GOTY Predictions

Hey bombduders. I know for some it might be a bit early but what games do you expect to either make the giant bomb top 10, or have some serious discussion in multiple categories for the GOTY podcasts?

Here are mine:

MGS V: The Phantom Pain, everyone is gushing about it at the moment and it seems like it will stay the distance to the end of the year.

The Witcher 3: Thoughts on this have been mostly positive with a few reservations, I expect it to make the list but probably not be a major player for the top slot unless there is a big swell of playing and adoration over the next couple of months.

Mario Maker: absolutely the hot item at the moment, a shoo in for top 10 right now but we might have to see how the game continues to evolve to be sure.

Splatoon: Everyone seemed pretty high on it, I've played a bit and its pretty great, it's pretty original in the shooter space, I expect it will make the 10.

Rocket League: Everyone seemed to have a pretty torrid affair with this for a short time, should appear in any multiplayer categories and I assume it will make the top 10. There might be a few extenuating circumstances that might knock it down but it should still rate.

Cities: Skylines: An incredibly made city sim might be forgotten or not thought well enough of amongst other heavy hitters, but at the moment it seems .like a pretty strong contender for me.

Galak-Z: Alongside Cities: Skylines I think that this may have enough support but may also not stack up enough amongst the competition, it does seem to be well thought of though. Also notably a favourite of Austin's.

You Must Build a Boat: An incredibly strong ios game that may appear in a couple of categories, maybe even strong enough to make the 10. Kind of hard to gage overall appreciation amongst the giantbomb crew.

The Cradle: a favourite of Vinny's but may have a hard time standing up to other titles. Having played it I can see the appeal but find it a hard one to fight for.

The Magic Circle: Jeff seemed to be way into it but it hasn't had a lot of coverage so I don't really know it's popularity amongst the staff.

Flywrench: Austin loves it, previous love for nidhogg was high and it's a great game, I would love to see it on the list but don't expect it to make much traction

Axiom Verge: Another Jeff favourite from earlier in the year, a well made game that I expect to get some discussion, but expect it not to make the list, primarily for being too similar to the games it draws inspiration from.

N++: Dan seemed to be way into this, but it's had little discussion and I don't expect it to get too far.

Grow Home: A game that giantbomb has unanimous positivity towards but doesn't feel like it does enough to be significant enough to make the top 10.

These are my thoughts, does anyone else have some predictions as to what games might rate highly amongst the crew as a whole or amongst individual members that I may not have thought of.

I am betting Bloodborne and probably Fallout 4 make their top ten.

I predict MGS V will take GOTY without much contest from anyone.

Really hoping to see Kerbal Space Program get a mention now that it's officially out, even though most people have been playing it for 5(?) years. It really is a beautiful thing!

I predict Mgs 5 or fallout 4 goty , witcher at best 10th. Destiny is more likely to overthrow witcher I suppose. Just cause in top 5.

GB crew always prefers gameplay and strong mechanics over good narrative and characterization. I might be wrong but they also prefer guns over swords,Sci-fi over fantasy.

Brad has issues with movement and jank and bugs, it is not a game for Jeff. Alex and Dan played decent amount of it. Vinny probably played the least and I don't know about Austin.

Witcher 3 has to be top 5 easily. But knowing the larger part of GB crew's overall dislike for deep story driven RPG's we'll have to make do with it hopefully making top 10 at least (which is fucking crazy to me, Witcher 3 is one of the best games of the last 10 years).

MGS5 vs The Witcher 3 for the number 1 spot will be the only real discussion.

/thread

There are so many good games this year that i think any of the top 5 would have easily taken goty last year.

With that said i think there is no question that "the best action game ever" (phantom pain) will be Giant bombs goty 2015.

Other games that will be in contention for the top 10 is Ori and the Blind Forest, Just Cause 3 & Mortal Kombat X. We shouldn't forget Dying Light, Kerbal Space Program, Until Dawn, Heroes of the Storm, Star Wars: Battlefront, Her Story, Rock Band 4 and PoE that might sneak in. Probably the GOTY will be Firewatch though..

Man this thing is like Christmas. It comes earlier every year lol.

I haven't played any new releases this year apart from Xenoblade Chronicles 3DS and Majoras Mask which doesn't really count.

If I had to go by the usual "gut feel" as I do every damn year because I never play more than like 2 or 3 new release games in a year I'd go with Metal Gear V, Splatoon, Mario Maker, Axiom Verge, and Witcher 3 being in my own list.

