I hate to say it, but math really spoiled my fun this year. The tradition of Giant Bomb's Game of the Year Deliberations has always been about getting into the really nitty gritty arguments and really looking at these games warts and all. Instead, I feel like Elden Ring got to win its award with barely any discussion of it whatsoever. Yes, there are disorganized discussions of it throughout the year as people played it, but I really feel like the classic GOTY deliberation podcasts are great for hashing out these games and really seriously engaging with their relative merit.
I recognize that this group probably isn't interested in having a knock-down drag-out like Saints Row The Third vs. Skyrim and probably wouldn't even have had one if they had gone with the original format - like Grubb says, it often feels like those top slots are where people are really just worn out. But I really loved the conversation just two years ago between Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Hades! I thought that really hit the mark and made me think more about what those games excel at and how there's still even more to do.
It's not that I hope that Giant Bomb goes back to the classic knives out format. For one thing, it's always been more difficult since the staff expanded - the reason people get exhausted for the top 5 is because they're narrowing down from 50 something games people care about instead of maybe 25. For another, a lot of people have always found it sort of offputting, including the original duders - Brad Shoemaker was vocal about wanting it to be more positive since like 2013.
But personally, I hope that someone else picks up the original format, because I really think it led to great criticism that wasn't possible any other way, and I'd happily listen to both shows moving forward.
EDIT: Tbc, really happy with the podcast you did record and the list that you wound up with. Every game on your eventual top 20 that I've played is good!
@jasoncooke: to reply to the idea that a trigger warning also raises the triggering subject; it's usually a lot worse to find yourself in a crowded movie theater when suddenly SERIOUS TRAUMATIC THING you didn't expect is sprung on you, and you sit and watch it happen on screen, then for you to have time to mentally prepare. My ex is a rape survivor who had a real hard time when Under the Skin (rather lazily) went for a shock sexual assault rather than the film's prior seduction/erotic thriller model. It's also not every depiction that is triggering; it's not the mere subject being raised for some people, but certain depictions, and having information is generally perceived as making it easier to plan and prepare and make decisions about what you watch.
(I'm setting aside their use in the classroom beyond saying that I think they're beneficial.)
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