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GOTY 2009 (Adjusted)

Same deal as the other "GOTY (Adjusted)" lists, except in this case I never made a 2009 list because it was before I "debuted" here on Giant Bomb. Going to try to work backwards through the 2000s over who-knows-how-long, probably keeping things to a svelte Top 20.

2009 is smack dab in the middle of the 360/PS3/Wii era, so we're seeing these consoles reach new heights now that their awkward early years are behind them and for the burgeoning downloadable/Indie game sphere to pick up speed. I only ended up with a PS3 by the very end of this year, so for the most part was playing Wii, PC, and Xbox games throughout (and, if I recall, mostly through rentals). Of course, I've had 14 years since to catch up on anything of significant interest.

GOTYs(Adjusted)
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

List items

  • This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who follows what I write about around here. Even if it has a few rough edges compared to its successors, the solid action-RPG gameplay core with its studied battles of attrition, its refusal to hold the player's hand mechanically or narratively, and its overly saturnine personality were already fully-formed by the first entry. I spent more time frustrated than elated with this game and yet it's still leading the pack.

    (First Played (FP): 2011.)

  • Arkham Asylum did two remarkable things: made a 3D explormer that was every bit the peer to the excellent Metroid Prime franchise, and did a licensed property so right that few games have been able to replicate the effort. The game combines stealth, group melee, puzzles, investigations, and 80 years of comic book continuity in an effortless package.

    (FP: 2009.)

  • Since their Forgotten Realms and Star Wars heyday, BioWare had been branching out into bespoke properties with mixed results but really hit on something formidable with the Dragon Age franchise, for as generic fantasy as it initially seemed. By creating their own world they were able to shape memorable and entertaining characters that would accompany you on an adventure to prevent a regularly-looping apocalypse, adapting Mass Effect's system of letting you choose from multiple destinations with their own self-contained stories in any order.

    (FP: 2010.)

  • The "cinematic action-adventure" genre hit a new stride with the second Uncharted, creating nail-biting scenes that felt dynamic and exciting with how the world seemed to be falling apart around you. The sardonic Nathan Drake finds a great foil in the conniving but ultimately benevolent Chloe Frazer and the frantic, vantage-scrambling gunplay is already close to its peak here.

    (FP: 2010.)

  • Yakuza 3 continues to be the franchise's low point, especially with the inexplicable cuts Sega made to its international versions to make it "less Japanese", but given the consistent high quality of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise even the nadir is still better than most of the games that came out that year.

    (FP: 2015.)

  • That first AC had some great ideas and an even better presentation but it wasn't until its sequel, which moves the action from the medieval Holy Land to Renaissance-era Italy, that the series started to find its footing. Ezio's an appealing character—a womanizing young noble turned sobered avenger after his family is betrayed, albeit one that still has his mischievous streak—and everything from the swordfighting and stealth mechanics have been improved, and the variety of its assassination missions greatly expanded.

    (FP: 2010.)

  • Mario & Luigi was a strong successor to the irreverence and timing-enhanced turn-based antics of SNES RPG paragon Legend of the Seven Stars, and its third entry Bowser's Inside Story is also its peak. The game splits its time between the usual adventures of the brothers with a separate subplot involving the irascible King of the Koopas as he was dealing with his own internal medical issues. The humor, puzzles, and combat are all top-notch here.

    (FP: 2013.)

  • The open-world city game was already starting to saturate the market by this time following in the wake of GTA IV, but Guerrilla's one of the few to stand the test of time with the highly entertaining enhanced GeoMod feature: rather than destroying terrain like in Red Faction 2, you could only take apart buildings and other structures but the many options for tactical demolition made for some memorable encounters and puzzles alike.

    (FP: 2009.)

  • A game I never knew I wanted, Little King's Story mixes together city-planning and Pikmin-style "delegation warfare" battles in a game overflowing with a very peculiar personality that often left it utterly unpredictable. As you continued to face "evil Kings" to expand your territory (and harem of princesses), the game's meta silliness often threatened to reach boiling point. Absolutely the type of game the Wii excelled in hosting.

    (FP: 2010.)

  • There would come a time where Indie explormers were a dime a dozen and would be forced to do more to set themselves apart, either taking on higher budgets or employing more inventive gameplay conventions. Shadow Complex is an unusual case where it existed in a void of zero competitors and didn't need to go the extra mile but did so anyway, with its creative use of background enemies and a beefy plot about an incongruously resourceful man foiling a secret organization coup effort on his own.

    (FP: 2011.)

  • (FP: 2012.)

  • (FP: 2014.)

  • (FP: 2009.)

  • (FP: 2010.)

  • (FP: 2012.)

  • (FP: 2013.)

  • (FP: 2012.)

  • (FP: 2016, via the Enhanced Edition.)

  • (FP: 2009.)

  • (FP: 2009.)
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