Contradiction: Spot the Liar will make it into the top 10, Jenks best new character.

1. Phantom Pain
2. Mario Maker
3. Just Cause 3
4. Witcher 3
5. Splatoon

That'll be the top 5 this year. I promise you. If I'm wrong, I'll eat a fucking shoe.

It will be all the games you expect; basically, a big list of group-think.

It's hard to imagine Fallout 4 not getting in the Top 5. Bethesda can't screw it up so badly.

As for the absolute best... I think it'll fall between Super Mario Maker and MGS5. Both games are brimming with innovation and new approaches to tried and true formulas. Everyone has absolutely loved those two games. The Witcher 3 was well liked, but I feel the discussion dried up pretty quickly. And I can't see Bloodborne getting much support from anyone besides Brad.

@babychoochoo: i find it very unlikely that Witcher or Splatoon will be in top 5 so i hope you got tasty shoes. The enthusiasm for those games simply aint shared by the whole crew. The only way for those games to end up high is if someone takes it personal but i feel its other games that will recieve those one off passionrants.

MGS, Witcher, Fallout, Just Cause, Super Mario Maker top 5

@dudeglove: I fantasize about GBEAST doing a Playdate playthrough for Life Is Strange when the last episode comes out. Vinny did briefly say he would like to check it out during last E3's SQUEENIX conference.

The Witcher 3 won't even be a contender. There are still important games on the way - Fallout 4, Rock Band 4 and Just Cause 3 most notably, and the crew has already heaped praise on Splatoon, Rocket League, Mario Maker and Bloodborne - I bet that they're all liable to overtake TW3 on the list. I'll honestly be surprised if it's in the top 5.

Here's hoping that Contradiction: Spot the Liar makes it into the top 10, possibly eclipsing The Witcher 3 if it has to. Vinny seems to be the only person on staff who's truly invested in The Witcher, and I have no doubt that he'll choose the right side. Austin and Alex will be right there with him. Assuming that Jeff doesn't shoot the idea down instantly by dismissing the game as "dumb", which is very possible.

I was more going for games actually released so far rather than future games people expect to be popular amongst giantbomb. But Bloodborne (much to my chagrin), I feel is a possibility. I don't feel destiny is a contender as it's an expansion and expansions, in the past have not rated too well, Until Dawn and Contradiction;they were fun for video features but I don't feel like they can get to far as games on their own (too much camp/shlock on the story front to rate considering they are primarily story forward games). Kerbal, Ori and MKX had too many problems according to the giantbomb crew to make it to top 10 (especially as I feel kerbal was underwhelming compared to beta expectations, mkx was not as good as mk9 specifically and ori started strong but was met with lacklustre response as more people played it.). I also hope her story doesn't make it. It's a neat idea but the twist and many of the story elements are so cliche that it doesn't deserve any of the hype it gets.

I'll put in Lara Croft: GO, Brad and Dan seem to be really into it and is a improvement on Hitman:GO.

Until Dawn as best horror?

I'm gonna say that Dying Light will be in Brad's list but not in the top ten.

I'm gonna say that only real competitor MGSV has for number one at this point is Fallout 4.

Witcher III will be top ten but not top five.

I think Until Dawn will make a surprise appearance.

And Persona 5 might happen but will miss the deliberations?

@whopper1631: Lara Croft Go is a good addition, That and Pacman are possibilities but I think both will fall short. (I think lara croft is a great game and would be deserving I just don't think it will get enough overall support to make the top 10)

These are the games I think will be serious contenders for a spot in the top 10:

Lots of love from most of the crew:
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Witcher 3
Bloodborne
Super Mario Maker
Rocket League
Just Cause 3

Positively received games that are really advocated by a few GB members:
Dying Light (Brad)
Grow Home (Brad)
Ori and the Blind Forest (Brad)
Axiom Verge (Jeff)
Crypt of the Necrodancer (Brad, Alex)
Galak-Z (Austin)
Westerado (Dan)
Mortal Kombat X (Jeff, Jason)
Splatoon (Alex)
Mario Puzzle and Dragons (Drew)
Her Story (Austin)
Until Dawn (Vinny, maybe Alex + Austin)
Halo 5 (Drew)
Batman: Arkham Knight (Dan)

Dark horses:
Kerbal Space Program: Vinny loves it, but will they even remember it came out this year?
Duck game: They seem to love it, especially dan, but I doubt it's enough to actually get in the top 10.
Contraction: Who really knows with Jenks?
Lara Croft Go: Brad and Dan seem to really like it, but mobile games rarely get in the top 10.
Fallout 4: How much they'll enjoy it is still up in the air obviously. But I think it'll be a strong contender since Jeff and Brad loves the Fallout games in general.
Life is Strange: If they actually play the other episodes.
Cities: Skylines: I doubt anyone will actually play this enough to fight for it, but it could happen.

