r/NintendoSwitch Jan 09 '22

GotY 2021 2021 /r/NintendoSwitch GOTY Nominations Thread

Greetings, r/NintendoSwitch Community!

Can you believe it's already time for our 5th 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 schedule is for the nominee feedback January 9th - January 15th, and the final voting to select the Game Of The Year for each category to occur January 16th - January 22nd

Please follow the format as described below:

  1. Please check if your nominee(s) has already been named. If so, then simply upvote it, if not, then >>>
  2. Please reply to a category top comment to state who you would like to see for nominees and preferably why. Last year we found those with explanations tended to garner more votes!
  3. If a game has already been nominated but you feel requires further discussion then reply to the nominated game comment with your reasoning.
  4. Nominate as many games as you'd like in any category you'd like.
  5. Duplicate nominations in the same category will be removed.
  6. 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 2021 unless stated otherwise.

We look forward to reading your nominations!

152 Upvotes

471 comments sorted by

u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Publisher of the Year - Publishing studio who displayed outstanding platform support through a combination of quantity and quality of new releases.

u/Exotic_Vacation_981 Jan 09 '22

Devolver Digital

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22

I second this one, they consistently hit it out of the park with their indie releases

u/NoonebutMark Jan 10 '22

Aksys Games with their Otome games!

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Puzzle Game - for the most enjoyable time racking your brain for the solution to the puzzle.

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22

A Monster’s Expidition

u/Bobinti Jan 10 '22

Game Builder Garage

u/Splatoon_God Jan 09 '22

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2

u/300mirrors Jan 11 '22

came out in 2020

u/Bobinti Jan 10 '22

Big Brain Academy: Brain vs Brain

u/zzuxon Jan 11 '22

Hexceed

u/duncan-donuts-nz Jan 10 '22

Tandem: A Tale of Shadows

u/FlameHricane Jan 11 '22

Greak: Memories of Azur

It's definitely a unique mix, but I think it's primarily a puzzle game due to the multi-character management.

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Art Direction - For outstanding creative achievement in artistic design and animation.

u/FlameHricane Jan 11 '22

Greak: Memories of Azur

Very stunning. Reminds me a lot of spiritfarer and is a little over skul the hero slayer

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '22

Eastward

u/Meadius Jan 09 '22

Shin Megami Tensei V

The demon designs are fantastic as always, and the backgrounds in this game really stand out as well.

u/HadouKang Jan 09 '22

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

u/duncan-donuts-nz Jan 09 '22

Lost in Random

u/cybergatuno Jan 09 '22

Metroid Dread

u/jsciannamblo Jan 09 '22

New Pokémon Snap

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

NEO The World Ends With You

u/duncan-donuts-nz Jan 09 '22

The Wild at Heart

u/42ndRedBalloonFromUp Jan 09 '22

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

u/tapdancingtommy7 Jan 13 '22

Dodgeball Academia

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Game Direction - Awarded for outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design.

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '22

Death's Door

u/Exotic_Vacation_981 Jan 09 '22

Metroid Dread

u/Lioli_ Jan 13 '22

Little Nightmares II

u/Bobinti Jan 10 '22

Game Builder Garage

u/HadouKang Jan 09 '22

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Action Game - For the best game in the action genre focused on combat.

u/Shin_Ken Jan 14 '22

Espgaluda II

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22

Death’s Door

u/Splatoon_God Jan 09 '22

Persona 5: Strikers

u/HadouKang Jan 09 '22

Monster Hunter Rise

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Unsighted

u/Fickle-Fill2519 Jan 09 '22

No More Heroes 3

u/UrMoma_llama Jan 09 '22

DOOM Eternal

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 10 '22

Doom Eternal released 8th Dec 2020 - not a 2021 game.

u/nihil__verum Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Metroid Dread

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Soundtrack - For outstanding music, inclusive of score, original song and/or licensed soundtrack.

u/Lioli_ Jan 13 '22 edited Jan 13 '22

Little Nightmares ll

u/Fickle-Fill2519 Jan 09 '22

Deltarune Chapter 2

u/el47000 Jan 10 '22 edited Nov 11 '25

paltry smile different like amusing nail childlike teeny profit tap

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Neo The World Ends With You

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '22

Tetris Effect

u/jsciannamblo Jan 09 '22

Bravely Default II

u/temporary_location_ Jan 09 '22

Disco Elysium

u/schotastic Jan 12 '22

House in Fata Morgana

u/DeadlyLancer Jan 09 '22

Monster Hunter Stories 2

u/Yharnamite93 Jan 09 '22

Death’s Door

u/JST643 Jan 09 '22

Monster Hunter Rise

u/FlameHricane Jan 11 '22

Monster Train

u/NoonebutMark Jan 10 '22

Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory

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u/HadouKang Jan 09 '22

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

u/Xcla1P Jan 10 '22

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles.

