hermes

I choose "none of the above", because to me the most important would be that the ending is "consistent".

A game that takes a 180 at the last minute to deliver an ending with a tone that doesn't match the rest of its tone feels cheap (looking at you, MGS4).

Just going to mention a couple that were not mentioned as much here:

The ending of Final Fantasy X: I know its melodrama, and quite predictable if you have been paying attention at the plot, but damn me if it didn't hit hard.

The ending of Okami: One of the few times I tear up for a game, even when it wasn't sad tears. The ending is not sad, in fact its pretty joyful, but coupled with the incredible music, the credit sequence delivered quite an emotional punch.

KI, no doubt about it.

It was one of the first games I remember to justify having a soundtrack disc, which got used almost as much as the game itself (the Sabrewulf theme was the go-to soundtrack of Halloween themed decorations for decades)

1) Tinykin

2) SOMA

Elden Ring is the main candidate. Not only its a good, big, successful game, but also because this was a year with very, very little big-games presence. It seems to be a result of the pandemic but, regardless, the AAA space was a wasteland for 2/3 of the year. Now (November) it seems to get a little more normal, but for months, the only AAA game in the zeitgeist was Elden Ring. It sure didn't help that most other big games were console exclusives to hardware that is still hard and expensive to access.

The only games that could compete with it are indie games, which is almost cruel as comparison due to sheer scope. It won't be my game of the year (tried to buy it a couple times, but it seems my setup doesn't gel with their anticheat software, and they haven't patched it), but it seems disingenuous to argue Beacon Pines, Vampire Survivor or Trombone Champ bring as much to the table as Elden Ring.

MGS Revengeance is the best Metal Gear Solid game. You chose to see it as a negative or positive take.

Rockstar games suck, in general. The ones that work best would be better if their weren't open world games, as designing missions around it actually makes them more boring to play. Saints Row (pre Gat out of Hell) is better that anything GTA...

1. Inside
2. Tinkin
3. Coffee Talk

As others have said, it became part of a formula (in Modern Warfare 3 they bomb Paris, in Advanced Warfare they kill your character and make you go to the funeral), to the point the games are no longer lauded for their realism and grittiness, but mocked for their emotional manipulation and cheap shock value. After the bomb scene in COD4, every game has been trying to one up themselves to a point is seems ludicrous...

Not to mention that it has been done better by a lot of other games.

My personal favorite is Tekken, due to the slow and weighty movement of most of the roster.

Also, Street Fighter, because I am old, I enjoy the classics, and I bathe in nostalgia.