GOTY of each year I've been alive, retrospectively
not necessarily what I would have called my GOTY in that year, but what I would call my favorite game of that year now.
Based on USA release dates.
Based on USA release dates.
31 Games
1994
Originally, I had DKC1 here before deciding to go by Western release dates.
This is close to a perfect video game, and has remained in my Top 5 for basically as long as I've been able to hold a controller. Endlessly replayable, the arguable height of the entire Mega Man metaseries, one of the best soundtracks on SNES which is a high bar, what else needs to be said?
Originally, I had DKC1 here before deciding to go by Western release dates.
This is close to a perfect video game, and has remained in my Top 5 for basically as long as I've been able to hold a controller. Endlessly replayable, the arguable height of the entire Mega Man metaseries, one of the best soundtracks on SNES which is a high bar, what else needs to be said?
1995
While ultimately I remain more of a fan of DKC1 and DKC3, it appears nothing else in 1995 comes close to even my least-favorite of the trilogy. Rare's mastery over the challenging 2D platformer was in full swing here, who couldn't adore this game?
While ultimately I remain more of a fan of DKC1 and DKC3, it appears nothing else in 1995 comes close to even my least-favorite of the trilogy. Rare's mastery over the challenging 2D platformer was in full swing here, who couldn't adore this game?
1996
You take the baseline platformer mastery of DKC1/2 and throw a ton of fun gimmicks in on top of it, you get a game that is just an absolute joy to play. Dixie Kong is one of the most charming fictional characters, it's great to have her in the driver's seat.
You take the baseline platformer mastery of DKC1/2 and throw a ton of fun gimmicks in on top of it, you get a game that is just an absolute joy to play. Dixie Kong is one of the most charming fictional characters, it's great to have her in the driver's seat.
1997
I generally prefer the Classicvanias, but as I've gone further into the Metroidvanias, Symphony still remains the standout. Presentation is the big part of it, none of them have music on the level of Symphony, none of them have the cheesy voice acting, and they just don't feel as big.
It's a shame there was such a push for 3D in this era, because 2D games with the freedom of the PS1 remain some of the best stuff of that time.
I generally prefer the Classicvanias, but as I've gone further into the Metroidvanias, Symphony still remains the standout. Presentation is the big part of it, none of them have music on the level of Symphony, none of them have the cheesy voice acting, and they just don't feel as big.
It's a shame there was such a push for 3D in this era, because 2D games with the freedom of the PS1 remain some of the best stuff of that time.
1998
Stacked year to have to pick from, but ultimately, MGS1 is what I return to most. The big spotlight-stealing moment of my favorite franchise, it's still fun to return to today. There's an almost arcadey charm to the top-down controls of the first two games that I still find more satisfying than post-Snake Eater MGS, and Snake/Otacon/Liquid remain some of the most charming characters ever voiced. Iconic.
Stacked year to have to pick from, but ultimately, MGS1 is what I return to most. The big spotlight-stealing moment of my favorite franchise, it's still fun to return to today. There's an almost arcadey charm to the top-down controls of the first two games that I still find more satisfying than post-Snake Eater MGS, and Snake/Otacon/Liquid remain some of the most charming characters ever voiced. Iconic.
1999
Originally had Silent Hill 1 here (though I prefer all three of its sequels more), but upon checking 1999 releases and seeing Worms Armageddon I had to be honest.
All the fun of naming characters after your friends in Oregon Trail, but instead of dysentery, you have exploding sheep and Holy Hand Grenades. Classic multiplayer shenanigans.
Originally had Silent Hill 1 here (though I prefer all three of its sequels more), but upon checking 1999 releases and seeing Worms Armageddon I had to be honest.
All the fun of naming characters after your friends in Oregon Trail, but instead of dysentery, you have exploding sheep and Holy Hand Grenades. Classic multiplayer shenanigans.
2000
Many bang on about TTYD, but this game has it all. A refined take on the already-fun SMRPG battle system, with the best partners in the series and the most pleasant graphics. Lady Bow forever.
Many bang on about TTYD, but this game has it all. A refined take on the already-fun SMRPG battle system, with the best partners in the series and the most pleasant graphics. Lady Bow forever.
2001
My favorite game. Had a profound impact on my worldview, and is still fun to actually play. Pretty much a perfect sequel mechanically to MGS1, even if the pace suffers a lot. Helped by the mountains of side content gameplay in the re-releases, though.
Apologies to Silent Hill 2 and Ico.
My favorite game. Had a profound impact on my worldview, and is still fun to actually play. Pretty much a perfect sequel mechanically to MGS1, even if the pace suffers a lot. Helped by the mountains of side content gameplay in the re-releases, though.
Apologies to Silent Hill 2 and Ico.
