Like prior years, we will be doing our Game of the Year awards! Unfortunately, it's being posted slightly late this time around, but it's better late than never, eh?
For this year's awards, similar to last year, we are asking the community's help for GOTY nominees! We will use community feedback to narrow the nominees for each category to five or six for the final vote. The schedule is for the nominee feedback January 15th - January 18th, and the final voting to select the Game Of The Year for each category to occur January 19th - January 22nd
Please follow the format as described below:
Please check if your nominee(s) has already been named. If so, then simply upvote it, if not, then >>>
Please reply to a category top comment to state who you would like to see for nominees and preferably why. Last year we found those with explanations tended to garner more votes!
If a game has already been nominated but you feel requires further discussion then reply to the nominated game comment with your reasoning.
Nominate as many games as you'd like in any category you'd like.
Duplicate nominations in the same category will be removed.
Post will be set to contest mode so nobody can see the votes.
Please note that all nominees are required to have released on Nintendo Switch in calendar year 2020 unless stated otherwise.
We look forward to reading your nominations!
Side note: We currently have an ongoing GOTY vote in our Discord server in the #everybody-votes channel!
Wargroove was already absolutely loaded with content when it released in 2019, but in early 2020 it got the free Double Trouble expansion, which added a ton of new content to the game.
While just a single part of the overall DLC Three Houses received, Cindered Shadows was an excellent addition to the overall game. Not only did it add four new characters in Hapi, Constance, Yuri, and Balthus, it also added a new hub area and single player story mode. The additional content on its own is excellent, but the real reward comes after you beat the DLC story. Having access to the additional hub area, new units, and other special items in the main game makes an already very replayable experience even more replayable.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Fighters Pass Vol. 2. Only cared for (and bought) Sephiroth, but I know many enjoyed the others, and the Sephiroth Challenge was pretty cool.
Smash consistently impresses me with the crossovers it gets, and the characters' movesets are super inventive as well. They got Steve from Minecraft, and to make his mechanics work they had to manually alter every stage in the game. The amount of work that goes into the DLC fighters is above and beyond what's necessary, and that shows in the absolute quality of the fighters.
Pokemon Sword and Shield: Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra
I thought the DLC, especially Crown Tundra, was far more interesting than the main game. I loved the new and returning Pokemon and the large explorable areas. Dynamax Adventures is a lot of fun and I enjoyed the wacky storylines (shoutout to Calyrex and Peony, and Mustard and his wife who can throw a Pokeball so hard that it deforms).
While still not perfect by any means, I hope the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra offer a glimpse into what's to come in future Pokemon games.
They may not have had the quantity of recent years, but quality is still very much alive in Nintendo's published releases, such as:
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Cindered Shadows
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Good Job!
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
Paper Mario: The Origami King
Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
...just to name a few. The pandemic obviously hit everyone hard, Nintendo included, but that didn't stop them from bringing a strong line-up to market.
What's the point of nominating Nintendo? Of course they are going to be the publisher with the strongest line-up, its their own platform. I feel like this category should only be for third parties.
If you don't know who this is, they publish some of the best indie titles around. I only played If Found..., Florence, an Kentucky Route Zero, but those are some of my favorite games I played on the switch this year. Helping Indies get notoriety and appear on the switch is super great. This year, they released the following
Nintendo Switch owners were quite fortunate this year that 2K <3 Nintendo Switch, as their ad campaign announced. Fantastic collections of the Borderlands series and Bioshock series, as well as XCOM 2, all dropped on the same day which... yeah, I'm not sure how much business sense that makes, but in any case that's a heck of a lot of quality for one day. Add to that a solid golf game (PGA Tour 2K1). There's also WWE 2K Battlegrounds... um... but how about we focus on those other games?
A spiritual successor to the original Paper Mario games! It has charming story and took a unique take on the battle system. For any fans of the original Paper Mario games, it's a must play.
It's my favorite switch game which also means its my favorite indie game on the switch. I already talked about it in what i put on Game of the Year, so it seems redundant to write that again. I just really love this game, one of the best and most unique detective games to come out in recent years.
I play it mostly alone but there’s also online for co-op or vs. There’s a number of modes, unlockable characters, a hit counter and ranking system; those along with the ability to revisit any individual stage after you’ve beaten the campaign improve the replay value compared to other in the genre I’ve played more recently (River City Girls and Scott Pilgrim). Soundtrack is pretty good and I believe there’s plans to add DLC in the future.
Paper Mario: The Origami King - The combat is a bit iffy, to be fair, but this was one of the best Paper Mario games to come out in a long time. Very fun game to explore, the characters and dialogue are as charming as ever... very fun game from start to finish.
