I like that list way better than the staff one. Yakuza 0, Persona 5 and D:OS2 are a good fit for the top 10. Would switch Horizon with Prey or Night in the Woods, but otherwise it looks great considering I don't really care about what order they're in.
As for the crews ability to argue...I kind of agree with the general consensus. The crew is quite often not making good arguments for or against the games. Vinny does a decent job being more thoughtful in his approach and I think Alex did alright this year. In the end though, they even mentioned how Austin did a great job getting Invisible Inc up the GOTY list back in the day and if you think back, he brought notes.
I think, if they came into the discussions with a bit more preparation, the arguments would be even more interesting. I would actually recommend making notes and bringing them with them (isn't Dan an avid note taker? Where were his notes?) because its easy to forget details that might sway an argument towards you, especially considering the length of these podcasts. Too often the argument degrades into repeating catchphrases, when they should try and express those opinions in a more elaborate way.
All that said though, I don't envy them. I'm super bad at thinking about games in a critical way and would absolutely suck at trying to argue about them in this fashion. I salute them for their sacrifice for my entertainment!
ME:A deserved its spot. It might be better now, but it was hot trash at that point in time. And even without any technical issues, it's still a super bad game with almost no redeeming qualities.
Vinny throwing Yakuza 0 under the bus belongs in the Top 10 Anime Betrayals list. Such a shame. I think choosing Night in the Woods over it, because you want to reward the type of story it tells, is kinda weird - the better story should win, not the one that is perceived to be somehow more novel.
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