Geoff Keighley has announced the nominees for The Game Awards 2023, revealing some of the potential winners in as many as 31 categories, including Game of the Year, Best Narrative, and Best Game Direction.
Alan Wake 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 are just two of the familiar titles that can be found in the list of nominations, with eight nominations each, although in terms of publishers, the charge appears to be largely led by Nintendo, whose games have been nominated in quite a few categories.
Those would include The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the latest Zelda game, which is up for a win in Game of the Year, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, and many other categories.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 also received seven nominations, but Starfield only earned one, for Best RPG.
Here’s a full list of nominees for The Game Awards 2023, which is set to premiere live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles (Thursday, December 7, 7:30pm – 11:00pm EST):
Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt RED)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Creative Business Unit III / Square Enix)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative and/or technical achievement in artistic design and animation.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Hi-Fi RUSH (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Lies of P (Round8 Studio / Neowiz)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Score and Music
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
- Alan Wake II Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Baldur’s Gate III Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XVI Composer Masayoshi Soken (Creative Business Unit III / Square Enix)
- Hi-Fi RUSH Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Composer Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Audio Design
Recognizing the best in-game audio and sound design.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- Dead Space (Motive / Electronic Arts)
- Hi-Fi RUSH (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Best Performance
Awarded to an individual for voice-over acting, motion and/or performance capture.
- Ben Starr in Final Fantasy XVI
- Cameron Monaghan in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Idris Elba in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Melanie Liburd in Alan Wake II
- Neil Newbon in Baldur’s Gate III
- Yuri Lowenthal in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Innovation in Accessibility
Recognizing software and / or hardware that is pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience.
- Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios / Xbox Game Studios)
- Hi-Fi RUSH (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Games)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Games for Impact
For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message.
- A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio / Toge Productions / Chorus Worldwide)
- Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc / Focus Entertainment)
- Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP)
- Tchia (Awaceb / Kepler Interactive)
- Terra Nil (Free Lives / Devolver Digital / Netflix)
- Venba (Visai Games)
Best Ongoing Game
Awarded to a game for outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time.
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
Best Community Support
Recognizing a game for outstanding community support, transparency and responsiveness, inclusive of social media activity and game updates / patches.
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
- COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- DAVE THE DIVER (MINTROCKET)
- DREDGE (Black Salt Games / Team17)
- Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
- Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios / Thunderful Games)
Best Debut Indie Game
For the best debut game created by a new independent studio.
- COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- DREDGE (Black Salt Games / Team17)
- Pizza Tower (Tour De Pizza)
- Venba (Visai Games)
- Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios / Thunderful Games)
Best Mobile Game
For the best game playable on a mobile device.
- Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot / Square Enix)
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink)
- Honkai: Star Rail (miHoYo)
- Monster Hunter Now (Niantic / Capcom)
- Terra Nil (Free Lives / Netflix)
Best Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality
For the best game experience playable in virtual or augmented reality, irrespective of platform.
- Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games / Firesprite / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- HUMANITY (tha ltd. / Enhance Games)
- Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom)
- SYNAPSE (nDreams)
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused primarily on combat.
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios / Deep Silver)
- Ghostrunner II (One More Level / 505 Games)
- Hi-Fi RUSH (Tango Gameworks / Bethesda Softworks)
- Remnant II (Gunfire Games / Gearbox Publishing)
Best Action / Adventure
For the best action / adventure game, combining combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
- Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment / Epic Games Publishing)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment / Electronic Arts)
Best Role-Playing
For the best game designed with rich player character customization and progression, including massively multiplayer experiences.
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XVI (Creative Business Unit III / Square Enix)
- Lies of P (Round8 Studio / Neowiz)
- Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
- Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
Best Fighting
For the best game designed primarily around head-to-head combat.
- God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil / Modus Games)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Games)
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity / Fair Play Labs / GameMill Entertainment)
- Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio / PQube)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Best Family
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre or platform.
- Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios / Disney)
- Party Animals (Recreate Games)
- Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Sonic Superstars (Arzest / Sonic Team / SEGA)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Simulation / Strategy
Best game focused on real time or turn-based simulation or strategy gameplay, irrespective of platform.
- Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward Technologies / Nintendo)
- Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order / Paradox Interactive)
- Company of Heroes III (Relic Entertainment / SEGA)
- Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
- Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Sports / Racing
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
- The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower / Ubisoft)
- EA Sports FC 24 (Electronic Arts Vancouver / Electronic Arts Romania / Electronic Arts)
- F1 23 (Codemasters / Electronic Arts)
- Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios / Xbox Game Studios)
- Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone)
Best Multiplayer
For outstanding online multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op and massively multiplayer experiences, irrespective of game genre or platform.
- Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios)
- Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment)
- Party Animals (Recreate Games)
- Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Adaptation
Recognizing outstanding creative work that faithfully and authentically adapts a video game to another entertainment medium.
- Castlevania: Nocturne (Powerhouse Animation / Netflix)
- Gran Turismo (PlayStation Productions / Sony Pictures)
- The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions / HBO)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination / Nintendo / Universal Pictures)
- Twisted Metal (PlayStation Productions / Peacock)
Most Anticipated Game
Recognizing an announced game that has demonstrably illustrated potential to push the gaming medium forward.
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
- Hades II (Supergiant Games)
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA)
- Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment / Ubisoft)
- Tekken 8 (Arika / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Content Creator of the Year
For a streamer or content creator who has made an important and positive impact on the community in 2021.
- Ironmouse
- People Make Games
- Quackity
- Spreen
- Sypherpk
Best eSports Game
For the game that has delivered the best overall esports experience to players (inclusive of tournaments, community support and content updates), irrespective of genre or platform.
- Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
- Dota 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- PUBG Mobile (Lightspeed Studios)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best eSports Athlete
The eSports athlete judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021, irrespective of game.
- Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok (League of Legends)
- Mathieu “Zywoo” Herbaut (Counter-Striker: Global Offensive)
- Max “Demon1” Mazanov (Valorant)
- Paco “Hydra” Rusiewiez (Call of Duty)
- Park “Ruler” Jae-Hyuk (League of Legends)
- Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen (Apex Legends)
Best eSports Team
Recognizing a specific eSports team (not the full organization) judged the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- Evil Geniuses (Valorant)
- Fnatic (Valorant)
- Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2)
- JD Gaming (League of Legends)
- Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)
Best eSports Coach
The eSports coach judged to be the most outstanding for performance and conduct in 2021.
- Christine “Potter” Chi (Evil Geniuses – Valorant)
- Danny “Zonic” Sorensen (Team Falcons – Counter-Strike)
- Jordan “Gunba” Graham (Florida Mayhem – Overwatch)
- Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Team Vitality – Counter-Strike)
- Yoon “Homme” Sung-Young (JD Gaming – League of Legends)
Best eSports Event
Recognizing an event (across single or multiple days) that delivered a best-of-class experience for participants and the broadcast audience.
- 2023 League of Legends World Championship
- BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
- EVO 2023
- The International Dota 2 Championships 2023
- Valorant Champions 2023
The Game Awards 2023 marks the tenth iteration of the awards ceremony, with the first having happened back in 2014.
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Discussion (15 replies)
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People are moaning online that Starfield didn't get nominated. I'm like... what... BG3 blew the doors off this one. Pretty much other nominees are just to fill in gaps.
"Grimlakin, post: 78691, member: 215" wrote:People are moaning online that Starfield didn't get nominated. I'm like... what... BG3 blew the doors off this one. Pretty much other nominees are just to fill in gaps.
Unless there is a category for ship building, Starfield doesn't deserve a nomination for game of the year. There is absolutely nothing about the game which would qualify it for such consideration.
