Game of the Year 2018: Day Five Deliberations

The last ten minutes of the video were a damn delight. Thanks all.

The new podcast format was great, but I really could barely hear Jason throughout the whole thing. It's been an issue on the bombcast for a while but I felt like it got a lot worse in these videos.

@drachmalius: He didn’t belittle as many games because it was all focused against one game. I agree though that everyone was on top of their game. Ben and Abby made big strides in their debating skills as did Dan. I didn’t know that Jan was gonna participate but he balled as well.

I really appreciate the effort the crew puts into all the goty videos, podcasts, and lists. Here’s to another great year at Giantbomb, home of the pale chub, nobody wins, and being inside Vinny.

This last day got heated in all the best possible ways. I really enjoyed the arguments and the podcasts overall - and for what it's worth, I've got no issues with the final list ;)

Always fun. What a cute ending.

Zeus be fuckin'.

Come 2019; Death Stranding wouldn't even make the most disappointing.

What are you doing, Kojima?!

Also, FO76 is the same garbage fire as MG Survive how is it one of the most disappointing?!

I really like it when Vinny talks and expresses his opinion, he sounds very kind.

I think them putting red dead on disappointing just doesn't make sense dan is the only one who feels strongly about, I think it undermines the opinions of the people who loved it and undermines the awards they did give it because the list is supposed to be representative of the whole sites opinions.

Also I like the length of these podcasts and overall really am enjoying the discussions.

Also great to hear from Jan, though he sounded nervous lol not that I would blame him for it, seems totally understandable. though maybe he wasnt.

Honestly, RDR2 being one of the most disappointing and one of the best games of the year makes me want to play it more.

MGS2 is one my favs of all time but some ppl hate it too. The divisiveness shows its boldness and to me, it’s a good sign when a game is so polarizing.

I liked and mostly hated RDR2. After about 25 hours of game play, I just couldn't do it anymore. Not even the story could push me to continue playing. RDR1 is still my favorite game I've played so far. So no, it's not that strange that it was on the most disappointing.

Overall, nice GOTY deliberations. Some of the games I personally found GOTY worthy weren't even mentioned which I found unfortunate, but I think its kind of funny that Tetris Effect was chosen to avoid them arguing all night over RD2, GOW, and Dead Cells, which would have happened. Like Abby said, the game was the safe choice. They shot her down, but that was one time she was correct.

Alex has steadily impressed me over the years. He seems to grow in ways the others don't often reveal, perhaps he's just more guarded? Anyways, arguing for Tekken 7, and revealing his interest in fighting games prompted by Brads inquisitive mind was a fantastic moment. SOLID MFers. And how about Vinny getting emotional when explaining Florence(may have actually been in a previous video/podcast, it's all a blur)? Good Stuff. And I'm glad they spoke on Rainbow Six Siege with some enthusiasm, another thing that wasn't expected. These are the interesting takes and personal vulnerabilities that make this type of games criticism worth while for a GB vet of many moons. These guys still manage to keep things interesting. Even if Jeff and Brad are somewhat steadfast and predicable in their tastes(which is good in it's own way), they keep evolving as a unit.

Ahh. I've defended your category choices this year all week long in comments and stuff. I think it's time to ditch Most Disappointing. I think it's better than worst game, but this discussion was half Dan's passion (which I thought was mostly ok, except for maybe his biteyness at the end about the process) and 125% ultra-hipster-cynical-critic "I knew this game was trash all along, and I don't know why you didn't and could allow yourself to be duped". Like.. unproductive and almost pointless conversation. You eliminated all sorts of disappointing games that millions of people were looking forward to because you guys were cynical. That's ok, but I gain nothing from this category.

I loved the really positive discussions about Best Moment, I loved the cutthroat argumentation of Best Music and Best Debut. But, I just did not enjoy this category and I did not feel it was anything. I know I'm probably in the minority because we all love dunking on stuff, but man.. eh. I feel like I would have almost preferred Worst Game, even though I think it's also stupid.

LOCKED LOCKED LOCKED!

Love the discussion. Thank you for all the good time this year!

Holy guacamolee, I don't think I was prepared for Most Disappointing game. Also...

[Spoilers for Best Game]

I submitted this for the E3 2018 banner contest for Sony. I am Nostradamus.

Edit: Apparently the Spoiler Blocks don't work on the site redesign? Nevermind.

DAN!!!

Thank you. You fought the good fight.

I don't get why people are surprised about their pick for GotY. I saw the leak a few days ago and knew immediately how and why they would come to that conclusion. They've gotten older, they don't want to argue like they used to back in 2008-2012.

