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[cormack12]

Welcome to the Results thread for GOTY 2021 at NeoGAF! Continuing from last year we condensed the categories into specific votes to get a more accurate picture and just simply awarded gold, silver bronze, we also tagged the most anticipated title on here as well. Given the way cross platform is becoming more the norm the platform awards don't really make sense to carry on unless we bundle PC/Xbox together in cirteria. It just gives reasons to say hur-dur Microsoft at the moment.

Remember:

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THE TOP 3

Spoiler: Number 3

Spoiler: Number 2

Spoiler: Number 1

Spoiler: Top 20 in scored positions

 

[cormack12]

Most Anticipated game

Best Graphics

Best Narrative

Best World Building

Top Action Adventure

Top Fighting Game

Best Platformer

Top RPG

Top Shooter

Top Sports

Spoiler: All games scoring >9

Halo Infinite	613​
Forza Horizon 5	519​
Returnal	516​
Metroid Dread	425​
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart	385​
Psychonauts 2	342​
Resident Evil Village	332​
Guardians of the Galaxy	328​
It Takes Two	277​
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker	194​
Hades	182​
Deathloop	181​
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut	153​
Death Stranding Director's Cut	147​
Hitman 3	131​
Kena: Bridge of Spirits	123​
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade	116​
Mass Effect Legendary Edition	106​
Control: Ultimate Edition	99​
Lost Judgment	95​
Tales of Arise	95​
The Ascent	87​
Monster Hunter Rise	80​
Shin Megami Tensei V	70​
Microsoft Flight Simulator	69​
Age of Empires IV	65​
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury	64​
Guilty Gear Strive	60​
Diablo II: Resurrected	59​
Yakuza: Like a Dragon	59​
Mario Party Superstars	58​
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous	58​
Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139...	57​
Death's Door	55​
Life Is Strange: True Colors	52​
Days Gone	51​
Far Cry 6	50​
Back 4 Blood	49​
A Plague Tale: Innocence	47​
Genshin Impact	43​
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut	40​
Outriders	39​
Inscryption	37​
The Forgotten City	37​
Maneater	35​
Wreckfest	35​
Microsoft Flight Simulator: Game of the Year Edition	33​
Call of Duty: Vanguard	31​
Tetris Effect: Connected	31​
Scarlet Nexus	29​
Streets of Rage 4 - Mr. X Nightmare	29​
The Riftbreaker	29​
Resident Evil 4: VR	28​
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time	27​
Persona 5 Strikers

[TD]

27​

[/TD]

[TR]
[TD]Nioh 2 - The Complete Edition[/TD]
[TD]

26​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Subnautica[/TD]
[TD]

24​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bravely Default 2[/TD]
[TD]

23​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Castlevania Advance Collection[/TD]
[TD]

23​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hell Let Loose[/TD]
[TD]

23​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Metro Exodus Complete Edition[/TD]
[TD]

23​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV[/TD]
[TD]

23​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Spelunky 2[/TD]
[TD]

21​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Alan Wake Remastered[/TD]
[TD]

20​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]No More Heroes III[/TD]
[TD]

20​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Battlefield 2042[/TD]
[TD]

19​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Terminator: Resistance Enhanced[/TD]
[TD]

19​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]The Gunk[/TD]
[TD]

18​

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[TR]
[TD]Chivalry 2[/TD]
[TD]

17​

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[TD]Marvel's Avengers[/TD]
[TD]

17​

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[TD]Riders Republic[/TD]
[TD]

17​

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[TD]Skyrim: Anniversary Edition[/TD]
[TD]

17​

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[TD]Alien: Isolation[/TD]
[TD]

16​

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[TD]Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order[/TD]
[TD]

16​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Twelve Minutes[/TD]
[TD]

16​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Aliens: Fireteam Elite[/TD]
[TD]

15​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Chorus[/TD]
[TD]

15​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights[/TD]
[TD]

