Games you think will come up at Game of the Year discussions?

Hey all. I have recently been able to come into some money, and i'm curious what games are crucial to play if i wanted to feel engaged in the Giantbomb GOTY discussions. Any ideas?

I know the obvious ones of Metal Gear Solid V, Mario Maker, and Undertale, but what else?

Arkham Knight, Destiny, Halo 5, Need for speed. Don't bother with Witcher 3

No witcher 3? You think it won't be discussed this year due to most people not finishing it?

@enragedstump: If Undertale is going to be discussed then I assume Axiom Verge will be discussed too, maaaaybe Until Dawn/Life is Strange ?

MGSV, and Fallout 4. Maybe Undertale if the rest of the crew gets around to it.

Unless they turn out to be hot piles of trash, Fallout 4 and Just Cause 3 are both possible contenders.

Witcher 3, MGSV, Undertale, Fallout 4.

@enragedstump: I just think it will be cut very fast when deliberations come for top 10. It's not a game that speaks to GB crew. It is not their cup of tea. I could be wrong.

Destiny came out last year.

Unless Brad seriously tries to claim that Taken King is a new game that they should consider eligible, which would really suck. After the fiasco last year, I don't think I could handle it.

@xerseslives: Just imagine this "It's like totally new game, completely changes the experience" with Brads voice. I was just joking, but I would not be surprised, it's Brad and this is giantbomb.com.

@xerseslives: Expansions are excluded from GOTY?

Has one ever been considered before? I honestly don't remember, but I was under the impression that Game of the Year would imply a full game that was released in the calender year of 2015, excluding expansions or re-releases.

• Metal Gear Solid V
• Mario Maker
• Fallout 4
• Just Cause 3
• The Witcher 3
• Destiny: The Taken King
• UnderTale
• Axiom Verge
• Ori & The Blind Forest
• Until Dawn
• Cradle
• Dying Light
• Her Story

Shaq Fu.

I'd say Super Mario Maker, MGSV, and Undertale for sure. Maybe Mortal Kombat X, Bloodborne, or Cities Skylines? Oh yeah, and Rocket League.

The crew seemed pretty down on MKX I would be surprised if it got more than token talk in the GOTY discussions this year.

How can one forget the Minerva's Den Argument of 2010?

While they are probably excluded from being crowned Game of the Year, they do get brought up in the peripheral awards during the whole Game of the Year proceedings

Don't worry, you can still play other released games that you liked, even if The Taken King would be claimed as GOTY 2015. They'd also keep releasing new games even after that happened. You'll also be able to just ignore Destiny, whatever's the case.

My apologies if that sounds offensive, I've really tried to keep myself away from GOTY discussions when it comes to Giant Bomb, but sometimes I just can't. I can understand voicing out some negativity over a game that people didn't like, picking up the winning prize, but some people go INSANE when the duders pick up a "wrong" game as the winner. It's just their opinion. It probably won't turn everyone into Destiny players, for example.

@glottery: I don't know if you were just using me as an example for other people that have frustrated you or what, but you really misread my intention.

It's not about picking the "wrong" game, to me. If that were the case, I'd be way more bummed about how Bayonetta 2 got shafted last year. I'm not exactly a Destiny fan, no, but it's hard to argue that it doesn't get overcovered here, especially in light of other, equally deserving games. (Since it's one of the three games that Brad seems to have any passion for, it gets talked about on just about every Bombcast.) Last year in particular was pretty egregious because the guys spent a considerable amount of time talking about what a shitshow the game was, it won most disappointing, but then made it on the top ten because of Brad filibustering.

Suspecting that he may do so again this year isn't exactly an irrational fear, and to use your own logic, people having an issue with that won't invalidate your enjoyment of Destiny either.

Did sound a bit snippy, but i agree to an extent. The Taken King should not be considered for Game of the Year top 10 because Destiny did not come out this year. But hey Brad tends to have his 1 token game every year (2013 Dota2, 2014 Destiny)

Rocket League and Contradiction!

@glottery: But it's fun!! I mean for how long we listened to those dudes? It is just super hard not to care when they talk about someting we like/dislike. If we would not care of their opinions then what is the point of listening for those dudes? Like I said, it is fun to be invested in goty talks and all that jazz.

Sorry about that then. I guess I should say that it's not a big problem to me, even if I did type out my opinion...and yeah, like @edgaras1103 said, it doesn't really matter in the end as long as someone won't burn their office down for picking MGS V over Witcher 3 or whatever! I can also even admit myself going "Oh man, what are you even saying..." several times at some of their opinions earlier this year...when I was listening to GOTY discussions from several years ago!