I actually enjoy Starfield for the most part, but the fact of the matter is it would be entirely mediocre were it not for the ship builder. Bethesda is still making games like they did in 2005 but somehow failed to deliver the same quality of sandbox experience it usually does which is saying something. Some of Bethesda's design decisions are baffling to say the least and their game mechanics are woefully outdated.
The ship builder is a stand out feature for me in the game and it has a lot to do with why I've sunk so much time into the game. Even then, I would have dropped that earlier were it not for the mod community making things much more interesting. The space combat isn't as plentiful as it needs to be once you are at higher levels. The combat is serviceable but not very interesting. The enemies are spongy and the weapons imbalanced to a point where only a few feel viable in any way narrowing down an already narrow list of weapons.
You spend a lot of time doing administrative tasks which aren't fun. Managing 800 self-replicating dumbells and other stupid shit that magically appears in my ships cargo bays is tedious to the point on bordering on maddening. Then there are the bugs. The most annoying of which is the one that causes save files to take about 8-10 minutes to load even on a higher end system. That's absolute bullshit. It may have launched in a better state than Bethesda games usually do, but the game is still a buggy mess. Bethesda's patches have introduced more problems than they've solved. (That's not hyperbole, that's fucking true.)
"Grimlakin, post: 78691, member: 215" wrote:People are moaning online that Starfield didn't get nominated. I'm like... what... BG3 blew the doors off this one. Pretty much other nominees are just to fill in gaps.
Baldies Fate 3 isn't even on my "interested in playing some day" list.
As far as I'm concerned there were only two interesting titles this year. Starfield and the Cyberpunk expansion. Everything else is forgettable.
Edit: LOL, that was a real typo/autocorrect/whatever, I swear ?
"Zarathustra, post: 78712, member: 203" wrote:Edit: LOL, that was a real typo/autocorrect/whatever, I swear ?
Hahahahahahaha, I thought you did that on purpose!
"Grimlakin, post: 78691, member: 215" wrote:People are moaning online that Starfield didn't get nominated. I'm like... what... BG3 blew the doors off this one. Pretty much other nominees are just to fill in gaps.
I'm curious about BG3, but I think it can never live up to the hype that surrounds it. My instincts tell me give it a very wide berth. I see more than one red flags about it. I'll wait until price drops to around half before trying it, so I don't feel so bad about the money wasted if my spidey senses are proven right yet again.
"Dan_D, post: 78709, member: 6" wrote:Unless there is a category for ship building, Starfield doesn't deserve a nomination for game of the year. There is absolutely nothing about the game which would qualify it for such consideration.
I disagree. Game of the year is subjective, there are no objective metrics that would qualify a game for consideration. It's all about how much you enjoyed the game, and for me there are two titles that stood out this year: Starfield and Jagged Alliance 3. So those are my two nominees for GOTY. Granted I have not tried BG3 or Phantom Liberty (CP2077 2.0) yet, but even so Starfield and JA3 would still be in the running if I did try those and found them to be amazing.
"Dan_D, post: 78709, member: 6" wrote:I actually enjoy Starfield for the most part, but the fact of the matter is it would be entirely mediocre were it not for the ship builder. Bethesda is still making games like they did in 2005 but somehow failed to deliver the same quality of sandbox experience it usually does which is saying something. Some of Bethesda's design decisions are baffling to say the least and their game mechanics are woefully outdated.
I agree about the woefully outdated mechanics, but the game is more than the sum of its parts. I actually found the sandbox experience far better than in Skyrim (which did win numerous GOTY awards). It is also better than FO4. FO3 and Oblivion might still have it beat in the sandbox, but overall, I prefer Starfield even to those.
I like the ship builder, but it is far from being the only thing that stands out about the game. I use it more as an occasional distraction than the main focus.
"Dan_D, post: 78709, member: 6" wrote:The ship builder is a stand out feature for me in the game and it has a lot to do with why I've sunk so much time into the game. Even then, I would have dropped that earlier were it not for the mod community making things much more interesting. The space combat isn't as plentiful as it needs to be once you are at higher levels. The combat is serviceable but not very interesting. The enemies are spongy and the weapons imbalanced to a point where only a few feel viable in any way narrowing down an already narrow list of weapons.
