Setting the Standard: Game of the Year 2023

From Spider-Man 2 to Baldurs Gate 3 to Tears of the Kingdom, Pikman 4, Alan Wake 2, Forza, Final Fantasy XVI and so many other games the 2023 lineup was outstanding. It was a great year for gamers coming from all genres which meant the 2023 Game of the Year Awards were full of solid competitors. For anyone who doesn't know, Baldur's Gate 3 pulled out on top as this years Game of the Year. Most people who'd played it or even heard of it know it was a well deserved choice for a game that had been in development for around six years with three years of early access. Players know Larian Stuidos as responsive; they're constantly releasing patches and fixes based on player response and have even released a free epilogue. They've gone out of their way to release a full and complete game without paid dlc or extras because they value their fan base. All that said, no one who put the time into seeing the game was upset by the outcome. But that wasn't everyone. There's been some backlash to a turn-based, indie developed game beating out some AAA studios. Let's talk about it.

To put things out in the open, I've seen the most backlash from the Spider-Man 2 fans and I want to start by explaining to everyone that not winning Game of the Year doesn't make your game a bad game. Being nominated alone shows the support and love that the community has for the game. But, the award is for the game that goes above and beyond what was expected and brings something new. I also want to preface that I haven't played Spider-Man 2. Not because it think it's bad, but because that type of game doesn't interest me and that's a fair argument for everyone. That doesn't mean I don't have respect for the love people have for it. With that out of the way, let's talk about what Baldur's Gate 3 did that made them Game of the Year.

Image Credit: Game of the Year 2023

Let's start with the basics. Baldur's Gate 3 is a story-drive, rpg with the option of choice. The game itself is said to have around 17,000 unique endings. Keep in mind the differences can come down to something as simple as what race or class you choose to play. It's also heavily reliant on what choices you make while you play and what companions join you. The game itself is massive and prepared for you to try and make jsut about any cjocie possible. Do you want to be the heroic paladin who saves the world? Do it. Do you want to veer slightly from that path and break your heroic oath? Also and option. Do you want to want to be a murderer or a villian? You do you. You want to fight a dragon by stacking barrels of gunpowder around it and casting fire bolt? Okay. The choice is yours. It's your jouenry and your stroy and, for me, that's that make it such a stand out rpg. Your playing the role not the story. It's your story. I'm a diehard rpg player with a lvoe for niche games that say "let's do soemthing different" and Baldur's Gate 3 did.

As for community support, this game has been in progress for six years with three of those being in early access. Larian Studios spent time listening to their fans and players to make the game that they wanted. I remember a patch releasing that gave hair to a cat that was supposed to be hairless and, after the fans outraged, the cat was shaved. It's things like that that remind us that stuidos make games for us. It's for us to enjoy. To have a studio so involved and deadset on giving us the game we want to play made me as a player feel heard. They even dropped a patch during the awards. So, yeah. Larian Stuido's has my full support.

On top of the many awards that Baldur's Gate 3 won as a game, Neil Newbon also won a personal award for his performance as Astarion. It would be an understatement to say he deserved it. For those of you unfamilair with the actor and his oustanding range go listen to some clips of him as Heisenberg in Resident Evil Village and then some of him as Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3. Don't get me wrong, every nominee, just like for the game awards, was fully deserving, but Neil Newbon went above and beyond. Range aside, the character's tone changes based on his approval of you and what stage of the game your in, and this includes the hundreds of choices you make and paths you take. People familair with

Image Credit: IMDb

rpg's know that a lot of games will give you dialogue choice that will just circle you back to where the conversation wants you to go. Their choices, sure, and have some fun responses but the conversation is inhereleny the same and will lead to exactly the same place. Not in Baldur's Gate 3. I've saved jsut to try new conversation options and hardly ever hear lines repeated based on respone. That means hundreds to thousnads of hours of dialgue alone. That's not just impressive, it's mindboggling. The amount of the love and respect Neil Newbon has not just for his character but for the community speaks volumes of the pride he takes in his work. All of the nominees were fantastic, but Neil Newbon took the extra step and the extra care to make somthing great.

As for the much-coveted Game of the Year award, I wouldn't have picked anyone else. Sure, I loved Tears of the Kingdom. I adored it. I put too many hours on it and spent way too long running around doing whatever I wanted. But that doesn't mean it should've won Game of the Year with the compitition it was up agaisnt. Game of the Year is for the game that did the most. It's for the game that went above and beyond; the game that did something new. It's not about combat style of genre. Game of the Year is for the game that set the standard and, this year, I couldn't have thought of a more deserving game than Baldur's Gate 3. Listen, if other studios are coming forward to make comments about how the game shouldn't be the standar, if they're scared because of it, you should pay attention. The Game of the Year award is for the game that tells the rest that they can do better. Not as in insult but as encouragment. The end goal of making games isn't to win awards, it's to play a fantastic game.

I can only hope more gaming stuidos will learn that, in the future, we'll be looking forward to whatever they have to offer us, but the bar is raised. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of tired of AAA studios throwing out dlc and making us pay for the rest of an unfinished game. They have the money and the power to set the standard but, it they won't someone has to and I'm so glad Baldur's Gate 3 was the one to say it this year.