Here is my continuation of “My Thoughts On The Game Of The Year Winners And Nominees That I’ve Played Part 1“
Game of the Year 2016 Nominee – Inside
Inside is a wonderful puzzle platformer from the developers behind the now classic Limbo where you play a young boy running from men, dogs, monsters etc. as you go through farms, labs, offices etc. The core gameplay is quite simple but there are plenty of well-constructed puzzles that test your thinking skills and many are both inventive and thought-provoking. I did end up wishing that the game was longer but, when so many of my complaints for other games involve them being bloated, that can be viewed as a sign of how good Inside truly is. As for its nomination, I fully stand behind it as Inside’s execution is superb and the ideas and concepts it presents are worthy of adoration.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – Yes.
Game of the Year 2016 Winner – Overwatch
For this, I want you to remember the Overwatch of 2016 and not the modern form of Overwatch, that being Overwatch 2, which has seen numerous legitimate criticisms against it. The idea of hero shooters was pretty much restricted to Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch executed the concept so well that many of its blemishes were overlooked. This was because the core gameplay was just so fun and the heroes played so distinctly from each other that there was always plenty to learn and think about. This was also wrapped up in a gorgeous visual style and enjoyable character banter during the matches. Now I do feel uncomfortable with the idea of a multiplayer only game winning Game of the Year since, as has happened, the game itself can be taken down and made no longer available. However, I do fully believe that Overwatch was such a revolutionary title that it fully deserved to be at least nominated.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – Yes.
Game of the Year 2017 Nominee – PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is an odd case as it’s one that I would not recommend you play today yet I do believe that it deserved to be nominated. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was a mess when it came out and, sadly, it has continued to remain a mess to this day, dominated in everyway by its competitors. However, the impact that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has had on the gaming industry is worthy of respect. The idea of a battle royale style game was relegated to mods and it was from this scene that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds evolved. The game was so wildly successful and innovative that it inspired a plethora of other major battle royale games such as Fortnite, Apex Legends and even the Call of Duty franchise with Call of Duty: Warzone. While I myself dropped out of battle royale games after PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds due to how frustrating I found the glitches and also how there was a lot of downtime that I found dull, I still maintain that its impact deserves to be honoured.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – Yes.
Game of the Year 2017 Nominee – Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn was a game that I really wanted to love. Sony released the game on PC after some rumours and, after a messy start, the game proved to be successful on PC, particularly after numerous patches that fixed many of the problems with the port itself. I ended up buying the game when it was on sale because I both wanted to support Sony’s PC push and because I was curious about the game itself since it had been one of the most successful RPGs in recent years. The game itself has pleasant graphics, an interesting combat system where you break parts off of robotic monsters, which are often well-designed, and a likable protagonist in the form of Aloy. However, the game itself is a disappointment as an RPG with very limited ways to improve Aloy either through a rather basic skill tree or equipment which is so uninspired that I only ended up changing about 4-5 times over a 30 hour playtime. The story and characters, despite an interesting premise, also proved to be uninspired and the open-world design also accentuated many of the flaws such as long, dull travel time, running from objective to objective and many boring side-quests with the most repetitive being ones, of which there were many, where you follow a path for ages until something happens. I don’t hate Horizon Zero Dawn but I do consider it to be aggressively mediocre and uninspired.
Did it deserve to win/be nominated? – No.
Game of the Year 2018 Nominee – Monster Hunter: World
Monster Hunter: World was the Monster Hunter game that finally managed to become a worldwide sensation and became Capcom’s best-selling video game ever. I’d played the original Monster Hunter on PS2 and hadn’t completed it due to it being quite hard and some of the mechanics too difficult to understand as a child. However, I returned to try Monster Hunter: World, also helped by the fact that it was the first Monster Hunter game released on Steam, and ended up having a great time. The monster designs and battles were creative and the gameplay loop of hunting monsters, using their loot to make better equipment and then going out to fight stronger monsters which give better loot was addictive. Admittedly, not everything worked for me with some missions feeling a little too basic when you’re not fighting a giant beast, the UI feeling cluttered and awkward and the story and characters feeling bland, merely serving to move you to new areas and fight more monsters. Regardless, the scale of the game, how it refined the formula from the older games and, especially, how unique the series felt even after so many years all results in me giving my approval of the success the game has had.
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 3“!
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.