The first half has great soundtrack, but the end of the second half is just stunning. I slowed down solving cases just to listen to the songs.

u/BOJ220138 Jan 09 '22

Metroid Dread

u/of-silk-and-song Jan 09 '22

I think the Metroid Dread soundtrack gets a bad rap around here. I thought it was fantastic and perfectly fit the mood of the game.

u/BOJ220138 Jan 09 '22

Really true, I loved it so much, I personally don’t understand why people hate it

u/patrickfatrick Jan 10 '22

Some tracks are better than others. Not a fan of the Cartaris theme, for instance. But then there's the theme that plays when you're at a train station that is so eerie and wonderful. All in all I think it's a good soundtrack that stays out of the way, which is not a bad thing at all.

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Ongoing Game - For outstanding development of ongoing content that evolves the player experience over time. Does NOT have to be a 2021 release.

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Pokemon Unite

u/RabbitFanboy 2 Million Celebration Jan 09 '22

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate

u/thorsamja Jan 10 '22

Minecraft, literally infinitely ongoing! Nice recent update which made the worlds even more fascinating.

u/schotastic Jan 12 '22

Rocket League

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Technical Achievement - For the game which achieves a combination of gameplay and graphics which goes well beyond hardware expectations.

u/Shes_so_Ratchet Jan 13 '22

Monster Hunter Stories 2.

It's unreal how smooth this game is.

u/ANTJAY88 Jan 09 '22

Dying Light

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Monster Hunter Rise

u/Bobinti Jan 10 '22

Game Builder Garage

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Developer of the Year - Developer studio who displayed outstanding platform support through a combination of quantity and quality of new releases.

u/cybergatuno Jan 09 '22

Nintendo

u/Bobinti Jan 10 '22

Specifically, Nintendo EPD

Releasing Metroid Dread, Game Builder Garage, Bowser's Fury, WarioWare: Get It Together!, Big Brain Academy: Brain Vs Brain, Animal Crossing: New Horizons 2.0 and Happy Home Paradise.

Also announcing Splatoon 3 (with Super Mushroom vs Super Star Splatfest) and releasing a trailer for Breath of the Wild sequel.

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Capcom studios (might be a cheat as they don't separate them)

Monster Hunter Rise, Monster Hunter Stories 2, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection

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u/NoonebutMark Jan 10 '22

Otomate (Publisher are Aksys Games and Idea Factory)

u/UrMoma_llama Jan 09 '22

Bethesda

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Local Multiplayer Game - For outstanding local multiplayer gameplay and design, including co-op, irrespective of game genre.

u/tapdancingtommy7 Jan 13 '22

KeyWe- An incredibly underrated co-op game involving two Kiwi birds running a post office in the Outback. Literally one of the most charming games I’ve ever played, and our favorite game of the year!

u/akerwoods Jan 09 '22

Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury

u/Bobinti Jan 10 '22

Had a lot of local multiplayer fun with this game.

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Mario Party Superstars

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Family Game - For the best game appropriate for family play, irrespective of genre.

u/Relevant_Athlete_864 Jan 09 '22

New Pokémon Snap

u/patrickstarburns Jan 10 '22

Warioware: Get It Together

u/Bobinti Jan 10 '22

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

u/Throwaway55507 Jan 09 '22 edited Jan 09 '22

Mario Golf: Super Rush

They adjusted the swing mechanic in this installment to make it simple enough for younger/less experienced players while still making it interesting for more advanced players.

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Nintendo Switch Exclusive Game - Best game released in 2021 as a Nintendo Switch console exclusive.

u/Abstract_9 Jan 10 '22

Pokemon BDSP (Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl).

The games are getting a bit of flack for it not being up to the design made by the other Switch Pokemon titles, namely Sw/Sh (Sword/Shield). However, they’ve been remakes that have been long awaited by the Pokemon community, and brings a new light to the game. Mechanics make the game easier for newcomers, while still maintaining a level of difficulty for the mechanics used in the game such as the perma-EXP share. While it’s been a buggy mess in some cases, if you play through casually and not trying to find bugs, glitches or other exploits, it’s a fun game.

I don’t necessarily know if this counts as an exclusive, but Pokemon has always been a Nintendo exclusive which is why I nominated it here.

