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[cormack12]

It's that time of the year again gaf. When the eyes of the internet descend on the forum to see what the finest people rate the game of the year. We're sticking with last year's voting platform, but have changed to a two round voting system. Everyone will vote for their nominees, which can be any game released in 2024. After this round of voting closes, a second round of voting will commence where users will vote again in each category from a list of the top games selected in the nomination process. This change is being made to strike a balance where people are free to vote on whatever game they want to see represented without feeling like their vote won't count when tallied against the big hitters.

Changes/How to vote
Please review this thread detailing the new voting process

Deadlines:
Voting for round 1 will run from 16th December to 5th January
Reaction to the above will run from 6th January to 12th January
Voting from Shortlist will run from 11th January to 30th January <--- you are here
Results will be posted on 31st January
Voting Link: https://www.neogaf.com/finalvote

Can I post my list/choices in the thread?
Certainly! List your winners in here!

Last years results

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/neogaf-goty-2023-ot-results-thread.1666049/

 

[Dacvak]

Thanks for doing this, cormack12 !

 

[Topher]

 

[SweetTooth]

Wait, I have already voted? Do I need to do it again?

 

[Topher]

Wait, I have already voted? Do I need to do it again?

There are two rounds. First round is more like a nominations round. This is the final vote with the top five from the first round in each category.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Common sense prevailed. STALKER 2 isnt up for goty. I won't comment on the rest and I'm against remakes going for goty, but it's the best game by far out of all so my vote goes to SH2.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Thick Thighs Save Lives's selections:

---

Game of the Year	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Action Game	Stellar Blade
Best Adventure Game	Silent Hill 2
Best RPG	Unicorn Overlord
Best Platformer	Astro Bot
Best Shooter	Helldivers II
Best Sports Game	EA Sports College Football 25
Best Fighting Game	Tekken 8
Best Indie Game	Balatro
Best Multiplayer Game	Helldivers II
Best Remake or Remaster	Persona 3 Reload
Best Visual Style	Unicorn Overlord
Best Soundtrack	Stellar Blade
Best UI or HUD design	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Voice Acting	Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Best Box Art	Granblue Fantasy: Relink
Best character design	Unicorn Overlord
Best Overall Value	Balatro
Most Underrated Game	Unicorn Overlord
Most Difficult Game	Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
'It should have been on Gamepass'	Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Game that respects your time	Astro Bot
Game that deserves a sequel	Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game I bought, but didn't play	Click to Vote
Best first hour of gameplay	Helldivers II

 

[Dacvak]

Great choices overall. I guess this year wasn't as bad as I thought for gaming! Indiana Jones sneaking in at the end was such a nice surprise.

A bit of feedback for cormack12 and co.: it would be really nice to add best horror game to the list, since adventure doesn't quite cover it imo.

 

[simpatico]

Anyone going through that voting process cannot reasonably say that this wasn't one of the worst years in the history of gaming for new releases.

 

[ReBurn]

Anyone going through that voting process cannot reasonably say that this wasn't one of the worst years in the history of gaming for new releases.

On the contrary, I bought more new games this year than in the last several years. I've enjoyed it quite a lot.

 

[SJRB]

Stellar Blade not nominated for GOTY sucks, but other than that a very respectable list of nominees.

 

[geary]

 

[SyberWolf]

Played a little of Rebirth, but decided to wait for the PC version.

 

[cormack12]

I actually found it harder with a smaller list lol, very tight calls.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Link to round 1

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

The one true list, everyone else is wrong etc.
Reizo Ryuu's selections:

---

Game of the Year	Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Best Action Game	Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Best Adventure Game	Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Best RPG	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Platformer	Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Best Shooter	Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Best Sports Game	Click to Vote
Best Fighting Game	Tekken 8
Best Indie Game	Nine Sols
Best Multiplayer Game	Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Best Remake or Remaster	Persona 3 Reload
Best Visual Style	Unicorn Overlord
Best Soundtrack	Click to Vote
Best UI or HUD design	Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Best Voice Acting	Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Best Box Art	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best character design	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Overall Value	Balatro
Most Underrated Game	Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Most Difficult Game	Click to Vote
'It should have been on Gamepass'	Helldivers II
Game that respects your time	Click to Vote
Game that deserves a sequel	Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game I bought, but didn't play	Click to Vote
Best first hour of gameplay	Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

 

[GrayChild]

 

[TGO]

Stellar Blade not nominated for GOTY sucks, but other than that a very respectable list of nominees.

With the exception of two or three and the ones you didn't vote for, this is very similar to mine

 

[simpatico]

On the contrary, I bought more new games this year than in the last several years. I've enjoyed it quite a lot.

