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[Majmun]

Nah Bloodborne has way too many renamed Souls mechanics to not be considered one of those games. It's actually a big complaint I have with the game: it doesn't differentiate enough from that series (still the basic structure of souls and recollecting them, same exact world progression structure, same leveling system although vastly stripped down) and in doing so also doesn't carry over some of the progressive changes that Dark Souls 1 and 2 already solved.

Then I don't think we've played the same game. Bloodborne gameplay is totally different than the Souls games.

Sure, the menu and gameworld structure have a lot of similarities. But Bloodborne approaches the formula in a totally different way.

Oh well, I guess Fifa and PES are the same franchises as well!

 

[Calabria]

Fine, but then you have not much cause to judge who is and isn't "reputable".

Well i defined what 'reputable' means to me. So i leave it at that

 

[generic_username]

The gameplay is vastly different. I mean one look at the Ludwig boss fight should show how Bloodborne just plays completely different than a Souls light build ever will.

Bloodborne is definitely better than Dark Souls in my mind, and it seems disingenuous to disregard its quality just to write it off as "just another From game". Not only does the game do enough unique things with its story, themes, aesthetic, and mechanics to justify its existence, but it seems silly to ignore its superlative level design, encounters, bosses...well, everything, just because its part of a series of similar, amazing games. It's not the same as Call of Duty because these games maintain an incredibly high standard of quality between each release (well, maybe not quite as high with Dark Souls 2).

The second half of Dark Souls alone puts it much below Bloodborne.

 

[Fancy Clown]

While Bloodborne does make gameplay tweaks to the souls games, I think it mostly justifies the new names with its story and aesthetics. It's very clearly iterating on a gameplay structure of the souls games, but it differentiates itself in the themes and world they have you exploring.

 

[Lingitiz]

Then I don't think we've played the same game. Bloodborne gameplay is totally different than the Souls games.

Sure, the menu and gameworld structure have a lot of similarities. But Bloodborne approaches the formula in a totally different way.

Oh well, I guess Fifa and PES are the same franchises as well!

The Fifa and PES comparison is ridiculous. This is a game by the same developer and in the same vein as their past titles. It's an experimental sequel that twists the formula in interesting ways. But at the same time it has enough similarities that we shouldn't just ignore the progression made in past games, and that's really all I'm saying.

I think Bloodborne is great and I'm not dismissing it as just another Souls game. But at the same time i'm not going to sit here and excuse its flaws just because it's a separate franchise. The online SHOULD be better. Technically it should be a smoother and more consistent game. Consumable healing combined with the lantern system and long load times was a strange choice.

 

[Hypron]

Nah Bloodborne has way too many renamed Souls mechanics to not be considered one of those games.

Yeah, the game could be called Dark Souls: Bloodborne and no one would bat an eyelid. It emphasizes slightly different things but it still feels really similar.

It's still my favourite Souls-like game in some aspects but acting like it's fundamentally different is crazy.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Bloodborne is definitely better than Dark Souls in my mind, and it seems disingenuous to disregard its quality just to write it off as "just another From game". Not only does the game do enough unique things with its story, themes, aesthetic, and mechanics to justify its existence, but it seems silly to ignore its superlative level design, encounters, bosses...well, everything, just because its part of a series of similar, amazing games. It's not the same as Call of Duty because these games maintain an incredibly high standard of quality between each release (well, maybe not quite as high with Dark Souls 2).

I agree that it does enough unique things. Bloodborne has Souls in its DNA, but it's not a Souls game. Dark Souls 3 is that sequel, not Bloodborne.

It ditches dark fantasy for cosmic horror and that is reflected in the mechanics. It's a tale of beast hunters so a gun replaces a shield, a dash is added, trick weapons, charge attacks, health regain and instant healing are introduced. The games forces you to be agressive because it reflects the lore and setting. It's a different philosophy.

I hope FROM does more of these games that are cut from the same cloth, but still distinct.
It's telling that there were quite a few posters saying they never really liked the Souls series or were not interested in playing it, yet they loved Bloodborne. That means it's certainly different enough for many players.

