Hey all, it's that time of the year again! I need your help to put together our GOTY nominations! Here are some things to remember:

1. Even if someone else already nominated a game, nominate it again! It helps me put the final shortlists together to know what stuff is the most popular.
2. Nominate as many games as you want for a category! Just try to keep it stuff that you personally actually care about or really think deserves to make the list.
3. If you don't participate in the nominations, you don't get to complain about the final voting lists!

If you forget for all was released in 2022 check below, but my lists are not exhausive, so they are probably missing some key stuff, especially in the eShop categories. But remember, these are just my lists, even if you see a game in my list (or anyone else's), list it again in your nominations!

BEST VISUALS
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

BEST AUDIO
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

BEST STORY
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

SWITCH RETAIL / AAA GOTY
Bayonetta 3
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Pokémon Scarlet / Pokémon Violet
Splatoon 3
Triangle Strategy
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

SWITCH ESHOP / INDIE GOTY
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3
Card Shark
OlliOlli World
Outer Wilds
Shovel Knight Dig
Sports Story
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
Tunic

SWITCH RETAIL / AAA MOST WANTED
Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp
Fire Emblem Engage
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Metroid Prime 4
Octopath Traveler II
Pikmin 4

SWITCH ESHOP / INDIE MOST WANTED
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Metal Slug Tactics
Mineko's Night Market
Samurai Gunn 2
Sea of Stars

URL to share (right click and copy)

Also, I have no idea where to put a game like Fall Guys on this list, but I know a lot of people here played it so it feels like it should be on there somewhere?! I leave the categories vaguely defined on purpose but um... it would probably be eShop/Indie right?

Posted by

Zero

on: 12/20/22, 21:03

How are we dealing with late Switch ports like P5 and Nier? Eh, I'll mention them anyway.

BEST VISUALS:
Kirby and the Forgotten Land

BEST STORY:
Nier: Automata
Persona 5 Royal
Tunic

GOTY RETAIL:
Pocky & Rocky Reshrined
Nier: Automata

GOTY INDIE:
Tunic
Easy Come, Easy Golf
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course (if it counts?)

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 12/20/22, 21:07

BEST VISUALS
Kirby and the Forgotten Land

BEST AUDIO
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

BEST STORY
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

SWITCH RETAIL / AAA GOTY
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Two Point Campus
Atari 50

SWITCH ESHOP / INDIE GOTY
Dorfromantik
Infernax (This did get a physical release, but is indie...right?)
Grapple Dog (This was also given a limited physical relase, so...yeah...I don't know?)

SWITCH RETAIL / AAA MOST WANTED
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Metroid Prime 4
Octopath Traveler 2
Pikmin 4

SWITCH ESHOP / INDIE MOST WANTED
Hollow Knight: Silk Song

Posted by

r_hjort

on: 12/20/22, 21:27

Damn I forgot Tunic somehow. Haven't played it yet myself but I've heard so many good things and it's very Zelda-inspired so I imagine it'd be a popular one around here.

If anyone was still around here.

@r_hjort Honestly most everything gets a retail release through Limited Run Games or whatever nowadays so I don't see a retail release as disqualifying a game from that category. I think the distinction to me is just like keeping a category separate from the big AAA games so some smaller stuff can get some love, but there are obviously a lot of games that fall right in the middle somewhere so it's not always clear where to put them.

Like Fall Guys! It's kind of indie, right? And eShop only. But then Epic bought it out and presumably pumped a lot of money into it, so it's not really indie anymore.

Posted by

Zero

on: 12/20/22, 21:43

Edited:

12/20/22, 21:45

Hey i played a whole three games released in 2022

If "play" translates to having played them for at least 30 minutes. I did play in retrospect twice through though.

BEST *ALL CATEGORIES*:
(Edit): In Retrospect

There we have it, the best of my 2022 stockpile!

Posted by

Stan McStanly

on: 12/20/22, 21:44

Edited:

12/20/22, 21:51

Oh I just thought of a new category.

Best game that would have been on the Switch if Nintendo weren't being gatekeeping meanies:
In Retrospect

Posted by

Zero

on: 12/20/22, 21:46

Edited:

12/20/22, 21:46

Oh hey, i guess your game was released this year. Omw to do some editing.

