I came in here to say it doesn't stand a chance on the staff list anyway, but the community list is an interesting point. It's size is more akin to an expansion rather than traditional dlc. Don't know though. I'll likely include it on my list or include it as an honorable mention.

Your arguments are valid but at the end of the day, like you say, it's DLC for a game that came out last year.

Still need to finish it myself except a big part of me honestly never wants The Witcher 3 to end :(

No, but there should be a category for "Best Game That Got Totally Ignored By The GiantBomb Crew"

I hear 'ya man. I'm still sitting on the last bit of the main quest because I've done literally everything else and once I do those final missions, that's it.

It's not like there's some OFFICIAL VIDEO GAME AWARD GOVERNING BODY that determines strict eligibility for game of the year. If it's your favorite video game thing of the year, then it's your game of the year. It's certainly mine.

If you're talking about Giant Bomb specifically, it doesn't matter. Whether or not it's eligible, it won't win anyway, so the point is moot.

Yes and no.

My favorite game of 2016 and 2015 by far. But this is still DLC, and very reminiscent of the original game.

It's high up on my personal list but at the end of the day it's an expansion of a game that came out last year.

Plus you and I know that Giant Bomb would throw this game under the bus whether or not it was a standalone game.

It's worth mentioning that they just mentioned Blood and Wine on UPF while talking about the community voted list. They said they'll consider games on a case by case basis to decide if something should be on the list or not, and to include The Witcher 3 in your list if you want to vote for Blood and Wine since they don't have seperate dlc pages.

Personally, I'd say no. But I have restrictions I place on my own game of the year lists, so I'm a little biased.

Fantasy RPG's are "dumb" according to the bomb crew so.

They allowed The Taken King last year, so Blood and Wine should definitely qualify for the community list.

No, it's not a standalone game. If there is an award for best DLC, or best expansion, then yes. But Blood and Wine isn't a game.

I adore Blood and Wine, but I would say no. Not really bothered either way though.

For me it would be my GOTY, but I consider it ineligible because expansions are their own weird thing - so no.

No, expansions probably shouldn't qualify.

And please stop reminding me the GB crew decided there were nine games better than TW3 last year. Utterly baffling.

This is what I came to say. I don't think TTK should have been allowed, but if precedence is set, precedence prevails.

@dgtlty:

I just finished it. After 250 hours, now I have a big hole in my heart. W3 was my life the past year and a half.

I think Blood and Wine should be eligible. It wasn't just an expansion either. Along with the release, CDPR a lot of the systems in the game.

If Destiny was allowed, this should be allowed. Also, fuck Destiny! If you liked B&W more than something else on your top 10, put it in! Or don't! But you should! YEAH!

Pretty much. Blame Brad.

@pilgore said: Hey man, Skyrim and DOTA 2.

No. The Witcher 3 came out last year, even if the doc did not.

I definitely think it merits consideration for an award, but not the big one.

Even if Brad put Destiny on his personal list last year, I'm sure I've heard Jeff being adamant about release dates in previous GOTY discussions.

I was hoping someone would bring this up. Blood and Wine stands alone well, is longer than most AAA single-player campaigns, and is incredible. It's one of my favorite things I've played this year. It will be on my personal list. Was disappointed I couldn't add it to my site-wide vote.

For the crew's deliberations, though? I don't know if any of them have played it. Vinny might have tried it?

I hope so, since The Taken King was counted as its own separate game but I doubt Blood and Wine will get any attention since the crew besides maybe Vinny even touched it.

Yes, I don't let marketing titles or distribution methods dictate whether one of the best game experiences I had this year is a valid game or not. It came out this year, I played it, it's bigger, better and more comprehensive than some 'full release' games that came out this year. If it's not eligible because of how the game industry does business then fuck that.

Precedence was set, and Blood and Wine was one of the best things released this year.

I refuse to cave into Brad's Dota and Destiny agenda even though Blood and Wine probably was my GOTY this year.

Fuck yes. One of the best games I've played all year, bigger and better value than nearly everything I've played this year too.

An expansion? No. The award is game of the year, not expansion of the year.

Off topic: is the series still grotesquely sexist? The first one was repugnant, and the second one apparently had you saving prostitutes that "rewarded" you with offers of sexual favours? Is three any better?

The Witcher 3 barely made it on the websites top 10 list so there is no reason to believe that the DLC would magically end up on the list. The Witcher series is very much like the the Soulsborne series in that they are both immensely popular and mostly ignored by Giant Bomb end of the year awards.

@canadianmath: The game still centers around a male protagonist whom many ladies swoon over. But I think they introduced a stellar foil in Yennefer.

@rahf: Thanks for the reply. Think I'll continue to pass.

Considering that the GB dudes never even finished Witcher 3- I highly doubt that Blood and Wine would make it into their consideration.

Their loss though because Blood and Wine is one of the best looking games this year since it puts you into a new land that looks radically different than anything the base game offered.

Also @canadianmath

You can choose to ignore pretty much all the relationship/sexual elements in the third game if you want - none of it is forced on you and the game is written well to accommodate for those decisions.

@lawgamer: personally glad they did and didn't tow the line. it isnt perfect and wears out its welcome eventually. it's a very well made game but the praise for it got quite out of hand. don't blame them after they got so badgered about it by the community, either.

vinny, brad, and a couple others i believe gave it its due, though. so no big deal.

