VGS Game of the Year 2021 Winner - Metroid Dread

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

5 hours ago, FireHazard51 said:

I thought I was going to be the only one voting for R&C.  I love the series and was the main driver for me to get a PS5 right away instead of waiting.  For being a launch title I can't wait and see what they do in the next game.

As for the second poll.  I've banned myself from playing the Psychonauts 2 until play the PSVR game.  I did watch a live stream play most of the game and it looked great and he said it was one of the best games he's played in a LONG while.  He's a harsh critic of video games yet gave it a 10/10, which he tries to never do because he thinks almost no game can be perfect and get a 10.

 

4 hours ago, spacepup said:

While I really enjoyed R&C and Metroid Dread, I had to go for It Takes Two - because IMO, it was just a fantastic adventure that was SUPER fun to play co-op.  The game has so much to offer, and is just loads of fun to play.  I highly recommend it.

For the second part, I had to pick Psychonauts 2!  Psychonauts is a very beloved franchise of mine.

 

I ended the year with three games in the running for this award. Psychonauts 2, Halo Infinite, and It Takes Two. I was really sad that no one else chimed in to support Psychonauts 2 in the nomination thread, hence it's inclusion in the second class voting category instead of the main awards.

I was really quite torn between these three games and rated them all as 9/10. Ultimately, I went with It Takes Two because it's such a unique experience and a real celebration of what gaming can be. I can take or leave the story, but the gameplay is just so damn good and it's filled with interesting concepts and explorations of cooperative play.

Psychonauts 2 shined with an amazing story, fantastic writing, and a really fun cast of characters, but the gameplay is pretty by-the-book. This was still such a joy, that I would recommend it to literally anyone who plays games.

Halo nailed the gameplay, but the story didn't particularly capture my imagination. I actually think Cortana and Master Chief's relationship is the most interesting aspect of the series and deserved a little bit more exploration, rather than an abrupt off-screen end. Similarly, the decision to start the game with Master Chief getting his ass kicked without any opportunity to participate in the major battle leading up to that moment reeks of content cuts in a game rife with them. I thought there would be flashbacks or something to explain the abrupt start, but they never materialized. I even went through summaries of the previous games to see if I missed something, but no, that's just how they start this story. Bizarre.

I think GOTY awards should recognize games with high quality, original content that pushes boundaries. It Takes Two did that for me.

Edited February 11, 2022 by DoctorEncore

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

4 hours ago, RH said:

I hadn't played any of those games in the second list, but I watched and entire play through of R&C.  I started just to get a feel for the PS5s graphics capabilities, but I found it interesting and short enough to just let it play in the background of my work, as it also had a cute enough story to enjoy.

Regardless, voted Forza 5 because it looks amazing and it the type of game to almost motivate me to pick up a current gen console. To bad I only have a 1080p TV!  But... then GT7 dropped a long demo yesterday and I have to say, it wore it better.

Forza Horizon 5 looks and plays incredible on Series X in 4K. If I had spent some serious time with it, it may have been competitive in that second category.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Last call! Get those votes in before midnight EST tonight!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,525]

abstain

My tentative scores are

Metroid Dread - 8.5/10

Pokemon Snap - 7/10

SMT V - TBD

[MegaMan52 | 2,445]

I voted Pac-Man 99, but probably would've voted Metroid Dread if I got around to buying it.

Edited February 13, 2022 by MegaMan52

[Reed Rothchild | 9,525]

I should also add that when I get a PS5 this year I'll probably fast track my way to a Village playthrough.

It Takes Two I'd love to play, but convincing my wife to play anything nowadays is a stretch.

I'll never play Halo, Forza, Pac Man, AoE 4, etc.

Returnal and Deathloop and Deaths Door might be years out.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I should also add that when I get a PS5 this year I'll probably fast track my way to a Village playthrough.

It Takes Two I'd love to play, but convincing my wife to play anything nowadays is a stretch.

I'll never play Halo, Forza, Pac Man, AoE 4, etc.

Returnal and Deathloop and Deaths Door might be years out.

It Takes Two is so good that I'd recommend putting a call out here for a partner if your wife doesn't want to play. It's really accessible since only one person has to have a copy to play online.

It's a stretch, but I'm hoping to get through Death's Door, Returnal, and Deathloop this year. Death's Door is actually on Game Pass right now, so I might jump into that sooner rather than later.

[OptOut | 8,884]

3 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'd love to play, but convincing my wife to play anything nowadays is a stretch.

Ho ho ho, trouble in paradise? 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,525]

Just finished Dread.  Loved it, would have been happy to vote for it even with a lack of playing most of the big titles.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

And the winner is Metroid Dread!

Psychonauts 2 takes home the consolation prize in the forgotten games category.

