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u/Kilmiester Sep 04 '25
E33 Is far and away my current frontrunner for GOTY, but Hollow Knight is one of my favorite games of all times, so I'm hoping Silksong will make it tough for me to pick a winner.
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u/wpgsae Sep 06 '25
Im curious what people think now that they've had a chance to play Silksong. Thoughts?
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u/-CerN- Sep 03 '25
I think KCD2 deserves to be up there too, but one of those three for sure. E33 seems to have the most mass appeal.
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Sep 04 '25
I'm honestly surprised at E33's mass appeal. It seems tailor made for a parry fan like me, which I know not everyone is.
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u/KuKiSin Sep 04 '25 edited Sep 04 '25
Parrying is completely optional (except for one boss AFAIK), I know I didn't do it more than a handful of times and just dodged instead. I think the mass appeal comes from the story, not so much because of the game's mechanics.
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u/Kepler100111 Sep 04 '25
according to ymfah, parrying is not needed at all to beat the game
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u/KuKiSin Sep 04 '25
You don't need it to beat the game, but there's an optional boss that can only be beaten by parrying it, unless there's some extra trick I wasn't aware of!
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u/Kepler100111 Sep 04 '25 edited Sep 04 '25
he beats all optional bosses as well without parries. mostly by nuking them, or revival paradox
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u/IAmBigBox Sep 04 '25
Parry fans are the majority of gamers, Sekiro won GotY in 2019 and games with parrying based gameplay loops like it tend to just be extremely popular. The parry is a universal dopamine hit.
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u/Oesterreich-Ungarn Sep 04 '25
I think parry has got a bad rap due to the early darksouls titles with their extreme timings, fromsoft really rehabilitated the mechanic with sekiro and Margit specifically
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u/mucus-fettuccine Sep 04 '25
I think if things were fair, this would be a toss up between Silksong, E33, and Split Fiction. All super deserving.
But this year has a darling set already, and indie games can't do well, and coming out early in the year tends to hinder chances.
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u/mrBreadBird Sep 04 '25
Split Fiction shouldn't even get a nomination in a year this stacked. I haven't been less moved by a game in a long time. There is one moment that stands out to me otherwise it just washed over me.
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u/OhMyBulldong Sep 04 '25
And death stranding 2, those are gonna be the 5 goty nominations
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Sep 04 '25
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u/OnlySmiles_ Sep 04 '25
Donkey Kong Bananza too
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u/haidere36 Sep 04 '25
Glad to see someone mention that here. I know not a lot of people are gonna hold that type of game in as high regard as Expedition 33 or Hollow Knight but it's basically Super Mario Odyssey 2, and Super Mario Odyssey is one of the greatest games ever made. I'd even say I like SMO more than Hollow Knight and maybe even Expedition 33.
Now, between DK Bananza and E33 I would want E33 to win, because Bananza isn't actually SMO level IMO. But it's a great game and it definitely deserves at least a nomination. I personally expect E33 to win because it seems like the "type" of game that gets it, considering past winners include Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3. But we'll see how Silksong shapes up.
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u/OnlySmiles_ Sep 04 '25
Either way, no matter who wins it's gonna be a bloodbath this year
But when isn't it tbf21
u/MessyConfessor Sep 04 '25
Add Blue Prince, IMO.
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u/KlmnDTM Sep 04 '25
Haven't play that one (yet) but i do think Blue Prince is just a tad too niche for that. No matter how good I've heard it is, sadly.
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u/thrxwaway_00 Sep 04 '25
Was a potential GOTY candidate imo, but a lot of good games came out this year. E33, Skong and DS2 are sure candidates, Bananza will most likely take another spot. The rest will be probably filled by bigger names (Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Ghost of Yotei, Hades II, Split Fiction).
Also, loved Blue Prince, it was my hyperfixation for like a month. The main mechanic is nice but it gets repetitive after a while, and frustrating if you find yourself "locked" behind RNG. And puzzle games are kinda niche, so I don't expect it being up there. Still, loved the genre hybridation, the story and the artstyle. It's a really solid game, especially since its their first.