Just take a look at their picks for the past 4 years of GotY. They categorically have always chosen either the most inoffensive game, most ubiquitously decently enjoyed between staff members game, or most streamable game that produced the most content on the site for the year.

Yeah, they could have spent 2 or 3 hours arguing and ending up with different picks for top 2, but that isn't how they do things anymore. Those days are gone.

red dead factually like every rockstar game on this model since GTA4 especially, does not have "good gameplay" so there's no sense in bullshiting. You can enjoy the game more than someone else, and it has a lot of content and features/things to chase, but its "gameplay" is basically the game playing itself.

Shit lock on shooting that doesn't feel good when turned off, as per usual for rockstar. On rails horses with nothing special about being on them. That's the core of the gameplay, and its both bad.

I had an absolutely fantastic time with Red Dead Redemption 2. It's on my top 10 list. I still think it belongs on the most disappointed list.

Thanks for the great year Giant Bomb!

So happy for God of War being on top of that other game. Thank you GiantBomb. I can go to sleep now.

Very nice to see this thing end on a light note. Don't really remember if this has always been the case, but it seems like doing the whole 12 hour recording leaving everyone exhausted for the last top 10 list lead to people being more willing to compromise.

I think Cuphead should be higher.

Just finished this last podcast - had a blast. I think the new format...is ok. Having to stifle discussion in the early podcasts so that they don't present same arguments again in the later ones is a bit weird, so maybe they can figure out something for next year.

Most Disappointing category was great. I think they shouldn't be so opposed to using voting and that category is the perfect example of why. Brad seems to think it'll be a coin flip if people are forced to vote, but I think if there is a stalemate after the main arguments have been presented, it makes sense to have the people who have no horse in the race to vote based on the strength of the arguments they've heard. Even if you are not eloquent enough to convince your opponent to change your mind, your argument might be enough for the other people. It is always the "outsiders" that decide who won a debate, not the people doing the arguing.

Awesome Game of the Year. Seemed much more democratic than in the past. Hate to say it, but primarily because Jeff argued less (Even though he should've gotten BLOPS 4 on there out of respect, if nothing else). He was oddly quiet this GOTY. Loved the new format. More games got more discussion. Positioning for each game is not as important as giving each game its due. That said...

I love RDR2 as an accomplishment, and as a follow up to what I feel is the best game of the last decade, but the controls are a huge disappointment, and have mad respect for Dan for fighting for that fact and Giant Bomb ultimately recognizing that fact. I'm usually 1000% behind Brad, but the fact that the game is soooo awesome, and the controls are SOOOO not, makes it far-and-away THE MOST DISAPPOINTING as Dan was trying to say (after supporting the game in so many categories). Props on them for highlighting it.

Also, concerning Tetris Effect, and Abby's nearly falling asleep as they discussed and cemented it as number one. I've been told that men are much more visually stimulated than women; could that have something to do with Abby's less than blown away response to Tetris Effect? As the years go on, and Abby's influence on these deliberations increases (even though, I'm sure, they would say everyone has equal pull), and possibly another woman in the mix, will much more different games start to creep into GB's Top Ten? Only time will tell.

Agreed. The game would've been better with more to do, but the game is still in my top five of the year, even when so many others sit on my Steam Games List unplayed. It's just an experience that no other game offers, and one I very much have wanted. Hopefully Skull and Bones is good. Fingers crossed.

This is has been such a completely over-the-top year of new releases, even considering the carry-over from 2017; I am so impressed they managed to cover as much as they did. I saw a list of all games released in 2018, and it is staggering- if anything negative really comes from 2018's year in games it's that we got really spoiled by having one of every genre if not several, minus skateboarding and snowboarding games, being my only other gripe.

wait..Descenders was really good, alright, yeah this year was rad.

@wolferey: 100% with you there. This definitely had a similar feel to it. The best game discussion of 2014 was so cringe-worthy, because it felt like the only time in recent years that someone just dug in their heels to get their way. People actively disliked Destiny when it launched and Brad pushed it through kicking and screaming.

@doncabesa: I think that's ok. Otherwise games who release at the end of the year have a disadvantage, as they can't fix stuff. They should always judge the release version, at that was really disappointing

@knoxt: I remember people talking about this being an off year back in May and thinking everyone was crazy. And even with this banger of a year we have an absolutely stacked spring coming up in 2019.

The thing is, I would respect them more if they just said, they were going with their number one pick because it was the one that everyone liked enough and wouldn't cause the most arguments. Instead, they pretended like it was a genuine great pick that surpassed the other games, and when Abby told the truth about the pick, they quickly hushed her up. Like she said, yes its a great update on an already solid game that stood the test of time, but that's it. They didn't really want to good for what the REAL number one should be, and that's a shame. Which is why, personally, the second game on the final list the real number one for me.