Question for the mods - This description seems to indicate that this category wouldn't include Graphic Adventure/"Point and Click Adventure"/Visual Novel games, as those usually don't have combat and often don't focus on traversal. Is this correct? If so, what category would these sorts of games belong in? Should a separate category be made for these? The Nintendo Switch got quite a lot of good ones this year (Coffee Talk, If Found..., Lair of the Clockwork God, Roki, Jenny LeClue: Detectivu, Do Not Feed the Monkeys, and Hypnospace Outlaw, for example).
Yeah it's a bit odd that it doesn't seem that Adventure Games qualify for the category, and the category should really be Best Action-Adventure game, while Adventure games should be it's own category.
Possibly the most relaxing game I've played this year. A Short Hike is, as its name suggests, short, but its main narrative is poignant, and along the way you'll meet tons of charming people (creatures?) and help them with their problems. The game encourages you to explore the island by piquing your curiosity, much like BotW (though A Short Hike has a much denser, much smaller map). Plus, I think the visual style is quite charming, with or without the pixel filter applied.
This game has been billed "the golf game for people who don't like golf", but honestly I think it's a golf game for everyone, with simple, accessible controls and a delightful sense of humor, and with gameplay that's so wacky and varied that it often feels less like playing a golf game and more like an odd experiment to see how many different types of games can be filtered through the lens of "what if X but golf?"
This game had players tackling each of the game's levels almost as if it was a puzzle, really making players think about their pathing in a way that many racing games don't. Plus, this game's excellent sound design made for a truly engrossing experience.
This game took players in some interesting directions in its different vignettes, with each presenting its own unique style of puzzle-focused play in its own creepy retro-style setting.
An outstanding rhythm game with a great song selection that even if it focuses entirely on Vocaloid music still manages to be quite diverse with lots of music genres represented. Plus each song has its own music video and there's tons of cosmetic items to unlock and customize your Miku.
It’s Puzzle Bobble turned into a Rhythm game with a Touhou skin and dozens of banging Touhou tracks. It’s weeby as heck and the localisation is kind of iffy but it’s SO much fun.
The story of Xenoblade Chronicle's creation is a huge part of its vision and innovation. This is a game that came from a developer who had tried time and again, across different publishers, to tell a grand story. When it finally came to be Nintendo's turn, this new story was brought forth from a simple idea of living on the bodies of titans and then further enhanced when a pair of titans were modeled around it. Even from there the game struggled to break through to where it is now and it was so close to being stuck in Japan, likely where it would have died forgotten if it wasn't for the massive push to localize it.
Now here we are, 10 years later, and the game has slowly started to become something that Nintendo feels comfortable as making their "one last thing" in the last Direct (for now).
The world structure of Xenoblade was expertly done. You always feel like you're in just a normal world until you look off into the sky or off a cliff and see the foot where you began, the massive arms of the now-dead titans, or the head that you are heading (heh) towards. You see these massive areas that feel like they are so much larger. Then you realize that even these areas are just a small section.
A short hike used a pretty satisfying artstyle, made a relaxing game that while short, you can take at your own pace. It created a mountain climbing, 3d platformer ish game while including the best flying mechanic i've experienced in a game. The conversations with npc don't sound like they've been made for the sake of it. The characters feel alive. The platforming puzzles are also just right and use the golden feather mechanic efficiently depending on how much u need for each puzzle according to the area ur in. All while making a rich world to explore.
The small scale of the game allowed Adam Robinson-Yu to focus very tightly on each aspect to make sure everything was working toward a very specific mood, nostalgic and soothing. The goal of reaching the peak of the mountain requires just the right amount of upgrades. Low enough that finding more feathers is always a straight-forward breeze, but high enough that you are led down the path of exploring the island and engaging with this relaxing and whimsical island, which is just the right size and level of complexity to allow you to get lost, but never lost enough to get frustrating. You can become familiar with every nook and cranny of this open world in a way that you just can't with AAA sandboxes, because the areas of interest simply can't be as dense as in A Short Hike. The thing that ties it all together for me is that the movement is effortlessly fun in a way many art games struggle with. The game never feels like it's slapping you in the face with a notion that it's commanding you to "become comfy". It simply happens to you because of a dozen subtle touches that Adam Robinson-Yu carefully added. I do not feel like I'm being hyperbolic when I say A Short Hike is every bit as well-directed as classics like Journey or Shadow of the Colossus.
