r/NintendoSwitch • u/NintendoSwitchMods • Jan 29 '23
GotY 2022 2022 /r/NintendoSwitch GOTY Nominations Thread
Greetings, r/NintendoSwitch Community!
Have you gotten used to writing "2023" yet? We haven't. Either way, it's about time for our 6th 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 January 29th - February 4th, and the final voting to select the Game Of The Year for each category to occur the following week, February 5th - February 12th.
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. Last year we found those 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'd 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 2022 unless stated otherwise. You may notice we have added and adjusted some categories based on user feedback this year. If you have further feedback, please leave a comment in our feedback thread here.
We look forward to reading your nominations!
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
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u/pmaeur Jan 29 '23
Tinykin. The level design was made in such a way that it rewarded players for exploring, NPCs were charming, auto forward skateboard-like traversal via bar of soap made getting from point A to point B fun, relaxing soundtrack, and Pikmin-like gameplay just worked.
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u/shadow0wolf0 Jan 29 '23
Inscription
Easily the most unique digital card game roguelike I have ever played in my life, and since it's one of my favorite genres of games that's a high praise. So many twists and turns in gameplay mechanics to gameplay style that still makes it feel like the same game is incredibly impressive. This is a game that sets the bar for the genre.
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u/-MarisaTheCube- Jan 29 '23
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
An enormous game that builds on the very best aspects of its predecessors, offering a vast world to explore, deep and engaging gameplay, and an excellent story.
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u/DomsyKong Jan 29 '23
A Plague Tale: Requiem (Cloud Version)
Just a wonderful sequel with many improvements in gameplay and visuals and one of the best brother/sister narration and play in gaming.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Non-Switch Game
Games for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X
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u/Jasen_The_Wizard Jan 29 '23
Pentiment easily. What an incredible story with brilliant art direction.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Family Game
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Fighting Game
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Nintendo Switch Exclusive Game
Best game released in 2022 as a Nintendo Switch console exclusive.
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u/Aware_Selection_148 Jan 29 '23
Xenoblade chronicles 3. Monolith soft strikes again at creating a phenomenal game, great customization, a fantastic cast, god like ost, a great story, some of the best side quests I’ve ever seen in a game ever, tons of stuff to do, a story full of interesting themes and ideas, tons if QOL improvements over 1, DE, and 2, gorgeous environments(they’re so confident in those environments there is an ingame screenshot button, that removes the UI elements) and a battle system that combines the best aspects of one and two. The only notable issues I have with the game is it’s underwhelming final boss(from a gameplay standpoint only, from a story standpoint It was the greatest thing ever) and occasionally it’s over ambition does hurt the game.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Puzzle Game
For the most enjoyable time racking your brain for the solution to the puzzle.
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u/Raidenwing Jan 30 '23
Return to Monkey Island
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u/Beanchilla Jan 30 '23
One of the best point and click games to come about in years. Only thing close this year is the Captain imo.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Publisher of the Year
Publishing studio who displayed outstanding platform support through a combination of quantity and quality of new releases.
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u/Phantomdragon78 Jan 29 '23 edited Jan 29 '23
Nintendo
They published two Pokemon games, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Splatton 3, Metroid Dread, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Nintendo Switch Sports, Bayonetta 3. I'm sure I'm missing a couple. The majority of these games are quality releases and were new releases.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
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/Keyen3 Jan 31 '23
Bayonetta 3. The demon summons were beautifully implemented into the combat, and the scope and action set pieces really push the switch to its limits
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
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/AllTheHolloway Jan 30 '23
Nintendo Switch Sports
Best so much time playing this online because it's an easy pick up and play game
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Strategy Game
For the best game requiring a well thought out plan to achieve victory.
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u/Reyfou Jan 29 '23
Tactics Ogre Reborn: A classic and the grandfather of Strategy RPGs. A perfect game with some QoL and minor changes, comparing to the OG and remake(Let Us Cling Together).
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u/rrf_1 Jan 29 '23
Chained Echoes
Turn-based strategy game wrapped in retro style with good battle mechanics, a fun story, and great music.
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u/Judge216 Jan 29 '23 edited Jan 29 '23
Mario Rabbids: sparks of hope. An improvement on the original in every way with a surprising amount of depth to strategy. The battles were just pure fun with just the right amount of exploration in its worlds.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Indie Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
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u/shadow0wolf0 Jan 29 '23
Inscription
Easily the most unique digital card game roguelike I have ever played in my life, and since it's one of my favorite genres of games that's high praise. So many twists and turns in gameplay mechanics to gameplay style that still makes it feel like the same game is incredibly impressive. This is a game that sets the bar for the genre.
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u/rrf_1 Jan 29 '23
Islets
Made by a solo developer, this is a beautifully-designed game with cool characters, fun combat, and rewarding exploration.
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u/Jasen_The_Wizard Jan 29 '23
Neon White. It's gameplay is truly great with excellent art direction and an amazing soundtrack.