The only problem I have with vanilla ship builder is how expensive it is, I've never even hit the max build size once. The only "mod" I'm using is changing the vendor buy price to 50% in console and giving traders more money so I can flog my loot. Why am I not skipping all that and just give myself the money? Because I'm enjoying the gameplay loop as is, it just needs some balance tweaks.
I find the combat oddly satisfying both on foot and ship to ship. I usually dislike spongy enemies, but here where everyone wears armored spacesuits it is not immersion breaking. And the combat feels fair, I'm in control and never feel like the AI / game is cheating.
I agree about weapons though, most of them feel useless, you find one good weapon and end up using that for the rest of the play through.
"Dan_D, post: 78709, member: 6" wrote:You spend a lot of time doing administrative tasks which aren't fun. Managing 800 self-replicating dumbells and other stupid **** that magically appears in my ships cargo bays is tedious to the point on bordering on maddening. Then there are the bugs. The most annoying of which is the one that causes save files to take about 8-10 minutes to load even on a higher end system. That's absolute bullshit. It may have launched in a better state than Bethesda games usually do, but the game is still a buggy mess. Bethesda's patches have introduced more problems than they've solved. (That's not hyperbole, that's ****ing true.)
It isn't magical, when you modify your ship all the junk that your crew hoards gets moved to the cargo hold. I see it as free credits, you leave your shit laying around, I'm selling it :D
At least Bethesda's DLSS implementation is far better than the mod was, the FPS is better and the IQ is also better. But their other solutions are so incompetent. Like they added the eat button, but it only works for food laying around in the open. If it is in a container or on an enemy, you still have to move it to the inventory and can only use it from there. :mad:
"Zarathustra, post: 78712, member: 203" wrote:Baldies Fate 3 isn't even on my "interested in playing some day" list.
It's on my list, but I'm kind of more interested in it as a form of catastrophe tourism, to see how bad it actually is. Because every fiber of my being is screaming at me: Don't buy that game, you'll hate it.
"Dan_D, post: 78709, member: 6" wrote:You spend a lot of time doing administrative tasks which aren't fun. Managing 800 self-replicating dumbells and other stupid **** that magically appears in my ships cargo bays is tedious to the point on bordering on maddening.
I think you nailed it on the head why I haven''t been able to get engaged with this game. Sure, I can get into grinding away for XP and abilities with other games, which in turn can unlock more content but this game, like many others, leaves me feeling like I picked up another job. I've already got enough admin tasks with the day job and don't want or need more when I'm trying to relax.
"MadMummy76, post: 78765, member: 1298" wrote:At least Bethesda's DLSS implementation is far better than the mod was, the FPS is better and the IQ is also better.
I had been wondering about that.
"Peter_Brosdahl, post: 78788, member: 87" wrote:...but this game, like many others, leaves me feeling like I picked up another job. I've already got enough admin tasks with the day job and don't want or need more when I'm trying to relax.
Maaaan I feel you there, dawg. I know what you're talking about. Not with Starfield specifically, cuz I've yet to play that game, but I've run into plenty of games that made me feel that way.
"DrezKill, post: 78790, member: 230" wrote:Maaaan I feel you there, dawg. I know what you're talking about. Not with Starfield specifically, cuz I've yet to play that game, but I've run into plenty of games that made me feel that way.
I instantly drop games that make me feel that way, but selling off misc stuff from your inventory in starfield is not nearly as bad as say turning stuff to omni-gel in ME1. Where you had the distinct chance to accidentally turn your favorite weapon to omni gel too.
"Dan_D, post: 78709, member: 6" wrote:Unless there is a category for ship building, Starfield doesn't deserve a nomination for game of the year. There is absolutely nothing about the game which would qualify it for such consideration.
I think it is a good game that was just overhyped.