Voter turnout was strong and the VGS members showed their (unsurprising) love for the series that kickstarted the whole 2D exploration genre. We actually had a 5-way tie for second place which is unprecedented! Okay, it's actually precedented since it's happened in 100% of VGS GOTY polls so far. But in five years it will be UNPRECEDENTED!

While Metroid didn't do it for me personally, it seems like almost everyone considers it a return to form for a classic franchise. Psychonauts 2 (my personal favorite for the year) may have flown a bit under the radar, but its fantastic humor and thoughtful treatment of mental illness struck a chord with many.

For 2022, I'll try to start things a little earlier to give the nominations thread more time to gestate. Alternatively, I could start a nominations thread right now and let it run throughout the year. Thoughts?

[twiztor | 850]

9 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

For 2022, I'll try to start things a little earlier to give the nominations thread more time to gestate. Alternatively, I could start a nominations thread right now and let it run throughout the year. Thoughts?

well, if BOTW2 actually comes out this year, everything else will be fighting for 2nd, and it won't even be close. 

in all seriousness, i tend to forget which games came out in a given year, so my thought would be to start the thread soon and let it simmer. gives folks a chance to reflect on their earlier thoughts.

[RH | 4,903]

10 hours ago, twiztor said:

well, if BOTW2 actually comes out this year, everything else will be fighting for 2nd, and it won't even be close. 

I had the same immediate thought, although I wouldn't hold my breath to seeing BOTW2 this year.  Especially with all that was within that mega-bomb drop of a direct we had last week.  There was too much good content in that Direct for them to consider adding more "noise" to their profitability streams, but maybe I'll be wrong and we'll get a November 2022 release. I'm doubtful of that, but who knows.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

11 hours ago, twiztor said:

well, if BOTW2 actually comes out this year, everything else will be fighting for 2nd, and it won't even be close. 

in all seriousness, i tend to forget which games came out in a given year, so my thought would be to start the thread soon and let it simmer. gives folks a chance to reflect on their earlier thoughts.

 

1 hour ago, RH said:

I had the same immediate thought, although I wouldn't hold my breath to seeing BOTW2 this year.  Especially with all that was within that mega-bomb drop of a direct we had last week.  There was too much good content in that Direct for them to consider adding more "noise" to their profitability streams, but maybe I'll be wrong and we'll get a November 2022 release. I'm doubtful of that, but who knows.

BotW 2 is definitely on my short list for expected 2022 GOTY, although playing through Horizon Zero Dawn right now makes me think Forbidden West may be in the running. I was lukewarm on God of War reboot, so I'm not particularly interested in that sequel. Elden Ring and Starfield are also on my radar.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

How much is availability though? I'm sure the vast majority of us own a Switch and have the ability to play BOTW2 when that drops. PS5s and New Xbox Models are still pretty hard to come by around here making playing modern releases on those console difficult.

I imagine the switch will dominate VGS GOTY awards for at least another couple years until the newest gen consoles become more widely availiable.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

1 hour ago, Kguillemette said:

How much is availability though? I'm sure the vast majority of us own a Switch and have the ability to play BOTW2 when that drops. PS5s and New Xbox Models are still pretty hard to come by around here making playing modern releases on those console difficult.

I imagine the switch will dominate VGS GOTY awards for at least another couple years until the newest gen consoles become more widely availiable.

This is a great thought and it did come up last year, but I don't think it will be big problem in 2022. Returnal, Deathloop, and Ratchet & Clank were all at a severe disadvantage in 2021 due to PS5 exclusivity (although I'm not convinced wider exposure would've put any of them in a position to beat Metroid Dread).

As of right now there appear to be less next-gen exclusives this year than last. Horizon: Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7, Elden Ring, Bayonetta 3 (maybe?), and God of War are probably the biggest games coming out this year and they will all appear on last gen consoles. Starfield, Forspoken, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 are the only next-gen games I foresee making much of an impact and I don't think they are the type of games that would dominate a VGS poll.

So, we'll see? I do agree with you that Switch games will dominate for the foreseeable future though. 100 million consoles is a heck of a lot more than 30 million and this is a popular vote.

Edited February 21, 2022 by DoctorEncore

[OptOut | 8,884]

On 2/21/2022 at 1:33 AM, DoctorEncore said:

For 2022, I'll try to start things a little earlier to give the nominations thread more time to gestate. Alternatively, I could start a nominations thread right now and let it run throughout the year. Thoughts?

I think the vote has been hampered due to the fact the main-site is still down, activity is still super low compared to where we were before Christmas. This is also the reason I have delayed the Golden Ganon awards for the time being until, we are more back to normal.

Hopefully it won't be TOO much longer now till we're back where we were again!