Rankings

Game of the Year ARTICLES

The List: Game of the Year Winners

Summary (1990 - Present, may contradict Rankings Posts)

1990 - 2012: Winners and runners-up were chosen retroactively as best as I can recall based on what I would have awarded at the time
2013 - 2018: Winners were chosen at the time on gaming message boards or old websites, while runners-up were chosen retroactively
2019 - present: Winners and runners-up were chosen at the time in a post on this site

Contemporaneous Commentary (2013 - Present)

2013 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Perfectly captures and modernizes the essence of classic Zelda by bringing the emphasis back to exploration. No one can really pull off "moments" with just the right touch the way Nintendo can, like when you get the Master Sword and you're rewarded with a fanfare and remixed Hyrule overworld theme. I had chills. The game's pacing kept me going, and I'm sad that it's over.

The Master Sword is at rest once again

The Master Sword is at rest once again

2014 - Valiant Hearts
I feel like this game was designed for people like me: gameplay that doesn't trivialize or glamorize war; a small, focused story rather than an epic one; characters that have real lives that the war impacted. In today's landscape where games without combat or murder are described as having "no gameplay", I will always be thankful that someone tried something like this.

War makes men mad

2015 - Super Mario Maker
This is a game in reality that I literally dreamed about as a child, and I can't put it down. The community continues to find new ways to make Mario fun, inventive, hilarious, challenging, and even poignant. I'll be playing this one for years. It's the peak of crowdsourced level design creativity.

My most played level

My most played level

2016 - Pokémon Go
This may seem like a ridiculous choice to fans of "real" games, but nothing made me smile this year like Pokémon Go did. Despite lacking any meaningful mechanics, and despite having a leveling system that grinds to a halt after level 20, I kept coming back this year. And with new Pokémon now being added to the mix, I suspect I'll keep up with it.

Jigglypuff conquers the Washington Monument

Jigglypuff conquers the Washington Monument

2017 - Super Mario Odyssey
Mario's latest adventure joins Super Mario World and Super Mario Galaxy in my personal Mario Hall of Fame. While the entirety of Super Mario Odyssey was sheer concentrated joy, nothing prepared me for the exhilarating New Donk City festival. This love letter to Mario's history is so earnest and so well-executed that it's one of my all time favorite moments in gaming, period. It's perfect.

An all-time favorite gaming moment

An all-time favorite gaming moment

2018 - Celeste
You keep climbing, even when you have died hundreds of times, are feeling exhausted, and are considering giving up. Finally, you reach the home stretch. The game starts counting down the checkpoints for you, your heart is pounding, and you make it. You reach the top and you feel the greatest rush possible. And all you want to do is bask in the glory of your accomplishment forever.

What a rush

What a rush

2019 - The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Koholint island. It’s weird, it’s atmospheric, and it hooked me with its ephemeral theme. The bite-sized overworld and old-school dungeon design were exactly what I was looking for, especially the final stellar hours with Eagle Tower and Turtle Rock. I’ll be playing this one again, and I can’t wait for the next 2D Zelda - whether it be an original or a remake.

I miss Koholint

I miss Koholint

2020 - Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons served both as something to do in quarantine and somewhere else to be when the world sucked. More than anything, this game gave us a reason to smile, to press on, to get through this pandemic to the other side. And even now, as I’ve gone from playing every day to checking in once a month, I relish the moments I had in Animal Crossing and will relish even more the ones to come.

My happy place

My happy place

2021 - What the Dub?!
A year into pandemic life, with Zoom fatigue taking over, I sorely needed a game like this, so I downloaded it and played it with as many friend circles as I could - both in person and online. And it was pure magic. No matter who played, it was a great time. What the Dub?! reinforced the power of human connection, of humor in the darkest of times, of sheer silliness. And for that reason, it makes the list.

The party game is back

2022 - Stray

Stray is basically the perfect combination of Uncharted’s vertical world exploration, The Last of Us’s post-apocolyptic setting, and moments where a cat is just being a cat. This was a game that grabbed me from the outset with a gimmick, hooked me with its heart, and never outstayed its welcome. The six hours I spent playing Stray were among the best six hours I spent this year. I can’t wait to be a cat again.

Everybody wants to be a cat

2023 - Octopath Traveler II

This game delivered me my favorite gaming memory of 2023: being coached by my nine-year-old son to take the final boss out. Octopath Traveler II delivered a transcendent audiovisual experience, it challenged me with its mechanics and boss encounters, it moved me through its memorable characters and intertwined story, and it bonded me with my son. I don’t think any other game in history has done that.

Old school charm, new school design, pure magic

2024 - Astro Bot

This is the most joyful gaming experience seen in years, from the first moments on Sky Garden to multiple epic boss battles to riveting challenge levels and finally through to the best playable credits in gaming history. For every moment, my son was either by my side or in some cases playing the game himself. This was our experience. This was our accomplishment. And this is our game of the year.

100%, baby!