My top 5 in playtime were DLC and rereleases. Erdtree, Ode to Castlevania, Vessel of Hatred, Dominus Collection and Tsushima.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Sorry but I can't be bothered to vote twice. Huge flaw in the current system.

 

[TGO]

This was hard....

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

This was hard....

Let me give u a helpful nudge

 

[pudel]

...I liked the "should have been on gamepass" troll selection.

But yeah, that was rather a mid year (for my taste). On the other hand it shaked up a few things quite well.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Sorry but I can't be bothered to vote twice. Huge flaw in the current system.

well I can't even be bothered to finish this senten

 

[LectureMaster]

It's that time of the year again gaf. When the eyes of the internet descend on the forum to see what the finest people rate the game of the year. We're sticking with last year's voting platform, but have changed to a two round voting system. Everyone will vote for their nominees, which can be any game released in 2024. After this round of voting closes, a second round of voting will commence where users will vote again in each category from a list of the top games selected in the nomination process. This change is being made to strike a balance where people are free to vote on whatever game they want to see represented without feeling like their vote won't count when tallied against the big hitters.

Changes/How to vote
Please review this thread detailing the new voting process

Deadlines:
Voting for round 1 will run from 16th December to 5th January
Reaction to the above will run from 6th January to 12th January
Voting from Shortlist will run from 11th January to 30th January <--- you are here
Results will be posted on 31st January
Voting Link: https://www.neogaf.com/finalvote

Can I post my list/choices in the thread?
Certainly! List your winners in here!

Last years results

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/neogaf-goty-2023-ot-results-thread.1666049/

My man's singlehandedly running all GAF's community events

 

[adamsapple]

Sorry but I can't be bothered to vote twice. Huge flaw in the current system.

Voted again but kinda agree with this take.

 

[Topher]

Sorry but I can't be bothered to vote twice. Huge flaw in the current system.

It isn't a "flaw". Was said from the beginning this year that there would be two rounds.

 

[TGO]

Let me give u a helpful nudge

I kinda didn't think it would be fair to vote for Silent Hill 2 anyway, Stellar Blade deserves it.
That doesn't mean Silent Hill 2 is worse or less legendary

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

It isn't a "flaw". Was said from the beginning this year that there would be two rounds.

Ok, cool, but it doesn't seem like an unreasonable complaint to me.

 

[Topher]

Ok, cool, but it doesn't seem like an unreasonable complaint to me.

You could have just skipped the first round entirely and only voted one time in the second.

If you just don't like the new format....ok, I get it.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

You could have just skipped the first round entirely and only voted one time in the second.

Wish I'd have thought to do that.

Next year we need a "fire and forget" option, kind of like the Halo achievement.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

I kinda didn't think it would be fair to vote for Silent Hill 2 anyway, Stellar Blade deserves it.
That doesn't mean Silent Hill 2 is worse or less legendary

Lotta great OSTs this year but I really think Stellar Blade takes it. It does so much great moody atmospheric stuff that really gives a feel to each location. It's also awesome at that thing games do where they have a chill version of a track during exploration, and then an energetic version of the same track when battle starts

 

[Topher]

Wish I'd have thought to do that.

Next year we need a "fire and forget" option, kind of like the Halo achievement.

Next year I'll change the page to say "nominations". I don't think we considered that some may not want to participate in both rounds so that's good feedback.

 

[Fess]

Great voting procedure Topher ! I'm already satisfied, my GOTY Indiana Jones is there among the popular top dogs. I don't expect any awards except maybe voice acting but Hellblade 2 could take it too.

My votes:

Spoiler: 😎 Beware! White mode awesomeness

So many people missed Minishoot Adventures. In a fair world it should easily take the indie award, and more. The surprise hit of the year.

 

[rofif]

voted

 

[Icymanipulator]

Nicely put together, thanks for the hard work.
My votes are in!

 

[bender]

I hate each and every last one of you.

 

[Robb]

Done!

And I will say that I like that we had a "nominations round" and "finalists round" this year.

Thanks for putting this together!

 

[[Sigma]]

Some categories I felt like I shouldn't influence because of lack of playing or it was a wash for me and I couldn't decide so I left them blank. I want to take the "Best RPG" vote back but it will not let me leave it blank now. Also I didn't vote for "Game that respects your time" out of protest because Helldivers II should have been in this category

 

[R6Rider]

Still haven't played plenty of titles, but here are my votes:

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

"It should have been on GamePass" AstroBot nominees, lol @ you green rats out in full force. Well done. Too bad I didn't get to play Indy this year so it may have been on my list in some form or fashion, but will pick it up in the Spring.