 

[Ridesh]

May be because I don't usually replay games, so the lack of build variety doesn't matter too much to me, but IMO Bloodborne is a lot better than Dark Souls: Lore and aesthetic are considerable better, creatures design too, for example the townsfolk have a lot more character than the generic undead from the DS3 beta. The level design and soundtrack is just as exquisite and so on.

 

[RespectThySole]

For me, it was refreshing to see TW3 get GOTY. TW1&TW2 hardly won any GOTY awards, a big part of that was due to them being PC exclusives*. It's great to see CDPR finally get some representation after making multiple cult classics. It was hardly one of the favorites to win media GOTY at the beginning of the year either.

*TW2 released on 360 in the following year

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

I agree that it does enough unique things. Bloodborne has Souls in its DNA, but it's not a Souls game. Dark Souls 3 is that sequel, not Bloodborne.

It ditches dark fantasy for cosmic horror and that is reflected in the mechanics. It's a tale of beast hunters so a gun replaces a shield, a dash is added, trick weapons, charge attacks, health regain and instant healing are introduced. The games forces you to be agressive because it reflects the lore and setting. It's a different philosophy.

I hope FROM does more of these games that are cut from the same cloth, but still distinct.
It's telling that there were quite a few posters saying they never really liked the Souls series or were not interested in playing it, yet they loved Bloodborne. That means it's certainly different enough for many players.

I can vouch to this i dont like dark souls but i loved bloodborne. To me it was different enough and never came off as dark souls:bloodborne.

 

[Isendurl]

I fail to see the purpose of this post.

I'm just glad you were able to join us before GOTY voting and thus help Neogaf to become more 'reputable'.

 

[Conor_Fool]

Rocket League not #1? Wow! Noooo!

Expected as much. Great to see Undertale and Rocket League so high on the list

 

[Fhtagn]

Nah, just someone desperately trying to win an argument

I'm really surprised by the intensity of the replies to what I wrote; I'm not even sure how what I said is controversial and I don't know what argument I'm apparently trying to win?

From makes variation games all the time, they always have, they seemingly always will. They have main series like King's Field, Armored Core and Dark Souls that stick to a formula, and then they have spin offs like Shadow Tower, Chromehounds, and Bloodborne that are variations on those themes. You can group them together, or not, your choice. I can see both sides of the argument and sometimes it makes sense to me to group them together as one thing, and sometimes it doesn't, it just depends on how specific you want to be about the mechanics/aesthetics/intent.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Rocket League not #1? Wow! Noooo!

Expected as much. Great to see Undertale and Rocket League so high on the list

Yeah I was surprised Rocket League made it as high as it did. I would have put it on my own list except I just suck so hard at it so I'm always frustrated by it as much as I have fun with it. Really, really quality game though and the support the devs have been giving it has been ace. It seems like every time I boot it up they've added some pretty substantial stuff.

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

Then I don't think we've played the same game. Bloodborne gameplay is totally different than the Souls games.

Sure, the menu and gameworld structure have a lot of similarities. But Bloodborne approaches the formula in a totally different way.

Oh well, I guess Fifa and PES are the same franchises as well!

I think a compromise between "BB is a Souls game" and "they have barely anything in common" is necessary. BB is a refinement of the Souls formula. Well, more accurately, it is a refinement of certain aspects of the Souls formula. It doesn't bear the "Souls" name but it's a spinoff from that series.

It focuses on player skill and reflexes while losing some of the memorization, build variety, and deliberate clumsiness of Souls games. Your dodge in BB is essentially a "maxed out" dodge from a Souls game, but part of that is so that you can learn the system as you go instead of having to wait for your stats to give you decent mobility. Armor doesn't encumber you, but it has a marginal effect on the dmamge you take. That's definitely a departure from Souls. Weapons are meant to be learned, not farmed. While some weapons are locked behind quest paths, for the most part you have access to 80% of the weapons by the time you beat the game, even if you aren't exploring a whole lot. In this sense, BB's combat and aoproach to weapons is closer to a character action game like God of War or DMC than it is to Souls.