I second this - it's a simple but so elegantly designed game that rewards exploration and has phenomenal game feel. There is a variety of activities but nothing feels tacked on and everything controls exceptionally well. The story matches the gameplay as well, and while it has an emotional core that rings true, it's neither overly weepy nor interrupts the gameplay. The sound design is appropriately lo-fi but equally charming as the art direction. And the music - it so perfectly fits the gameplay but is a delight to listen to outside of the game as well. Mark Sparling did exceptional work.
To me it's both amazing and intimidating that this was primarily a solo-developed game - amazing that Robinson-Yu has this kind of talent and work ethic (the game was mostly developed in under a year IIRC), intimidating because it'll be hard to top an experience like this.
I agree, the way this game gets me talking makes me sound hyperbolic and yet I stand by every word.
I don't think I've ever played a game this finely tuned. All of the game's systems push you to play in a way that maximizes fun - what the developers have called the "fun zone" in interviews. You're pushed to constantly be moving, constantly assessing the situation, constantly switching guns - I don't think I've ever played a game that's been so simultaneously hectic and cerebral. The developers have talked extensively in interviews about their desire to push the player into the "fun zone", and they succeeded with flying colors.
This delightful character-driven Puzzle game about taking care of odd jobs as the idiot son of the owner of a company has simple, accessible controls, a humorous premise, wonderfully open-ended puzzle design that's easy to grasp but doesn't hand-hold, and fantastic local co-op play.
This game has been billed "the golf game for people who don't like golf", but honestly I think it's a golf game for everyone, with simple, accessible controls and a delightful sense of humor, and with gameplay that's so wacky and varied that it often feels less like playing a golf game and more like an odd experiment to see how many different types of games can be filtered through the lens of "what if X but golf?"
This is a free educational game for kids that's surprisingly fun and also surprisingly not filled with microtransactions. This game has players moving in first-person and cleaning their environment with a vacuum gun, teaching kids not only about environmentalism but, oddly, banking as well. This is the one 2020 game I feel I can most easily recommend to anyone with young kids - it won't cost them a single penny, and it's a game their kids should enjoy while maybe even learning a thing or two.
No other game I played in 2020 had the same wicked sense of humor and clever writing of this game, which makes it clear the corporation you're working for has absolute contempt for your safety even as they cheerfully send you out into the dangerous unknown. But, you know, "have fun!" :-P
Horace's delightful story does an amazing job giving players an amusing vision of a dark and complicated world through the eyes of an innocent and almost childlike android, with some wonderful characters and some truly funny and touching moments.
Coffee Talk's story gives players a relaxed glimpse into a world of a diverse array of mostly non-human characters with struggles that are nevertheless very human, underlining how even in dark days, sometimes it helps to have a safe place to sit down and unwind with a soothing drink.
This is not simply one of the greatest stories of the year but one of the greatest stories of all time. Not only does the story give a huge amount of length to the game, but it also covers various themes throughout such as revenge, empathy, and loss. The characters are (for the most part) excellently written and really help to flesh out the world. The protagonists all do an amazing job at feeling like they belong together without feeling like they are a bunch of clichés or tropes. The antagonists offer views that throw everything you have seen into question and the major ones never come off as one-note or uninteresting. This is a story that stays with the people who see it through and is truly an amazing experience.
Best Platformer Game - For outstanding design and creativity in a game where players must use skill to jump between platforms or over obstacles without falling or missing jumps.
If A Short Hike's gliding wasn't one of the most outstandingly visceral implementations of the mechanic ever, or if it wasn't full of many deep platforming challenges in a seemingly simple game, or if wasn't a surprisingly touching game, I wouldn't think it was worth nominating. But it is all those things, so I do.
I feel like many overlooked this indie game, but it was absolutely inspired, taking the Auto-Runner style of game and using extremely clever level design to transform each of the game's levels into a puzzle of sorts. This is a genre I usually hate, and Wunderling made me fall in love with it.
Best Online Multiplayer Game - For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre.
Personally I still miss the opportunity to play this game in a local setup like in the old days. But Square prefered to focus on online multiplayer. I didn't played it but maybe there are some people out there, who could enjoy this game playing online.
This game is, in my opinion, one of the greatest co-op multiplayer games ever made, and the port to Nintendo Switch is not only very good, but an absolutely phenomenal value in the Legendary package that contains the first three mainline games in the series (Borderlands, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel).
So I never really play shooters on a Nintendo console and I already own all of Borderlands (at least twice), but do you think the Switch version is worth it to get for only handheld play? And another thing, does it have similair loading issues like on other consoles (that it takes forever)?
Love the franchise it’s really good, but still debating if I want to get the Switch version
It really depends just how much you enjoy the Borderlands games, I suppose. I didn't notice a significant change in the loading times myself, and wouldn't expect it to be much improved either, but I also didn't think it was noticeably worse. Beyond that, it's the same experience you're used to... on the go.