2002
Found a used copy of this at a random church sale, and was entranced by how much atmosphere a GBA game was able to deliver. As a kid, this was such a genuinely tense experience, and was a gateway into wanting to seek out more true survival horror.
It may not be the sprawling map-crawler that people want, but with a solid narrative that isn't too overbearing and a great selection of bosses, it's still my favorite Metroid.
Found a used copy of this at a random church sale, and was entranced by how much atmosphere a GBA game was able to deliver. As a kid, this was such a genuinely tense experience, and was a gateway into wanting to seek out more true survival horror.
It may not be the sprawling map-crawler that people want, but with a solid narrative that isn't too overbearing and a great selection of bosses, it's still my favorite Metroid.
2003
When I was a child, I was so obsessed with this game that I would wake up early to play it before school, play it on the bus to school, at lunch recess, on the bus back from school, and then at home. My mother got upset with me when she found out I was waking up early to play it lol.
Still my favorite cast of any of these games, the music makes me so nostalgic. Shame about that remake.
When I was a child, I was so obsessed with this game that I would wake up early to play it before school, play it on the bus to school, at lunch recess, on the bus back from school, and then at home. My mother got upset with me when she found out I was waking up early to play it lol.
Still my favorite cast of any of these games, the music makes me so nostalgic. Shame about that remake.
2004
Another that had a profound impact on me. I couldn't put this game down. The other Zero games are all great, but 3 has that special sauce. One of my all-time favorite endings.
This was the first game that I felt compelled to do runs of and get my times down on. Must have beat it at least 30 times in my life. Can't check any more though because my original cart fell out of my bag and got ran over by a truck ;_;
Another that had a profound impact on me. I couldn't put this game down. The other Zero games are all great, but 3 has that special sauce. One of my all-time favorite endings.
This was the first game that I felt compelled to do runs of and get my times down on. Must have beat it at least 30 times in my life. Can't check any more though because my original cart fell out of my bag and got ran over by a truck ;_;
2005
What needs to be said about a game that basically influenced the direction of the entire mainstream industry for years to come? You all know how good RE4 is, especially the Wii version. An irreplaceable experience.
Shame about that fucking remake.
What needs to be said about a game that basically influenced the direction of the entire mainstream industry for years to come? You all know how good RE4 is, especially the Wii version. An irreplaceable experience.
Shame about that fucking remake.
2006
Cheesing my own rules a little bit here by putting a game with no US release date. But Mother 3 was so moving, so fun, so incredible, nothing else from '06 compares. If Mega Man Zero 4 hadn't already made me cry, this likely would have been the first game to.
Best soundtrack on the GBA?
Cheesing my own rules a little bit here by putting a game with no US release date. But Mother 3 was so moving, so fun, so incredible, nothing else from '06 compares. If Mega Man Zero 4 hadn't already made me cry, this likely would have been the first game to.
Best soundtrack on the GBA?
2007
Short and sweet. Hysterically funny. Not an ounce of fat on it. Basically perfect.
Short and sweet. Hysterically funny. Not an ounce of fat on it. Basically perfect.
2008
A friend told me to get this "just to mess around with" in multiplayer and I did, having never heard of Saints Row. Basically spent months just playing the side activities with him without ever touching the missions.
When I finally did, I found out that the best GTA game ever made was hiding in there. Laugh out loud funny with suprisingly dark moments: at a time when Rockstar was getting more linear and more serious, this was here to recapture the more anarchic energy of the PS2 titles. And surpass them, as far as I'm concerned. Remains unmatched to this day.
A friend told me to get this "just to mess around with" in multiplayer and I did, having never heard of Saints Row. Basically spent months just playing the side activities with him without ever touching the missions.
When I finally did, I found out that the best GTA game ever made was hiding in there. Laugh out loud funny with suprisingly dark moments: at a time when Rockstar was getting more linear and more serious, this was here to recapture the more anarchic energy of the PS2 titles. And surpass them, as far as I'm concerned. Remains unmatched to this day.
2009
Demon's Souls still has the most compelling world of any Souls game. Until Elden Ring, this was the only one that I enjoyed existing in enough to fully complete the trophies on, because I couldn't get enough of its rich atmosphere and challenging approach.
Later Souls games fell into some more annoying boss design and more "gamey" mechanics, leaving DeS as the true standout for me.
Shame about that remake butchering the art design though. DeS could have used a proper one.
Demon's Souls still has the most compelling world of any Souls game. Until Elden Ring, this was the only one that I enjoyed existing in enough to fully complete the trophies on, because I couldn't get enough of its rich atmosphere and challenging approach.
Later Souls games fell into some more annoying boss design and more "gamey" mechanics, leaving DeS as the true standout for me.
Shame about that remake butchering the art design though. DeS could have used a proper one.
2010
Shu Takumi's masterpiece.