James Sawyer Ford's selections:

---

Game of the Year	Astro Bot
Best Action Game	Stellar Blade
Best Adventure Game	Astro Bot
Best RPG	Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Best Platformer	Astro Bot
Best Shooter	Helldivers II
Best Sports Game	My First Gran Turismo
Best Fighting Game	Tekken 8
Best Indie Game	Nine Sols
Best Multiplayer Game	Helldivers II
Best Remake or Remaster	Silent Hill 2
Best Visual Style	Astro Bot
Best Soundtrack	Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Best UI or HUD design	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Voice Acting	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Box Art	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best character design	Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Overall Value	Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Most Underrated Game	Stellar Blade
Most Difficult Game	Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
'It should have been on Gamepass'	Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Game that respects your time	Astro Bot
Game that deserves a sequel	Astro Bot
Game I bought, but didn't play	Click to Vote
Best first hour of gameplay	Astro Bot

 

[Biff]

I always use these threads as a time capsule in the form of a ranked list so hopefully no one minds if I continue that here...

Top Games of 2024:
#1 Balatro - LocalThunk is a genius and the game is a masterpiece. Invented a completely new take on poker. Soundtrack is perfect. Amazing.
#2 Astro Bot - Sony finally has a first-party Mario Galaxy. And I mean that in the best way possible.
#3 Predecessor - officially went 1.0 this year. Paragon remake but even better.
#4 Dave the Diver - I played it on PS5 so it's 2024 for me haha. I'm sure most have played it by now, but I really enjoyed. Got a bit tired of it at the end but still highly recommended.
#5 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - haven't seriously played a COD in years but this was on Game Pass. Multiplayer itself is meh, but Zombies mode is fantastic with the new "guided" feature. Or at least it's new to me.
#6 Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket - gacha money magnet but I've been able to enjoy it without spending a dime. It's the closest thing you can get to a "casual" TCG.
#7 Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - still haven't finished it. Performance on PS5 standard is so bad. The "Graphics mode" looks beautiful but runs like shit. The "Perfomance mode" runs a solid 60fps but looks blurry. Really disgraceful that I need to shell out $500 for a PS5 Pro to play this the way I want. I don't understand how it's SO MUCH WORSE than the Part 1 remake which was beautiful and (mostly) ran well. Did they rely on ChatGPT to optimize Part 2? What a shame.

LTTP:
Roboquest - 2023 action roguelite in the same vein as Gunfire Reborn. I think this is actually the better game between the two. Roguelite and/or FPS fans should play it.

Technically not out this year (beta):
The Bazaar - Really deep async autobattler. I backed this thing on Indiegogo like 7 years ago and figured I got scammed and the game would never come out. Well, they actually delivered the (semi) closed beta this year. And it's really damn good.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

#7 Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth - still haven't finished it. Performance on PS5 standard is so bad. The "Graphics mode" looks beautiful but runs like shit. The "Perfomance mode" runs a solid 60fps but looks blurry. Really disgraceful that I need to shell out $500 for a PS5 Pro to play this the way I want. I don't understand how it's SO MUCH WORSE than the Part 1 remake which was beautiful and (mostly) ran well. Did they rely on ChatGPT to optimize Part 2? What a shame.

It's gotta be the large open areas. Remake looks amazing on PS5 but you're running through corridors and doing that thing like they do in god of war where you squeeze through narrow spaces slowly so the next area can load

 

[AzekZero]

I like how the 'It should've been on Game Pass' nominees are on both ends of the spectrum.

GOTY contenders and the bottom of the barrel.

 

[Mozzarella]

I demand to add Best World/Level Design next Year
I think its about time we appreciate the level design and give it the spotlight it deserves, enough neglection of this important aspect.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

I demand to add Best World/Level Design next Year
I think its about time we appreciate the level design and give it the spotlight it deserves, enough neglection of this important aspect.

Meaning maps and environments? Which game did u have in mind that you wanted to give it to this year?

 

[Jinzo Prime]

I demand to add Best World/Level Design next Year
I think its about time we appreciate the level design and give it the spotlight it deserves, enough neglection of this important aspect.

Seconded.

 

[Idleyes]

I don't see what's so complicated about voting in the second round. It literally provides you with a curated list of games to choose from, no need to come up with your own list like in the first round. These are the games that most users submitted in the first round, ready for you to simply click and vote. It's as straightforward as it gets! I'm dumb AF and to me it's easy.

 

[R6Rider]

Meaning maps and environments? Which game did u have in mind that you wanted to give it to this year?

What immediately came to mind:
Astro Bot
Stellar Blade

 

[AJUMP23]

I voted and hope you will too.

Spoiler: votes