It deserves credit for a solid mystery/suspense type of story line (at least in the beginning), absolutely massive side quest lines that are bigger than some games are in total, good fun gun play, and they deserve at least some credit for it being largely completely playable with minimal bugs on launch day. (but maybe a demerit for how poorly it runs on even relatively high end systems)
I'd argue it should be a candidate for game of the year. Is it one of my favorite games of all time? No. But my 200 hour play-through was as much enjoyment as I've gotten out of any game in recent memory. I'm told things can be different in NG+ mode, but the little time I've spent in NG+, other than the very beginning, it has seemed mostly the same, so I don't know what I am missing, or if the differences thing has been overstated.
Considering that I only really play first person and turn based strategy games, for me Starfield was one of the strongest titles in a year of titles that were OK at best. I have not yet played the Cyberpunk expansion though. If it lives up to the original story, it promises to be really good as well.
So yeah, for me, 2023 was a Phantom Liberty and Starfield kind of year. Nothing else interested me. So from my perspective, at least one of those two has to be "Game of the year" :p
"Zarathustra, post: 78809, member: 203" wrote:It deserves credit for a solid mystery/suspense type of story line (at least in the beginning), absolutely massive side quest lines that are bigger than some games are in total, good fun gun play, and they deserve at least some credit for it being largely completely playable with minimal bugs on launch day. (but maybe a demerit for how poorly it runs on even relatively high end systems)
I think if I can figure out how to do a playthrough and focus on the quests while avoiding all the micromanagement I might be able to enjoy it more. I'd nominate Hogwarts for best game but only just to have it in the category. I wouldn't want, or expect it to win but do believe it should be in the list as I had a huge amount of fun with it. Still have to get into Phantom Liberty.
It just occurred to me, it would be hilarious if folks got a campaign going for Gollum just to screw with the whole process. Sort of like reverse review bombing.
"Zarathustra, post: 78809, member: 203" wrote:side quest lines that are bigger than some games are in tota
I actually think that's not true. Even the entire quest line where you work for the UC as Vanguard leading to the whole UC Sec OPS missions with the pirates and completing that... with proper understanding of fast travel... it really isn't THAT much content. It's still impressive don't get me wrong. but a full game? Maybe a COD single player full game.
"Peter_Brosdahl, post: 78842, member: 87" wrote:I think if I can figure out how to do a playthrough and focus on the quests while avoiding all the micromanagement I might be able to enjoy it more.
Dude.. check out cheathappens.com. I've had a lifetime sub for over a decade it feels like. (Got it when they were hard up for cash for like 20 bucks.) I can play starfield with as much assistance or not, bump my credits up so I don't feel like I need to chase money to progress the game. Unlock all of the skills at level 1, and just play the game and enjoy the story/world without the fiddly bits I don't care about getting in the way. Oh and give yourself a chunk of XP to clear all of the annoying level unlocks too for ship parts and such.
They SHOULD have had some ship parts behind a reputation grind of some sort. (Do missions for them not go farm 99 blue rocks from the red planet.)
"Grimlakin, post: 78855, member: 215" wrote:Dude.. check out cheathappens.com. I've had a lifetime sub for over a decade it feels like.
Already there. For me it's between 5-10 years. I always like to start my games w/o until I get used to all the controls/mechanics and then switch over when I'm ready. I can't remember if I got that far with this one though.
"Grimlakin, post: 78854, member: 215" wrote:I actually think that's not true. Even the entire quest line where you work for the UC as Vanguard leading to the whole UC Sec OPS missions with the pirates and completing that... with proper understanding of fast travel... it really isn't THAT much content. It's still impressive don't get me wrong. but a full game? Maybe a COD single player full game.
I think I've easily spent 15 hours on the big side quests each. Of course it is easy to get distracted and do some exploration during, but still there are many games that can be finished in 15 hours. But that's not even the whole picture. A 15 hour game for example say alan wake often gets boring and tedious during that time, while 15 hours in Starfield goes by like nothing.
