The way I see it, no one game deserves the award this year. Overall, nothing stood tall above the rest. Psychonauts was cool, but the actual gameplay was lacking. It was enjoyable and if it wins, thats great. I think the art director is a Black woman, and that was the strongest part of the game.
Ratchet was cool, but too familiar and safe. It was fun to play and the best looking game to me.
Returnal is too difficult and too niche to take it. A great game that deserves nomination recognition.
Resident Evil Village was too uneven. Its highs are fantastic and its lows are puzzling. I wish it was a more balanced experience because then it would be the front runner. Really good sound design in that game. Particularly the PS5 version.
Forza Horizon 5 is FH4. I downloaded it, played it for about 1-2 hours and thought 'this is exactly like FH4' and then deleted it.
It Takes Two is like a collection of dope mini-games. But it was too short and didn't feel like a full game to me.
Deathloop released unfinished. For that alone, it doesn't deserve to win. Within a month of release, there were significant patches for performance, bugs, graphic improvements, and significant AI improvements which change the way the game plays. The pre-order day 1 people got screwed over.
Nothing truly stood out, but a lot of things were good. Next year will be a lot more interesting with the heavy hitters that are scheduled. Gamers should save their online energy and rage for next years GOTY debates.
