Golden Joystick Reveals Nominations for Ultimate Game of the Year

No Stellar Blade.. blasphemy. Can't say I'm surprised though, given the state of the industry.

Bought none, played none. Makes a change. But an eclectic mix there. Should a remake be on the list? Be interesting to see what is said below.

@Slippship Actually that's a point, I've not played a single game on that list, except for Helldivers 2, but it wasn't for me. None of the other games really sound interesting to me, other than maybe Astro but will wait for a price drop.

Nice to see Animal Well in there. It's a great game.

Dragon Age being on this list is interesting given a lot of the loud (and sometimes obnoxious) negativity around this game.
I say this as someone who has bought the game and holding off until I have my Pro.
(The metacritic review bombing has been distasteful - to be fair this is not abnormal, and im practically done with the site as they seem to have zero moderation for user reviews - i only looked out of interest after buying!)

Asto bot my clear GOTY so far though - imo a very easy choice this year!

Stellar blade not on the list is odd.

Easy pick: REBIRTH is god.

Astro is the only excellent game on the list from those I've played. FF7 Rebirth was a disappointment and quite frankly sucked big time. Metaphor has been so boring that I quit it and went to Armored core 6. Animal Well was good though I don't remember anything.

Edit: considering people can vote for this, Veilguard shouldn't be there due to its recent release.

@Rich33 SB isn't too surprising since the story was a bit dull. It is my second favorite game this year though (mostly a sign of how boring 2024 has been for me personally)

Concord UGOTY in our hearts

Tekken 8 and Silent Hill 2 are definitely my games of the year.

@Icey664 Stellar Blade makes for an interesting discussion. Personally though, take away the controversy and there is nothing special or unique about it.

I have never taken these game awards seriously after God of War beat Red Dead Redemption 2.

Ichiban no. 1, let's go!

Rebirth wins ROTY (remake of the year) and Stellar blade wins orignal IP and best OST of the year

Out of those it’s either Astrobot, Rebirth or Balatro for me. However my personal GOTY might just end up being Unicorn Overlord.

Wow, that's pretty good list, my top 5 currently are
1.Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
2. Astro Bot
3. Silent Hill 2
4. Animal Well
5. Tekken 8

So great choices I think

For me Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth is better than almost everything on that list, certainly the best in its genre this year. Tekken 8 is also great and Astro Bot is very good and I've not played Shadow Generations yet which is meant to be rather good too.

From this list I'd go Astor Bot but Infinite Wealth is probably my overall pick

Astro Bot for the win!

Last time I took a goty nomination/winner as an indication for a good game was in the early 2010's. But seeing personal goty from people with tastes that align to mine is always enlightning. For pure entertainment value Many a True Nerd usually has fun goty lists, if a bit esoteric at times. 😁

Between Astro Bot and Rebirth for me.

I chose Metaphor: ReFantazio as my pick of GOTY, with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in the second spot. It just hits that much harder, especially when you play it as the election day in the US is looming.

@Slippship I mean as remakes go its closer to RE2 remake then say The Last of Us Part 1. It changes a lot and looks and plays like a modern game so i think its fair SH2 is included.

@Icey664 the story and characters of stellar blade are garbage.

fun combat but not GOTY potential. sorry!

Stellar blade would be my pick but as thats not listed its an easy Astrobot for me.

I'd probably pick Balatro from that list. It's not as strong a year as the past 2 years though.

Only game I've played on this is Astro Bot. Not too surprised Crow Country and Still Wakes The Deep aren't here, but no Stellar Blade?

@breakneck
Thats sort of my logic, SB isnt close to Astro imo, but certainly deserved a top 10 slot.

@Slippship I think remakes should be allowed where they are full remakes that are build from the ground up and add something new to the game. So Resident Evil. Final Fatasy 7, Demon Souls, Silent HIll remakes all fit. It is a tricky one tho as everyone will have their own opinion on it. Its like how I feel Shadow of the Erdtree could and possibly should be included despite being DLC, just because its bigger and more impressive than some full games.

I hope Astrobot takes the top prize as its just a simple, great fun game that released practically flawless.

Veilguard being nominated is a joke

Of this list I played Helldivers 2 and DA Veilguard. All I can say is that DA shouldn't be on this list, unless all the other games are really bad to mediocre.

Really sad that Kunitsu Gami doesn't get recognition at all despite how beautiful & unique the game is.

Gaming journalist / media really f*cked up huh.

Silent Hill 2 or Astro Bot? That's a tough one.

