There are so many great games this year, some we just don’t get around to play them. Like most years, the list is long but we had to whittle it down to the top 5.
The game we love best from afar and pining to play
- Bloodstained Ritual Of The Night
- Disco Elysium
- Judgment
- The Outer Wilds
- Samurai Shodown
Deliberations Summary
For the third year in a row, another Yakuza game by the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is nominated for the Anan Award for Best Game We Didn’t Play. And this mostly due to us slowly clawing our way through the backlog and there’s a new Yakuza game every year- even next year. With Yakuza: Like A Dragon moving to a more JRPG gameplay, Judgment is now torch-bearer of the classic Yakuza character-action gameplay. It’s great as you’d expect of a Yakuza game but none of the baggage. Literally no upfront knowledge of the franchise required.
The Outer Wilds came out of nowhere- more on that later. The puzzler/adventure game has so strong of a word of mouth most of us here have it on their radar. Samurai Shodown’s return is a strong one, SNK is making good fighting games again. Bloodstained should be celebrated as a crowdfunding success from a legendary designer evoking their legendary game. And the fact that you can go wild with the builds sound ever-so-interesting.
But Disco Elysium though. Its experimental take on a CRPG- letting you be a proper detective and not about combat, is a breath of fresh air. And the way it uses RPG mechanics is cool. Your skill stats are essentially your party members where you have bickering internal monologue with these various facets of your own thoughts. You can cultivate ideas and internalise them so you can embrace a different outlook of life- good or otherwise.
And we were so, so close to actually have a review done of it. Yet at the end of the year, none of us play it despite really wanting to.
Congratulations to Disco Elysium for winning the GM GOTY Award for Best Game We Didn’t Play!
Previously, we crowned the winner for Best Remake/Remaster. For the full list of awards, have a look at that here.
Check back tomorrow for the category almost everyone is excited for, the Best Racing Game!