Discussion (15 replies)
Join Discussion →People are moaning online that Starfield didn't get nominated. I'm like... what... BG3 blew the doors off this one. Pretty much other nominees are just to fill in gaps.
Unless there is a category for ship building, Starfield doesn't deserve a nomination for game of the year. There is absolutely nothing about the game which would qualify it for such consideration.
I actually enjoy Starfield for the most part, but the fact of the matter is it would be entirely mediocre were it not for the ship builder. Bethesda is still making games like they did in 2005 but somehow failed to deliver the same quality of sandbox experience it usually does which is saying something. Some of Bethesda's design decisions are baffling to say the least and their game mechanics are woefully outdated.
The ship builder is a stand out feature for me in the game and it has a lot to do with why I've sunk so much time into the game. Even then, I would have dropped that earlier were it not for the mod community making things much more interesting. The space combat isn't as plentiful as it needs to be once you are at higher levels. The combat is serviceable but not very interesting. The enemies are spongy and the weapons imbalanced to a point where only a few feel viable in any way narrowing down an already narrow list of weapons.
You spend a lot of time doing administrative tasks which aren't fun. Managing 800 self-replicating dumbells and other stupid shit that magically appears in my ships cargo bays is tedious to the point on bordering on maddening. Then there are the bugs. The most annoying of which is the one that causes save files to take about 8-10 minutes to load even on a higher end system. That's absolute bullshit. It may have launched in a better state than Bethesda games usually do, but the game is still a buggy mess. Bethesda's patches have introduced more problems than they've solved. (That's not hyperbole, that's fucking true.)
Baldies Fate 3 isn't even on my "interested in playing some day" list.
As far as I'm concerned there were only two interesting titles this year. Starfield and the Cyberpunk expansion. Everything else is forgettable.
Edit: LOL, that was a real typo/autocorrect/whatever, I swear ?
Hahahahahahaha, I thought you did that on purpose!
I'm curious about BG3, but I think it can never live up to the hype that surrounds it. My instincts tell me give it a very wide berth. I see more than one red flags about it. I'll wait until price drops to around half before trying it, so I don't feel so bad about the money wasted if my spidey senses are proven right yet again.
I disagree. Game of the year is subjective, there are no objective metrics that would qualify a game for consideration. It's all about how much you enjoyed the game, and for me there are two titles that stood out this year: Starfield and Jagged Alliance 3. So those are my two nominees for GOTY. Granted I have not tried BG3 or Phantom Liberty (CP2077 2.0) yet, but even so Starfield and JA3 would still be in the running if I did try those and found them to be amazing.
I agree about the woefully outdated mechanics, but the game is more than the sum of its parts. I actually found the sandbox experience far better than in Skyrim (which did win numerous GOTY awards). It is also better than FO4. FO3 and Oblivion might still have it beat in the sandbox, but overall, I prefer Starfield even to those.
I like the ship builder, but it is far from being the only thing that stands out about the game. I use it more as an occasional distraction than the main focus.
The only problem I have with vanilla ship builder is how expensive it is, I've never even hit the max build size once. The only "mod" I'm using is changing the vendor buy price to 50% in console and giving traders more money so I can flog my loot. Why am I not skipping all that and just give myself the money? Because I'm enjoying the gameplay loop as is, it just needs some balance tweaks.
I find the combat oddly satisfying both on foot and ship to ship. I usually dislike spongy enemies, but here where everyone wears armored spacesuits it is not immersion breaking. And the combat feels fair, I'm in control and never feel like the AI / game is cheating.
I agree about weapons though, most of them feel useless, you find one good weapon and end up using that for the rest of the play through.