This is a good start but I would also add Bloodborne, Rocket League, Splatoon, Halo 5, and Kerbal Space Program as things that may come up.

Also, Life is Strange may come up in Best Story and Tony Hawk 4 is a lock for worst game.

I suspect that Taken King will absolutely be considered unless they have a specific DLC category.

EDIT: Oops, meant Halo 5, not Halo 4

I hope SOMA ends up in their top 10.

Witcher 3 *chortle*

Splatoon! Don't forget about Splatoon if you have a Wii U!

Bloodborne

Rocket League

Fallout 4

Witcher 3 will absolutely be brought up at GOTY. Now I'm not saying it wins but it's going to be brought up.

Grow Home

Until Dawn may come up

Fallout 4

Dying Light

If you're following the site from now onwards you should be getting the reaction about Halo 5, Just Cause 3, Black Ops 3 and Star Wars Battlefront to know the Bomb crew's reactions to them.

Rocket League should be there they did 2 long videos on it.

I think Vinny will make a case for Cradle this year, like he did for The Fall last year.

They will have significant discussion on the Witcher 3 whether or not it wins anything, they all played it.

Life is Strange should be there IF they even get around to playing it which I doubt :(

What will their skits be like this year though? That's what I'm hyped for.

Some more that may turn up..

• GTA V (PC) - maybe?
• Lara Croft: GO
• Rare Replay
• Galak-Z
• Puzzle and Dragons: Mario Bros.Edition
• Wolfenstien: The Old Blood
• Elite:Dangerous (came out too late for last year's deliberations)
• #IDARB
• Crypt of the Necrodancer
• Box Boy

and also...

• Tony Hawk 5
• Shred!
• Raven's Cry
• Rory McElroy PGA Tour
• Hatred
• Sky Battles

Basically, you may want to put aside some of that money you came into to purchase a time machine if you want to complete all the games they are going to probably talk about in time.

Witcher is sliding further down the list as they all seem to can't find time to play it. There will still be discussion about it and I have not doubt it will make the top 10, but I think it's slipping from Top 3 to Top 5 to Top 6-10 based on how they've discussed it over the course of the year. Obviously there are not enough cool guy action moments for Dan, and Brad only has time for Destiny. In all seriousness, the year is pretty much wrapping up with Fallout and Just Cause, and by the time they've gone through those it will be high time for production to start on their GOTY stuff. I expect to hear about AC: Syndicate as well, Alex seemed to not hate it.

There was just another thread about GOTY contenders recently and a pretty good list of games there too.

Don't think there has ever been a game that has been so high up with the giant bomb staff as MGS V it will most definitely win game of the year, kida wish there was some one on staff that was not so high on it so they can have a bit if a discussion about it but everyone loves it.

But going with the other 9 I am excited to see what they pick, will Witcher 3 make the top 5 and what about my game of the year so far Bloodborne? And Mario maker, Rocket League it's probbly going to be the most interesting Top 10 talks GB ever had.

Dan is already prepping for a Witcher 3 vs. Metal Gear fight.

From what i've heard Brad is reaaaally not a fan of the story and same with Jason, so i could see something like Mario Maker (or maybe one of the games yet to come out) winning GOTY

I don't see that happening. I imagine Witcher will end up in the top ten, but there's no way it's a serious contender for the top spot here. I think you mean that Dan is prepping for a Metal Gear vs anything fight.

@edgaras1103: I fully expect Brad to try (and succeed) at getting Destiny the "2015's 2014 GOTY" award. Not that I even know what the competition for that would be, seeing as no 2014 games other than Destiny had very good support/DLC in 2015.

The internal fight of mario maker vs mgs5

Talos Principle? That came out very late last year. Also, the expansion that came out this year is pretty good. I don't think any of them have played it though...

@enragedstump: that's cool I also was not a fan of the story will ne nice to have someone on my side, I really get into GB game of they year talks and will get angry (I a good way) if they all just unanimously picked MGS 5 for GOTY. I am ok with it winning just want talks for it not to win. Wish Ryan was still with us he always was so into this shit.

I'm hoping certain contingents will make a push for Her Story and The Beginner's Guide. Also Tales from the Borderlands is a real banger although I don't know if any GB staffers have actually played it.

This. There is more of a chance of Witcher 3 outright not making top 10 than it competing for the top spot. The top spot at this point is a question of if the post-launch Konami b.s. was enough to hurt that game with the guys enough for Mario Maker to overcome it. Other than that, it's up to Just Cause 3 and Fallout 4. Witcher 3 won't make top 5 given nobody's really passionate about it, putting it in that dangerous spot of getting cut because 6-10 tend to be the passion games of individual reviewers.