Astro Bot GOTY! 🔥 Enjoyed it very much. Man thats such a feel good game

Only one I've played is animal well. Loved it but goty is a big stretch. I'm championing thank goodness you're here. A genuinely hilarious game that deserves recognition.

Astro is undoubtedly my GotY. As much as I’m loving Metaphor, Astro is the most fun I’ve had with a game in a very long time. There’s so much charm, the gameplay is great, the music really hits, and it’s the first game I’ve gone out of my way to platinum, because I enjoyed it that much.

We not even at the end of the year yet also why no prince of persia!

Very strange to not see Dragons Dogma 2 not included here.

Metaphor: ReFantazio the clear winner here, lots of other great games but Atlus is the R* of JRPGs

The 3 games I've had the most fun this year (not necessarily the best) are:
Astrobot
Black myth wukong
POP the lost crown

Well done to all the devs involved in the games nominated!

Stellar Blade snubbed. Dragons Dogma II Snubbed.

Veilguard is joke.

This award is a joke.

Thats a lot of interesting games.we will see.word up son

@themightyant
Dragon Age got an 84, what's your point? Metacritic is worthless.

Astrobot no contest.

Astro bot

Why even make a poll?

@Icey664 they are failing to mention that Stellar Blade has a 9.2 with over 6k reviews from gamers

@ApostateMage Yep GoW beating RDR2 is still laughable to this day.

I picked Astro bot, helldivers 2, and animal well.

Pretty solid list, and that’s not even including the other games that could easily have been on it as well. Infinite wealth, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Stellar Blade to name a few. Would say it’s pretty hard to be mad with the variety on this list.

@Rich33 Yeah the thing is I don't care for turn based JRPGs (i still play them off and on) and I'm really burned out on Metroidvanias. Stellar Blade was a good action game but outside of the excellent combat, music and enemy design I cannot really praise it's story, characters or level design as anything more than derivative. But as a first game it is an impressive debut.

It's a tough decision for me personally, there's been three 10/10 games this year and that's Final Fantasy 7 ReBirth, Astro Bot and Metaphor Re Fantazio. Those three games deserve it the most and hopefully it's one of them that gets the main prize.

@Icey664 Regarding Dragon Age vs Steller Blade. There is always an element of recency bias in these votes where a newer game just sits in peoples mind more than one that came out 6 months ago.

Its one of the oddities with releasing Indy right after the GOTY cut off. Sure it will do well for holiday sales, but next year it will be behind 12m of newer games that sit fresher in peoples mind if it turns out to be award worthy.

It's an absolute crime that Unicorn Overlord isn't on this list.

Most emotional game is Astro's ending. Made my daughter cry so much and I had to convince her Asobi would never do such a thing to that adorable little dude.
Definitely GOTY for me though.

No infinite Wealth or Stellar Blade? What are they smoking?

@DennisReynolds I liked resi2 remake granted.

For me it’s Astrobot for the win. It’s a pretty diverse shortlist. Not what I expected at the beginning of the year, to be honest. Still, I wouldn’t call 2024 a vintage year for gaming..

Another vote for Astro Bot. This type of game comes along once in a blue moon and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hates it. Such games should be celebrated and promoted.

Astrobot. Nothing else comes close.

Balatro! Hail to the king!

No Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload or Stellar Blade? Damn. Infinite Wealth I racked up 150+ hours in. I might’ve leant Rebirth anyways but it’s still disappointing. I’m waiting on my PS4 copy of Metaphor to come in because I know I’ll want to play/platinum it twice like most Atlus games

black myth wukong v dragon age.

Your having a ******* laugh.

@Rich33 I am currently playing Dragon Age, and I am really enjoying it. The dialogue can be a little rough at times, but don’t let the review bombing dissuade you. It’s a good time.

@Sarcasmatwork
Thank you, yes, Ive been playing it for a week or so now (after doing the kid in a sweetshop thing with games once I got my Pro).

Its a good game. Its not perfect (at the moment I feel Pushsquares 8/10 was reasonable), but some of my early issues are resolving the further I get.
I was/am still a bit disappointed in how my selected 'background' for Rook seems to make little difference from a dialogue point of view, particularly early game, and hasnt really been referenced by anyone else except the NPCs belonging to the same background group, and Solas.
However, overall its a very enjoyable game, like you say.

The writing is unsubtle at times, but its no worse than a lot of other very highly rated games, so far.

The hate this game received based on what I have seen so far, is shameful.