But at the end of the day, the core loop of "git gud" remains the same. It isn't called a Souls game just because it's also made by FROM. The game is arguably a spin-off. Is Peace Walker not considered a Metal Gear game because of its differences? Is Xenoblade X unworthy of the name because it didn't directly follow the story and world of Xenoblade Chronicles?

Beyond that, another thing it has going for it is the theme. It is arguably the best Lovecraftian game ever made. Even with the game's flaws, I feel this is not given enough credence. W3 gets a pass on its glitches and mediocre combat because "it's the most cohesive WRPG ever". Well, BB is the most cohesive Lovecraftian game ever.

 

[T.O.P]

Bloodborne collects GOTY from some of the most legit media

1. NeoGAF
2. EuroGamer
3. EDGE
4. GameTrailers
5. The Guardian

Dude stop being so obnoxious holy shit

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Congrats to the deserving winner. First time I completely agree with GAF (though TLoU came close for me in 2013).

Oh and of course massive thanks to timetokill for all the hard work!

Cheers to these folks:

1. helio.capella (80) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190339439&postcount=1128
2. Fhtagn (66) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=192999734&postcount=3010
2. Zophar (66) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190023191&postcount=90
4. Murkas (65) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190347269&postcount=1138
4. Percy (65) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190372967&postcount=1160
6. Shahed (63) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=192637551&postcount=2608
6. StaffyManasse (63) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190039697&postcount=378
8. GustyGardner (62) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190059275&postcount=616
8. Infernostew (62) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190060625&postcount=625
10. FallenGrace (60) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=190045151&postcount=462​

Hehehehe

This is really the best gif ever.

 

[Dash Kappei]

First things first: Great work TTK&CM! Thanks for another great year of awards.

It's RIDICULOUS that in the first page alone there were SIX invalidated ballots, and that 5 out of those 6 were invalidated for the same exact reason. Next year it should be a bannable offense imo, it pisses me off that so much work was done to put together such a fantastic op and then so many posters (not even only the juniors, shame on full members) skip on the very first rule like that, obviously didn't give a shit about reading at least that part: you wanna take part in the voting, then please read the fucking rules and if you don't then bye. Posting without reading the op is a bannable offense anyway, says so right there in the stickied TOS.

I'd be curious to know how many ballots weren't counted this year alone.

 

[Elandyll]

I honestly didn't think there would be that big of a Fallout with a Blood Borne game winning Gaf's Goty 2015.
Life can be Strange, but do we really have to talk about this Until Dawn, when the game was always considered a Pillar of Eternity?

I mean, as if Rising from a Raided Tomb, From Software created a game which although Undertold was straight from the Rocket League right off the bat.
It was pretty much always Chronicled that it would finish in the top 3 games of the year, and it has already become a Legend of Heroes as well as Super Mario Making awards all around.

But really Neogaf seems to have become a Battlefront in this thread, while some salty people tend to go Splatoon all over the place.

I feel a little bit like I am disOriented in the Blind Forest here, looking for a Dying Light on the horizon of some Citie's Skyline, but I seem to only find endless Pain everywhere I look, Phantom or not.
But again, maybe it was always this game's Destiny to be a Taken King... So even if many times we feel like saying "pass me the Bat, Man!", we should all be more mellow and act as if living in a Woolly World.

Perhaps at some point in the future it will even become a wonderful Tale from the Borderlands told to attentive children gathered around the fire ... at the Witching Hour.

 

[Fancy Clown]

l
Beyond that, another thing it has going for it is the theme. It is arguably the best Lovecraftian game ever made. Even with the game's flaws, I feel this is not given enough credence. W3 gets a pass on its glitches and mediocre combat because "it's the most cohesive WRPG ever". Well, BB is the most cohesive Lovecraftian game ever.

It's true. The way it handles the Lovecraftian elements through every facet of its design is really quite special, and one of the reasons why it has one of the best stories and storytelling of any game I've played. It mostly gets downplayed or ignored however, because the storytelling style asks a lot more out its audience than most players are used to.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

I honestly didn't think there would be that big of a Fallout with a Blood Borne game winning Gaf's Goty 2015.
Life can be Strange, but do we really have to talk about this Until Dawn, when the game was always considered a Pillar of Eternity?