@dragon_puncher: all of this is solid. Hopefully cities: skylines gets enough recognition but I doubt it will make it. Forgot about mario puzzle and dragons, could factor in a couple of categories but I doubt it makes top 10, Crypt of the Necrodancer and Duck Game were well liked but I doubt they made enough of a splash and I would be very disappointed if life is strange made it (the storytelling is so bad for a game that has little else). I think your top tier is likely, barring just cause 3 which although highly anticipated is not out and not yet able to be judged by the giant bomb crew.

Fallout is the wildcard so far. Witcher and MGSV are the best games created in their respected genres, so it'l be plain stupid for one of them not to take it.

Brad will squeeze in Destiny in there even though it should not be eligible. Same with dota 2.

Unless Fallout 4 is mind blowing, it will be MGSV:TPP. Dan and Brad like that and they can't be reasoned with.

I wonder what the consensus net-wide will be.

The witcher 3 is one of those games where if you play it now, or got past the controler issues, you could come away with a dramatically positive experience with only a few hours of play. The content in that game was good/great from start to finish, more or less.

MGS5 though? Like I wonder how many people are in the "uh that series sucks/I hated 4/the sniper is a dead-no" or in my case, a fan of the series, ok with the content but..I've gotten to mission 14 and so far..the only real exciting thing was the opening. "Lets build a base and take on merc work!" is so not a driving factor story wise and "but it gets good 10+ hours in i swear!" is hard to sell on a lot of people if the game-play is not your thing (and not everyone is into 'stealth is required" gameplay.

Fall out 4 isn't even here so, it might all be moot. I mean for all we know its got the plot, characters and choice of the witcher 3, the detailed world, and plays like your very best possible first and third and pause based action game..and is hands down the best game. Ok, assuming its just 'Fo3" good, your still likely to have it be the winner for a lot of people if only cause its Fallout 4. Just see how many people are already including it in discussion here (me included) with no game to play.

Quoting this to remind me come GOTY podcast.

@xavtron:

Normally I would agree, but Jeff (and I'm pretty sure Dan as well) have already played and loved it. Everybody really liked Just Cause 2 and in general it's just a game that's totally right up GB's alley.

So I feel like something really has to go wrong with Just Cause 3 for it not to break into the top 10, let alone top 3.

I don't think Heroes of the Storm can make a general list but I hope Dan spends more time with it once he's done with MGSV. Personally it'll be my GOTY looks like but I understand it isn't everybody's.

@babychoochoo: I think it is positively nuts to say that you know the top 5 for a GOTY list in September when Fallout and Just Cause haven't even been released yet. Also, dismissing Rocket League seems insane considering that literally the entire GB staff loved it.

All I know is that at this point in time the only possible winner is MGSV. Every game that has come out already is going to be ranked below MGSV. This means that the only games which could possibly dethrone it have yet to be released. Pretenders to the crown include Fallout 4 and JC3 (although JC3 is going to be tricky because it comes out at the very end of the year).

If I am somehow wrong about this (and I very much doubt it) then the one game that came out before MGSV which could possibly dethrone it is Rocket League.

What a fucking great year

Just Cause , Fallout, Metal Gear, the best WItcher game ever!

Like woah... games guys, the bigs ones still exist and are still awesome. And that's not even counting the indie games of which there are a BILLION, and many are fantastic.

Never doubt the power of a new Fallout. Remember how Fallout 3 was like the most talked about game for like 2 years afterwards as Ryan and others went back to play the DLC and whatnot? It could happen again, especially in a world where we have 2 hour destiny DLC quicklooks and that game is no good except for those who have a loot fetish.

Witcher 3 will probably be my GOTY but I don't think it's a contender to win Giantbomb's GOTY.

Is there a single person on the staff who prefers Witcher 3 over MGSV? Maybe Vinny, who didnt play a second of the Witcher after the prologue?

The three biggest advocates for the Witcher are probably Brad, Dan and Jason. And I'm pretty sure that all of them like MGS more. I don't even think any of them have played Witcher to completion.

