At TheGamer, we do GOTY picks a little differently. Rather than debating about our collective list endlessly and sanding off our unique opﷺinions to try to slot in with the general critical consensus, every editor here picks their own, and then using the magic of mathematics and a spreadsheet, we tally up the votes and see what the top ten shakes out as. My vote counts the same as everyone else, eve꧋n though I’m the boss and I have the best taste.
In any case, I find picking our list in this fashion leads to a lot of fascinating quirks that other lists miss out. Last year, The Forgotten City was crowned our game of the๊ ye𓄧ar. This year, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Citizen Sleeper and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Elden Ring took it down to the wire, while Ragnarok tussled with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Neon White, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Vampire Survivors, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Immortality for that bronze medal position. Where other sites looked to the prestige of Ragnarok a𝐆nd Elden Ring and had the unenviable task of comparing major blockbusters to searing indie delights, we let maths do our thinking for ꩲus.
I believe this is the most interesting way to do a GOTY list, and the best way to reflect a site’s personality - it also makes TheGamer’s GOTY list one of the hardest to predict. But that’s not going to stop me, oh no. I wrote that 2023 is going to be an impressive year for gaming, so with that in mind I’m going to try to guess which games make our GOTY list next year. I’ll be back in 12 months to tell you how right I was. I’m going to squeeze in a few honourable mentions too, as I think 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dead Space, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Street Fighter 6, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur’s Gate 3, and Season will just miss out.
10. Goodbye Volcano High
Oh, Goodbye Volcano High. This dominated my list of ‘most anticipated games for 2022’, only to see it delayed out of 2022 and into 2023. I’m holding out hope that when it gets here, it’ll be worth it, and I’ve surely talked about it en🔴ough that everyone here will give it a whirl.
9. She Dreams Elsewhere
A little bit of a wild one, but I think She Dreams Elsewhere will be the big indie breakout of 2023. 1🐈68澳洲幸运5开奖网:Two years ago I spoke to the developer, and the mix of Paprika, Persona, Pokemon, and Seinfeld (look, that’s what they told me) sounds like it has the potential to be intoxicatingly unique. Likely an also-ran for some other outlets, our ranked vote system ꦆshould see this one secure a sp✨ot.
8. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
If She Dreams is wild, this pick is downright feral. TheGamer though is home to more Avatar fans per capita than any site on ♍Earth,𒅌 and though Ubisoft has been off its A-game recently, I suspect there’s going to be enough here to carry it through. This is the one I’m least confident in, as a delay or disaster remains on the cards.
7. Fire Emblem: Engage
We typically have JRPG/TRPG games just falling short of the top ten, but the name brand recognition of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fire Emblem will see it spread further than the usual cir๊cle of dorks.🥃 A January release could hurt it, but it’s the biggest name in town so I think it’ll be just fine.
6. Starfield
Controversial to have it this low? I don’t think so. Much like God of War Ragnarok in 2022, I think 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Starfield will top a few lists, populate the lower reaches of a few more, and miss out on a lot of them altogether. It’s a major game, but it’s also going to be a huge time sink in a busy year, it’s a new IP that might not hit the ground running, and (whisper it) Bethesda is on a col⭕d streak. I’m expecting it to be🃏 good but not great.
5. Cassette Beasts
This game won’t be on many radars right now, but I expect it will be a GOTY list staple 𒅌this time next year. The Pokemon-riff sees you collect beasts on cassette tapes, all while fighting off monsters based on niche horror tropes in a cosy British town where everyone is as lost as you. Despite slamming Pokemon and Zelda together, it’s a unique title that could spring a surprise.
4. Final Fantasy 16
Pretty much the same thing I said about Fire Emblem. We have a lot of nerds who always put 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy-style games on their lists, but without making much impact on the final ten. However, with Final Fantasy, the name is going to attract a lot more people to play, and if it’s close to the quality of Endꦉwalker or Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it’ll earn a top 🐭five spot.
3. Spider-Man 2
Now that we’ve got the ‘Fall 2023’ date confirmed for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Spider-Man 2, I have faith it will stick to it given Insomniac’s track record. Both Spider-Man an🅰d Miles Morales were incredible games, and if the sequel can learn from the best parts of bo꧟th of them, we have a real GOTY contender on our hands.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Look, I’m not going to vote for this one, but everyone else and their granny’s dog will. I didn’t quite ‘get’ 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Breath of the Wild, though I am grateful for its influence. It might seem like a lock for GOTY, but Elden Ring did this year too, o✤nly to stumble at the last second.
1. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Look, I’m swinging for the fences here. But after The Forgotten City and Citizen Sleeper went back to back, I’m rooting for ﷽‘the little indie that could’ to make it three years running. This highly anticipated title channels Jet Set Radio, and if it has as much to say, it could steal a march while the big games take points off each other.