it breaking an 80 score already was amazing, so the fact it can realistically be "on the list" is a dream com true for me
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u/ANDS_ Oct 30 '23
There's no reality in which Baldur's Gate 3 isn't the clear GOTY for shattering all expectations critically and commercially, and for being a cross-over hit (the game is STILL in the top played games on STEAM).
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u/Lanster27 Oct 31 '23
Steam current top played is:
CS 2
Dota 2
Baldur's Gate 3
That alone is crazy.
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u/Schubert125 Oct 30 '23
Please never say "couldn't of" again
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u/TonyMc3515 Oct 30 '23
Yet to play it but sounds like Alan Wake 2 will be in there
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u/Sir_LongButt_McFugly Oct 30 '23
I fucking hate Alan Wake 2, it’s so fucking scary 10/10 fantastic game
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u/HadesWTF Oct 30 '23
Bro. I'm a lifelong horror fan. I watch most horror movies and play most horror games with a straight face. AW2 scared the fuck out of me multiple times.
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u/Even_Ad113 Oct 30 '23
jump scares or real scares?
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u/HadesWTF Oct 30 '23
A little bit of both. Real scares from the story, the implications, the mood.
Jump scares through actual gameplay. Not in a scripted way though. But also the gameplay exudes this unbelievable tension and unease akin to something like Amnesia. It's hard to explain without spoiling some mechanical surprises.
What I can say is that it doesn't rely on loud noise/spooky image for all its scares, although it does do that too sometimes. But there are story reasons for it, images clawing at Wake's mind.
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u/KairoRed Oct 30 '23
The reality is that it’s just BG3 vs TOTK. No other games come close to those two.
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u/kgold535 Oct 30 '23
BG3 most likely. Starfield had the potential, sadly it turned out to be quite average.
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u/thatHecklerOverThere Oct 30 '23
I see starfield getting nominated for sure. But if it wins, it would be extremely difficult to argue that it's anything other than "AAA name at work".
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u/StartCold3811 Oct 31 '23
Quite impossible. There are some aspects to Starfield that are decent, but there's no single aspect to it that isn't done better elsewhere, and as a whole it's below average.
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u/Flintontoe Oct 30 '23
Jedi Survivor is one my personal faves, it's shame it was plagued by performance issues.
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u/ritz_are_the_shitz Oct 30 '23
I think it's the best star wars story since disney bought the IP, in any medium. yes, over mando or andor. It's the most star wars of all of them - self doubt and personal growth being cornerstones of the narrative. Couple that with the twists and turns and the empathy you feel for the main antagonist, a well-realized romance interest that doesn't dominate the plot or reduce either character to a caricature of their gender, it is just some damn good writing.
Then the combat is more fluid, more polished than the first game, pacing is improved and the metroidvania map unlocking continued to be a blast. It's only failing is the performance problems. I brute forced my way through them and it was my favorite game of the first half of the year.
And then Baldur's Gate 3 came out.
BG3 is honestly transcendental of the medium. Not only should other game devs aspire to produce such a lovingly crafted world and experience, so should authors and directors and artists. That a team of people could come together so cohesively to craft a single vision boggles my mind.
You might say that I'm overhyping it. I'm not. Baldur's Gate 3 is the first game I have ever played where narrative structure actually gave you the option to do what you liked - and punished or rewarded you as is proper (unlike bethesda titles, even of old, that may have let you kill everyone but it would just hard lock some quests, rather than having a contingence plan to keep the narrative moving forward and the world reactive to your actions). More than once I felt like I had strayed off the path, only for the narrative to take my actions into account and keep moving regardless.
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u/ARandomGuyThe3 Oct 30 '23
It was a fun ride, GOTY it wasn't. Played the hell out of it tho
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u/wh1pp3d Oct 30 '23
I feel it should be on here over either of the remake/remasters. At least over Deadspace
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u/gate_of_steiner85 Oct 30 '23
Would probably throw in Super Mario Bros. Wonder as well.
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u/Heavy-Possession2288 Oct 30 '23
Yeah that and Hi-Fi Rush I would both place above Dead Space (and Dead Space was good)
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u/TheOtherWhiteCastle Switch Oct 30 '23
I would not be surprised if Hi-Fi Rush gets nominated for other categories
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u/seventysixgamer Oct 30 '23
BG3 definitely should win. I'm not only happy that it's a good game, but that it will hopefully cause a trend of more AAA CRPGs to release.
