It was strange that an industry that has almost half a century of life behind it, and that is considered an artistic and technical discipline on the same level as cinema, did not have annual awards that recognize the work of the best professionals. Luckily, since 2014 that has changed and it seems that The Game Awards have consolidated until they are officially considered the equivalent of the Hollywood Oscars.
The best games of the year
As we tell you, throughout all these years many prizes have been awarded: magazines, websites and the media in general, above all, which in this time have been the ones that have named the best of the year although we could not consider them as the canon to mark his name with letters of gold for posterity. Luckily, since 2014, the ineffable Geoff Keighley has taken control and had the good sense to create in one of the meccas of videogames (the West coast of the US, where E3 is held) a contest that aspired to be the benchmark for the sector worldwide. And quite some time later, we can affirm that he has achieved it.
What are GOTYs? And The Game Awards?
So The Game Awards have become a must every December of each year, through a gala that has always been in person and has taken place in venues such as The AXIS in Las Vegas, the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles or, in 2020, virtually thanks to a canned video (indeed, due to the pandemic) of those that became fashionable by some companies in the sector. There you have the State of Play, Nintendo Direct, etc.
So if you think we are going to start an article in which, periodically, we are going to bring together all the winners that The Game Awards are proclaiming as best of the year (GOTY), thus leaving a small review for posterity of those titles that marked, in some way, each of the generations of consoles that we enjoy.
Here you have them, these are the best games of each year, since The Game Awards awards the award:
GOTY 2014: Dragon Age Inquisition
After a first Dragon Age splendid and a much more discreet second part, Bioware found success again with this game openly flirting with a kind of more open world where we could do a lot more things in any order we wanted. The North American RPG formula was also improving and proof of that success is that The Game Awards named it the best of that 2014. Do you think it was successful?
View offer on AmazonGOTY 2015: The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
What to say about one of the great games of the last decade, which has appeared for every console imaginable (including Nintendo Switch), with extra DLC, enhanced versions in complete collections, and adapted to PS5 and Xbox Series X | S to improve its graphic performance. In addition, no one doubts that it has a guaranteed future between series on Netflix and continuations that will still take time to arrive. The adventures of Geralt de Rivia were awarded in 2015 like the undisputed GOTY. Few doubts about the success of the prize, don't you think?
View offer on AmazonGOTY 2016: Overwatch
Blizzard's entry into the competitive FPS genre was news that revolutionized the industry. so much that the wait until its premiere dressed in a hyping never seen and it may be that, for that reason, he ended up winning a The Games Award that many still haven't understood today. It is a great game, very well designed and embodied, with a scenes typical of eSports but, seen with the perspective of the years, surely proclaiming it GOTY would be excessive, right?
View offer on AmazonGOTY 2017: The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
In the year of the release of the Nintendo Switch, there was a game that swept all the others. It did not matter who was presented to The Game Awards that he had everything to lose because If there is a perfect game in recent years, that's it. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild from nintendo. We are not going to say unanimity, but a vast majority agrees with this GOTY.
View offer on AmazonGOTY 2018: God of War
Santa Monica Studios was responsible for this reboot of God of Ward for PS4 and the truth is that the success was great. This 2018 GOTY was a bestseller, has a PC version and a sequel is already being prepared that, hopefully, will reach us in 2023 with God of War Ragnarok. This award is also indisputable and one of the most deserved that has been given in the short history of The Game Awards.
View offer on AmazonGOTY 2019: Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
FromSoftware,Japanese, They had their moment of worldwide recognition with this game which is one of the best in recent years. A deserved GOTY and about which little can be said except that if you haven't played it, do so: intense combat and an oriental setting of those that are appreciated when it comes to immersing ourselves in an adventure with such epic overtones.
View offer on AmazonGOTY 2020: The Last of Us Part II
If we talk about hyping, we talk about The Last of Us Part II. One of the most anticipated PlayStation exclusives that finally landed in the middle of the pandemic year, forcing Sony to delay its launch a bit. Joel and Ellie's adventures continue and are so superb that they deserved the GOTY award at The Game Awards. Do you think it is deserved?
View offer on AmazonGOTY 2021: It Takes Two
It is surely one of the most controversial GOTY awarded by The Game Awards since they existed because the day after the election, the networks were on fire without understanding why this cooperative title, the work of the famous Josef Fares, could compete against other weighty names. But it is true that, far from what it seems to you, it is difficult to find anyone who, having played it, does not say that it is wonderful: for history, for general approach and for fun. Which also counts.
View offer on AmazonGOTY 2022: Elden Ring
GOTY 2023: Baldur's Gate III
GOTY 2024: Astro Bot
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