This might be the hardest year to pick yet, RDR1, New Vegas, Metro 2033, Peace Walker, the second-best Pokemon game, Arkham Asylum, NieR Gestalt....and yet Ghost Trick's charming characters and incredible twisty narrative still sticks in my brain more than any of them. Cool little gameplay loop too that took me back to playing The Incredible Machine on school computers.
I fell head over heels in love with Ace Attorney but this was next-level, please play Ghost Trick if you haven't.
Shu Takumi's masterpiece.
This might be the hardest year to pick yet, RDR1, New Vegas, Metro 2033, Peace Walker, the second-best Pokemon game, Arkham Asylum, NieR Gestalt....and yet Ghost Trick's charming characters and incredible twisty narrative still sticks in my brain more than any of them. Cool little gameplay loop too that took me back to playing The Incredible Machine on school computers.
I fell head over heels in love with Ace Attorney but this was next-level, please play Ghost Trick if you haven't.
2011
Arguably Arkham Asylum is the better game but I couldn't stop exploring every inch of Arkham City. The more refined combat challenges, the expanded Riddler Hunt, one of my favorite Joker dynamics in all of Batman culminating in one of the best endings for those two characters. It's just peak.
Mr. Freeze boss fight is still such a memorable test of the player too, love when games actually test your whole bag of tricks.
Arguably Arkham Asylum is the better game but I couldn't stop exploring every inch of Arkham City. The more refined combat challenges, the expanded Riddler Hunt, one of my favorite Joker dynamics in all of Batman culminating in one of the best endings for those two characters. It's just peak.
Mr. Freeze boss fight is still such a memorable test of the player too, love when games actually test your whole bag of tricks.
2012
Had no interest in TWD before a friend recommended this game to me, and it immediately pulled me in. Lee and Clementine are so compelling and the CYOA nature led to some great conversations with friends about how their story went down.
Incredibly moving ending. In a just world everyone would still be talking about this as the definitive father/daughter zombie game instead of TLOU.
Had no interest in TWD before a friend recommended this game to me, and it immediately pulled me in. Lee and Clementine are so compelling and the CYOA nature led to some great conversations with friends about how their story went down.
Incredibly moving ending. In a just world everyone would still be talking about this as the definitive father/daughter zombie game instead of TLOU.
2013
Pure platforming bliss with that immaculate Big Band soundtrack.
Replay every level 5 times? When they're this fun, you betcha!
Pure platforming bliss with that immaculate Big Band soundtrack.
Replay every level 5 times? When they're this fun, you betcha!
2014
The best 2D platformer ever made? I think so.
The best 2D platformer ever made? I think so.
2015
The peak of the brawler-style of Yakuza games. What a delight it was to find something with this tone once Metal Gear was effectively dead and buried.
Endlessly hysterical, cemented this series as one I needed to see every entry in going forward.
The peak of the brawler-style of Yakuza games. What a delight it was to find something with this tone once Metal Gear was effectively dead and buried.
Endlessly hysterical, cemented this series as one I needed to see every entry in going forward.
2016
You'll have seen earlier in this list my obsession with Friends of Mineral Town. Ever since Harvest Moon DS, nothing else in this genre gave me that high again....until Stardew. The first day I downloaded it, I played for 12 hours straight.
Basically everything that made me fall in love with Harvest Moon to begin with, stripped of the gimmicks of latter titles while adding in so many great features on top of it.
I don't know why they're still trying to make any more farming games when this exists.
You'll have seen earlier in this list my obsession with Friends of Mineral Town. Ever since Harvest Moon DS, nothing else in this genre gave me that high again....until Stardew. The first day I downloaded it, I played for 12 hours straight.
Basically everything that made me fall in love with Harvest Moon to begin with, stripped of the gimmicks of latter titles while adding in so many great features on top of it.
I don't know why they're still trying to make any more farming games when this exists.
2017
In a time where I had grown completely sick of open-world AAA games, this was a total sea change. The genuine freedom to go walk off in a direction and do anything, paired with one of the most compelling versions of Link/Zelda/Hyrule to date, honestly the most I've been into the "adventure" of any Zelda since the first.
In a time where I had grown completely sick of open-world AAA games, this was a total sea change. The genuine freedom to go walk off in a direction and do anything, paired with one of the most compelling versions of Link/Zelda/Hyrule to date, honestly the most I've been into the "adventure" of any Zelda since the first.
2018
Originally I was going to sit here and gush about Tetris Effect but come on, Smash Ultimate is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime game.
It made me fall in love with Smash all over again, after I thought 4 sucked all the joy out of playing Smash for me for good.
The EVERYONE IS HERE trailer got a tear out of me when Snake showed up, and it only got better from there....for the most part. K. Rool and Banjo reveals were some of the most exciting times to be tuned into gaming news, ever.