As for what to play prior to GotY and you really want to get through as much as possible, you only really have about 7-8 weeks to play stuff, so I'd avoid timesinks like Witcher 3 and MGS V unless you're going to just play a portion of it so you can bang out a bunch of smaller games. I'd start with heavy story games to avoid spoilers, which would mean:

• Undertale
• Life is Strange
• Tales from the Borderlands
• The Beginner's Guide
• Until Dawn
• Cradle

Then I'd give these a shot given you don't have to sink a ton of time into them to figure out what they are:

• Ori
• Axiom Verge
• Rocket League
• Splatoon
• Mario Maker
• Contradiction - Spot the Liar!
• Cities: Skylines
• Kerbal Space Program
• Mortal Kombat X

Finally, if you have time, dip your toe into these games, but don't wade in too deep or you won't play anything else:

• Bloodborne
• MGS V
• Witcher 3
• Fallout 4
• Just Cause 3 (due to it coming really late)

I'm sure Arkham Knight, the latest Ass Creed, Dying Light, and others will come up, but I don't think you'll even get through most of the above.

Not necessarily in order or anything, but based on the chatter so far, I'd say these games will get heavily mentioned:

1. Metal Gear Solid V
2. Super Mario Maker
3. Rocket League
4. Until Dawn
5. Undertale
6. Just Cause 3
7. Her Story
8. Destiny: The Taken King (sigh)
9. Fallout 4
10. Life is Strange (That is if the GBeast finishes this game before December. They're our only hope.)

This seems pretty spot on. All those games will probably end up in the top 20 and most of them in the top 10.

I'll add to it that if NFS is any use that might end up somewhere along it. Guitar Hero seems to be a breath of fresh air that might wind up there too. Also the Witcher 3 will totally get talked about. The guys might be burned on it now, but it was still a big game. Batman might get a mention if only to say what a shitshow it was.

My one question to people is this. Does Destiny get a place at all? Is it eligible for a place? I can think of arguments as to why it both does and doesn't get to be included in the discussion.

There's a few that might get a mention (but probably not a final selection) based on the coverage I've seen/heard...

Pillars of Eternity... didn't Rorie play that game? Perhaps Austin too? It was as big a deal (in the niche that it exists in) as it could be. It'd be odd to not acknowledge that, especially when compared against Original Sin from last year (which PoE is better than in almost every regard).

Read Only Memories... Jason mentioned it on the Bombcast once but I don't know how far he got with it or if any of the other GB staff got onboard (it'd be a cool 'choose our own adventure' option for Gbeast in the future though...)

Cradle... I think Austin, Drew and Vinny have all completed this so depending on their experience with it, it might get a mention. As things stand it might creep on to the bottom of my personal list at 8,9, or 10.

The idea of not playing Witcher 3 for yourself solely because some dudes on a podcast don't like it is literally insane.

Every game ever made will be touched upon and thoroughly spoiled!

real answer: mgsv, witcher, undertale, super mario maker, arkham knight, fallout 4, just cause are all incredibly safe bets

Destiny seems kind of tricky. In the past they had categories like Best DLC, but those are gone now. The Taken King seems like a new thing, but it's still just an expansion to "Destiny 1" that was released alongside a patch. Yet almost everybody seems to dig it. There is also the Brad Factor where he pushes it on the list through brute force. Then again I can imagine Jeff putting his foot down and saying "This game came out in 2014. If you want to nominate it, it will be under the Old Game of the Year category."

The Witcher 3 seemed like it was a no brainer, but people seemed more bummed about it now. I personally played it for 10 hours earlier this year, but I keep pushing it off. It might just have to wait until 2016.

The idea that Witcher 3 wouldn't be in the top 5, let alone the top 3 is utter insanity to me. It doesn't matter if they didn't find the time to play it, or it's not their cup of tea, that game is an achievement in so many departments, that it not getting it's recognition would be a crime.

Personally i think Witcher needs to at least be in for Best moment/Sequence or best story. You have moments like the Bloody Baron questline, the search for Ciri in skellige, and the end. I don't think it will break top 5 in the top 10 list though.

It's funny hearing so much about the Bloody Baron, even though I don't know the specifics of why people think that game is so great. Incidentally, I think I stopped playing the game right after that quest became available to me. (I was so close!)

For what's it worth, The Witcher 3 was towards the top of my favorite games list of this year, with only 10 hours into it. It's just been falling the longer its been since I played it and the more smaller games I have finished since then.