It isn't magical, when you modify your ship all the junk that your crew hoards gets moved to the cargo hold. I see it as free credits, you leave your shit laying around, I'm selling it :D
At least Bethesda's DLSS implementation is far better than the mod was, the FPS is better and the IQ is also better. But their other solutions are so incompetent. Like they added the eat button, but it only works for food laying around in the open. If it is in a container or on an enemy, you still have to move it to the inventory and can only use it from there. :mad:
It's on my list, but I'm kind of more interested in it as a form of catastrophe tourism, to see how bad it actually is. Because every fiber of my being is screaming at me: Don't buy that game, you'll hate it.
I think you nailed it on the head why I haven''t been able to get engaged with this game. Sure, I can get into grinding away for XP and abilities with other games, which in turn can unlock more content but this game, like many others, leaves me feeling like I picked up another job. I've already got enough admin tasks with the day job and don't want or need more when I'm trying to relax.
I had been wondering about that.
Maaaan I feel you there, dawg. I know what you're talking about. Not with Starfield specifically, cuz I've yet to play that game, but I've run into plenty of games that made me feel that way.
I instantly drop games that make me feel that way, but selling off misc stuff from your inventory in starfield is not nearly as bad as say turning stuff to omni-gel in ME1. Where you had the distinct chance to accidentally turn your favorite weapon to omni gel too.
I think it is a good game that was just overhyped.
It deserves credit for a solid mystery/suspense type of story line (at least in the beginning), absolutely massive side quest lines that are bigger than some games are in total, good fun gun play, and they deserve at least some credit for it being largely completely playable with minimal bugs on launch day. (but maybe a demerit for how poorly it runs on even relatively high end systems)
I'd argue it should be a candidate for game of the year. Is it one of my favorite games of all time? No. But my 200 hour play-through was as much enjoyment as I've gotten out of any game in recent memory. I'm told things can be different in NG+ mode, but the little time I've spent in NG+, other than the very beginning, it has seemed mostly the same, so I don't know what I am missing, or if the differences thing has been overstated.
Considering that I only really play first person and turn based strategy games, for me Starfield was one of the strongest titles in a year of titles that were OK at best. I have not yet played the Cyberpunk expansion though. If it lives up to the original story, it promises to be really good as well.
So yeah, for me, 2023 was a Phantom Liberty and Starfield kind of year. Nothing else interested me. So from my perspective, at least one of those two has to be "Game of the year" :p
I think if I can figure out how to do a playthrough and focus on the quests while avoiding all the micromanagement I might be able to enjoy it more. I'd nominate Hogwarts for best game but only just to have it in the category. I wouldn't want, or expect it to win but do believe it should be in the list as I had a huge amount of fun with it. Still have to get into Phantom Liberty.
It just occurred to me, it would be hilarious if folks got a campaign going for Gollum just to screw with the whole process. Sort of like reverse review bombing.
I actually think that's not true. Even the entire quest line where you work for the UC as Vanguard leading to the whole UC Sec OPS missions with the pirates and completing that... with proper understanding of fast travel... it really isn't THAT much content. It's still impressive don't get me wrong. but a full game? Maybe a COD single player full game.
Dude.. check out cheathappens.com. I've had a lifetime sub for over a decade it feels like. (Got it when they were hard up for cash for like 20 bucks.) I can play starfield with as much assistance or not, bump my credits up so I don't feel like I need to chase money to progress the game. Unlock all of the skills at level 1, and just play the game and enjoy the story/world without the fiddly bits I don't care about getting in the way. Oh and give yourself a chunk of XP to clear all of the annoying level unlocks too for ship parts and such.
They SHOULD have had some ship parts behind a reputation grind of some sort. (Do missions for them not go farm 99 blue rocks from the red planet.)
Already there. For me it's between 5-10 years. I always like to start my games w/o until I get used to all the controls/mechanics and then switch over when I'm ready. I can't remember if I got that far with this one though.
I think I've easily spent 15 hours on the big side quests each. Of course it is easy to get distracted and do some exploration during, but still there are many games that can be finished in 15 hours. But that's not even the whole picture. A 15 hour game for example say alan wake often gets boring and tedious during that time, while 15 hours in Starfield goes by like nothing.