My GOTY picks: 1986-2020
Ever since the 80s, I've always been about 5 years behind the curve on the GOTY debate. For the most part, I'd rather be patient and scoop up all the best stuff for mega-cheap, long after all the DLC & patching is done and the critical dust has settled.
That said, it's fun that Backloggd makes it easy to just sort your played list by year and pick out your faves in retrospect. So here's all my current GOTY picks, if I had to look back and choose them all today.
(In other words, for this list I'mma just go off Backloggd's release dates instead of trying to recall the actual years that I played all these.)
That said, it's fun that Backloggd makes it easy to just sort your played list by year and pick out your faves in retrospect. So here's all my current GOTY picks, if I had to look back and choose them all today.
(In other words, for this list I'mma just go off Backloggd's release dates instead of trying to recall the actual years that I played all these.)
35 Games
{1986} People forget that Resogun is just a better-looking-but-less-fun version of Fantasy Zone
{1987} If you want to impress me beat a real roguelike, kiddos
{1988} Maybe it's just cuz I never got a SNES, but this is the all-time peak of the Mario mountain for me
{1989} It took like 20 years for there to be a better beat-em-up than this
{1990} The Zelda for cool kids
{1991} Yeah I know, I said I never got a SNES, but of course I've played ports of this, and it's legendary
{1992} Woof, I like SF alright but kind of a tough year for releases (though iirc this is the actual year that Link to the Past was released in the US)
{1993} Basically bought a PC for this and X-Wing, have not been outside since
{1994} Blew my tiny nerd mind
{1995} Everyone knows they shoulda made 15 of these instead
{1996} Looking back I still like Mario 3 more, but this was goddamn revelatory when it came out
{1997} Wrote the blueprint for western turn-based RPGs
{1998} Classic Deathmatch specifically, on the map Gasworks, on a 6-port LAN, for 18 consecutive hours
{1999} Games are art and also literature
{2000} CANT STOP GUERRILLA RADIO TURN THAT SHHT UP
{2001} Every other FF would be better if it had FFX's breezy beach-episode tone, and also its combat system (fight me)
{2002} U! T! 2! K! 3! The last great zany LAN game, back before shooters had to be sweaty and balanced due to "esports"
{2003} There have been few game ideas as good as "it's pac-man but the ghosts are controlled by your asshole friends"
{2004} Half-Life 2, KOTOR 2, and Halo 2 can all eat it, this was my most-beloved sequel of the year
{2005} I AM THE MILK MAN MY MILK IS DELICIOUS
{2006} honestly I would go outside more if there were nirnroots irl
{2007} '07 was a legendarily good year for games, but this one's still the goodest
{2008} before The Office made parkour a joke, let's all be thankful that Mirror's Edge was there to make it look like the coolest shit possible
{2009} speaking of parkour: what if that but also medieval churches and murder?
{2010} They continued my favorite action sci-fi story of all-time and then also made the guns more fun to shoot. HELL YEA VIDEOGAMES!
{2011} Didn't get great until mods years later but heck yeah punch a tree
{2012} The ME3 Defender has entered the chat
{2013} That year when it seemed like Telltale might replace television, and I was all for it
{2014} Funky AND Fresh
{2015} a minimalist masterpiece
{2016} Simply the best thing to ever happen to competitive online shooters
{2017} Rolls up all my favorite parts of the survival-crafting genre into one all-pervasive MEGA MOOD
{2018} There's never been another game like this but I want there to be 100 more
{2019} They had to bring an entire studio back from the dead to finish this, and it was worth it
{2020} A story about being away for so long that you forget even how to talk to your old friends and family hit pretty hard in 2020
2 Comments
@FrozenRoy: whoa, PS1-era From Soft? I'd never heard of it, wishlisting that for sure. I didn't own a PS1 back in the day and certainly wouldn't have been a cool enough kid to be playing something like Echo Night. :)
FrozenRoy
2 years ago