I mean, as if Rising from a Raided Tomb, From Software created a game which although Undertold was straight from the Rocket League right off the bat.
It was pretty much always Chronicled that it would finish in the top 3 games of the year, and it has already become a Legend of Heroes as well as Super Mario Making awards all around.

But really Neogaf seems to have become a Battlefront in this thread, while some salty people tend to go Splatoon all over the place.

I feel a little bit like I am disOriented in the Blind Forest here, looking for a Dying Light on the horizon of some Citie's Skyline, but I seem to only find endless Pain everywhere I look, Phantom or not.
But again, maybe it was always this game's Destiny to be a Taken King... So even if many times we feel like saying "pass me the Bat, Man!", we should all be more mellow and act as if living in a Woolly World.

Perhaps at some point in the future it will even become a wonderful Tale from the Borderlands told to attentive children gathered around the fire ... at the Witching Hour.

Ard i must know lol how long did this take you to think up

 

[Emedan]

MGSV in 3rd place... That rubbish doesn't deserve to be that close to BB

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

It's true. The way it handles the Lovecraftian elements through every facet of its design is really quite special, and one of the reasons why it has one of the best stories and storytelling of any game I've played. It mostly gets downplayed or ignored however, because the storytelling style asks a lot more out its audience than most players are used to.

Although I agree that the lore is excellent yet often overlooked, I think even if you experience just the "surface" (I.e you don't hunt for lore) it is still the best Lovecraftian game ever made. The art style, sound design, enemy types, certain mystical items, and the overall tone scream LOVECRAFT to me. The very concepts of a group of scholars reaching out for forbidden knowledge, or antediluvian tunnels deep beneath the city streets hiding dark secrets, or a town abusing the mystical arts to the horror of all, or the tiny little fishing hamlet that is visited by humanity's most significant moment in history... These are extremely Lovecraftian.

But for those who dig deeper into the lore, the parallels between BB and the Cthulu mythos only get stronger. I do agree with you in that respect too. I guess my point is that even without the item descriptions and tiny little details, BB is still very Lovecraftian.

 

[ninjablade]

Lol he said GAF would look funny if we didn't follow the majority, Whatever that majority is. Honestly looking at TW3 GOTY list, its hard to pick reputable sites from the list.

neogaf prefers linear focused gameplay then open world games, unlike the real world where open world generally sell the best. a open world game has never won goty here. then this is enthusiast gaming site, where exclusives will get slightly more points then a multiplatform games, cause of all the talk here is about exclusives, and if a system doesn't have a great exclusives, it's not worth owning. as for reputable sites you can't be serous, the fact thats it got the second most points ever on neogaf goty list, and 240 sites gave it goty, plus way more people have played it.

 

[Azzanadra]

Bloodborne does a lot better than Dark Souls imo. The level design is much better to me, the combat game feel is way fucking dramatically better with harder hitting weapons and increased feedback, and I enjoy the bosses more. I also think Bloodborne's art style also blows the other games in the series away, not to mention Bloodborne's quality doesn't drop off a cliff after the halfway point; it remains consistently great throughout for the first time in the series since Demon's.

This. it seems like a good amount of people seem to have a collective amnesia about post-Anor Londo, which had Dark Souls 2-levels of dreck. Bloodborne is certainly the most consistent game, though it is admittedly the second shortest. But then again, longer =/=better. Dark Souls 2 is the longest and well.... we all knew how that went. With the DLC now, Bloodborne's length feels just right.

 

[Lingitiz]

This. it seems like a good amount of people seem to have a collective amnesia about post-Anor Londo, which had Dark Souls 2-levels of dreck. Bloodborne is certainly the most consistent game, though it is admittedly the second shortest. But then again, longer =/=better. Dark Souls 2 is the longest and well.... we all knew how that went. With the DLC now, Bloodborne's length feels just right.

Dark Souls has that O&S fight that IMO is the biggest highlight and challenge in the entire game. From there it's pretty much a victory lap through the rest of the environments.

