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[KyleCross]

I can't explain how happy I am that Witcher 3 won, and even those who didn't want it to win should know what a good thing it is. There was so much detail and content poured into that game that it benefits the entire industry as a whole for it to be awarded, that motivates other games to go that extra mile too.

 

[RespectThySole]

Sorry but you are wrong, at least on neogaf.

I've argued long and hard how crap AC and Dragon age Inquisition are. Not with much luck of course! But you try.

When TW3 came out I thought the moment had come. You do the same things, you get quests, you have splashes of story and you walk over a huge landscape. But everything in TW3 is just done better.

So if people love TW3, can they still say dragon age inquisition is amazing? (Goty no less). How can they, when you can list every way it is worse? Well they do, stating that it isn't about the quests or combat or characters, it is about "experiencing the world".

So this is how TW3 is a reskinned DA or AC. It appeals to fans of big open world games in exactly the same way. So laugh at mass appeal if you like, but TW3 is a fucking huge world, intentionally and this is what people buy and this is what gets the review scores.

Skills? Upgrades? Meh. People just want to sail around in a boat and find stuff. Am I talking about TW3 or black flag??? Exactly.

I don't mind if people want to experience a game for what is in it rather than what they imagine on their travels. But if you don't think modern gaming is driven by "freedom", you are out of touch.

TW3 is just one more of these, but at least it has game bits as well.

I don't think AC and Dragon Age are remotely as well loved on Neogaf as you believe. You're also sincerely mistaken if you think that gamers just like any game with an open world.

The only open world game that I've played this year that I've liked was TW3. I'm not a fan whatsoever of Fallout, MGSV, Arkham Knight, etc. What those games attempt to and what The Witcher 3 attempts to deliver are not at all the same. There are open world games with great review scores and there are open world games with bad ones.

I'm not even sure what you're talking about with that imagine bullshit because people are praising CDPR for the staggering amount of quality handcrafted content that is "in" their game. Honestly it just sounds like you don't like open world games and that's fine, but the approaches of all those open world games are very different.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Yeah, I'd prefer a MUCH smaller world with greatly increased density. I'm growing to dislike sprawling environments with so little to see and do. Give me an environment that the player becomes extremely familiar with over the course of the game rather than something that almost feels procedural.

The world size is precisely the thing that hurt The Witcher 3 for me.

I understand this, but I think it's world size adds a lot in making the place feel believable. It's great seeing Novigrad from so very far away and all the little towns on the way there. I get it, but having to be constantly engaged with something is the reason I'm not a huge fan of Fallout 4's world. There's never any time to breathe without something happening, it's almost cartoonish how much shit is always happening and pulls me out of the experience a lot.

let's see

Dragon's Dogma has it beat, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne have it beat, Dragon Age Origins has it beat, Divinity Original Sin has it beat, Mass Effect 3 has it beat.... uh no not really?

I liked Witcher 3's combat. It's a bit plain, but it felt believable in the context of it's setting. Geralt felt like kind of like a sword dancer, popping in/around/through groups of enemies getting a few hits and then evaluating the next move. It may stem from that it felt like how his combat is described in the books pretty well. I dunno, I never understood the complaints. It's not like Bloodborne, but it's also not an action game. I liked both Bloodborne's and W3's combat. It's definitely my favorite open-world fantasy combat by a big margin.

 

[Psychoward]

And if you consider WRPGs, The Witcher 3 has actually some of the best combat in the genre.

let's see

Dragon's Dogma has it beat, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne have it beat, Dragon Age Origins has it beat, Divinity Original Sin has it beat, Mass Effect 3 has it beat.... uh no not really?

 

[johnnydrama]

let's see

Dragon's Dogma has it beat, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne have it beat, Dragon Age Origins has it beat, Divinity Original Sin has it beat, Mass Effect 3 has it beat.... uh no not really?

Since when are Dragon's Dogma, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2, and Bloodborne western roleplaying games?

I'll give you Divinity and Origins though. Mass Effect 3 is barely comparable.