I was gonna be legit a bit peeved if they did Jason dirty with his choice in best game, thankfully it stayed on. Regarding Tetris effect, I'll probably never play it just coz I'm not a big Tetris guy and that's fine. The actual rankings I don't think mean much, it's just an overall great list of things I should probably pick up if I haven't, if and when they're available at a price I find reasonable.

I don't know how you can listen to these deliberations and come to the conclusion that they don't want to argue or fight for what they like? This has mostly always been a site top 10 and if you look at everyone's personal top 10 list, Tetris and Dead Cells was almost in a complete dead heat with Vinny and Abby not having either game in their top 10. It would just be selfish and unproductive for say, Jeff to dig in his heels and demand Black Ops 4 was game of the year. It's about coming to a consensus not "winning".

Absolutely, the main reason why they do these stupid ranked lists is for our benefit. Most of the crew is so checked out for large parts of these conversations because the games they're actually passionate about are going to get shot down. Pay attention to Jason, Abby and Jeff this year as evidence.

I hardly ever read comments or engage with the community anymore because I don't think most of the vocal people here can not be negative and toxic about the GB crew they're investing so much of their time with. The ironic part is that it's usually because they have a hard time accepting when GB says something negative about the games they're investing their time with.

There's always so many people who think they know better for what GB's GOTY should be. How are people trying to quantify how much someone likes a game based on conversation? What if someone is just forgetful, inarticulate or unargumentative or just not in the right mood? Also, people like vastly different games. Look at Austin Walker's top 10 list this year and compare that to Dan's and calm the heck down. How are people going to talk about snubbing games when they know GB caters to certain subsets of gamers?

Maaaan what a great F'n year! RDR2 Deserves what it got. A game that is so divisive is clearly doing something special or new. First game that has ever truly gotten me to truly roleplay as a character. But these were fantastic deliberations! Why people get so negative and butt hurt about THEIR choices is beyond me. This is the Giant Bomb's staff list, not yours. I'm just happy we get to see the conversations take place. The way the first part of 2019 is stacked with games makes me incredibly excited for what's to come.

Just got through Most Disappointing, and man do I need a cigarette - and I don't even smoke.

That shit was just spectacular to listen too.

RDR2 got what it deserved.

Great stuff all around this year.

Dan in full heel mode giddy with his success is almost too much.

I understand personal preference, but considering the disasters that graced us this year that were not only disappointing but just abominable in many other regards it feels like a stretch to have this grace the same list.

I get it of course, everyone will have their own personal reactions, but reading through the comments it almost feels like a lot of folks out there seem to have this personal vendetta against the game where you have people literally celebrating that someone finally took it down a notch - and that feels weird and a little petty.

@humanity: Thing is people misunderstand 'disappointing' with 'bad'. A game can be great but still disappointing. Dan has articulated in past Beastcasts how RDR2 went from being his most anticipated game of a generation to very disappointing. Brad's somewhat uneccessary dismissive attitude toward any perceived flaws did give Dan a reason to celebrate.

Not to mention the blowback from the die-hards give whenever there's any criticism of a big ticket game like RDR2.

I need to ask so I don't feel insane but does anyone else just think Tetris is boring? Like I played it as a kid and never need to play it again in my life. There's no way you can gussy it up to make it fun or interesting for me.

I played it as a kid, thought it was very boring and didn't play it since. Then I played Tetris Effect and it's #4 on my GOTY list. The crew makes a point to say that it's much more than the sum of it's parts and I wholeheartedly agree.

@fezrock: absolutely agree.. I've warmed greatly to Ben recently

this is such a bad list. i cant believe 2 stupid indie games topped RDR2 and GOW

I was missing some of the side categories this year. I understand the desire to keep it tight (as tight as over 24 hours of podcasts can be) by reducing the main categories, but I feel like 2018 would warrant something like a best Monster Hunter weapon, or something equivalent to best shopkeeper like last year.

That said, lots of good discussion this year, and if there were to be a category for most divisive game, Red Dead: Redemption 2 takes the cake.

The final countdown for Best Game was soooo fun! Gave me all the warm fuzzies I needed after Most Disappointing.

LOCKED!

@humanity: Agree, it’s like RDR 2 ran over their dog or something.

Abby hit the nail on the head, they totally bottled it for their GOTY pick. That's not to say it's not a great game, but the arguments in it's favour just seemed weak to me. I was left feeling unconvinced that it was what anyone really wanted, but more that it was the "safe" choice.

Kudos to Abby though, she really grew into her GB shoes this year and killed it.