TLG >>>>>>> DOOM

I definitely agree with the "GOTY norms" needing to be challenged because it is bullshit that certain types of games don't get counted as GOTY contenders because they are either of a certain genre or the publication's staff didn't sink enough time into a racing game (if any).

I recall Ian arguing last year for the 2019 GOTY discussion that The Outer Wilds does things that haven't been done before and pushes gaming forward. I haven't played that game, but the point stands in that "pushing gaming forward" is a good qualifier for GOTY, but again, that's ultimately subjective as all hell. The 2009 GT GOTY was Modern Warfare 2 and you can definitely argue that it pushed online multiplayer forward, but you can also argue that it was a refinement of the prior entry in the series and nothing more. Tough to say.

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In regards to the GameTrailers GOTY's over the years, I think they've always done a good job of at least drawing attention to A LOT of different games before issuing a winner, but I feel like that 2009 was weird in giving Modern Warfare 2 every category (Best PC, 360, and PS3 Game) as well as GOTY.

I think that was another case of "well you're addicted to it, so it must be GOTY, right?" but maybe not pushing boundaries or creating new systems in a way Batman or Uncharted 2 did. It was a great game, and I think GT took way too much flak for that decision, but I don't think getting addicted to COD for months necessarily means it's the best.

@mbun

In my opinion, the success of the Souls games only has a little bit to do with market trends of the time. Especially because of how grassroots the marketing felt during Dark Souls campaign and that was international distribution through Bandai Namco. Even before that, the Sony publishing in North America felt VERY grassroots and could've been completely unnoticed by the average person. I really don't think anybody could have predicted the series' international success, and I think the word of mouth aura about it has a lot to do with it's ultimate success more so than people saying "I'm tired of AAA games being so simple".

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I personally loved the Souls games off the rip because it wasn't like anything I had played before. I love the 1:1 action/reaction, input/output feeling the controls give off. Likewise, I went into the game knowing it was pretty hardcore, so I was very concerned with every hallway, every door, chest, lever. Essentially, I had become more engaged with a video game than I had been in a loooooong time. Which I guess speaks to Mbun's point on a subconscious level.

I think it clicked for me when I was exploring 1-1 Boletaria and the interconnected level design started exposing itself to me as I discovered loops and shortcuts. It felt super rewarding, again, in a way I hadn't experienced before. Couple that up with secrets and tips that I learned about online and I felt super immersed in the idea of playing through everything the game has to offer. One example would be learning about soul tendency, so I'd try to have 'Light' tendency so the dragons disappear and I can steal all their treasure. Likewise, the developers told us that the crux of the game was to return to Soul-form when you die so I was obsessed with beating bosses, helping people beat bosses, and doing the occasional invasion because I bought into the idea of playing the game to bring myself back to life (full health) and overcome the levels.

All in all, I went into it with the mindset that the developers put forward: this is hard, try to survive by being in Soul-form, kill invaders. It was like the marketing campaign (which was basically Sony producers doing gameplay dev diaries on behalf of From Soft and Japan Studio) was more of an explanation of the game, and I went into playing it with the right mindset before the series was tainted by it's "hardcore, git gud" reputation. It just clicked for me.

Konami can focus on growing deez nuts. Sell your damn IPs!

Konami can focus on growing deez nuts. Sell your damn IPs!

I was a high schooler in 2009, so technically a kid, and I had no desire to play this new Super Mario Bros. I don't know who they were appealing to tbh. The aesthetic was still Mario, but oddly glossy, the animations were kinda weird. My little brother (probably 8 years old in 2009) definitely liked playing LittleBigPlanet and LEGO Batman / Star Wars around that time, but he didn't even bat an eye at this era of Mario. So again, IDK who Nintendo was catering to with this type of game.

Bust. Had the page open at 10am, refreshed 15 mins before 11am and was added to a queue. Then the site crashed before 11am. Had to go through the site to get back to PS5. Finally managed to get to the page, then waited even longer for it to load, got it into cart. Then checkout just loaded endlessly until it was removed from my cart and the PS5 page went down.

Fuck sakes...

@yoshi

Was it like war trying to get one? I've never rushed to get anything before other than RHCP tickets in 2011 and that surprisingly worked out.

I'm gonna get Pulse headphones too.

@hazz3r

Damn! You're a world renowned silent assassin! I'll take your word on the review, but even a weaker link Hitman in this current trilogy is still pretty great. Just might be a hard pill to swallow paying full price.

Canadian Allies -

Tomorrow @ 11am ET. I'm quite literally running a Zoom meeting then, but it's off camera so I'm gonna show up a minute late and make the most of that minute. Wish me luck. I need Resident Evil Village on Day 1.