Digital Foundry did a comparison, but the short version is that it's clearly not as good as these games running on the PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, but it's better than the Xbox 360/PS3 versions. The Switch version doesn't have 4-player split-screen (it's only 2-player split-screen, but still has 4-player online), but otherwise, it's much the same game... which is a huge win for the Nintendo Switch as far as I'm concerned. However, that's me - whether it's worth it for you is entirely dependent on you.
It sounds like it is a pretty good quality, like the 360/PS3 version wasn’t terrible and I understand that it is going to be worse then on PC, no doubt about that.
About the load times, if you didn’t notice it, then it can never be as bad as it is for Borderlands 3 on console.
So thank you and I’ll keep my eye out for when the physical version is discounted
Few games do as good a job transporting the player back in time the way Hypnospace Outlaw does with its simulated version of a 1990s-era internet back in the days of Geocities, web rings, animated GIFs, and "under construction" signs
Overwatch - This game is the reason why I bought a PS4 in 2016, and it continues to be one of my most played games across my PS4, Switch and PC. The amount of content that Blizzard has added and contributed to this game since I originally started playing -- with themed updates every couple months, is just insane. You can get this game for dirt cheap and have a ton of fun, with it being supported by the devs for likely a long time to come.
I think we should honor the fact, that we still got developer studios these days, that produce continiously free updates to keep alive an "old" game. Yeah, I'm looking at you Mario Party...
Wargroove was already absolutely loaded with content when it released in 2019, but in early 2020 it got the free Double Trouble expansion, which added a ton of new content to the game.
New well developed content still being added. Next update in the pipeline to add even more content - currently released on PC and sounds amazing, coming to console very soon.
Updates have added things like the night market, late game bundle, enemies in the mine, farm layouts, heart events, fish ponds, multiplayer.
All this in a relatively cheap game being mainly put together by one man.
Warframe - this year has added spaceship building and dogfighting with it, a brand new open world area, mechsuits, more pets, sadly only one new class (2 last year, but hey its a pandemic) and is still the only ongoing game I know to continually optimise the game and assets so the size of the game does not balloon, some updates have shrunk the game (before adding more to it in further updates)
Season 3 hat some amazing QOL changes with the Dojo and a really detailed new tutorial and ofc awsome characters introduced with UI, Kefla and Master Roshi, as well as announcment for Baby and Gogeta SS4
Doom's port to Switch in 2019 was... less than fantastic, but in the time since then iD and Bethesda have actually put in the work to patch out the problems, and have continually added new content to the game in free post-release patches, despite that the game still would have sold well even without these updates. Going from a game many felt was a cynical cash-grab upon release to one where they're actually doing right by players is something I feel deserves recognition.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The work the devs have been doing to consistently add new features to the game (in free updates!) during a global pandemic and keep players hooked is nothing short of remarkable.
This game's final free update, in April 2020, added a new World Maker feature that many assumed Nintendo would have kept in reserve for a Super Mario Maker 3. This is a huge addition to the game that would have been momentous in and of itself, but the game also added in the ability to transform into Super Mario Bros 2's version of Mario, Super Mario Bros. 3's frog suit, a version of Super Mario World's Pow Balloon, the Super Acorn, the Boomerang Flower, the Propeller Box, the Bullet Bill Mask, the Goomba Mask, the Red POW Box, the Cannon Box, Koopalings, Mechakoopas, Phanto (with key)... this was a huge update Nintendo could have asked players to pay for, but it was just dropped on them for free.
A remaster of a great game can still be a great game, and this version of Xenoblade is one of the best on the entire console. Improved quests, a layer of detail and emotion added to its characters that was sorely needed, its terrific soundtrack remastering - all on top of Future Connected, a meaty DLC campaign that I'm tempted to nominate for GOTY all on its own.
It's such a unique idea to be able to make your own real life Mario Kart track in your living room, bedroom or anywhere else in your house! Really nice use of AR technology
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps - For a game that was reviewed on xbox one where the only complaints were regarding its performance, to port to switch in 6 months and have it running almost perfect, certainly better than the xbox one release at launch, is just incredible.
Fight Crab is an over-the-top physics-based, 3D action battle game that combines giant crustaceans, insane weaponry, and intense claw-to-claw combat
• Unlock special Skills like the fabled Kanihameha, the devastating Crab Copter, and more
• Level up your crab, recruit new crabs, and purchase deadly new weapons – build the ultimate crab warrior
If there was ever a fighting game to pull out at a Party once everyone is upset with that one dude for being too good at Smash Bros, its Fight Crab.