 

[Psychoward]

And no effort and love went into designing the Witcher series?

I'm talking about the combat and gameplay systems here. Witcher 1's combat was easily, no hyperbole the worst combat I've played in any game outside of Jade Empire. 2 and 3's were steps up but not by much. Calling Dragon Age Origins braindead while in the same sentence praising Witcher is laughable.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

let's see

Dragon's Dogma has it beat, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne have it beat, Dragon Age Origins has it beat, Divinity Original Sin has it beat, Mass Effect 3 has it beat.... uh no not really?

You've listed JRPGs in your list and not only that but I didn't realize that this list encompassed every wrpg in existence or even in the last couple of generations. Thanks for enlightening me.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Yeah, I'd prefer a MUCH smaller world with greatly increased density. I'm growing to dislike sprawling environments with so little to see and do. Give me an environment that the player becomes extremely familiar with over the course of the game rather than something that almost feels procedural.

The world size is precisely the thing that hurt The Witcher 3 for me.

But.....there is a lot to see and do. I'm actually surprised at how dense the world is. In fact, it almost feels too dense at times. Obviously not every inch is crawling with characters and side quests but that's ok. Part of the fun is just riding your horse through the landscape or using a boat at sea.

I've never been a huge fan of open world games but The Witcher 3 is probably the best one I've seen to date.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I understand The Witcher 3 winning the GOTY award, but Bloodborne not winning anything is just straight robbery.

Judges are mostly journalists and the narrative of "You've all been sleeping on FROM's games!" mostly fell out of favor this year.

I remember the industry realizing they were, in fact, sleeping on Dark and Demon's, promising to rectify it with DS2, all that fervor dropping out in a few months, and then Bloodborne rolling around to "Yeah, that's alright." Now journalists are almost entirely ambivalent to Dark Souls 3.

The narrative this year is about how the polish team made an amazing open-world RPG.

Mind you, this says nothing about the quality of these games. They're all amazing and if you ask me on different days, I would have different answers for my GOTY (including Witcher 3 and Bloodborne). Just saying that there are certain zeitgeists that go on that help inform how people vote and this is the context that lead to some people unfortunately forgetting about Bloodborne.

 

[johnnydrama]

But.....there is a lot to see and do. I'm actually surprised at how dense the world is. In fact, it almost feels too dense at times.

I've never been a huge fan of open world games but The Witcher 3 is probably the best one I've seen to date.

After your thread, I'm glad to see you're liking the game.

 

[Usobuko]

Mortal Kombat won Best Fighting game.

I want the world to be a connected world but looking at this sometimes I think the fragmented world is deserved, hopefully for all aspects of entertainment soon.

 

[ZangBa]

Mortal Kombat won Best Fighting game.

I want the world to be a connected world but looking at this sometimes I think the fragmented world is deserved, hopefully for all aspects of entertainment soon.

Was there any other fighting game even released this year?

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I'm talking about the combat and gameplay systems here. Witcher 1's combat was easily, no hyperbole the worst combat I've played in any game outside of Jade Empire. 2 and 3's were steps up but not by much. Calling Dragon Age Origins braindead while in the same sentence praising Witcher is laughable.

The Witchers series gameplay system might not be to your fancy but your implication that love and hard work didn't go into recreating what they feel is their vision of Witcher combat from the novels, including the oils/potion system which in harder difficulties is practically a must, then I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Psychoward]

Since when are Dragon's Dogma, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2, and Bloodborne western roleplaying games?

I'll give you Divinity and Origins though. Mass Effect 3 is barely comparable.

You've listed JRPGs in your list and not only that but I didn't realize that this list encompassed every wrpg in existence or even in the last couple of generations. Thanks for enlightening me.

Sorry, I didn't see the distinction of JRPGs, to be fair that distinction is silly in 2015. I'll thrown in Kingdoms of Amalur as well then if you truly wanna narrow it down to WRPGs. Also every wrpg in existence? I didn't list a single game from older than last generation, this gen is only 2 years old which is shorter than most development cycles.


