2023 has been a year that can be described as a video game renaissance. After these past three years of shallow, unfinished, bland games, this year has had many unique experiences that revolutionized the industry. However, there is only one game that can hold the ultimate title of being crowned Game of The Year. The Game Awards, for those unfamiliar, is a yearly award show in the same fashion as The Oscars, just for video games. Sure, it can be a little nerdy, but there is a thrill people get when watching who will come out on top, to rub it in a friend’s face that their opinion is deemed better than theirs. This is where the big debate comes into play- these past years, it was very clear from the start which game would win GOTY, as there would always be so much more to offer in the respective titles when compared to the competition. The last heated award show is arguably the 2018 award show, which featured Red Dead Redemption 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Celeste, and the year’s winner, God of War. While the nominations for 2023’s award show have yet to be announced, the anticipation is running wild on forums, people speculating what game from this year deserves that title of being known as Game of The Year.
What is interesting about this year is that every major platform for gaming- PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox, all have solid contenders that each hold their own arguments for why they deserve the throne. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom was a groundbreaking sequel to the critically acclaimed Breath of The Wild, the game featured dozens of new mechanics, such as the masterclass usage of physics to turn the game into a beautifully woven story disguised as an infinitely expansive sandbox of ideas- the game has been anticipated as far back as 2019, and when it finally released, it blew everything out of the water. Whether it be traversing the expansive world of Hyrule, navigating the all-consuming darkness of The Depths, or building machines to fly in the sky islands, Tears of The Kingdom is more than worthy of a nomination for this year’s award show.
PlayStation is no stranger to releasing all-time high sales. The Last of Us Part II obliterated everything in its path, winning almost every category it was nominated for in 2020. However, a PlayStation title has yet to win a GOTY award since. This year, there is a strong chance that Insomniac Games will bring home yet another trophy with the highly anticipated Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Now, this game has yet to be released, but hear me out. This game is a sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man, A game so successful, it didn’t just get nominated for 2018, but it won so many other awards on PS4 alone that it was not just remastered, but ported to PC so everyone can experience what it means to be Spider-Man. The sequel is already confirmed to be twice the size of the first game- play as both Spider-Men (Peter Parker and Miles Morales), navigate through three burrows of NYC, work together to control and defeat the Venom symbiote, all while Kraven the Hunter wreaks havoc among the population. The game releases on October 20th, 2023, which is just in time to get that golden ticket of a nomination.
While Xbox does not have a definitively exclusive game for its console that deserves Game of The Year, Microsoft recently purchased the popular company known as Bethesda. Bethesda has won several awards for their franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout,. This year, Bethesda stopped playing around with their declining release quality, and they released their most ambitious project yet- Starfield. This massive game cannot be understated. Of all the games listed in this article, Starfield is by far the most demanding. This open world game takes the meaning to a whole new level, allowing you to explore entirely unique planets. Everyone you talk to shapes the world in some way, and each planet you visit with a custom spaceship is unique with its own environment. Bethesda has been hyping this game up for years, and now that it has been released, they might just have another shot to take home the gold.
However, there is one more game that is truly deserving of this title. While it is not limited to just a PC, most of the fan base will be taking the role of adventurers on that platform in Baldur’s Gate 3. This is Dungeons and Dragons warped into the ultimate fantasy game. It is complex, it is brutal, it is endlessly fun, and it made all this year’s bad releases look even worse. There is an indescribable amount of charm to this game, from changing your stats on each playthrough, to interacting with the dozens of unique characters that elevate the atmosphere. Even if someone does not like DnD, they can easily fall in love with this game. Baldur’s Gate 3 is surely going to be at this year’s award show and might even win the grand prize.
There are so many more games that should be nominated- Resident Evil 4, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Street Fighter VI, Mortal Kombat 1, Pizza Tower, the list is endless. Each successful game this year is truly one for the ages, nothing feeling like a one and done experience. This year’s award show is going to be one for the books, it is not going to be a clean sweep in any direction. I highly anticipate this year’s competition, and hope that these games are all recognized for the passion projects that they are.