I'd say not, seeing as it's DLC. But then, I also put an expansion on my list from last year (The Taken King), so I guess saying no is a bit hypocritical.

If you say yes, though, I do have to ask - where is the line between DLC that's eligible for GOTY and DLC that isn't? I have never really liked the whole "dollars per hour" argument for the quality of a game. Minerva's Den is some of the best material Bioshock has to offer and it's like two hours long - if that would have come out this year somehow, would you be OK with it being in a GOTY list?

I distinctly remember saving a prostitute in The Witcher 3 that turned around and chided me for not minding my own fucking business. Can't say that I really remember saving a prostitute that threw sexual favors my way in The Witcher 2, but I only finished that game once and I rushed my way through it in the weeks before The Witcher 3 came out.

Putting the rest of this in spoilers because it's off-topic, if you find yourself writing enough of a response to spark a discussion, please either start a new thread or shoot me a PM.

The line is where you think a DLC is so good that it can compete and potentially outclass a full game release of the same year. The exclusion makes no sense because if a DLC is making you consider it better than full games then that should put into perspective how good that DLC is. I really don't understand why a marketing title automatically excludes a game experience that came out within that year.

I ask the trend I see in this thread of "Game of the year not DLC of the year". What makes DLC not a game?

As much as I like Witcher 3 and it's DLC I voted no. I don't think addons should count as whole games.

This is a really tough one for me. Blood and Wine was some of the best content I played this year.

It's size and scope alone put it well above most of the other "full games" I've played in 2016. But as it is a piece of DLC, I'd have to say no.

If it was a standalone "expansion" like Wolfenstien: The Old Blood for example, then sure. But as an add-on, nope.

DLC has really muddied the waters, hasn't it?

There have been a couple of expansions released through retail over the years that could compete for GOTY on their own. Counter-Strike or Mask of the Betrayer, for example. Now the same stuff falls into the same category as horse armor or map packs. It's all very weird and nebulous.

Take Blood Dragon, for example. It could have been DLC, but came out as its own game. Under current arguments, could it be up for GOTY because the base game wasn't required? (Let's pretend Blood Dragon was anything other than silly fun for this argument.)

It's interesting to ponder, at least. GOTY lists are personal, so dd whatever you want.

I'm sorry, but this post is complete trash. Are you joking? Because this sounds like a bunch of politically correct drivel that's completely off base.
Does the fact that prostitutes exist in a work fiction automatically make it sexist?
Yes, you can save prostitutes in The Witcher 2, but you don't have to have sex with them. The games are about player choice.
To call this series "grotesquely sexist" proves you no nothing about the games or books.
In the Witcher 2 The Lodge of Sorceresses, which is made up of women, is perhaps the most powerful organization in the universe.

Did you even play the game? Based on your comment I don't think you did. Let me fill you in.

*Spoilers*

Due to their political interests, The Lodge of Sorceresses is who hired Letho to assassinate multiple Kings.

This is just one example. Not to mention Yennifer, who's probably one of the most fierce woman characters in fiction.
Don't just read what a bunch of feminists have to say about the series and take it as fact.

Are there sexist characters in the Witcher? Of course. Is the entire saga sexist? Absolutely not.

This isn't entirely true either. Yes, some women "swoon" over Geralt, but others are equally repulsed by him. Geralt is, after all, a mutant.

I voted no, agree with that vote, and then voted for it on my GotY ballot because otherwise I'd only have nine games on my list, which I know is okay but as someone who headed a Hip-Hop Album of the Year list for four years and contributed to it for eight at a major music publication I couldn't feel comfortable with an incomplete list even if it was only complete on a technicality.

Plus I bought TW3 on release day, but bought the $100 deluxe version, played it for a few days until all the patch news/notes started coming out and decided to just wait until Blood and Wine released to start the game up. So in a sense my May 2015 purchase was just a pre-order for May 2016, haha.

This DLC is better than any game that came out this year (and also longer than most full new stand alone releases.

It is the game of the year IMO

DLC requires the main game to be played, therefore you must refer to the main game's release date.

In this case, Witcher 3 came out last year and any DLC just wouldn't be eligible for GOTY.

Now if you wanted to give it best DLC, or best 2015 game, or some other category that it fits that's fine. But to count it as a GOTY candidate wouldn't fit the criteria imo.

I would say yes, it counts.

Can't believe how close it is. People have weirdly strict standards when it comes to things that are supposed to be dumb fun.

If garbage like The Taken King can get nominated then an actually good game like Blood and Wine sure as hell can get nominated too.

I'm totally fine with it being allowed. If DLC/expansions manage to be better than full titles that came out the same year, then they deserve to win.

Absolutely! As we move into this weird phase where a lot of games are these constantly evolving services instead of a static boxed product, not acknowledging that seems a bit strange to me! Especially since stuff like dota, heroes of the storm, crusader kings and no mans sky need time to mature.

Furthermore in a world of sequels not straying far from the previous game, the line is super thin.

@betterley: You know what? I think I'm spreading the reaction I had to Triss among other cast members. Because she is, in many ways, the classical damsel in distress

Can someone tell me without spoilers if I should play this after I finish the main game or jump in at any time?

You can definitely play it on it's own, but it would be better if you played the main game before it.

If you can't see yourself putting in 200+ hours into the whole of The Witcher 3 and just want to get a decent taste, I'd say Blood and Wine is smallish/contained experience that shows the series at its best.