One thing I didn't like with Bloodborne is that the game is somewhat of a cakewalk after the first couple of bosses which makes it a much faster playthrough. Rom was meant to be that big halfway point but was a total pushover. And nearly every boss after that I beat on my first try. Pretty disappointing in that respect. I also really fucking hate the Nightmare of Mensis area with the frenzy from out of nowhere. It was cool to have the challenge injected back into the game with the DLC though.

More than anything else, BB is head and shoulders above the rest of the series in this regard. Although there are a couple overly similar environments, the actual level design, and complexity therein, is pretty fantastic.

I still prefer the way Dark Souls 1 interconnected everything. Bloodborne has like one big moment where you backtrack to the beginning and see stuff connected together. The way stuff all connected back to Firelink Shrine in Dark Souls 1 was really cool and gave the sense that Lordran was tightly interconnected and varied. It was such a good feeling to open up a new gate or elevator and then realize "Oh hey I'm back in this really familiar and comfortable place."

 

[T.O.P]

Yeah, I see what he means about transparency being important now.

oh well LOL

 

[Spieler Eins]

This. it seems like a good amount of people seem to have a collective amnesia about post-Anor Londo, which had Dark Souls 2-levels of dreck. Bloodborne is certainly the most consistent game, though it is admittedly the second shortest. But then again, longer =/=better. Dark Souls 2 is the longest and well.... we all knew how that went. With the DLC now, Bloodborne's length feels just right.

On top of that, at this point, I also appreciate any RPG that gets across whatever it wants to do in a shorter way than the usual candidates in the genre. The ~27 hours I needed for BB felt just right (even though that's still not quite Chrono Trigger-tier of pacing and perfect length). And it had the right amount of optional content for a ng+.

 

[Instro]

Bloodborne does a lot better than Dark Souls imo. The level design is much better to me, the combat game feel is way fucking dramatically better with harder hitting weapons and increased feedback, and I enjoy the bosses more. I also think Bloodborne's art style also blows the other games in the series away, not to mention Bloodborne's quality doesn't drop off a cliff after the halfway point; it remains consistently great throughout for the first time in the series since Demon's.

More than anything else, BB is head and shoulders above the rest of the series in this regard. Although there are a couple overly similar environments, the actual level design, and complexity therein, is pretty fantastic.

 

[silva1991]

Yeah, not having a boss as challenging as O&S in Bloodborne was very disappointing


I was really anticipating that kind of boss before the release.

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

Yeah, not having a boss as challenging as O&S in Bloodborne was very disappointing


I was really anticipating that kind of boss before the release.

IMO, the DLC had two such bosses.

 

[generic_username]

Yeah, not having a boss as challenging as O&S in Bloodborne was very disappointing


I was really anticipating that kind of boss before the release.

Ludwig > O & S !

More than anything else, BB is head and shoulders above the rest of the series in this regard. Although there are a couple overly similar environments, the actual level design, and complexity therein, is pretty fantastic.

Dat Astral Clocktower!

 

[silva1991]

IMO, the DLC had two such bosses.

Ludwig > O & S !



Dat Astral Clocktower!

I meant in the base game

dlc was more than satisfying <3

 

[The Xtortionist]

More than anything else, BB is head and shoulders above the rest of the series in this regard. Although there are a couple overly similar environments, the actual level design, and complexity therein, is pretty fantastic.

I prolly wouldn't say Bloodborne's level design is head and shoulders above Demon's (which is my other favorite in this regard), but I like it a bit better. Dark 1 really let me down in that way, tbh. While areas were brilliantly interconnected, I thought the areas themselves were generally a step down from Demon's. Interconnections really don't mean jack to me if the areas don't hit that quality bar. Maybe a minority opinion, but I knew from the first few moments of Undead Burg that it was no Boletarian Palace 1-1, and the rest of the game, with rare exception (Painted World, which happens to be disconnected just sayin' :V) didn't wow me like Latria or Valley of Defilement.