@hassun: yeah, I agree. If they voted today, MGS wins and Rocket league is probably second.

It doesn't get good 10 hours in, it gets good 1.5 hours in when you rescue Miller. If you're not into it by that time, you're not into it. I think it's a shoe-in for GOTY at this moment. Fallout 4 may be a contender, as can Just Cause 3, if everything works out.

Don't think they'll go with Witcher for top 5, it may be knocked off the top 5 by Fallout 4 and, let's say, Rocket League, or another smaller game that the guys want to reward. I'm betting no. 5 or 6 for The Witcher 3. JC is a wildcard really, and Splatoon will be in top 10, but I'm gonna say around the 8th or 7th position.

This year is kinda nuts you guys.

GTA V will be eligible for best graphics for the third year in a row, somehow! :P

Rocket League will be in the top 5 for sure. Interested in how Fallout 4 or Tomb Raider turns out.

MGS V will almost assuredly win Game of the Year.

My early guesses for top 10 inclusion are MGS V, Mario Maker, Just Cause 3, Fallout 4, Rocket League, Splatoon, Bloodborne, Witcher 3, and Axiom Verge. I have a feeling Until Dawn gets there or just misses making top 10. The biggest wild card is Persona 5, which has no release date still and who knows if the crew will have enough time to play much of it.

Top 3 feels like it will end up MGS V, Just Cause 3, and a battle between Rocket League and Mario Maker.

Potential shockers: Witcher 3 will be between 8-10 and might be up for discussion of not even making it. While a lot of the guys like it, nobody really seems to love it. Bloodborne ends up on the edge of being cut. Remember, no Souls game has made top 10 to date.

Few other predictions:

Best Graphics and Best Soundtrack: Ori (especially Best Graphics. I can't see Ori losing that one.)

Best New Character: Jenks from Contradiction with D. Dog as a runner-up

Best Horror Game: Until Dawn

Game that makes the community's top 10 list but doesn't make the crew's list: Life is Strange

MGSV, or Fallout 4 at 1#. I think Persona 5 could've been a winner, or runner-up but there's no way they'll finish it before GOTY awards.

I can't see the discussion taking a serious turn toward anything apart from Metal Gear and Mario Maker. Both feel like accomplishments of an echelon above something like The Witcher.

I think you'll see Witcher, Fallout, Bloodborne in that order on the top ten list--though, I think there's a serious chance Bloodborne might not even make it. This year has, until now, been quietly one of the best years in recent memory. Between some of the more interesting indie game entries (Titan Souls, Axiom Verge), the feel good hits of the summer (Rocket League), and some of the potential movers and shakers still on the way, there are a lot of games jousting for ten spots.

Im suprised noone mentions Batman. Is that game really so universaly hated? I Really enjoyed that game and i even played it on PC.

@cav829:Dont forget Peter Stormare as Best new character!

He only gets to squeeze in one game and yeh he will probably manage to get the taken king on p10.

I'm expecting that one of my favorites, Cities Skylines, will be forgotten in GOTY considerations. Or mentioned briefly before moving on to real contenders. Too many big games this year for a city building sim to make it anywhere near the top 10. And I can't really think of any specialty categories where it'd fit.

I'm sure Mario Maker will fare better. It's a 5-star game. Only thing holding it back from the top 10: how many people on staff actually played it?

Fallout 4 is sure to be up there. Even without having played the game, it's hard to imagine a scenario where it's not in the top 10. Plus it's releasing in November, so it'll be fresh in everyone's minds.

Of everything that's been released so far I think MGSV (Since everyone on staff seems to love it) takes it hands down, though with Mario Maker in top 3 . I think Witcher, Splatoon and Rocket League make the top ten.

I really hope Kerbal and Cities: Skylines get some love during the deliberations. I'd hope for them to be in the overall top 10, but this year seems unusually full of contenders. I can see Until Dawn and Contradiction on some of the personal lists, but not the site's overall top 10.

But gosh, 2015 is turning out to be a bang-up year for games. Is it still too early to put it up on the shelf alongside '97, '98, '07, and '11?

All i know is that like every year before it Forza will be not mentioned :(

Some of the biggest games still haven't come out yet so a bit to early for me to predict. Rare Replay contains Viva Pinata 2 and Banjo Nuts and Bolts so really that should win everything.

@rethla said:

Gosh. There's a possibility that this could actually happen, even though it's an expansion. Brad. Come on, man.