Giant Bombcast Game of the Year 2017: Best Game

A lot of the crew really need to work on elaborating on their points. There were a lot "it's very good/the story is deep/the gameplay is awesome" comments that just felt like going in circles. Give some concrete examples. (And BTW this isn't a jab specifically at Abby, who has been receiving a lot of flak. Everyone on the crew was doing this.)

Alex did a great job. He and I like very different games. I played, beat, and ended up thinking Nier was mediocre at best. I refunded Pyre within 2 hours. I hate wrestling games. But he always did a good job of explaining why the games in question meant a lot to him. For example, he openly acknowledged Nier's flaws while still explaining why he felt it was special. Even though it doesn't even crack my personal top 10, it was still a joy listening to why he liked it.

All in all, my gaming tastes have become pretty different from GB's. The only games on their list that make my personal list are BotW and Zelda. The other games I either haven't played (PUBG, Wolf2, NitW, Dream Daddy) or didn't like as much as the crew (Cuphead, Nier, Destiny 2)

@patchmaster: Completely agree. Repetitive use of empty praise this year was quite awful. People need to back up their claims. I remember in a Beastcast where Austin said he hated using the word “interesting” for how unproductive it is. I miss him so much for his eloquence.

Having read all the comments (not the deleted ones), shout out to @sethmode and @orion1189 for more or less reconciling the opposite sides in this discussion. That conversation was interesting to read and I feel my personal opinion was reflected in both views. It's the reason I never give up on comment sections. It might take some time, but there's almost always a good discussion in there somewhere. Respect to both of you for finding a way.

Worse GOTY I have heard in 7 years. Unbearable at some points too. Had to stop for many times.

Hope something changes for next year.

Ben is the star in these debates. His views are well articulated throughout, and his criticism and praises often hit with real impact. Well done, sir.

@damonkey64: wow, this would actually be cool as shit, and almost certainly lead to better discussions. Not sure it's practical, but it's a great idea.

@chrisflavin: No, then it's still eleventh. Mario and PUBG are in the same slot "Tied first and second".

Overall I still enjoyed this year's podcasts, despite agreeing with a lot of the criticism here (I'm glad I didn't see some of the criticism that has already been removed). Dan was on best-ever form throughout I thought, and Jan stepping in for some of the hardest content to manage did a great job (props to Jason for his handling of the Music category, too).

Listened to this on the podcast, and now jumped in to check out what the video looks like. The death march aspect of this process is a lot clearer when you can see their faces.

I like the idea of a podcast specifically discussing the best games of the year, but I really wish the time was spent making more fun holiday videos instead. A good meaty 3-4 hour less formal podcast talking about the best games of the year and then a handful of additional videos just feels like a better use of time.

The holiday videos with the full crew always make me feel happy and laugh, and these get kinda frustrating. Just an opinion - I know there are a lot of people who dig GOTY.

I have been on Team Abby since she joined GB, but man did she drive me up the wall over the course of this six hours

So I just listened to the whole thing and I get some of their arguments against Horizon. I think it's phenomenal, but I get that Jeff lost his passion and no once else loves it as much. That being said I am kind of shocked of how quickly Persona 5 and Yakuza 0 dropped, not to mention Resident Evil 7 not getting any recognition for everything it did to the franchise.

Now for the actual list. Not sure why Destiny 2 is getting a pass considering all their awful practices post-launch and how it managed to usurp Wolfenstein 2 which I found to be a much more gratifying experience. Yes, Destiny is fun to play with friends, but I had a similar experience with Destiny 1, Wolfentein's moments will be engraved in my memory forever.

I also respect that PUBG did a lot in 2017, but to say it is the best game of that year when they are people clearly not a big fan of it seem odd. Then again it's the case with every game this year. Jeff didn't like Zelda and others didn't like Nier. Mario would've been a safe #1 as Vinny stated due to attrition, being the "least bad game", but even then I think its high points were highly regarded and its only real criticism is not being "Revolutionary enough" like the top 3. I don't know, felt odd.

As for Tekken 7, as a big Tekken fan, am I the only one who was disappointed in it? The story mode was not exactly good, especially when you take into account the Shin Akuma boss (optional but probably one of the worst bosses in fighting game history), the lack of staple Tekken modes (TEAM BATTLE, HELLO?!), and the environments not having as much character as the last 3 games. They look good, but I barely remember the "look" of Tekken 7. It's kind of funny to me how Injustice's story was regarded as silly yet I think when it comes to production values and execution, it trounces Tekken. Tekken has the better fighting engine, but Injustice's combat is really fun as well.

Lastly, Dream Daddy. Really? Of all games in 2017, Dream Daddy. I still don't get the hubbub about this one. I saw people play it on streams and to me, despite some cute moments like the Pokemon riff, it just doesn't stand out. I am with Dan, I like games to play for fun and be excited, not so much for the story or feel philosophical about it, which maybe why those adventure games never made for someone like me. I can totally see Night in the Woods being there because I do think the writing in that game is superb, but I wish other games got a chance to shine.