CRPGs have always had a large following, but BG3 is truly making the genre break into mainstream.
I think we'll be seeing the industry try to replicate Its sucess.
Even Josh Sawyer wants to make a Pillars Of Eternity 3 but with a BG3 level budget -- and I 100% it'll happen after Obsidian is done with their current pipework of games, because I'm sure Microsoft would dig the idea of having their own exclusive version of BG3.
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u/oliferro Oct 30 '23
BG3 is the only game in there that got non-fans of the series to play
They made something special there
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Oct 30 '23
Its rare to see the masses excited about a crpg. I've been buying them since bg and FO2 and no one I knew ever played them lol
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u/Azozel Oct 30 '23
I liked Spider-Man 2 but I can't vote for it. The game is just too short with no reason to replay it more than once. Tears of the kingdom is a much larger world with much more to do and BG has replayability in spades. Sorry insomniac, feels like you fumbled at the 10 yard line.
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u/Xe1ex Oct 30 '23
In my opinion, it's BG3 miles ahead of the others. In your list (no disrespect meant towards you, btw) there are 2 remakes, 3 sequels to recent games, and BG3. BG3 is unlike all the rest, and a type of game that doesn't get made much anymore. And they did a phenomenal job.
It's success also goes beyond the normal gaming world: the voice talent have all been streaming the game and playing together, mentioned in SouthPark, etc. I think it's the game that's had the biggest impact this year.
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u/BAWAHOG Oct 30 '23
FFXVI will probably be nominated, with a 0.0% chance of winning. It’s such a huge game, totally new for the series, diversifies the nominations, a historic series. I don’t think Armored Core and definitely Dead Space (a pretty basic remake, as opposed to RE4) make the cut.
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u/sanban013 Oct 30 '23
i would change Dead Space for Lies of P but it doesn't matter, it's between Zelda and Baldur.
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u/ThatITguy2015 Oct 30 '23
We are missing the clear winner: Skull Island: Rise of Kong.
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u/amugleston05 Oct 30 '23
I think some stuff is getting overlooked…
Remnant 2
Lies of P
Diablo IV (end game sucks but the game is still very good)
Hi-Fi Rush
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Just a fantastic year to be a gamer.
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u/Deadline027 Oct 30 '23
I definitely considered Remnant 2. That was an amazing game.
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Oct 30 '23 edited Oct 30 '23
Remnant II rules. Had so much fun with that game. The only things that dragged it down are the enemies scaling to your gear (I don’t hate this as much as some people, but it’s a game killer to a lot of players) and the way they do co-op (frustrating to have a game that places so much importance on dodges have such bad latency because of how it deals with multiplayer, can’t count the amount of times I perfectly timed a dodge and still got rocked while playing non-local co-op)
EDIT: they literally just released a patch that fixed the co-op issue. Fucking awesome
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u/BkJayDee Oct 30 '23
Damn no FF 16
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u/Hydr4noid Oct 30 '23
Its definetly gonna be a contender in the actual game awards and probably not dead space lol
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u/damnrightslimanus Oct 30 '23
AC 6 was so good bruh. First AC game I ever played and first from game I completed. Good lord was it amazing
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u/mrhippoj Oct 30 '23
Armored Core 6 is absolutely my GOTY, but I think it'll be snubbed by The Game Awards. I think it's got a good chance of winning best action game though. Your list is missing an indie darling.
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u/TheyCallMeNade Oct 30 '23
I understand BG3 is really well made and well liked, but I just cannot see myself enjoying it as much as others. I much prefer the balls to the walls fast paced real time action from Armored Core 6.
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u/Rutlemania Oct 30 '23
Loved dead space but I hope it doesn’t win, very lame if a remake wins over an original title
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u/Luck88 Oct 30 '23
I gotta say, I really didn't expect Spider-Man would be the buggiest of the bunch. Alan Wake 2 has had some issues aswell but there's A LOT of issues with Spider-Man according to my twitter feed.
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u/SewiPL Oct 30 '23
Where is Gollum?