Then we have Bloodborne, which is a huge return to form with stuff like Central Yharnam (which may very well be the best opening area the series has seen), Hemwick, Forbidden Woods, and Yahar'gul. Even areas that are unassuming at first, like Cathedral Ward, have a ton of depth to explore if the player opens them up.

 

[Tankard]

 

[Calabria]

Yeah, I see what he means about transparency being important now.

so you do see it?, you wanna be a smart-ass about my justification for the Order, go ahead my another thread?

 

[Majestad]

Still waiting for Majestad's thoughts on the results.

Blasé. Like mentioned before, my interest in GOTYs are due to the fact that it can help a lot in spreading the word out, meaning extra sales for the game, meaning extra money from the developer, meaning extra money to invest in more amazing games. Then you have the people who need an award to have their opinions validated.

I doubt CDPR or anyone is sweating about a "loss" that barely affects or changes anything.

 

[Elandyll]

Ard i must know lol how long did this take you to think up

Only about 2-3 mins

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Only about 2-3 mins

Bravo to you sir nicely done.

 

[generic_username]

I meant in the base game

dlc was more than satisfying <3

Ah ok.

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

So what are you saying? Are those 70 sites valid or invalid? They can't be both.

They're both. Schrodinger's Poll.

 

[Berto]

Damn some people in here are terribly obnoxious. Anyway congrats to Bloodborne and From. Witcher was my GOTY but im sure i would also love BB if i had a PS4, i love the Souls series.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Can't wait to rig the votes next year so gravity rush 2 can win

 

[IndustryX]

Awesome work guys I absolutely loved bloodborne and the Witcher so happy to see them as 1 and 2. Still need to play life is strange!

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Blasé. Like mentioned before, my interest in GOTYs are due to the fact that it can help a lot in spreading the word out, meaning extra sales for the game, meaning extra money from the developer, meaning extra money to invest in more amazing games. Then you have the people who need an award to have their opinions validated.

I doubt CDPR or anyone is sweating about a "loss" that barely affects or changes anything.

I'm glad you've come to your senses. No more gloating from you about Witcher 3's numerous GotY awards and posting pics of Geralt holding copies of other games like decapitated heads and claiming GAF is going to look funny if Bloodborne wins....it's going to be nice seeing that aspect of your posting style disappear.

 

[Disaster Nebraska]

I meant in the base game

dlc was more than satisfying <3

For me, the base game's O&S was Father G. I had such a difficult time against him and had to resort to some cheesing in order to win my first time (running behind the various gravestones).

However, I know plenty of people who didn't have as hard of a time. I was playing solo my entire first play through, for what it's worth.

 

[Sicious]

Can't wait to rig the votes next year so gravity rush 2 can win

Good luck with that, Uncharted 4 is going to be a tough one

 

[Instro]

I prolly wouldn't say Bloodborne's level design is head and shoulders above Demon's (which is my other favorite in this regard), but I like it a bit better. Dark 1 really let me down in that way, tbh. While areas were brilliantly interconnected, I thought the areas themselves were generally a step down from Demon's. Interconnections really don't mean jack to me if the areas don't hit that quality bar. Maybe a minority opinion, but I knew from the first few moments of Undead Burg that it was no Boletarian Palace 1-1, and the rest of the game, with rare exception (Painted World, which happens to be disconnected just sayin' :V) didn't wow me like Latria or Valley of Defilement.

Then we have Bloodborne, which is a huge return to form with stuff like Central Yharnam (which may very well be the best opening area the series has seen), Hemwick, Forbidden Woods, and Yahar'gul. Even areas that are unassuming at first, like Cathedral Ward, have a ton of depth to explore if the player opens them up.

Admittedly I haven't played Demons in years, so my memory is a bit spotty, although I agree with you on it being better than the DS1 & 2. Personally though I prefer interconnected areas over the hub style of design.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Good luck with that, Uncharted 4 is going to be a tough one

Nonsense all i have to do is only count rpgs votes because reasons, than plot away to get persona5,ffxv,horizon,nioh out the picture. Its a sure fire plan

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Good luck with that, Uncharted 4 is going to be a tough one

You underestimate the power and determination of Kat fans.