I don't mind Witcher 3 but similarly to TLOU fans on GAF I wish they would stop trying to fool themselves in to thinking the game has gameplay on par of games actually focused on gameplay in their respective genres.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

After your thread, I'm glad to see you're liking the game.

Yeah, it has its hooks in me. I didn't get to play it today and I'm dying.

 

[higgsboson1997]

Was personally hoping for Fallout 4 or Super Mario Maker, but I can see why some like Witcher better.

 

[Sblargh]

And if you consider WRPGs, The Witcher 3 has actually some of the best combat in the genre.

That's just false. Pillars of eternity have amazing combat, just started Divinity, but it already feels pretty sweet.

WRPGs very often have good combat, cases like Skyrim the combat is meh and forgeatable, but don't distract from the core experience (tho it would be amazing if it was better), Witcher's combat actually prevents me from playing the game.

You can dismiss this as hyperbole, but what can I say? I usually am able to suffer through bad gameplay if the rest interest me (looking at you arcanum), but with the witcher I just can't.

 

[johnnydrama]

Sorry, I didn't see the distinction of JRPGs, to be fair that distinction is silly in 2015. I'll thrown in Kingdoms of Amalur as well then if you truly wanna narrow it down to WRPGs. Also every wrpg in existence? I didn't list a single game from older than last generation, this gen is only 2 years old which is shorter than most development cycles.


I don't mind Witcher 3 but similarly to TLOU fans on GAF I wish they would stop trying to fool themselves in to thinking the game has gameplay on par of games actually focused on gameplay in their respective genres.

I have never once implied that The WItcher 3 has stellar combat, or even the best combat in WRPGs. I only said it's among the best in WRPGs, since the bar isn't ridiculously high, and I don't believe that is an outlandish notion. Also, I agree with you. TLOU doesn't have great gameplay either, but it does many other things well.

 

[texhnolyze]

I don't mind Witcher 3 but similarly to TLOU fans on GAF I wish they would stop trying to fool themselves in to thinking the game has gameplay on par of games actually focused on gameplay in their respective genres.

Why should you be worried about other people enjoying the games that you don't enjoy?
Why should you belittle other people's taste in video games? Is your taste higher than them?

 

[Justinh]

But I don't like the game!

Spoiler

probably well deserved, but I don't like the game!

You don't have to like the game. I don't think anyone is going to shove the GOTY thing in your face because you don't like it from now on, and if they do, then they're a dick and should be ignored. I get that some people really hate the combat, and I can see where they're coming from, but I actually liked it and overall it was the best experience I've gotten out of a game this year. That being said, I still haven't played Bloodborne, but I dunno even still...I really liked The Witcher 3.
I hated Witcher 2 because I couldn't get a handle on it, and I forced myself to play through it on easy even until I could "get it." As soon as I did though, I loved it. It did take me nearly the entire playthrough, but when I finished, I immediately went back through on Dark. I wonder if I would like 3 as much if I hadn't gotten used to 2, I'm thinking "no."

Was there any other fighting game even released this year?

I think Xrd was up for it too, if I recall correctly.

 

[spekkeh]

It's not my GOTY by a mile, but it's an inoffensive choice, and out of the AAA usual suspects that bought themselves into the nomination slot for this award, probably the most deserving one.

 

[EatChildren]

It's a solid 4.5/10.

 

[johnnydrama]

That's just false. Pillars of eternity have amazing combat, just started Divinity, but it already feels pretty sweet.

WRPGs very often have good combat, cases like Skyrim the combat is meh and forgeatable, but don't distract from the core experience (tho it would be amazing if it was better), Witcher's combat actually prevents me from playing the game.

You can dismiss this as hyperbole, but what can I say? I usually am able to suffer through bad gameplay if the rest interest me (looking at you arcanum), but with the witcher I just can't.

I honestly don't know what to say. It sucks that you can't enjoy the game, is all I've got.

 

[Psychoward]

The Witchers series gameplay system might not be to your fancy but your implication that love and hard work didn't go into recreating what they feel is their vision of Witcher combat from the novels, including the oils/potion system which in harder difficulties is practically a must, then I don't know what to tell you.