Still felt a bit deflated when Sora was how this ended, but who am I to argue with the apparent most-requested-character-ever? Genuinely can't believe they made it all come together.
Originally I was going to sit here and gush about Tetris Effect but come on, Smash Ultimate is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime game.
It made me fall in love with Smash all over again, after I thought 4 sucked all the joy out of playing Smash for me for good.
The EVERYONE IS HERE trailer got a tear out of me when Snake showed up, and it only got better from there....for the most part. K. Rool and Banjo reveals were some of the most exciting times to be tuned into gaming news, ever.
Still felt a bit deflated when Sora was how this ended, but who am I to argue with the apparent most-requested-character-ever? Genuinely can't believe they made it all come together.
2019
A modern masterpiece. Fun combat, fun rewards to incentivize challenge runs, cute Leon and Claire characterizations, awesome spectacle. Must have run though this over a dozen times now.
I suppose I do have to lay the sins of Capcom's next few years directly at its feet, though.....ah whatever it's so much fun that it was all worth it!
A modern masterpiece. Fun combat, fun rewards to incentivize challenge runs, cute Leon and Claire characterizations, awesome spectacle. Must have run though this over a dozen times now.
I suppose I do have to lay the sins of Capcom's next few years directly at its feet, though.....ah whatever it's so much fun that it was all worth it!
2020
Even without Phantom Liberty helping this in retrospect, Cyberpunk was one of my favorites from the jump. The world and characters are genuinely deep and compelling, the dynamic between V and Johnny is like if you took my favorite element out of Arkham Knight and made a whole game around it, and it's just genuinely so much fun. Especially running a melee build in the new updates.
Even without Phantom Liberty helping this in retrospect, Cyberpunk was one of my favorites from the jump. The world and characters are genuinely deep and compelling, the dynamic between V and Johnny is like if you took my favorite element out of Arkham Knight and made a whole game around it, and it's just genuinely so much fun. Especially running a melee build in the new updates.
2021
I've been waiting 2/3rds of my entire life for a sequel to Fusion, and not only for it to happen, but for it to mostly deliver? A total dream.
Nails Samus's character, nails the movement, nails the fanservice without doing the one dumb post-Fusion thing I was worried about after Samus Returns, hype as hell ending. It's a perfect 10-hour apology for Other M. I adore it.
I've been waiting 2/3rds of my entire life for a sequel to Fusion, and not only for it to happen, but for it to mostly deliver? A total dream.
Nails Samus's character, nails the movement, nails the fanservice without doing the one dumb post-Fusion thing I was worried about after Samus Returns, hype as hell ending. It's a perfect 10-hour apology for Other M. I adore it.
2022
The first game to come out in the post-BotW world and feel like it learned the right lessons from it. Still hangs on to some of the annoying elements of latter Souls games, but the scope and variety is so incredible that I never stopped wanting to continue seeing what was around the next corner.
The first game to come out in the post-BotW world and feel like it learned the right lessons from it. Still hangs on to some of the annoying elements of latter Souls games, but the scope and variety is so incredible that I never stopped wanting to continue seeing what was around the next corner.
2023
While I remain stunned that TotK even exists or functions at all, the fact is that I just had more absolute fun with Hi-Fi RUSH.
Genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, incredible rhythm combat, brief enough to be fun to replay, like Portal it's just polished and without any fat. Truly immaculate.
While I remain stunned that TotK even exists or functions at all, the fact is that I just had more absolute fun with Hi-Fi RUSH.
Genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, incredible rhythm combat, brief enough to be fun to replay, like Portal it's just polished and without any fat. Truly immaculate.
2024
Not to spoil my 2024 Top Ten, but I don't see anything this year outclassing this.
Remake was already the most fun action-RPG combat system I've ever played, and Remake builds on that without becoming incomprehensibly bloated. Continues to have the most endearing versions of these characters, and it's fun to just hang out with and see their interactions, special mention to Barret and Tifa there.
It does lose me in the narrative more than Remake did, and I think it misses a few swings, but that's because it takes even bigger ones. 95% of what's on offer here is genuinely fun, more than even Remake or original 7. It held my attention for 135 hours and I haven't even got into Hard Mode yet or finished off all the Queens Blood and combat challenges.
Not to spoil my 2024 Top Ten, but I don't see anything this year outclassing this.
Remake was already the most fun action-RPG combat system I've ever played, and Remake builds on that without becoming incomprehensibly bloated. Continues to have the most endearing versions of these characters, and it's fun to just hang out with and see their interactions, special mention to Barret and Tifa there.
It does lose me in the narrative more than Remake did, and I think it misses a few swings, but that's because it takes even bigger ones. 95% of what's on offer here is genuinely fun, more than even Remake or original 7. It held my attention for 135 hours and I haven't even got into Hard Mode yet or finished off all the Queens Blood and combat challenges.