I’ll take you back to the 2021 Game Awards. In terms of “bigger releases,” I felt confident in what would win the coveted Game of the Year award. Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2. “Finally,” I said to myself. “Tim Schafer and the rest of the studio will get the mainstream kudos they wholeheartedly deserve!” Then, It Takes Two swept in as the Game of the Year winner. Now, I completely understand why it won!
But back then, for the next day or so? Furious. People always say it’s silly to get angry about a game that means a lot to you not winning what’s effectively a more nuanced popularity contest. But for me, in that instance, it felt like “the end of the world.” “When is Double Fine ever going to get a chance to win the Game of the Year award?!” Ultimately, award or not, Psychonauts 2 wasn’t any more or less valid as a personal experience. It was still one of the most important games I’ve ever played, and it didn’t take away the fact that it made me ugly cry twice. Thus, I was able to heal!
But, especially this year, the “My game didn’t win Game of the Year!” indignation is particularly aggressive. There was the brief Astro Bot dunking that quickly petered off. Then, the infamous Black Myth Wukong post-awards debacle. Then, people started fighting about Rebirth not getting the nod — dunking on Metaphor: ReFantazio in the process. And then, speaking of Metaphor, the game has been facing its own wave of renewed animosity for………… being another publication’s GotY winner.
“WHY DIDN’T MY GAME BEAT THOSE OTHER GAMES FOR GAME OF THE YEAR?! AN AWARD THAT WON’T MATTER IN A FEW MONTHS?!”
So, IGN posted a video casually announcing Metaphor: ReFantazio as its 2024 GotY winner. Which, predictably, didn’t go over well in the video’s comments section. On top of Metaphor receiving some thrown stones, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, somehow, managed to catch a few strays, too! “You can hype up Veilguard all you want. But calling it ‘the best a BioWare game has ever played’ seriously makes me question how many BioWare games you’ve actually touched. As a die-hard fan of the studio, I felt ticked off by that line,” a current top comment reads.
At least when I was stewing over the Psychonauts 2 GotY loss, I did it quietly and briefly. Everyone is entitled to their opinions — clearly! But, to lambast a publication for simply articulating its own opinion, with zero self-awareness, is everything that’s wrong with some players’ relationship with gaming publications. Everyone takes the “react first, consider later” approach — if the “consideration” part ever comes. …No, this isn’t a secret advertisement for a certain new initiative (but while I’m at it, why not?).
But, please. Your game winning a superfluous award won’t change its impact. Disco Elysium wasn’t even nominated for the GotY in 2019 — and is still regarded as one of the best games of all time! Calm down. Play the game again and be happy to have been so emotionally invested in it at all!
The post Your Favorite Game Not Winning Game Of The Year Isn’t The End Of The World appeared first on VICE.