I mean you can have a two sword system and potions/oils without the gameplay being a glorified rhythm game like Witcher 1 was. See: Witcher 2 and 3.

I have never once implied that The WItcher 3 has stellar combat, or even the best combat in WRPGs. I only said it's among the best in WRPGs, since the bar isn't ridiculously high, and I don't believe that is an outlandish notion. Also, I agree with you. TLOU doesn't have great gameplay either.

I mean, the sample size really isn't that high though that you're pulling from. There are only so many high profile WRPGs.

From an action based standpoint I think Kingdoms of Amalur and Mass Effect 3 have better aWRPG combat, hell throw in Diablo 3, Borderlands 2 if they count (they shouldn't but you get it). Then from a tactical perspective, you have the new Shadowrun games (of which there are 3 of them), Pillars of Eternity and Divinity Original Sin. There are more high profile RPGs with better combat than Witcher then there are worse.

 

[RespectThySole]

let's see

Dragon's Dogma has it beat, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1, Dark Souls 2 and Bloodborne have it beat, Dragon Age Origins has it beat, Divinity Original Sin has it beat, Mass Effect 3 has it beat.... uh no not really?

Dogma and Souls are JRPGs. I don't agree with any of the WRPGs you listed except for Divinity. Mass Effect 3 is a mediocre shooter with a few powers, hardly exceptional in that department especially when you consider how damn clunky movement is in the game. Dragon Age: Origins has terrible encounter design.
---
I agree with you on The Last of Us not having good gameplay though.

 

[johnnydrama]

It's a solid 4.5/10.

shit sux

 

[Ratrat]

Reminds me of all the 'I put 100 hours into Skyrim until I realized it was a piece of shit' comments.

 

[GasProblem]

My GOTY as well, so glad this won. Loved the world, sidequests were great. Main story dragged a bit around Novigrad and the combat could be improved, but I was never bored and I always looked forward to playing again so that's a sign of a great game to me. The way the DLC is done is great as well, no bullshit.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

The Last of Us doesn't have good gameplay?

WAT

And I'm not even a big Naughty Dog fan!

 

[ninjablade]

But.....there is a lot to see and do. I'm actually surprised at how dense the world is. In fact, it almost feels too dense at times. Obviously not every inch is crawling with characters and side quests but that's ok. Part of the fun is just riding your horse through the landscape or using a boat at sea.

I've never been a huge fan of open world games but The Witcher 3 is probably the best one I've seen to date.

it almost does feel like every 50 yards or so there is a something interesting to do or find, kinda feels like it was overdone after of course over 70 hours of gameplay.

 

[johnnydrama]

The Last of Us doesn't have good gameplay?

WAT

And I'm not even a big Naughty Dog fan!

It's alright. I didn't think it was anything special, but I'm not gonna tell people to stop enjoying TLOU.

 

[GlamFM]

Good choice.

I like how Kyle Bosmann put it:

A game that respects the player, made by people who respect the player.

 

[Pearson]

Really well done.

Truely deserved

 

[Psychoward]

Dogma and Souls are JRPGs. I don't agree with any of the WRPGs you listed except for Divinity. Mass Effect 3 is a mediocre shooter with a few powers, hardly exceptional in that department especially when you consider how damn clunky movement is in the game. Dragon Age: Origins has terrible encounter design.
---
I agree with you on The Last of Us not having good gameplay though.

I really think the distinction of JRPGs in 2015 is meaningless though but I digress. Disagree about ME3 and I don't think Origins has bad encounter design, just that damn Blood Mage basement in Denerim. Again I don't think sub-par combat makes the game un-deserving of GOTY, I just can't get over calling the Witcher series an un-braindead version of Origins when Witcher 1 exists with its sex cards and terrible combat.

 

[Sblargh]

Dogma and Souls are JRPGs. I don't agree with any of the WRPGs you listed except for Divinity. Mass Effect 3 is a mediocre shooter with a few powers, hardly exceptional in that department especially when you consider how damn clunky movement is in the game. Dragon Age: Origins has terrible encounter design.

