Board 8 > How likely are you to declare an indie game your GOTY?

(+) Yeah! (+)

So far my two favorite games of 2017 are What Remains of Edith Finch (3-hour FPExploration) and Horizon Zero Dawn

However it's like impossible to compare the two. They're both incredible, but WROEF is a tiny story I platinumed in 5 hours while HZD is a sweeping epic I played for weeks.

I love both, but I don't know which is my GOTY because they're so incomparable. I almost want to give it to HZD just because it's like MORE game but that doesn't seem right

The only indie games I've ever confidently called my GOTY previously are Journey, Octodad: Dadliest Catch and MAYBE Inside
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RE7 and Outlast 2 are pretty close for me this year but RE7 still wins out.
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Night in the Woods will PROBABLY be my GOTY, it's in-between that, Pyre and Persona 5. Potentially Nier once I fully finish it.
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does pubg count as an indie game
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Undertale is maaaybe my GotY 2015, tied with Bloodborne. Outside from that I don't think indie games grab me as much as they do other people.
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I probably won't. I usually have one or two in my top 10 every year, though.
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oh Mario Odyssey still has to come out


that is a GOTY contender too
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Nothing has really surpassed Hollow Knight so far so...
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Hollow Knight is up there for me
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It's very hard for me to give a sub 10 hour game my goty. Being able to entertain me for a very long time definitely has value and is more difficult.
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I haven't gotten to play many games this year, but Pyre is head-and-shoulders above everything so far.

Recency bias might be a thing though. We'll see in a month.
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i don't play many non-indie games so it's very likely.
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I've never enjoyed an indie enough to say that, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility one could come along. But I was unimpressed with all the popular ones I've tried.
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unlikely because it's probably going to be Mario or Zelda
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I've had several indie GOTYs. this year probably won't be but it depends on if Xenoblade/Metroid/whatever is good.
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Fairly likely. Factorio is a lock for whenever it actually releases.
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Does Ori count as an indie game? I mean, Moon is a "Microsoft First Party Developer" so does that make it not an indie?

There's a few others that'd be contenders - Super Meat Boy, Cloudbuilt, and Crypt of the Necrodancer, I think. All of them have given me quite a few hours of entertainment, though. I mean, the main contender for SMB in 2010 would be SMG2, which I probably didn't play much more than Meat Boy. And I've played Necrodancer for over 80 hours. Indie games don't have to be lacking in content.

I don't think I've ever considered a game I spent less than ten hours on my GotY though.
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indie games are the majority of what i play and i dont see a problem with calling a shorter game my goty if its an overall better experience, so pretty likely
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Indie games were my goty for both 2015 (Necrodancer) and 2016 (Darkest Dungeon) (although both of those were early access before their respective years)

only really started thinking about gotys in 2013. haven't had an indie game as one just yet. gone home was my #3 then. 2014 was child of light but that's made and published by ubisoft. life is strange also has that indie feel, but that was #2 for 2015 and published by square enix. the witness was my runner-up last year.

the two front-runners i have for this year though are both indies! pyre and hellblade. still need to play zelda and horizon.
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2014 was Shovel Knight right
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Ninja Theory's not really an indie dev, are they? No more than, say, Platinum.
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So far my GotY is Specter of Torment.
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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Night in the Woods will PROBABLY be my GOTY

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80% chance or so that my goty is an indie game
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0%
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less likely every day mario odyssey exists.

Done it before. Undertale was, without question, my 2015 GotY.
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I've done it twice in a row lately with Undertale and INSIDE. I doubt this year will make it a hat trick though.

Of course, the distinction is now completely meaningless. There are lots of small games put out by huge companies (Journey, Ori), and big games put out by independent ones (No Man's Sky, Hellblade).
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Indie games are rarely as good as their reviewers make them out to be. So far the best Indie game I've played is Shovel Knight with Undertale probably a distant 2nd. And I'm pretty confident neither would make my Top 100 or even 200 for that matter.

