No matter which award you talk about, everyone is going to have their own opinion on what got snubbed, whether the winners deserved it or not, whether they even matter etc. Thinking about them recently, mostly because people are talking about Baldur’s Gate 3 being potentially game of the year, I decided that it might be interesting to share my own thoughts on the Game Awards Game of the Year winners and nominees that I’ve played. Just to clarify first though, I’ll be making these opinions mainly from my own experience playing these games but I’ll also be factoring in how innovative I consider the game to be. I’ll also be discussing whether I think they deserved to win or be nominated with reference to their own quality and not in comparison to any other games beyond their franchise or developer. Finally, and I feel I need to emphasise this, these are my opinions only and I freely encourage you to agree or disagree with them as long as you present your argument in a respectable fashion alongside reasons why I’m right or wrong. Having said all that, let’s begin.
Game of the Year 2014 Nominee – Dark Souls II
Anyone who knows me will know that I adore the Dark Souls franchise but that’s not to say that I don’t notice the blemishes of each entry and that is most certainly the case when it comes to Dark Souls II. Often considered the black sheep of the franchise, you often see people arguing that it’s either an underrated masterpiece or an unacceptably bad game. My opinion, as noted in my review for UK Anime Network, is that it’s still a great game but easily the most flawed in the franchise. The combat remains enjoyable, exploration a delight and some of the finest bosses in the history of FromSoftware but issues remain plentiful with comparatively weak storytelling, particularly in the first half, a disproportionately high amount of average to bad bosses and some strange design choices. Granted, there were some good choices made as well such as upgrading your Estus Flask separately to the bonfires and having your weapon durability repaired when you rest but it’s a package that I all too often look at as bloated with content, seeking quantity and not quality. I still think it’s a respectable game that deserves to be played but, considering how much weaker it feels to its predecessor, I can’t in good conscience say that it deserved to be nominated.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – No.
Game of the Year 2014 Nominee – Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
It may interest you to know that I bounced off of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor the first time I ever played it and I did not come back and give it another try until I got my Steam Deck, something that made the game enjoyable enough that I ended up finally finishing it. I love the Lord of the Rings film trilogy and being in the world of Middle-earth again is a real treat but it’s unfortunate that the story and characters end up being rather middling (pardon the pun). Besides that, it’s combat system is pretty basic and it features some of the annoyances I associate with open-world games such as long travel time and plenty of pointless collectables. However, the nemesis system was pretty interesting even if I didn’t think they went far enough with it and the stealth gameplay could be pretty satisfying. As for whether it deserved to be nominated, I, unfortunately, don’t think so. It can be fun but in a pretty mindless fashion and the nemesis system, while certainly innovative, doesn’t make up for the fact that it’s a typical open-world game.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – No.
Game of the Year 2014 Winner – Dragon Age: Inquisition
I recently wrote about my experience with the Dragon Age game series and my opinion has not changed since which is that I consider Dragon Age: Inquisition to be the weakest game in the franchise, at least so far. Starting with the positives, I appreciated that the open-world was divided into zones that were often quite distinct from one another, some of the interesting companions (shout out to you Iron Bull) and several of the plot threads from previous games are handled in interesting ways. Unfortunately though, the game itself is one of the most bloated I’ve ever played with numerous side-quests and even entire zones feeling like pointless filler designed to pad out your playtime. It also doesn’t help that the RPG mechanics also feel overly simplified with stats automatically allocated and equipment feeling less important than before. As for whether Dragon Age: Inquisition deserved to be the first game to win Game of the Year at the Game Awards, my answer is a resounding no! It’s not a bad game and can be even quite enjoyable when the game isn’t bogged down in wasting your time but it’s certainly not deserving considering how much weaker I consider the game to be compared to Dragon Age: Origins.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – No.
Game of the Year 2015 Winner – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Having played through The Witcher games over the years, it does please me somewhat to see one take home the prize of Game of the Year but the question is what do I think of it. It is another open-world game but, even though there are some weak elements, the execution is much better than many other games with a satisfying method of travel and a large amount of interesting content such as Gwent and side-quests to discover. The combat itself is also very satisfying and the story of the game serves as a great conclusion to the trilogy. Even though I personally prefer the second Witcher game, Assassin of Kings, due to it being a tighter experience, I can also respect the scale of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and how it managed to pack in so much content with only some filler. Did it deserve to win Game of the Year in 2015? I don’t know about that but I do respect it enough that I at least am happy that it won and I definitely think that it deserved to be nominated.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – Yes.
Game of the Year 2016 Nominee – Doom
Despite the immense impact of the original game, I think it’s fair to say that Doom was often viewed as one for the history books, no longer relevant to the modern gaming industry. Then the 2016 reboot came out and it served as an incredible return to form, modernising the gameplay that the original was known for while retaining many of its core aspects, that being speed, gore and a plethora of weapons that countered different enemy types. This, of course, was helped by a great soundtrack and graphics that were detailed and crisp. I honestly can’t remember the story of the game but I don’t think it really mattered, instead serving to move you from place to place and unleash carnage on hordes of demons. This is a strange one in that I think the 2016 Doom game deserved to be nominated not just for innovation but also returning to the roots of the first-person shooter in an age where many of its components had been forgotten.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – Yes.
Be sure to check out “My Thoughts On The Game Of The Year Winners And Nominees That I’ve Played Part 2“!
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.