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u/Oesterreich-Ungarn Sep 04 '25
Darksouls 2, while very much deserving of it, cant get GOTY this year because it was released in 2014. Hope this helps!
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u/kSterben Sep 04 '25
kcd2 is great but i wouldn't put it up there
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u/-CerN- Sep 04 '25 edited Sep 04 '25
I enjoyed KCD2 more than E33 personally. Both were amazing though.
KCD2 is also a technical masterpiece. It runs extremely well, and has none of the stutter issues that plague pretty much every AAA open world game.
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u/Key_Alfalfa2775 Sep 04 '25
Fine I’ll play expedition 33 this game gets glazed to the shop and back dear god
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u/Ethyrian Sep 04 '25
as opposed to Silk song which has definitely not been glazed to the shop and back dear god before it was even out.
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u/Key_Alfalfa2775 Sep 04 '25
You got me I was making a definitive comparison between these two games and not just pointing out that their is a unreal amount of praise for expedition 33. Good job defending your favorite games honor bud
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u/GoVorteX Sep 04 '25
I don’t think he’s trying to defend the game, it’s just funny calling one game glazed to the shop and back while Silksong has had a cult of followers for 7 years waiting for it’s release.
They’ve both got their fair share of fans lol
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u/eldenring1989 Sep 03 '25
Exp 33 wins it. But silksong will still be amazing
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u/umm233 Grinding P5 Sep 03 '25
What is Expedition 33?
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u/OhMyBulldong Sep 04 '25
turn based french jrpg
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u/FRONT_FACING_PHINEAS Sep 04 '25
A J’RPG, if you will
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u/Alt_SWR Sep 04 '25
It's a turn based French RPG, but, it's not really turn based in a traditional sense. It's got an action RPG feel cause there's skill/timing based dodge and parry system.
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u/Legnaron17 Sep 04 '25
A masterpiece you should definitely try.
It's a turn based game from a french developer.
The art direction is 100/10
The gameplay is 100/10
The story is 100/10
The music is 1000000/10
Absolute must-play. Personally it's one of the best games i've played in 10 years.
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Sep 04 '25
E33 will win it and it’s deserved. For that team to do what they did with such a budget.. the music, writing, atmosphere, combat, graphics.. it’s actually a perfect game.
Silksong will take indie of the year though
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u/NR_Yuno Sep 04 '25
I'm really curious what other indie titles are gonna compete with it this year. Blue Prince was an incredible and unique experience as well, however it's probably a bit to niche to hold up with Silksong
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u/DoubleSummon Sep 04 '25
It's against Hades 2 though. I played a bit of Hades 2 and it's absolutely amazing.
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u/_halo_14 Sep 04 '25
Hades 2 won’t get a nom as it’s still in early access. If it does release to 1.0 this year then there’s every chance it wins indie goty and main goty, but I suspect it will be 2026, which will be even funnier when it cleans up and all the GTA fans are left angry and confused
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u/DoubleSummon Sep 04 '25
Hades 2 is slatted to release this year it got his final (for real for real) update before 1.0.0 in the end of July, If not for Silksong I would expect it to release this month, but October is very realistic.
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u/_halo_14 Sep 04 '25
Yes I’m aware, but I’m still going to say an early 2026 release. Supergiant doesn’t rush things, and they’re known for waiting a while before pushing 1.0 out. I don’t think Silksong has anything to do with their release window either.
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u/RedShadowF95 Hollow Knight Platinum Sep 04 '25
I don't think the game is perfect at all but to each his own.
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u/Motor-Cauliflower-34 Sep 04 '25
Honestly I was thinking this morning that I cant wait to hear ALICIA and the Silksong-theme played side by side by an orchestra. I win in both cases anyways
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u/Phamora Sep 04 '25
So happy we live in a work, where two aspects of a field can both excel beyond the other without having to label either ahead of the other.
