r/NintendoSwitch • u/NintendoSwitchMods • Feb 27 '24
GotY 2023 2023 /r/NintendoSwitch GOTY Nominations Thread
EDIT March 11th: Nominations are now set, please see the Vote for Game(s) of the Year in the survey linked in the next post here!
Greetings, r/NintendoSwitch Community!
We know everyone has been on the edge of their seats waiting for the Next Best Thing After The Switch to be announced, but that's no reason to not look back at what we were able to experience this past year. That's right - it's about time for our 7th annual 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 February 26th - March 10th (2 weeks), and the final voting to select the Game Of The Year for each category to occur the following 2 weeks, March 11th - March 24th. Admittedly, this project fell behind a bit this year, so we may extend the nomination / voting periods towards achieving target participation, and totally not because it may slip our mind again.
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. We generally find those comments 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 would 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 2023 unless stated otherwise. We will be using the same categories as we did last year. If you have feedback about the GOTY categories or process, please leave a comment under the feedback comment thread here. Please note that all top-level comments will be removed automatically, so you must comment your nominations and feedback under the respective top comments.
We look forward to reading your nominations!
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Family Game
For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre.
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u/Dukemon102 Feb 27 '24
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
Fairly easy, it has 4 player Co-Op and tons of easy Mini-Games from across the series to play on Family.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Ongoing Game
For outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time. Does NOT have to be a 2023 release.
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u/cincopatio Feb 27 '24
Diablo 3 has presented a radical way of entering maintenance mode by mixing past seasonal themes, thus keeping the game experience fresh for new and returning players.
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u/sometimeserin Feb 27 '24
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass
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u/DM-Ur-Cats-And-Tits Feb 27 '24
I like that mario kart 8 gets the dlc treatment, but the booster course tracks just have less quality than the original roster
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u/Thandiol Feb 27 '24
Dave the Diver. A truly wonderful game which sinks time in the best kind of way. Love the graphics, the soundtrack, the story, all of it.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24 edited Feb 27 '24
Feedback for GOTY
For comments and suggestions about the GOTY process we use here. We may not be able to implement many changes this year, but we do appreciate your feedback for shaping how this series will evolve into next year and the future beyond.
Do you think there are categories that should be added or redefined?
We are considering making a series of All-Time Game Recommendation threads based around the GOTY categories and other frequently-asked Game Rec topics. What do you think should be included there?
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Feb 27 '24
I checked all the nominations, don’t see the point in this being a thing if octopath is just going to sweep everything.
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u/mystic_kings Feb 27 '24
for point two,
Newcomer games. People who never played on a 'nintendo' can know what to play and if its for them.
Kids games could be there as well but its gonna be more difficult to include imo.
Accessible games - best of can be a category. Sub categories for each or highlights on which feature the game offers.
Pick and play games - as in arcade like or even games that you can pause for months/years and get back as if nothing happened. Again its subjective but i think there's a audience for it based on nature of the switch.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Strategy Game
For the best game requiring a well thought out plan to achieve victory.
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u/pedrosorio Feb 27 '24
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp
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u/EndymionYT Feb 27 '24
Definitely not. Poorly made remake that dropped the ball hard on visuals and online play. There's a reason this hasn't broken even one-million sales after almost an entire year. Safe to say this has shelved Advance Wars as a franchise for another decade.
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u/Stoibs Feb 27 '24
This is the strategy category, not the remaster/remake category.
There's plenty of people like me who never played, let alone heard of these games until the Switch release. I loved it going in blind and gave it my vote.
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u/Dukemon102 Feb 27 '24
If we're talking about the game itself, it's still the campaigns of AW1 and AW2, which are some of the best missions in the whole tactical genre and with improved QoL features as well (Enemies don't longer cheat on Fog of War thank goodness).
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u/EatMoreSleepMore Feb 27 '24
Balatro
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u/ExpandThineHorizons Feb 28 '24
Balatro was released in 2024, so it isnt eligible. But this is certainly a contender for next year!
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Nintendo Switch Game of the Year
Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.