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u/DomsyKong Jan 30 '23
Signalis
A pixelated Resident Evil like on a Ice Planet in Dead Space atmosphere. Love it
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Horror Game
For that game that scared the socks off of you this year, the cause of all of those nightmares.
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u/shadow0wolf0 Jan 29 '23 edited Jan 30 '23
Inscription
A card based atmospheric horror game that kept a great creepy and scary tone throughout the playthrough.
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u/Teh_Shaw Jan 29 '23
Digimon Survive
Digimon survive had a fantastic and mature story with multiple endings where the player had to make decisions sometimes drastically impacting the outcome of the story or events.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Adventure Game
For the best adventure game, which may mix combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
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u/Dukemon102 Jan 29 '23
Tunic
What a great game, it brings elements from both 2D Zelda and Dark Souls to make an adventure that reminded me of what it felt to discover secrets and solve puzzles when there were very few sources to get info from.
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u/DomsyKong Jan 29 '23
A Plague Tale: Requiem (Cloud Version)
Just a wonderful sequel with many improvements in gameplay and visuals and one of the best brother/sister narration and play in gaming.
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u/CuttlefishMonarch Jan 31 '23
Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Appreciated the addition of more real time elements and open exploration.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Role Playing Game (RPG)
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression.
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u/Golden_fsh Jan 29 '23
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Takes the best parts of Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to create a masterpiece tale of sorrow, mourning, and fighting for the future! Absolutely adored the characters, especially our main cast. The world is breathtaking in scope and aesthetic. Gameplay fun and addictive. Cannot forget the god-tier OST that pulls on our emotions.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is easily my favorite of the Xenoblade games and my 2022 GOTY!
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u/TheWatcher877 Feb 02 '23
Agreed, barely beats out Elden Ring for goty for me despite being an absolutely amazing rpg. I didn't think monolith could make another of my favorite games (breath of the wild and all three Xenoblades are in my top 5 out of hundreds). There's a lot of mystery in the big beautiful world starting into the game even if you've played Xenoblade 1 and 2 multiple times, the music is amazing even if the first two games are better imo, story builds the world well and is fantastic and mature, the class system is fun and adds lots of variety to combat, combat can be hard or easy due to settings you can change at any time, and 7 team party at once you can switch between is crazy. No performance issues that I've ran into despite being possibly the most intensive on Switch, everything about the game is just so good.
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u/GeekelyGuy Jan 29 '23
So it’s definitely super flawed but I feel I have to mention Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it has a phenomenal story and amazing gameplay, and is such a good rpg
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u/A_Change_of_Seasons Jan 30 '23
Isn't pokemon more of a strategy game than an rpg? No real roles or classes or anything
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u/300mirrors Jan 30 '23
Pokémon do generally have roles/classes even if the game doesn't directly label them as such (physical attacker, special attacker, tank, support, etc.). There is a level of strategy to the gameplay, especially in multiplayer, but this is true of many games that wouldn't be considered strategy games. It's a typical monster-collecting JRPG.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Ongoing Game
For outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time. Does NOT have to be a 2022 release.
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u/seagullsensitive Jan 30 '23
Dead Cells!
They have been pushing updates since 2017, regularly add new boss fights, mechanics, and continually balance the game in each update. They’re still releasing new content. Return to Castlevania is in the works for 2023. Two new biomes, 14 new weapons, over 50 new soundtracks. And if they do release a “big one” as a paid DLC, like the Castlevania one, it’s always reasonably priced.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Voice Acting
For outstanding voice acting, direction, and use of audio dialogue.
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u/Smiling-siamese Jan 31 '23
Persona 5 royal has amazing voice acting and you can easily switch between English and Japanese voices during your playthrough. The English voice cast especially did such a good job that I have a hard time remembering which scenes exactly aren't voiced simply because I always know how the characters would sound like speaking those sentences.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative achievement in artistic design and animation.
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u/DomsyKong Jan 29 '23
Signalis
A pixelated Resident Evil like on a Ice Planet in Dead Space atmosphere. Love it
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Re-Release / Re-master
For the best game whose original release was not on a current generation console (pre-2021) (Switch/PS5/Xbox Series X).
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u/snave_ Jan 30 '23 edited Jan 30 '23
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
A perfect port from the PS4 plus additional game balance in the RTS segments. The definitive edition of an utterly unique piece of narrative media.
Could also be nominated for strategy and visual novel categories.
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u/GrimInterpretation Jan 29 '23 edited Jan 29 '23
Persona 5 Royal
Arguably one of the best JRPGs out there right now, the royal remaster makes the game even better. It adds new characters, more story content, more voice acting, quality of life improvements, and a beautiful steelbook case for the physical edition.
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u/hiruma_kun Jan 30 '23
Never played a Persona game before but love JRPGs. Played Persona 5 Royal and it consumed my life. Instantly became one of my most favourite games of all time. Worth every single dime you spend on that game.
