I can't wait for this year's GOTY deliberations

The #1 spot is gonna be a slugfest that puts 2011 to shame. Both MGSV and Mario Maker have created so much memorable content for the site...AND FALLOUT 4 AND JUST CAUSE 3 STILL AREN'T OUT. I'M SO HYPE ALREADY.

Even though I don't care about it at all I felt pretty certain MGSV was going to take the top spot, but recent events around Mario Maker are giving it a real shot. When is the last time a game gave the same feeling MM is giving the crew, doubly so with the "competition" with Patrick.

@westernwizard: I also wonder if some of the staff will commend MGS5 for its gameplay, but condemn its lackluster story and characters (by MGS standards).

Game that win are often "the complete package", and at the very least Brad didn't much care for MGS5's story.

I feel confident that the top ten will feature MGSV, Fallout 4, Mario Maker, Bloodborne, Witcher III, Just Cause 3, and Undertale. Not in that order, but I think those will all be contenders.

@iburningstar: The wicher 3 has no chance with that crowd. It's definitely the best game this year for me but not for the crew. It might make it into the top 10 by some miracle but nowhere near #1

Mordor won last year, and I think most people would argue that the story in that game was largely forgettable. Granted it was also a fairly weak year compared to 2015. Skyrim also had some significant issues that were offset by its amazing open world, so I'm not sure I would fully agree with the complete package games winning. That being said I have a gut feeling that Mario Maker is gonna take it. The entire staff played MGSV hard for a couple weeks, and then everyone dropped it. Mario Maker on the other hand...I can't remember the last time that Jeff was so enamored with a recent release. And the awesome thing is the more they play it, the more they love it. With MGSV I think everyone was getting tired of the gameplay near the end, except for maybe Dan.

I'm just really curious to see what everyone's top ten lists are. Hopefully Patrick comes back for the deliberations.

I can't wait. This year has been amazing and I still have a lot of the big games this year to try. It is a little frustrating to know that Witcher 3 has no shot at #1 on their list, but that's cool. It's for sure #1 on mine right now.

They all seem to like it and respect the game. Someone just has to champion it.

The Witcher 2 made the top... 6?... in 2011 because Patrick fought for it. Vinny could have fought for Dark Souls, but I recall him not thinking it would be an easy sell. It's been 4 years. I could be wrong on that part.

Both of those games only had one person play them, and most of the staff has played The Witcher 3. I'd be surprised if it didn't get Top 5.

At the very least, you can say that there will be a top 10 list this year. Last year was pretty bad and Destiny being voted most disappointing game while still taking the 10th spot because Brad can filibuster all day long.

Deja vu? Maybe 4th goty thread in a row, with the same arguments about witcher 3 is funny . I am not trying to dismiss or anything but it is a bit funny.

I fon't think we can dismiss Itcher 3 so wuickly. The crew was loving the game when it came out. Most of the arguments against it was the control of movement. But even so, it was one of the games that everyone was talking about Bombcast after Bombcast. After the movement control was patched, some of the guys said that fixed the only thing keeping them from loving thr game, if I recall correctly. It's just been such a strong year that I think the strong later releases will overshadow the memories of the older ones.

Really The Witcher 3 should be vying for that top spot but there's no one on the staff who seems like they'll take up the cause. Normally that would be Vinny but he hasn't seemed to have the time to delve into it and the rest at this point are trying to finish it out of obligation. I bet it will find a space somewhere on the top ten though.

Will be interesting to see how the dichotomy between East & West plays out, I imagine the guys in New York will come in with a slightly different take on some things. The wildcard that is Young Austin Walker must also be considered.

I think most of all, I'm excited to see what Austin will bring to the discussions. I think he's intelligent and quick-witted enough to create major shifts in the voting. We might see Undertale go farther than we all expect.

It's also important to remember that Bloodborne was this year as well. It won't take number one or anything, but it is an easy game to forget.

@ichthy: me too it's gunna be great. Especially to hear somebody fight for undertale, which I think they might. The end of the year is my favorite time of year and the content on this site around that time is soo goddamn good.

Has ANYONE on the crew actually finished The Witcher 3? I hope Hearts of Stone reminds them to pick it up again (Dan seems like the most likely candidate, hopefully also Austin if he hasn't finished it, I don't recall if they've ever talked about it on the Beastcast). Then it might actually stand a chance being in fresh memory.

Also I'm going to throw a potential wildcard out there, I'm convinced that Alex will love Woolly World (that game is really, really good) and if he fights hard enough for it, it might make the top 10 (though its equally likely that he will throw it under the bus in exchange for Splatoon on the top 10).

Witcher 3 doesn't stand a chance at the #1 spot, because even with all the fixes I don't think any one of them could say "I enjoyed the gameplay in this game more than I did in MGSV and Mario Maker". All it has going for it that could knock the other competitors down with is the writing, and they already have a separate award for "Best Story".

Mario Maker might take it purely because it'll have everyone on staff championing it, whereas nobody at GBE got into MGSV in any meaningful way.

(Fallout 4 won't even make the top 5 because it will be a broken mess at launch, like all Bethesda games, and they won't be able to fix it in the month before the GOTY talks happen)

Mario Maker is one of the most important games ever put out. So should win!

You know it's a good year when the Witcher 3 is your dark horse candidate for GOTY.

I know its weird, but I want to see where Batman, Dying Light and Mad Max figure into this years discussions

I'm calling it now, Mario Maker takes it. I don't see anyone but Dan maybe putting any more time into MGS5 but Mario Maker is still gonna be a thing especially with this Dan/Trick rivalry spinning up. Another game could take the spot like Fallout but if it's down to those two it'll be Mario. This year's GOTY is gonna be great.

I'll probably just be yelling when Xenoblade doesn't win for Best Music because none of them have even touched Xenoblade for more than maybe an hour, but yeah this year's should be good.