Out of all the awards in the gaming industry, one rises amongst the rest for being the most prestigious. An award that not only signifies great esteem, but puts you on the same stage as legendary games such as Elden Ring, The Legend of Zelda, and God of War: 2018.
Due to the Game of the Year (GOTY) award being held in such high regard, the winner of the award consistently turns into a debate within the gaming community. However, given the games released in the past year, the number of potential winners has never been greater.
With 2023 having heavy hitters such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel Spider-Man 2, Baulders Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the competition has never been tougher.
That’s what makes this year so unique. In the fact that any one of these nominees could have made the cut for GOTY in any other year. Competition being this cutthroat has never occurred in the 9 years that GOTY award has been a tradition.
Even with all these phenomenal nominations, the debate has been cut down to two main nominees; Marvel Spiderman 2 and Baulders Gate 3. With both games being add-ons from an already established game series, these games were sure to take the main stage.
This debate for GOTY ironically falls into the same case that 2022’s GOTY debate had between the two main contenders Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok.
With Elden Ring (in this case Baulders Gate 3) being the overall better game and God of War: Ragnarok’s (Spider-Man 2) characters and narrative resonating more with fans.
Yet unlike last year where Elden Ring seemed like the right choice, I believe in this case the better narrative deserves to take the crown.
The main reason is that Baulders Gate’s gameplay is one that is very unique and plays more like a board game than a conventional game.
This type of gameplay is only applicable to some and I feel that it doesn’t please a majority of the gaming community the way Spider-Man 2 does. Spider-Man 2’s gameplay is one that feels like your traditional video game that all ages can enjoy.
With Spider-Man having so many accessibility options such as numerous gameplay options such as different difficulties, fall damage accessibility, and swing assist all are options that can drastically change the gameplay for every user.
This accessibility was so great that it even got the game recognized as a nominee for the Innovation in Accessibility award.
Another justification for Spider-Man 2 deserving the GOTY award is that Spider-Man is not only a game, but an experience that tells its narrative in a short and sweet amount of time. On the other hand, Baulders Gate 3 takes hundreds of hours to even get to the final acts of the game.
Sure anyone would think that an enjoyable game being able to go on for longer is good, but the argument comes down to the simple question: How is a game supposed to win GOTY if a majority of the community hasn’t even finished it?