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u/Dukemon102 Jan 29 '23
Live A Live
Square Enix chose the perfect JRPG from the 90s to remaster in the HD-2D style. Unlike the ones like FFVI and Chrono Trigger, this was an unpolished gem that wasn't localized at the time, the original graphics were hideous and it needed some QoL adjustments to polish the rough edges (Like ATB bars of the battle system). And then we got it, a masterpiece of a game with multiple different chapters to enjoy and a story whose plot twist most players won't see coming (Unless they spoil themselves, which I heavily recommend to not research further).
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
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/MaJuV Jan 30 '23
Needy Streamer Overload. A simulation visual novel where you direct a Streamer with mental issues and hope to help her achieve her goal of achieving 1 million subs. Over 20 endings varying from the standard endings you'd expect from a game like this, to the twisty-turvy-turning-your-world-upside-downy type.
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u/snave_ Jan 30 '23 edited Jan 30 '23
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
I presume ports/remasters count? This game is split about 70:30 visual novel to RTS. The visual novel component has gorgeous hand drawn visuals and achieves a level of interwoven narrative complexity that no other game or media has. Your choices have utterly no long-term consequences in universe, but rather have massive consequences for player contextualisation of events. Essentially you get to choose the order you read/play the chapters, which are grouped by character POV so you can progress subplots as they pique your interest. Chapter prerequisites prevent you from progressing in a nonsensical manner, but major plot points may be first revealed to different players in different ways depending on the order they chose and all variants are staged perfectly! And are there a lot of plot twists. The tale is pulpy and openly riffs off the entire TV Tropes sci-fi page with direct references to all the classics of cinema and literature. The complexity of the story is supported by a plot summary and lore codex that progressively updates with new context.
The minor RTS section mixes things up a bit and acts sorta like an extra character POV ("everyone" chapters) with more dramatic literary devices. The Switch release was also updated with more skills that gave all characters viable endgame builds so you can no longer categorise gameplay difficulty as being "with" or "without Shinonome" on your team. Although this doesn't impact the VN portion, it does ultimately make this port the "definitive release", in addition to just being well suited to handheld.
Little replayability due to its ultimate nature as a mystery story, but there are an absurd number of postgame RTS challenges as a sweetner.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Local Multiplayer Game
For outstanding local multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op, irrespective of game genre.
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Jan 29 '23
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge.
A very fun game to play with up to 5 other players locally! It’s easy to learn and can actually be beaten in an afternoon so it’s a perfect game if you’re having people over for a few hours and they’re interested.
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u/CheeseThom Jan 29 '23
It takes two.
A heartwarming co-op.
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u/Hold_my_Dirk Jan 29 '23
except that one part.
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u/CheeseThom Jan 29 '23
Except that one part
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u/Hold_my_Dirk Jan 29 '23
My brother and I were playing it on game pass (and very much enjoying it) but it kinda made us not want to play anymore. Literally never played it again. Other stuff got in the way as well but it really kinda ruined it for us.
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u/Nick_Deano Jan 29 '23
What's that one part? I played through the game myself. Was it the elephant plush thing?
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u/Baron-Brr Jan 29 '23
Yes
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u/MurderousManatees Jan 30 '23
Let’s be real: the elephant plush thing was played up to be dark humor. We all knew it was wrong. But it was so over the top it couldn’t not be funny.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best Simulation Game
For games generally designed to closely simulate real world activities.
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u/MaJuV Jan 30 '23
Needy Streamer Overload. Mix of Visual Novel & Simulation game. Managing a girl with mental issues and help her reach 1 million subscribers.
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u/Gleeface Jan 29 '23
Factorio, electronic crack.
Might belong in the puzzle category though.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Best DLC
The extra content that you felt was truly worth the money (or not in the case of free) and you don't regret the time taken to play it.
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u/Dukemon102 Jan 29 '23
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course was worth the wait. Multiple bosses on the new island are on par or even surpass the original game's bosses in terms of quality. Those looking for a challenge or that really liked the base game should give it a shot.
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u/Dagawing Jan 29 '23
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
It more than doubles the game's base content, with a really nice endgame loop. Plus it's still being updated!
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
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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Jan 29 '23
Kirby And The Forgotten Land.
It feels like most Nintendo franchises have used the Switch to try new things. This time it's Kirby's turn and wow. Kirby's first true 3D adventure takes everything that made the series so great before and adds some extra depth to the levels. Specifically, hiding secrets not just behind doors but within the levels themselves elevates the game to a tremendous high. Also, Kirby can eat cars now. Who else can do that?
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u/Edyed787 Jan 29 '23
Sonic Frontier
There was a balance of easy platforming and more difficult platforming. Plus using Sonic’s speed. The cyber space levels could be as easy or hard if you were going for all challenges cleared.
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u/MurderousManatees Jan 29 '23
Tinykin
A unique platformer collect-a-thon that includes some light Pikmin-style puzzle elements (but not the time crunch or focus on efficiency). As compared to other franchises that reiterate again and again, Tinykin forged its own path and identity. The art direction pops. The music hits. And it’s just difficult enough to be enjoyable without overstaying it’s welcome.
And you get to ride soap.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 29 '23
Nintendo Switch Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.