I don't deny that Baldur's Gate 3 was an amazing game. Out of the nominees at TGA for GOTY, it probably deserved it the most.

Just take a second to think about it though... this was a game that was partly available to the public for 3 years in early access. The best game of 2023 had 3 years in the public eye to refine it to the point where the public would like it.

Something about that just rubs me in a weird way. Obviously the game is very good, but something about GOTY going to a game that had that sort of development cycle just seems... I don't know... nongenuine? Like, we can only make a game that's truly worthy of GOTY if we have constant feedback from the public for 3 years? Just strange.

Meanwhile, there's also the issue of Resident Evil 4 Remake being nominated, when it's just a remake. It's a good remake, apparently, but when something like Final Fantasy 16 gets shafted to make a spot for a game that already had a complete foundation to work off of? Not good. Also, maybe personal bias here, but I don't think Spider-Man 2 was anywhere close to the quality of FF16.

Everyone keeps saying that 2023 was a great year for gaming. There were a lot of great games that came out this year. The circumstances surrounding a lot of games though... it makes everything feel a little off. We had lots of studio closures and lay-offs, tons of really shitty games, lots of games that missed the mark they were going for in one way or another, etcetera. I don't think I can say that 2023 was a great year for games... I think it was a good year for a lot of good games coming out, and that's about it.