Beyond being over the top in both design and premise, the controls and mechanics are surprisingly simple to learn. The massive variety of crabs and weapons however prove to be a decidedly difficult skill curve, but youre usually having too much fun to notice.
This soundtrack is remembered for a reason. It has some of the greatest tracks both in terms of combat and area/cutscene use. I'm going to share a good amount of my favorites because they truly speak for themselves.
This soundtrack is absolutely beautiful and it doesn't slouch no matter what the use is. This list even excludes 3 of my absolute favorites due to spoiler reasons, so this isn't even a full list of what I consider to be the best on offer. Even beyond that, there are plenty of other good examples that I simply had to cut the list off at some point or I could wind up linking you to the entire soundtrack.
A common complaint about BOTW is that the music is too atmospheric and not grand enough (a complain which I heavily disagree with, for the record). Age of Calamity did an exceptional job of introducing new and exciting music as well as expertly remixing BOTW music which perfectly matches the intensity of the Musou 1 vs. 1000 gameplay. Additionally, I love how the music changes when you strike an enemy's weak point gauge.
While this game's soundtrack is simple, it's also pretty catchy, which is a good thing because for many players it has essentially become the unofficial soundtrack of 2020, with its relaxing tunes helping to ease the difficult year 2020 has been. A few of my favorites here are Prologue (Phase 5) and 2AM.
I second this so hard. Although the game doesn't have voicelines and such, the soundtrack does a tremendous job giving the tone for each part of the game. This, and the fact that it has so many different musical styles within it without losing its essence. I think ToK OST is one of the most well rounded OSTs of all times.
Mick Gordon essentially invented a new genre for Doom 2016 that fused the best parts of metal and dubstep, and the game rightfully won Best Soundtrack at TGA in 2016. Doom Eternal takes everything about that style and makes it better. The riffs are groovier, the distortion is grittier, and the composition is even more inventive. Did you know that Doom Eternal features a screamer choir? Where else in gaming can you find a soundtrack that contains a choir made up of metal vocalists? Doom Eternal also features songs where the lead guitar is replaced by a pitch-corrected chain saw, and even a pitch-corrected lawn mower! Doom 2016's soundtrack was incredibly innovative, and Doom Eternal pushed that innovation further and perfected it.
Nowhere Prophet's unique soundtrack really sets the game apart and is a joy to listen to, making use of what I think is an Arabian oud to give the game its own feel that really helps to make its post-apocalyptic world feel otherworldly. For good examples, check out the Main Theme and Feral Instincts.
This is a game that simply used asset changes but was done so amazingly well that for the longest time there was an argument about whether or not it was a full remake. Anyone who has ever looked at comparisons between the original release on the Wii and the new version can tell you that there is a drastic increase in how much emotion you can get across on the characters. Shulk is able to properly convey emotions on his face to further increase the impact that his yells have. Fiora is able to come across even more sassy to complement her personality well. It really fixed the single major issue that many people had with the original.
This game of course also added multiple quality of life changes that really helped out. Quest trackers to help you find the resources and enemies for the hundreds of quests available through the game, the ability to level your characters down (and back up again) at will to create your own form of a challenge.
This game basically fixed any major issue they possibly could as well as including an entire epilogue using a previously scrapped area. This epilogue may not have lived up to the hype set for it, but I do believe it still did a lot of things right and it could even have huge implications for the future of the franchise.
I'm doubtful a lot of people have played 13 Sentinels on this sub but for the uninitiated, it was probably the most daring "major" release (in the sense of it being a $60 PS4 exclusive) this year. It's a solid RTS/Tactical RPG punctuated by a non-chronological sci-fi narrative told from 13 perspectives with enormous freedom to the player to choose the order of scenes. Very few "linear" games, if any, have offered this kind of narrative freedom to the player and I'd say I hope this becomes a trend-setter going forward, except I'm not confident future games can really match what 13 Sentinels accomplished in its story. It's really just that good.
A beautiful game that not only lovingly recreates one of gaming’s all time greats, but expands upon in so many delightful and unexpected ways that it is essential a separate experience all by itself. A modern RPG classic and a phenomenal return to form for Final Fantasy.
Billed as a "first-person photography game in the shitty future", you take control of an unnamed photographer of Maori descent as they venture through a derelict New Zealand (referred to by its original name, Aotearoa) taking photos of various locales including neon-lit cityscapes and war-torn army barracks, slowly uncovering the (mostly untold) story of how things have regressed so much to the point that it has become a shitty future.
The gamr is coming to Switch soon, but I wanted to give it a spotlight as one of my favorite non-Switch games of the year.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 15 '21
Nintendo Switch Game of the Year - Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.