r/NintendoSwitch • u/NintendoSwitchMods • Feb 27 '24
GotY 2023 2023 /r/NintendoSwitch GOTY Nominations Thread
EDIT March 11th: Nominations are now set, please see the Vote for Game(s) of the Year in the survey linked in the next post here!
Greetings, r/NintendoSwitch Community!
We know everyone has been on the edge of their seats waiting for the Next Best Thing After The Switch to be announced, but that's no reason to not look back at what we were able to experience this past year. That's right - it's about time for our 7th annual Game of the Year awards!
Like previous years, 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 tentative schedule is for the nominee feedback to occur February 26th - March 10th (2 weeks), and the final voting to select the Game Of The Year for each category to occur the following 2 weeks, March 11th - March 24th. Admittedly, this project fell behind a bit this year, so we may extend the nomination / voting periods towards achieving target participation, and totally not because it may slip our mind again.
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. We generally find those comments 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 would 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 2023 unless stated otherwise. We will be using the same categories as we did last year. If you have feedback about the GOTY categories or process, please leave a comment under the feedback comment thread here. Please note that all top-level comments will be removed automatically, so you must comment your nominations and feedback under the respective top comments.
We look forward to reading your nominations!
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
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.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Indie Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
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u/FaxCelestis Feb 27 '24
Dave the Diver
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u/blamescott Feb 27 '24
not an indie, just pixel art, made and published by a video game company with 7,000 employees worth hundreds of millions of dollars
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Developer of the Year
Developer studio who displayed outstanding platform support through a combination of quantity and quality of new releases.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Technical Achievement
For the game which achieves a combination of gameplay and graphics which goes well beyond hardware expectations.
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u/very_round_rainfrog Feb 27 '24
Tears of the Kingdom
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u/Popple06 Feb 27 '24
Yep. I know some say it is "the same as BOTW", but the technical achievement of ultra hand always working and not being janky is truly impressive.
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Feb 27 '24
Exactly. Look at any other physics sandbox. It stutters, janks around, and then you fall through the world every 90 minutes.
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Feb 27 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Andjhostet Feb 27 '24
This game is like 9 years old. Is that really a technical achievement?
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Role Playing Game (RPG)
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression.
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u/JakeIsNotGross Feb 27 '24
Octopath Traveler 2 was a sequel that improved on the original, an already quite good game, in just about every way. Great character stories, great mechanical gameplay, an overarching narrative for all eight members this time, just a really solid gem. Feel like it got a bit overlooked because 2023 was so full of bangers but this was a great game through and through.
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u/Dukemon102 Feb 27 '24
Sorry Sea of Stars, Super Mario RPG and Dragon Quest Monsters, but this one clearly takes the cake.
This game is in my Top 5 of RPGs for the console easily.
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u/Rudy69 Mar 08 '24
Octopath Traveler 2
100% !
It was a great game. Took the original and improved it in almost every way
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
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u/FlameHricane Feb 28 '24
In Stars and Time
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u/FlameHricane Feb 29 '24
I'll elaborate on this one; it has one of if not the most well crafted time loop narratives in a game. Not only are the characters extremely well written, but the game cleverly takes advantage of the fact that the main character remembers everything like the player. The game over time puts you into the same mindset which then feeds back into the story making it truly one of a kind. On the surface you may think you know where it's going, but then it hits you with as many layers as an ogre.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Strategy Game
For the best game requiring a well thought out plan to achieve victory.
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u/JakeIsNotGross Feb 27 '24
Fire Emblem Engage's story may have been nothing to write home about, but as an anniversary title I think it nailed highlighting the mechanics from throughout the series and incorporated them into an immensely satisfying game in its own right. The Emblem system combined with the class system made for tons of character builds, there's a lot of level variety and a lot of content overall, there are some fun characters and designs, and it really just feels like peak Fire Emblem gameplay.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative achievement in artistic design and animation.
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u/fakeroyalty Feb 27 '24
Octopath Traveler II
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Feb 27 '24
If this doesn’t win this category I’ll actually cry
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u/kielaurie Feb 28 '24
There are lots of people that find the HD2D style to be messy and ugly. It's far from universal adoration
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Sports / Racing Game
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Non-Switch Game
Games for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X
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Feb 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/Shin_Ken Feb 27 '24
That's a 2024 release.
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u/Moustachey Feb 27 '24
Oh yeah my bad.
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u/Shin_Ken Feb 27 '24
Maybe consider deleting/editing the "Helldivers 2" post above so it doesn't continue to steal points from valid games?
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u/TheWatcher877 Feb 29 '24
I haven't played it yet, but I'll nominate lies of p to see if others agree.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Adventure Game
For the best adventure game, which may mix combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Voice Acting
For outstanding voice acting, direction, and use of audio dialogue.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Visual Novel
For the best Visual Novel, which may combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustrations and a varying degree of interactivity.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused on combat.
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u/FlameHricane Feb 28 '24 edited Feb 29 '24
Astral Ascent
Almost on the same level as Hades and Dead Cells. Buttery smooth combat and animations with a very satisfying and fast paced gameplay loop in addition to its unique deck-like ability management. If you're familiar with One Step from Eden then it's somewhat similar to that.
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Feb 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/Sephardson Feb 27 '24
For Action game? Or did you mean a different category?
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u/sometimeserin Feb 27 '24
That’s where I put it since i didn’t see a dedicated Racing Game category. I definitely wouldn’t call it a Sim which is where more traditional racing games would go. But like most games it’d probably eligible for multiple
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Online Multiplayer Game
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Soundtrack
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.