15​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Moose Life[/TD]
[TD]

15​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Subnautica: Below Zero[/TD]
[TD]

15​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]New World[/TD]
[TD]

14​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD[/TD]
[TD]

14​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition[/TD]
[TD]

13​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Unpacking[/TD]
[TD]

13​

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[TR]
[TD]F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch[/TD]
[TD]

12​

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[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Final Fantasy XIV[/TD]
[TD]

12​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Insurgency: Sandstorm[/TD]
[TD]

12​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]The Medium[/TD]
[TD]

12​

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[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Destroy All Humans![/TD]
[TD]

11​

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[TR]
[TD]Little Nightmares II[/TD]
[TD]

11​

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[TR]
[TD]Apex Legends[/TD]
[TD]

10​

[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD]Chicory: A Colorful Tale[/TD]
[TD]

10​

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[TR]
[TD]Dusk[/TD]
[TD]

10​

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[TR]
[TD]F1 2021[/TD]
[TD]

10​

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[TR]
[TD]Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice[/TD]
[TD]

10​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]MLB The Show 21[/TD]
[TD]

10​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]My Friend Peppa Pig[/TD]
[TD]

10​

[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Star Wars: Republic Commando[/TD]
[TD]

10​

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[TR]
[TD]The Binding of Isaac: Repentance[/TD]
[TD]

10​

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[/TR]
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[TD]Undertale[/TD]
[TD]

10​

[/TD]
[/TR]

 

[Fake]

Congrats for the winners. And Elden Ring getting award here and in the TGA show as well. The hype is real.

 

[Kuranghi]

Its weird, I could only see one truly negative word in all the clouds, "disappointment" for Hitman 3, I wonder if thats always-online related or what? I do think Hitman 1 and 2 are better overall, but 3 is only a tiny bit less good than them and if anything the concept was just tired by that point.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Awesome! Thanks for doing this!

 

[CatLady]

Very surprised and happy to see 2 Xbox games take the top spots. You KNOW Xbox is doing better this gen when XGS games can win game of the year even on NeoGAF.

Edit: It's also really nice to see GAF giving some love to Psychonauts 2.

 

[Con_Z_ǝdʇ]

Seems reasonable and i'm satisfied with the outcome.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Sounds reasonable. Why is Hades on the list? Thought that belongs to 2020.

Also is really the ME: LE edition that good? Looked like a cheap effort that messed up the atmosphere in some places while also removing ass shots in others.

 

[ReBurn]

There were some really good games in 2021.

 

[ReBurn]

Sounds reasonable. Why is Hades on the list? Thought that belongs to 2020.

Also is really the ME: LE edition that good? Looked like a cheap effort that messed up the atmosphere in some places while also removing ass shots in others.

ME: LE was a great remaster. Photo mode lets you get all of the ass shots you want.

 

[AJUMP23]

Where is Age of Empires 4? Game is better than many of these.

How is Hades on here, it came out last in 2020.

 

[jshackles]

Tales of Arise was robbed!

Still though, some really great games in the top spots.

 

[jdforge]

Sounds reasonable. Why is Hades on the list? Thought that belongs to 2020.

Also is really the ME: LE edition that good? Looked like a cheap effort that messed up the atmosphere in some places while also removing ass shots in others.

Non Switch and PC owners finally got a taste of hell this year.

Well done on all the hard work. A very professional thread!

 

[Sweden85]

What place did Forza Horizon 3 and 4 get? I love number 5 aswell..but its the worse optimised of them and doesnt really bring anything new to the series..I still have played it for over 200 hours <3

 

[RiccochetJ]

Congrats to the games in the top 20!

And pure spiteful judgement to all here who apparently ignored Monster Hunter Rise

 

[skit_data]

I see Sonygaf is clearly living up to its name by having Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite in the 2nd and 1st spot respectively.

 

[Robb]

This was a lot of fun to read through, thanks OP!