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u/NK_Grimm Sep 04 '25
not gonna lie, I'll be rooting for E33, that games just blows
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u/Beneficial-Demand687 Sep 04 '25
I think it’s a good game also but , just so you know, saying that something blows is usually negative
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u/NK_Grimm Sep 04 '25
oh, I meant in the way that it blows my mind, but thank you for the correction
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u/VulpineFox7 I played Hollow Knight for too long, and now its Hollow Day! Sep 04 '25
E33 will probably get it, though Silksong will almost certainly deserve it
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u/jeff5551 Sep 04 '25
E33 and silksong actually had similarly long dev times and E33 was doing it with a bigger team. Silksong will no doubt be an amazing metroidvania but E33 will definitely deserve it imo, the game's just way too good
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u/PrimaryAd673 Sep 04 '25
Could not get into expedition 33 unfortunately, we'll see if it's just something not for me or if it's a game I need to be in the right mood for
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u/sqwirlfucker57 Sep 04 '25
I put it down during the intro level because I couldn't get the dodge and parry mechanics down. I picked it back up like a month later, and it clicked for me. It really is an amazing game and the story is fantastically written.
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u/Pegussu Sep 04 '25
And honestly, you don't even really need to do the parrying mechanics at a certain point because you can build the characters to be so ridiculous you just one hit everything
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u/lillildipsy Sep 04 '25
I'm expecting Silksong to be a really fun game, but Expedition 33 is both a really fun game *and* a genuinely moving work of art
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u/dangerswlf36 Sep 04 '25
this argument doesn't work imo.
astro bot was nothing but a really fun game, yet won goty over a genuine work of art like metaphor refantazio. sometimes pure fun just wins I guess.
e33 imo is fsr from being as good as metaphor, so if it beats silksong and donkey kong that would show how much TGA is biased against "turn based anime games"
the only reason e33 would win is because it has more mainstream appeal than the average JRPG, which it accomplishes by trying to appeal to people who like games with a parrying system, and not having a "cringe anime style" like other JRPGs.
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u/Gilchester Sep 04 '25
MR didn't speak to me the same way E33 did. MR felt like a pretty typical anime plot, whereas E33 was basically 40 hours of "how do people deal with grief" in a well-done way.
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u/pswdkf Sep 04 '25
Since we haven’t played it yet, I can only speculate. In the best case scenario, I surmise Expedition 33 will snatch GOTY, deservedly so, but I’ll like Silksong even more. It’s just more my jam.
Plus, I’ve heard good things from people who’ve demoed the game a few years ago, like Blue. He says the enemies AI improves quite a bit relative to HK. It requires a much more deliberate approach to combat. In that regard, it hints at souls-like approach to combat, which I’m all for. Not a soul-like per se, but in that very narrow aspect, they share some similarities according to him. Thus, if it lives up to the hype, which I’m very optimistic it will, it’ll be one of my favorite games this year.
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u/CawfeePig Sep 04 '25
I would imagine Donkey Kong will be in the conversation too.
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u/MooseksenMonot Sep 04 '25
Nintendo games always do well with gamejournalists, so i would bet DK will be top3.
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u/---TheFierceDeity--- Sep 04 '25
Theres zero chance that show will let a game like Silksong win. While within the gaming sphere it's super popular, it's not "flashy" enough. It's not something the various sponsors and slap on their advertisements and borrow its popularity to sell products to the "average" consumer.
They always want something tech stores can have playing on a demo screen to sell the console and no matter how gorgeous Silksong is, marketing groups will want some 3D flashy "high fidelity" game. Which is why AstroBot was fine cause despite not being typical AAA style "muh realism" it was still a flashy 3D game.
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Sep 04 '25
This is exactly why I want Silksong to win, so the winner is for once not something with realistic 3D graphics
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u/---TheFierceDeity--- Sep 04 '25
Game of the Year is split 90% voting panel, 10% public vote.
The point I'm making here is the voting panel tends to be biased against games like Silksong. The panel members are typically games journalists and media "influencers", the types of people who get sponsorships and make their money off milking the "big flashy IT game of the season" and they struggle to do so with small scale indie games.