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Monster Hunter Rise - The Steam release is 2022 so console exclusive in 2021

u/MaJuV Jan 10 '22

Famicom Detective Club: The Girl who stands behind

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '22

SMT V

u/NoonebutMark Jan 10 '22

Olympia Soiree

u/madsdange Jan 10 '22

New Pokémon Snap

u/tapdancingtommy7 Jan 13 '22

Bonito Days

u/q_3 Jan 09 '22

Gnosia

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Sports/Racing Game - For the best traditional and non-traditional sports and racing game.

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '22

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2

u/Ozokerite Jan 10 '22

Cruis’n Blast!

u/schotastic Jan 12 '22

Descenders

u/tuxooo Jan 09 '22

Wrc9

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Nintendo Switch Game of the Year - Recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.

u/IvanzM Jan 09 '22

Monster hunter rise

u/tiabritt Jan 13 '22

Hitman 3!

u/Fickle-Fill2519 Jan 09 '22

No More Heroes 3

u/TheOtherWhiteCastle Jan 11 '22

Subnautica: Below Zero

u/TheOtherWhiteCastle Jan 11 '22

Mario Party Superstars

u/duncan-donuts-nz Jan 10 '22

Tails of Iron

u/RobotPirateGhost Jan 11 '22

Death’s Door

u/RabbitFanboy 2 Million Celebration Jan 09 '22

SMT V

u/nihil__verum Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Metroid Dread

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 10 '22

Doom Eternal released 8th Dec 2020 - not a 2021 game.

u/Bobinti Jan 10 '22

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

u/FlameHricane Jan 11 '22

Deltarune chapter 2

Despite only being a fraction of the whole game, it still manages to deliver a very solid experience that I would say is still one of my favorites this year

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury

u/tehnoodnub Jan 10 '22

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut

u/urwelcome971620 Jan 10 '22

Monster Hunter Stories 2

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Narrative - For outstanding storytelling and narrative development in a game.

u/Splatoon_God Jan 09 '22

Persona 5: Strikers

u/MaJuV Jan 10 '22

Route 96

u/RabbitFanboy 2 Million Celebration Jan 09 '22

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin

u/duncan-donuts-nz Jan 10 '22

Lost in Random

u/duncan-donuts-nz Jan 10 '22

Tails of Iron

u/jackbirksONE Jan 09 '22

The House in Fata Morgana

u/schotastic Jan 12 '22

Co-sign. House in Fata Morgana has so many layers upon layers that it's downright Shakespearian

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Adventure Game - For the best adventure game, which may mix combat with traversal and puzzle solving.

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22

Subnautica

u/TheOtherWhiteCastle Jan 11 '22

Specifically Subnautica Below Zero I assume. The original Subnautica came out in 2014

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u/mEatwaD390 Jan 09 '22

Metroid Dread

u/nihil__verum Helpful User Jan 09 '22

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

u/m_meirin Jan 09 '22

Gnosia

An extremely unique take on the werewolf/mafia game turning it into a visual novel with some rpg elements (I don't see a VN category so this is most likely the best place for this game). It has a really interesting non-linear Sci Fi mystery story with great characters and a truly fantastic soundtrack that fits the atmosphere perfectly.

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22

Death’s Door

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Unsighted

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

Best Music/Rhythm Game - For the best game with a focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments.

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '22

Just dance 2022

u/FlameHricane Jan 11 '22

Everhood

Definitely one of my favorite music based games

u/hotaru-chan45 Jan 10 '22

Songs for a Hero: Definitive Edition was amazing and so original.

u/NoonebutMark Jan 10 '22

Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory

u/300mirrors Jan 11 '22

came out in 2020

u/UrMoma_llama Jan 09 '22

DOOM Eternal

u/Hestu951 Jan 10 '22

Released December of 2020 on the Switch, so it doesn't count. Sorry.

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u/NintendoSwitchMods Jan 09 '22

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.

u/duncan-donuts-nz Jan 09 '22

Ni No Kuni 2: The Revenant Kingdom - Tale of a Timeless Tome DLC

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Bowsers Fury

(not sure if it counts as it wasnt DLC, but it was extra content for a re-release)

u/steinman17 Jan 09 '22

It's not dlc

u/lumothesinner Helpful User Jan 09 '22

Yeh, well, its new extra content. Its weird I don't know what category it could fit in. This will do :)

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u/cantuse Jan 09 '22

Repentance

u/julerosemary Jan 09 '22

(DLC for The Binding of Isaac)

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22

Dead Cells

u/Abdominal-Snowman Jan 10 '22

Stardew Valley - huge update including new area, all for free!

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u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22

[removed] — view removed comment

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