Surprised to see Halo come out on top to be honest, wouldn’t have been my pick but glad it turned out a great game after all the delays etc.

Also nice to see Psychonauts 2 get some love, that’d be my personal GOTY for 2021. Fantastic game. Almost managed to snag “best platformer”, so close!

 

[Mister Wolf]

We all knew Halo would win. Starfield only real competition for 2022 is Zelda.

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

This list is very respectable. Good job guys.

 

[marcincz]

Tales of Arise was robbed!

Still though, some really great games in the top spots.

Chorus, too.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

List makes more sense than any shit EDGE or IGN etc. come up with.

 

[akaFullmetal]

List makes sense, no surprises.

 

[Bonfires Down]

I thought Returnal had it in the bag so this is a bit of a surprise.

Also, you might want to consider banning "fun" from the word clouds

 

[Insane Metal]

I see Sonygaf is clearly living up to its name by having Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite in the 2nd and 1st spot respectively.

Yes! Haha

 

[nowhat]

We all knew Halo would win. Starfield only real competition for 2023 is Zelda.

You may want to check you calendar.

 

[Star-Lord]

I’m really happy to see Guardians getting so much love. After the garbage that was Avengers, I didn’t have much hope. But I can honestly say it stands out as one of last years best titles.

 

[Mister Wolf]

You may want to check you calendar.

Haha my bad. That game might slip to 2023 though.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I respect this list more than any other. Its for us, by us.

 

[Salmon Snake]

Nice list!

At first I thought 2021 was pretty bad for gaming but after a better look it wasn't that bad. A miles better than 2014 at least.

 

[nowhat]

Haha my bad. That game might slip to 2023 though.

I love how you don't specify which

Anyway, as is evident, this is no SonyGAF, instead a place festering with green rats. Mods, it's a joke!

 

[Thabass]

Endwalker is way too low.

 

[R6Rider]

More people need to play Inscryption.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

You get a better list when you aggregate actual gamer takes instead of top 10s on shill sites, as always

Thank you for putting it together cormack12

 

[tommib]

Spoiler

 

[Topher]

Wow. What a fantastic job you did here cormack12 . Personally, I think you are the best of the best at NeoGAF.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Interesting list. Would have liked to see Returnal get top nods, but glad to see it made the top 3

Kenna got shunned a bit but I suspect not many people played it

2022 gonna be a lot more interesting

I see Sonygaf is clearly living up to its name by having Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite in the 2nd and 1st spot respectively.

Should put to rest those kind of ridiculous claims, amongst other reasons that should be fairly self evident lol

 

[Jaybe]

Good stuff. I’d take Hades and Guardians of the Galaxy as my top 2.

 

[Fess]

Are we looking at a userbase advantage for the first time ever for Xbox?

Playstation has always had that advantage in the past but this year the biggest Sony games were PS5 exclusives while the biggest Xbox games were on Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC

It would be interesting to see a poll about how many here that has played Returnal and Ratchet versus Halo and Forza.

Maybe for other years we could have a checklist when voting where we can show what we have actually played as well?

If you haven’t played a game you can’t vote for it.


Anyhow, nice to see Forza Horizon 5 at #2, it was my #2 as well. One of my favorite racing games ever. Absolutely love it. Glad to see it get some recognition here.

Disappointed to see Metroid Dread so far down. What am I seeing that GAF can’t see? It was my #1 with a wide margin.

Surprised to see Halo Infinite at #1, I never thought that would happen, I guess I need to keep playing, I dropped about after 16 hours.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Maybe for other years we could have a checklist when voting where we can show what we have actually played as well?

If you haven’t played a game you can’t vote for it.

If they're willing to lie and say they played a game they didn't play, they're also willing to lie on the checklist or whatever other barrier is used.

I think you have to just hope most people here are sincere game hobbyists acting in good faith. Some won't be, but I think GAF GotY lists have been pretty legit compared to others so far.