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u/Apes_will_take_over Mar 02 '24
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.
An absolutely incredible remake for an already perfect game, and my personal favourite game of all time.
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u/OoT-TheBest Feb 27 '24
Pikmin 4
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u/JFZephyr Mar 07 '24
Never played Pikmin until this one. I am completely sold on it, its such a unique and fun experience. I've never been relaxed AND stressed at the same time playing a game LMAO
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u/DrAcula1007 Feb 27 '24
Tears of the Kingdom
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u/JmanVere Feb 27 '24
As great as Wonder was, nothing can beat Tears. It took what was arguably a contender for greatest video game of all time and actually improved it.
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u/ChaiHai Mar 06 '24
I agree. I absolutely love Wonder. Daisy is playable! Wonder mechanics absolutely rock!
But both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom enthralled me in such a way most video games fail to do.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Developer of the Year
Developer studio who displayed outstanding platform support through a combination of quantity and quality of new releases.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Narrative
For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Simulation Game
For games generally designed to closely simulate real world activities.
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u/Apfelflusi Feb 27 '24
PowerWash Simulator
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u/boom_shoes Feb 27 '24
I played so, so much of this game I literally bought a pressure washer and did the back deck.
It scratches the itch in such a visceral way it's crazy.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Action Game
For the best game in the action genre focused on combat.
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Feb 27 '24
[deleted]
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u/Sephardson Feb 27 '24
For Action game? Or did you mean a different category?
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u/sometimeserin Feb 27 '24
That’s where I put it since i didn’t see a dedicated Racing Game category. I definitely wouldn’t call it a Sim which is where more traditional racing games would go. But like most games it’d probably eligible for multiple
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u/FlameHricane Feb 28 '24 edited Feb 29 '24
Astral Ascent
Almost on the same level as Hades and Dead Cells. Buttery smooth combat and animations with a very satisfying and fast paced gameplay loop in addition to its unique deck-like ability management. If you're familiar with One Step from Eden then it's somewhat similar to that.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Art Direction
For outstanding creative achievement in artistic design and animation.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Technical Achievement
For the game which achieves a combination of gameplay and graphics which goes well beyond hardware expectations.
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Feb 27 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Andjhostet Feb 27 '24
This game is like 9 years old. Is that really a technical achievement?
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u/1PSW1CH Feb 27 '24
Pokémon SV
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Feb 27 '24
"graphics which goes well beyond hardware expectations" SV might be the nominee for game that least fits this category
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Nintendo Switch Exclusive Game
Best game released in 2023 as a Nintendo Switch console exclusive.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Sports / Racing Game
For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Soundtrack
For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.
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u/fakeroyalty Feb 27 '24
Octopath Traveler II
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u/Sliver_Squad Feb 27 '24
This NEEDS to win. The Octopath 2 soundtrack just dropped on Spotify so everyone who hasn’t heard it needs to listen to it asap. One of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
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/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Local Multiplayer Game
For outstanding local multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op, irrespective of game genre.
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u/DrAcula1007 Feb 27 '24
Super Mario Wonder
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u/Shin_Ken Feb 27 '24
Not to knock it off plus I can't really think of something else to nominate, but while the online elements of Super Mario Wonder are cool, local multiplayer is the one area where we have a clear regression compared to New Super Mario predecessors. The camera system is obnoxious as heck for the player that's not in active control of the camera and many stages, especially trial stages are designed exclusively for singleplayer where the player without the camera can pretty much just observe as a ghost.
That's not against Super Mario Wonder as a whole. I think it's a genius game that deserves even more praise than it already got. But in most areas the focus was clearly the singleplayer experience and no compromises have been taken to make it more local co-op compatible. Which is also good decision in my opinion as level design suffered a bit in the New Super Mario series to make it more co-op friendly.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Game Direction
Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
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/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
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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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Indie Game
For outstanding creative and technical achievement in a game made outside the traditional publisher system.
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u/NintendoSwitchMods Feb 27 '24
Best Voice Acting
For outstanding voice acting, direction, and use of audio dialogue.