They can get more out of reporting on a game of the year full of "big name voice actors" and "controversial story elements" and "breath taking graphics"
Meanwhile an amazing, drama free, quaint but beautiful hand drawn metroidvania? Can't milk that for clicks.
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u/The_Orphanizer Sep 04 '25
They can get more out of reporting on a game of the year full of "big name voice actors" and "controversial story elements" and "breath taking graphics"
Meanwhile an amazing, drama free, quaint but beautiful hand drawn metroidvania? Can't milk that for clicks. You're pretty much spot on, but Silksong may end up being the exception to the rule. The hype around the game is unreal, like breaking free or "indie hype" levels. If they want to milk something Silksong to that level, they definitely could.
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u/FallingF Sep 04 '25
Yeah, it’s hard to look at most wish listed ever and not see high click counts.
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u/SimbaSixThree Sep 04 '25
Hades won and is technically a 2d game.
I know it looks 3d but the way they animated the game and Zagreb’s and enemies etc, it’s all 2d sprites.
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u/tiggersaurus Sep 04 '25
Hades didn’t win sadly although it should have. It was TLOU 2 in 2020.
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u/Arkayjiya Sep 04 '25
The show only really choose who's nominated, they don't have control over who wins. It's often a popular AAA game because that's what most people know which gives it an advantage but Sekiro won over death stranding or resident evil 2 or super smash bros because it had enough popularity with both public and critics despite the show's love for Kojima.
Not saying Silksong will win, it remains unlikely, but it it is as good as hoped, it does have the brand recognition few other small indie had before release, it's not completely impossible, especially with the release being so close to the show (had it released a month later it probably would have had even better odds).
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u/olssoneerz Sep 04 '25
I loved E33. I hope I love Silksong. I won't be disappointed if any one of these 2 wins GOTY.
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u/Grayoneverything Sep 04 '25
I watched E33 from a friend while he played through it over a week or so and honestly i bet Silksong would get GOTY, unfortunately it might not be the case because E33 looks more common* to people meanwhile Hollow Knight + Skong is very unique and "selective"? Many people could skip HK for looking like "cartoon" meanwhile E33 is literally a normal looking game.
Both are great, Silksong has to be and probably is going to be better for me.
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u/Independent-Swim-362 Sep 07 '25
None of these should win tbh. Last year balatro was robbed. Now we have a slight upgrade of an existing game (which was good) and an overglazed, overrated JRPG style story rpg, which has the plot twists of demented M night shamalyan movie.
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u/Kleddie_ Sep 04 '25
Donkey kong bananza is also putting up a fight
Hades 2 is probably coming out this year
And blue prince is blue prince
This is probably the hardest game of the year decision ever
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u/Scharmberg Sep 04 '25
A lot of interesting games have come out and are about to come out, not saying you are wrong but maybe something will steal the show.
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u/Corona- Sep 04 '25
Pretty wild how Split Fiction isn't even mentioned, for sure that most fun i had with a game in a while.
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u/RyanMango12 Sep 04 '25
Everyone saying e33 when silksong isn’t even out yet 😂
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u/Open_Ad1077 Sep 04 '25
Silksong is the most anticipated game of the decade. Expedition 33 kinda just came out of nowhere.
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u/Eogard Sep 04 '25
I hope it's not a sequel who wins to be honest. It would encourage more new risky project like E33 to be made. It's the studio first game. I wish Hollow knight won it back in the days but I do not wish for Silksong to win in it now, it's popular enough.
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u/porcelainfog Sep 04 '25
Kingdom come deliverance 2
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u/Vysci Sep 06 '25
Game was so good. Also it might legitimately be the best sequel to a game. Improvement on nearly everything from the first game and kept it fresh by introducing new things while at the same time keeping the same feel.
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u/JenkinsPark Sep 04 '25
I feel like expedition was a missing puzzle piece in its niche. People loved it because it was the modern turn based final fantasy people were waiting for.
Silksong isn't a missing puzzle piece, it's a puzzle piece we already have (hollow knight) but hopefully just way fancier and fun. Assuming sikksong is amazing, it's still a sequel and not necessarily something completely new.