Metroid Dread was my #1 also

 

[Tschumi]

I totally missed this, sorry mate!

I like the list we came up with. Nice op too

 

[Fess]

If they're willing to lie and say they played a game they didn't play, they're also willing to lie on the checklist or whatever other barrier is used.

I think you have to just hope most people here are sincere game hobbyists acting in good faith. Some won't be, but I think GAF GotY lists have been pretty legit compared to others so far.

Metroid Dread was my #1 also

Great taste in games!

Yeah you’re right. But I can’t drop it… I’ve always had trouble ignoring the size of the userbase in these votings. Goes for sales threads as well, why is Switch dominating game sales lists in Japan? Awesome games or 10x more people own the console? I mean if people don’t own a console you don’t buy games. And if you can’t play a game you can’t vote for it on the GOTY votings.

People always start downplaying this but this time it’s the first time when Xbox actually has that advantage. And look what’s happening, two Xbox games at the top.

 

[The Cockatrice]

At least Lost Judgment made it to the top even if last.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Great taste in games!

Yeah you’re right. But I can’t drop it… I’ve always had trouble ignoring the size of the userbase in these votings. Goes for sales threads as well, why is Switch dominating game sales lists in Japan? Awesome games or 10x more people own the console? I mean if people don’t own a console you don’t buy games. And if you can’t play a game you can’t vote for it on the GOTY votings.

People always start downplaying this but this time it’s the first time when Xbox actually has that advantage. And look what’s happening, two Xbox games at the top.

You too, Metroid Dread is (Chef's kiss)

It's an interesting conundrum. I didn't play Halo, because I didn't like older Halos, so I figured I'm just not a Halo guy. So I didn't play it. But would this have been the Halo that would have changed my mind? Maybe I'll play it one day since it won NeoGaf GotY, but that will be too late for me to vote for it here, obviously. People assume what they will like based on their previous experiences and then select what they play and thus vote for. So there's a sense where they may have voted differently if they had played more games, but it's not feasible for every voter to play every significant game.

All systems have some flaws and a vote for game of the year measures popularity, which is an indicator of quality but as for how much of an indicator, that can vary a lot. I think it's a pretty good indicator on gaf, although I like it more when people post their lists, I think I learn interesting stuff about games I may like that I've missed more from those than from results.

I honestly can't remember the last time a microsoft game came first but good to know that it's possible! Nintendo games have won like Breath of the Wild, and multiplat games like Resi 2 Remake have also won sometimes, even if it is mostly Sony exclusives. Bayo2 even won with the WiiU's smaller install base, but I dunno how comparable that is to the PS5 shortage, perhaps not very. Interesting that a WiiU game could win though.

 

[Banjo64]

Genuinely think that’s the best order and ranking in every category I’ve seen on any website. Well done GAF.

 

[AV]

Good stuff. Says a lot about the year of delays we had when literally 1/3 of the GOTY list is updated versions or ports of older games.

Which also helps to underpin just how strong the platform exclusives were this year, all 6 top spots.

2022 is gonna get nutty.

 

[BigBooper]

Great and reasonable list of winners. Poor Mario Party Superstars though. It gets a lot of love at my house.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

The Neogaf winners from the last 10 years

2011: Portal 2
2012: Journey
2013: The Last of Us
2014: Bayonetta 2
2015: Bloodborne
2016: Uncharted 4
2017: Breath of the Wild
2018: God of War
2019: Resident Evil 2 Remake
2020: Ghost of Tsushima
2021: Halo Infinite

 

[ethomaz]

Weird list to be fair.
Very different from most of the others lists.

 

[M1chl]

Wow. I don't agree with the top pick, however this list is single handedly better than all of the rest I've seen here posted. Very diverse if you will.

Also when i was plugging my list to that google form, I was like why the fuck just 3 words. But now i get it, the words in this "graph" is actually really clever, good job cormack12

 

[Beelzebubs]

Bit confused about seeing Hades on the list as it's a 2020 game.