Honestly though, this is just a list made by people and it's all subjective. At the end of the day as I was playing stuff and listening to it in the background I had fun. I am not mad at the results (maybe bitter about PUBG winning in what may be the best year of video games in the 2010's), but it's just a list. I had fun, Giant Bomb, thank you.

We are not leaving this room

Some really solid conversations in this one as to the positives, negatives and personal takes on a lot of different games. For me this isn't so much about a list; it's about the journey and this, much like many other years, has been a great way of seeing the personal culminations of what makes 2017 an amazing year in gaming.

Solid contribution all round and here's to another wonderful year in gaming!

Edit: Yo Abby I am loving that watch!

I finally got around to seeing all the best game of the year picks from all the other sites I wanted so I thought I'd pop back in again to see if this list was as bad as I remember it being. Sadly it is, I think this might be my most disappointing list of the bunch.

And considering how much I've liked all the previous game of the year stuff it just kinda sucks you know.

I've just finished GOTY stuff (23/01/2018) and I don't agree with all the choices but I don't have to - this is a democracy of subjective opinions and the most important thing to appreciate is just how much all the staff members feel passionately about their favourites. This is even more remarkable when you consider that Giant Bomb isn't really a gaming website, rather a personality driven product. I'm so happy they still love their games!

I found the treatment of Abby and her opinions objectionable on every episode of GOTY discussions, but this one was egregious. The only only woman employed by GB expresses her discomfort over pervasive sexism in Nier, and some of the men go on to claim that was not their experience... yes, exactly! Listen to a woman on this issue. I pondered inquiring how to cancel my premium subscription after listing to this content. I'm profoundly embarrassed my money was part of bringing this conversation into the world.

Yes, I agree. I think she will grow over time (like all the other members have).

Part of being in the public is that you will be exposed to criticism. If done correctly it will help one grow and become better. I have not seen any 'sexist, or abusive comments towards her' (on page 4 of this thread so far)

The GB community is a great community (not perfect but what is). People here calling other 'sexist' just because they express a critique towards a member is what derails the criticism and reduces it over interpreted accusations.

The truly sexist and abusive trash is reserved for the YouTube and Reddit comments. Fortunately, people here are, for the most part, able to express criticism constructively and without resorting to that kind of nonsense.

Man this list & discussion were terrible. Just really, really bad.

I personally don't care about half the games on the list, but GOTY is a completely arbitrary and almost meaningless thing at the end of the day. The GB crew has every right to put whatever games they want onto the list and it's still valid. GOTY is a chance to look back at the year and talk about it in depth. I honestly feel that the actual list-making aspect of it is the worst part of GOTY discussions. I love looking back, but I am someone with some severe anxiety problems who avoids conflict at all costs; I can't actually listen to or watch the deliberations because the contentious and argumentative nature of it stresses me out so bad that I have to take my anxiety meds after a while.

I would love to have some roundtable discussions about games in an end of the year context without the "list" aspect involved as a catalyst for conflict. I know it'll never happen, but I can dream.

Personally, I would rather each member discuss their individual top ten with the rest of the team. Hearing each member's thoughts and feelings about the games is what is interesting. The passion behind why they enjoyed one game more than another can be there. What resonated, what didn't, what made an 'impact', what didn't. This is very individual.

The repetition and attrition during the rankings is more frustrating than anything. Occasionally, a half-baked opinion will be called, empty arguments repeated. I don't think there are any winners here :) Trying to rank a list when a member hasn't even really played the game seems even more pointless, especially when this 'debate' is taken is taken so seriously by the team. Nitpicking, comparing apples to oranges (eg. yakuza 0 to dream daddy), potentially disrespectful remarks... ultimately futile.

Anyway, just my opinion. I gave up on these podcasts early on, but just caught up with the weekly podcasts so let this GOTY podcast play. It was interesting seeing who saw the futility first. Get your voice out there and get home for dinner. Anyway, took me back to my youth when my dad had talkback radio on in the car. Had to get home and call in.

It's April 2018 & just wanted to pop in to tell anyone going through this content for the first time that the best game of 2017 is definitely not PUBG, not by a long shot.

Go listen or watch any other discussion for a better picture of the best games of 2017.

I'm just here to read what all the fuss is about after the PAX reference. As usual, it's just people taking a website's PERSONAL top 10 list... well... personally.

PUGB game (fad) of year 2017. Now with file lawsuit action.

@paul_tillich: Because it's an odd thing to get hung up on, given the context of that game's story and the character's being Androids. It's also a weird double standard, since Abby has no problem with the fan service of the men in Dream Daddy.

Nier was robbed

Cuphead should have been higher

I love these videos. I LIVE FOR THIS!

@rocketraccooncmro: damn, i'm starting to reach to that point now. as we're getting closer to GOTY 2018 and dan recently ripping on RDR 2 on the beastcast lol. Hope the others have atleast finished the other big games of the year. <looking at brad>

Oh yeah... PUBG won over Nier and Zelda. That decision has not aged well. Ron had a point.