Rocket League, VVVVVV, Salt and Sanctuary, Bastion are notably good games as well but like I said it is hard for them to compete with AAA games that hit their stride. It is not even fair to compare them to be honest. The budget, the team behind them and everything else is on too different a scale to even fairly compare.

Also What Remains of Edith Finch was overrated as hell. It is good for what it is, i.e a 2-3 hour 'game' if you can even call it that. But even comparing it to the likes of Zelda or Persona 5 or the other great games of 2017 is asinine. It is a ridiculous scenario when you think about which game to award GotY to, if you actually played both Breath of the Wild and WROEF. It is like comparing an exquisite three course meal in a world class restaurant to an instant ready to eat mac n' cheese lying in your refrigerator.

And if someone is gonna come here and spout 'gaming is an art' nonsense to justify indie games' quality then please take it somewhere else. I wanna hear none of that this is art pretentious crap.
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So my answer is 0% unless Indie games suddenly decide to put as much budget and as much developmental staff like AAA games.
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Axiom Verge was my favorite game in 2015 I think

0% this year though. Don't see anything topping Zelda
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As long as I enjoy it I don't care whether a game is indie or not for that sort of thing. If a game is five minutes long but it hits you harder and you get more enjoyment out of it than some 40+ hour triple a game, nothing wrong with that.
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I'm not likely to declare a GOTY at all because who the fuck cares what I think?
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To expand on quoting Bane last night, here are my game's of the year since 2012

2012: The Walking Dead Season 1
2013: Gone Home
2014: The Talos Principle
2015: Witcher 3
2016: DOOM

Front runners for this year:

Night in the Woods
Horizon Zero Dawn
What Remains of Edith Finch

Potential games that could be in the discussion:

Mario + Rabbids
Mario Odyssey
Wolfenstein II
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Trails the 3rd came out this year, so no chance unless La-Mulana 2 comes out
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Axl_Rose_85 posted...

And if someone is gonna come here and spout 'gaming is an art' nonsense to justify indie games' quality then please take it somewhere else. I wanna hear none of that this is art pretentious crap.

What the hell lmao
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foolm0r0n posted...

Axl_Rose_85 posted...

And if someone is gonna come here and spout 'gaming is an art' nonsense to justify indie games' quality then please take it somewhere else. I wanna hear none of that this is art pretentious crap.

What the hell lmao

Damn, when I read that post earlier I almost posted, "it'll be foolmo"
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ProfitProphet posted...

I'm not likely to declare a GOTY at all because who the fuck cares what I think?

then why click on the topic?
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SgtSphynx posted...

Front runners for this year:

Night in the Woods
Horizon Zero Dawn
What Remains of Edith Finch

^5
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Johnbobb posted...

ProfitProphet posted...

I'm not likely to declare a GOTY at all because who the fuck cares what I think?

then why click on the topic?

My brain doesn't work like a normal person's brain
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gaming is an arte
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by my arts
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love that guy
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there are more indie games than AAA games in any given year, and more good indie games than good AAA games as well. so it's pretty likely. if we're talking about this year specifically, it will be hard for any game to top Prey, but I haven't played Hollow Knight and Divinity Original Sin 2 is weeks away so anything can happen.

Axl_Rose_85 posted...

It is good for what it is, i.e a 2-3 hour 'game' if you can even call it that.

why is it difficult? it's a game. there, I just said it. no internal struggle at all. I want a cookie.
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iiicon posted...

I want a cookie.

I got some weird cookies with butterfinger chunks in them if you want some
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Absolutely 0% chance. Yakuza Zero, Nioh, BotW, Nier Automata, Persona 5, Splatoon 2, Sonic Mania, Gundam Versus, Mario Odyssey.
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SgtSphynx posted...

I got some weird cookies with butterfinger chunks in them if you want some

sounds great

see what happens when you call games games
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man Mario Odyssey is the most acclaimed unreleased game I've ever seen
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Johnbobb posted...

man Mario Odyssey is the most acclaimed unreleased game I've ever seen

have you ever played an unreleased Zelda game?
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