Dogma and souls are Jrpgs just because they were made in japan.
to say they are closer to xenoblade than to witcher seems crazy to me.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Good choice.

I like how Kyle Bosmann put it:

A game that respects the player, made by people who respect the player.

Except for those damn load times!

(Probably nothing they could really do about it, as the world is huge)

 

[Krappadizzle]

It's a solid 4.5/10.

shit sux

It was alright I guess.

 

[30IR]

Really well deserved! Wonder what CDPR is working on next(?).

 

[Admiral Woofington]

It's 2 in the fucking morning and I'm basically doing the "wait I can't to go bed yet someone is wrong on the Internet"


I'm not gonna change minds of folks here who it's either amazing gameplay or bust.

Point is I'm happy Witcher 3 won, super happy for cdpr, and looking forward to more games of theirs. Good night folks.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Well deserved. Awesome game!

 

[Ratrat]

The Last of Us doesn't have good gameplay?

WAT

And I'm not even a big Naughty Dog fan!

It was servicable. Not as interesting as you'd expect from a game lauded as one of the best ever.

 

[RespectThySole]

The Last of Us doesn't have good gameplay?

WAT

And I'm not even a big Naughty Dog fan!

After the Uncharted games excellent focus on movement and verticality, TLoU seems so average and unsatisfying in comparison. I loved the story, but I found the combat to be a total chore on my second playthrough.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

It's a solid 4.5/10.

shit sux

Not even 240 hours. Should have expected as much of people buying it on steam instead of gog.

 

[spekkeh]

Good choice.

I like how Kyle Bosmann put it:

A game that respects the player, made by people who respect the player.

40 hours to find Ciri while you're constantly doing unrelated menial tasks for people you could also just strongarm certainly isn't my idea of respecting the player.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

It was servicable. Not as interesting as you'd expect from a game lauded as one of the best ever.

After the Uncharted games excellent focus on movement and verticality. TLoU seems so average and unsatisfying in comparison. I loved the story, but I found the combat to be a total chore on my second playthrough.

Oh man, I genuinely loved the gameplay. It felt like a natural evolution for the types of games ND makes, even though it is pretty different at the same time. I think I appreciated the more intimate encounters. It's really the only reason I'm looking forward to Uncharted 4, as I've never been a big fan of those games.

 

[Justinh]

Except for those damn load times!

(Probably nothing they could really do about it, as the world is huge)

Yeah, and it's not like Fallout 4 where it's "go into builiding-load time, exit building- load time"

I don't remember the load times getting in the way that often in Witcher 3 except when fast traveling, although they are pretty long.

Not even 240 hours. Should have expected as much of people buying it on steam instead of gog.

lolz

[/B]

That's such a bummer. They were never really longer than 15-20 seconds or so for me. It's a shame the consoles don't support SSDs.

Yeah, I played on SSD too and it wasn't too bad, but going through a console run now and it's just like...one of the things of many things that aren't as enjoyable.
I did this whole thing backwards.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Yeah, and it's not like Fallout 4 where it's "go into builiding-load time, exit building- load time"

I don't remember the load times getting in the way that often in Witcher 3 except when fast traveling, although they are pretty long.

That's such a bummer. They were never really longer than 15-20 seconds or so for me. It's a shame the consoles don't support SSDs.

 

[Denton]

Except for those damn load times!

(Probably nothing they could really do about it, as the world is huge)

pc version... ssd.... 10 second loadings....

Sorry

 

[Radical Edward]

The Last of Us doesn't have good gameplay?

WAT

And I'm not even a big Naughty Dog fan!

I think they are talking about its gameplay compared to gameplay driven games and on that point I can agree. I am a huge TLOU fan and compared to those kinds of games it is lacking but it really shines during the the survivors mp mode.

 

[Durante]

The narrative this year is about how the polish team made an amazing open-world RPG.

That's not just the narrative, that's also reality.

Not my personal GotY (that would be Pillars of Eternity), but probably the most deserving mainstream GotY award winner in a long time.