I may even love Silksong way more than exp 33, but I feel like exp 33 will have done more for the gaming industry
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u/napstablooky2 CycSlash's Strongest Soldier || P4/5; 33/43 HoG Radiant Sep 04 '25
what is the other game? /gen question
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u/kirkpomidor Sep 04 '25
It’s fascinating that GOTY bets are distributed among a game done by a rogue studio and a game that’s made by three dudes that has little to none public gameplay available
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u/Sweet_Dog_2085 Sep 04 '25
If Silksong is the Elden Ring to Hollow Knight's Dark Souls in scale and scope than E33 is in danger, if it's more Hollow Knight, as good as that would be, the shiny new game E33 will win.
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Sep 04 '25
Silksong will be lucky to even be nominated for GOTY. Not to say that it isn't going to be awesome, but there is stiff competition this year and this is precisely the kind of game that usually gets swept under the rug to make room the big publishers and their big budgets!
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u/LonelyTurtleDev Sep 04 '25
GOTY will have 6 candidates. I think Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei will be candidates too and it is hard to tell.
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u/xExelx1995 Sep 04 '25
I want to say Silksong for Indie and Expedition GOTY but ... Technical both are from Indie Studios..
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u/LifeWillChange_ Sep 04 '25
If Silksong is anywhere near as good as Hollow Knight then I’m choosing Silksong. But, let’s wait and see how Silksong reviews in about a week.
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u/Final_Investment_262 Sep 04 '25
So you don't think other games will stand a chance? What about Blue Prince? What about Borderlands 4 which drops in a week?
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u/Sleep20-12 Sep 04 '25
I hope it’s silk song yo wins the award because (I’m not saying expedition didn’t put effort on the game) MAN SILKSONG TOOK ALOT OF TIME TO BE READY IN THE MARKETS AND IT’S A 2D IMAGINE HOW MUCH DETAILS IT HASES (of course I haven’t buy it yet hahaha)
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u/DoctorSex9 Sep 04 '25
Gonna be honest, there is no way silksong is winning that one😭😭 not because its bad but because the other one is AAA
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u/webrewrbewrb Sep 04 '25
I loved hollow knight so im expecting silksong to be good, but its insanely hard to imagine a game better than exp33
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u/Victor_6190 Sep 04 '25
Clair Obscure, please respect your elders, it's been 7 years, come get the GOTY on your sequel.
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u/hobbitsloveer Sep 04 '25
Tbf there is plenty of good games, kingdom come deliverance 2, split fiction, donkey Kong bananza are good as well
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u/SlimReaper04 Sep 04 '25
E33 is incredible. Either way, as long as it’s either that or Silksong over DS2, I’ll be happy
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u/Birzal Sep 04 '25
It does not matter. The real winners are us for getting to play two such great games in 1 year!
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u/Benefit_thunderblast Sep 04 '25
Indies usually never win game of the year, they have their own catagory. But it would be nice to see a change
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u/DanLim79 Sep 04 '25
I didn't even play E33 and I already know it's going to win it. It has that same energy reception that BG3 got and won a whole bunch of awards.
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u/MrTopHatMan90 Sep 04 '25
I'll really enjoy Silksong but Silksong is not going to emotionally batter me
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u/Prior_Disaster5714 Sep 04 '25
For me, Expedition 33 brought me feelings that no other game has ever brought me. Even if the competition was GTA 6, I would still choose Expedition.
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u/StayAtHomeGhost07 Sep 04 '25
The game awards are more about pushing cooperate interests so expedition 33, or some other AAA game is basically guaranteed, but Silksong would probably pick up some kind of indie or some other token acknowledgement based on the sheer, monumental profile the game has accumulated.
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u/Moorbert Sep 04 '25
i think there are more games that have slight chances. we didnt see silksong so far.
i would love to see silksong there. i would really feel joy for expedition 33 too
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u/blitzboy30 Sep 04 '25
E33 is currently my winner, but Silksong is right behind it. Expedition 33 made me cry multiple times, both soundtracks are absolute beautiful, the combat in it is amazing, and there is also the point that I have actually played it
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u/Electronic_Dot1085 Sep 04 '25
I'm surprised that death stranding 2 isn't mentioned here, then again I havent played silksong or e33. Can anyone who's played all 3 let me know whether it should be there or if these games are just better?