Posted by

Stan McStanly

on: 12/20/22, 21:49

Switch/eshop GOTY:
Here Comes Niko!

Best Audio
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Splatoon 3

Posted by

Hero_Of_Hyrule

on: 12/20/22, 23:15

Edited:

12/20/22, 23:16

My actual game of the year is Ocarina of Time, which I replayed for the first time in over a decade, and which still holds up, and which has in fact aged like a fine wine.

But since I assume that's not eligible...

BEST AUDIO
Splatoon 3
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Pokemon Violet

BEST STORY
Splatoon 3
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Pokemon Violet
Kirby and the Forgotten Land

SWITCH RETAIL / AAA GOTY
Splatoon 3
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Pokemon Violet
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC?

SWITCH ESHOP / INDIE GOTY
Neon White

SWITCH RETAIL / AAA MOST WANTED
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Metroid Prime 4
Pikmin 4

Posted by

Secret_Tunnel

on: 12/20/22, 23:43

Edited:

12/20/22, 23:44

I don't even know what released this past year, lol. It has been such a long year that thinking back to even last March I'm like "surely that happened two or three years ago, right?"

Posted by

J.K. Riki

on: 12/21/22, 00:24

@J.K. Riki

I feel ya man.

Posted by

Stan McStanly

on: 12/21/22, 00:56

I will nominate Pokemon Scarlet and Violet for best audio due to it's soundtrack. It will get creamed by Xenoblade obviously but it is still worth nominating.

Posted by

pokepal148

on: 12/21/22, 04:36

Haven't played nearly as much as I wanted. Not sure if anyone else played Signalis but I'll nominate it to a few categories.

BEST AUDIO
Signalis

BEST STORY
Signalis

SWITCH ESHOP / INDIE GOTY
Signalis

Zero said:

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

Tears of the Kingdom! Get with the program Zero!

Posted by

TheBigG753

on: 12/21/22, 17:40

@Zero
True. It's hard to know where to draw the line, but I think I agree with your definitions. Even though Fallguys isn't indie anymore, it did start out as such, right? How much did it change?

@TheBigG753
Hey, BigG, since you're a horror buff: Have you played Iron Lung? I got it for the Switch last night, but haven't booted it up yet. It's by the same guy who made DUSK, which, while not a great horror experience, was a great boomer shooter, so I have to try Iron Lung as well.

Posted by

r_hjort

on: 12/21/22, 18:18

Edited:

12/22/22, 17:56

@TheBigG753

But 'breath of the wild 2' rolls off the tongue easier then 'tears of the kingdom' when you need to refer to it fast.

"Breath of the wild" is already the secondary title of "the legend of Zelda', and 'tears of the kingdom' is the 'Third-ary' title of the secondary title. Its Inception but with game titles.

Posted by

Stan McStanly

on: 12/21/22, 19:16

@Stan McStanly

Gotta agree there. I imagine one day I won't call it Breath of the Wild 2 anymore, but today is not that day.

Tomorrow is not looking good either.

Posted by

J.K. Riki

on: 12/22/22, 05:25

Stan McStanly said:

'Third-ary'

Tertiary! Get with the program Zero's nephew!

J.K. Riki said:

@Stan McStanly

Gotta agree there. I imagine one day I won't call it Breath of the Wild 2 anymore, but today is not that day.

Tomorrow is not looking good either.

Posted by

TheBigG753

on: 12/22/22, 15:17

Edited:

12/22/22, 15:21

TheBigG753 said:

I can't let go

It still feels like Breath of the Wild came out a year or two ago. Smash Ultimate feels recent. I still have nightmares about being late for college classes. And yet, college age people look like children to me now.

Posted by

Hero_Of_Hyrule

on: 12/22/22, 17:27

Edited:

12/22/22, 17:30

Oh yeah, I haven't played Crisis Core yet, but I'll nominate that for Story/Visuals/Audio/GOTY just in case.

Posted by

Secret_Tunnel

on: 12/22/22, 19:13

@TheBigG753

Turtle, Tortoise, Tertiary, Terrapin. We need a new word for "third-ary" because that one sounds like a shelled reptile

Posted by

Stan McStanly

on: 12/22/22, 19:23