It's that time again! Game of the year that didn't come out this year!

[NerfedFalcon]

At this point, these threads of mine are a yearly tradition. Might be a little early, but who cares? Let's get right to it!

As always, two rules: you have to have played the game for the very first time this year, and it can't have come out this year. Remasters and remakes count as this year, unless you actually played the originals (so, for instance, the PS1 version of Resident Evil 2 counts, but the remake doesn't).

I bought Resident Evil 4 on Steam back when the Steam version first got released, but I didn't get around to playing it until early this year. It's a brilliant thrill ride, combining excellent pacing, tight gameplay and controls, and even a great atmosphere. It also got me to pick up RE7, which is a much more slow-paced game, but no less horrifying for it; the Bakers are memorable antagonists, even if the zombies aren't that great, and again, the pacing is top notch.

 

[Kyrian007]

It would have to be GTA V. I had some time off to kill and finally made it through GTA IV (I won't play a sequel until I finish the previous game in the series.) IV was painfully bad, so by comparison V was a nice return to form... although vastly inferior to VC and SA. Actually, I'd put it behind the original GTA in fun as well. And it certainly was not the best game I played this year or the best game I played for the first time this year... but it was the best game I played for the first time this year that didn't come out this year so, GTA V.

Wait... I first played Monster Hunter World around the first of the year this year. Did I start playing it before or after Jan 1st? Because if it was after, Monster Hunter World was very much the better game. I can't actually remember. So GTA V conditionally as long as I didn't start Monster Hunter World after the beginning of 2019.

 

[Squilookle]

Just Cause 3 then, I guess.

Goldeneye still the GOAT though

 

[Hawki]

It's a yearly tradition? Fraid I didn't see the last ones (or I've forgotten).

Anyway, by the criteria, my nomination is...Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

...please don't hate me.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

GOTY A Hat in Time. Its just like...great. Its wholesome, adorable, challenging, funny, fun, has hats, there's a crow-murder-mystery, a jazz number, she has hats, the fire ghosts are suicidal, more hats, and the one girl has a mustache.

 

[FakeSympathy]

This year, I played Finding Paradise, a sequel to critically acclaimed To The Moon. Fiding Paradise came out in 2017, in case anyone was wondering.

And oh my god, did this game made me laugh and cry. Given how good TTM was, I was expecting the story to be amazing, but this.... just wow. And the message that this game delivers is nothing short of amazing

 

[Elfgore]

Homefront: The Revolution. This game got slaughtered by the state of release it came out in. It's genuinely one of the most enjoyable games I've played in the open-world, FPS genre. The ubran environment adds some much needed verticality to combat sorely lacking in games like Far Cry. The smaller open-world as well and shorter game length, it's about twenty hours, makes it an easily digestible experience. The story and characters are atrocious and the setting makes no sense, but overall, it can easily be ignored for some enjoyable as hell gameplay.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Well, this year I played the PS4 versions of Okami, Resident Evil 4 and Shadow of the Colossus. I love them, I've played and replayed them across so many different platforms and I'm gonna keep doing so. Any year I play them they're gonna be GOTY.

As for games I hadn't played before, it's a toss-up between Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) and God of War (2018).

 

[SckizoBoy]

That I've played? Dishonored 2 and Total War: Warhammer II.

Barrels of fun on both.

Special mention to Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, but it was late last year so not that far out and it did get real grindy at times.

 

[Catfood220]

Seeing as I finally got a Switch this year, it has to be Breath of the Wild. I've played hours of this game, just wandering around and finding stuff to do. So much to do and see and plenty to be improved upon in the sequel.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

I've been playing a bunch of new releases this year, so the number of old games I've only just got round to playing is pretty sparse. In fact, I think the only non-2019 game I've played for the first time this year has been Mass Effect Andromeda. So by a fairly simple matter of '1st in a field of 1' I've got to give my vote to Mass Effect Andromeda. To be fair I have been having fun with it (with the exception of fighting those Architect things, they can go die in a fire).

EDIT - I tell I lie, I've also played The Talos Principle for the first time this year too. Hmm. Damn, I really liked Talos Principle too, but I'm still going to give it to Andromeda. Despite the Architects.

 

[CaitSeith]

The World Ends With You: Final Remix (Switch)

Short but unique modern action-RPG. Very stylish, great music, intriguing plot and fun gameplay. 10/10

 

[Drathnoxis]

I played a number of games that I really enjoyed this year. Shovel Knight, Hollow Knight, The Last of Us, and Spec Ops: The Line.

I think I'll give GOTYTDCOTY to Shovel Knight. Good platforming fun, nice visuals, FANTASTIC music, and an extremely charming story. I especially liked the alternative campaigns where you play as some of the other, more villainous, knights with significant twists on the gameplay. Plague Knight was probably my favourite. Learning to dance was adorable.

 

[Trunkage]

Prey. Deus Ex in Spaaaaaaace. It has a slight horror feel to it but I'm a bad person to assess these things. I don't find horror that scary. But it definitely has that 'approach the situation as you see fit' design I love. I did feel like I was retracting my steps too much, which was disrespecting my time.

Another great game from the Dishonored crew

 

[Dalisclock]

This year, I played Finding Paradise, a sequel to critically acclaimed To The Moon. Fiding Paradise came out in 2017, in case anyone was wondering.

And oh my god, did this game made me laugh and cry. Given how good TTM was, I was expecting the story to be amazing, but this.... just wow. And the message that this game delivers is nothing short of amazing

Did you play "A Bird Story"? It's not mandatory at all but I played it just before Finding Paradise(it's basically a short prequel) and I felt it actually added a bit of interesting context to the game.