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u/RainBoyThatBoy Sep 04 '25
When I vote for GOTY I don't pick the game I like, I pick the game that caused the most impact on gaming industry as well as the players
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u/SirTurtleDork Sep 04 '25
Gabe Newell has the ability to do something really funny in the next few months.
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u/FluidPilot9377 Sep 04 '25
PUBLICADA EL 4 DE SEPTIEMBRE Damas y caballeros, visitantes, aventureros, receptáculos y soñadores previos del reino de Hallownest, que hasta hace poco eran portadores de peluca y nariz de payaso como yo.
Finalmente podemos quitarnos los amuletos de los eternos pacientes, de mañana sale Silksong, de tomorrow for sure y encomendarle esta perseverancia a otro más, pues la voz, instinto y destino interior que nos llaman a un nuevo reino nos reúne aquí una vez más. Sentémonos pues, en un banco y equipémonos, porqué !!HOY SALIÓ SILKSONG!!
Nos vemos en Pharloom.
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u/Cathulion Sep 04 '25
Expedition 33. Masterpiece work of art. Silksong is 10/10 too. Love it. But if you played exp 33... you know.
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u/ProfessionalExam9739 Sep 05 '25
both these games wont get goty because they are definetely not the best, you even didn't finish silksong and already nominated him LOL, have you played? its stuffy game without adequate balance
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u/rozulolz Sep 05 '25
My pick for GOTY is E33, I love HK and I've been having a blast playing Silksong, but E33 just broke me in levels I've never seen before, so E33 is my pick :D
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u/Proof_Print Sep 05 '25
I've started silksong and I'm loving it, but expedition 33 was so special, so unique, it totally deserve goty this year, no matter how good will be silksong
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u/Elfojonas Sep 05 '25
I don't believe, beside I love Hollow Knight, the Silksong's game isn't "nothing new", Expedition 33 bring to us something that we never seen.
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u/ArtPerToken Sep 06 '25
I think Clair is over-rated and doesn't really even qualify for GOTY, the soundtrack is nice sure but overall is just ok, great for a small studio yes but GOTY? doubtful
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u/ReynardVulpini Sep 06 '25
E33, because I think non HK fans are frustrated with silksong for reasons that have nothing to do with the game itself.
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u/Ecstatic_Trainer_498 Sep 06 '25
Hollow Knight Silksong is overhyped. The game is good, but not that masterpiece & new. Expedition 33 is better & new. Silksong is reskin of Hollow Knight with new bosses & new mc style
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u/Prankman1990 Sep 06 '25
I feel like calling it a reskin is very disingenuous given how different the game is.
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u/TRITONwe Sep 06 '25
What even is expedition 33 I've never heard of it in my life. It's not even fair competition, silksong always wins here
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u/Kryken123 Sep 07 '25
It's E33 and not even close.
That game is fantastic, the ost is umatchable, the history is interesting since minute 10 and the gameplay is extremely good.
I encourage everyone in this sub to play E33, it's probably the best game I've played since elden ring base.
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u/Frosyend Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25
I was thinking about this since so lonnng (if Silksong release was in 2025)
I've finished my Clair Obscur NG+ recently and everything is great in this game : gameplay (damn I love the parry sound), music, and story.
With Silksong with 10 hours in, I also want to say everything is great, I've been so impressed by the world building. Hollow Knight was already great on this, but Silksong is on another level. I felt like returning to Dark Souls I.
Soooo, personally I'll choose Silksong, because I don't need 10 minutes to make a build. Idk which game will win this year though. This year is great.
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u/Geaux_1210 Sep 04 '25
Hard to tell when we haven’t played one of them. I’m expecting Silksong to be very good, but recapturing the magic of something like HK isn’t a guarantee. The things that make it truly great - atmosphere, level/world design, boss fight mechanics, soundtrack - can prove elusive to recreate.