It was strange that an industry that has practically half a century behind it, and that is considered an artistic and technical discipline on the same level as cinema, did not have annual awards that recognized the work of the best professionals . Luckily, since 2014 that has changed and it seems that The Game Awards have been consolidated until they are officially considered the equivalent of the Hollywood Oscars.
The best games of the year
As we say, throughout all these years many prizes have been awarded: magazines, websites and the media in general, above all, which at 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 gold letters for posterity. Luckily, since 2014, the ineffable Geoff Keighley has taken command and had the wisdom to create in one of the meccas of video games (the West Coast of the USA, where E3 is held) a contest that aspired to be the reference of the sector throughout the world. And quite some time later, we can say that he has achieved it.
What are the GOTY? And The Game Awards?
So The Game Awards have become a must -attend event every December of each year, through a gala that has always been in person and has been held on stages such as The AXIS in Las Vegas, the Microsoft Theater of Los Angeles or, in the year 2020, virtually thanks to a canned video (indeed, because of 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 so, 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 the 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 gives the award:
GOTY 2014: Dragon Age Inquisition
After a splendid first Dragon Age and a much more discreet second part, Bioware once again found success with this game that openly flirted with a kind of more open world where we could do many more things in the order we wanted. The American RPG formula was also improving and proof of this success is that The Game Awards named it as the best of that 2014. Do you think it was successful?
GOTY 2015: The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
What to say about one of the great games of the last decade , which has appeared for all imaginable consoles (including Nintendo Switch), with extra DLC, improved versions in complete collections and adapted to PS5 and Xbox Series X | S to improve its performance graphic. In addition, no one doubts that he has a guaranteed future between series on Netflix and sequels that will still take time to arrive. The adventures of Geralt de Rivia were awarded in 2015 as the undisputed GOTY. Few doubts about the success of the award, do not you think?
GOTY 2016: Overwatch
Blizzard’s entry into the competitive FPS genre was a news that revolutionized the sector. So much so that the wait until its premiere was dressed in a hype never seen before and perhaps, for that reason, it ended up winning a The Games Award that many have not understood even today. It is a great game, very well designed and captured, with an eSports scene but, seen with the perspective of the years, surely proclaiming it GOTY would be excessive, right?
GOTY 2017: The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
In the year of the launch of the Nintendo Switch there was a game that swept all others. It didn’t matter who showed up to The Game Awards that had everything to lose because if there is a perfect game in recent years, that is Nintendo ‘s The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild . We are not going to say unanimously, but an overwhelming majority agrees with this GOTY.
GOTY 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 enormous. This 2018 GOTY was a bestseller , it has a PC version and a sequel is already being prepared that, hopefully, will arrive in 2023 with God of War Ragnarok . This award is also indisputable and one of the most deserved that have been awarded in the short history of The Game Awards.
GOTY 2019: Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
FromSoftware, Japanese, had their moment of world recognition with this game that is one of the best in recent years. A deserved GOTY and of 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.
GOTY 2020: The Last of Us Part II
If we talk about hype , we talk about The Last of Us Part II . One of the most anticipated PlayStation exclusives that finally landed in the middle of a pandemic year, forcing Sony to delay its launch a bit. The adventures of Joel and Ellie have a continuation and are so superb that they deserved the GOTY award at The Game Awards. Do you think it’s deserved?
GOTY 2021: It Takes Two
It is surely one of the most controversial GOTYs awarded by The Game Awards since they exist because the day after the election, the networks burned without understanding why this cooperative title, the work of the famous Josef Fares, could compete against other names of weight. But it is true that, far from what you think, 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.