Evan

Just to clarify, you can dive over 8,000m deep in Subnautica. Stuff stops happening around the 4,000m mark, but even then, the campaign never makes you dive deeper than 1,600m.

You don't have to deal with Ghost Leviathans if you want to avoid them, but you're right, you do have to deal with the Sea Dragon Leviathan. That's why I didn't mention that one;).

I think the three frontrunners are very likely going to be Expedition 33, Death Stranding 2, and Silksong, unless the latter suffers some kind of monumental collapse. Donkey Kong Bananza will probably get a nod as well. If The Game Awards sticks with its trend of 6 GotY nominees, that leaves two spots up for grabs, and Ghost of Yotei probably has one of those set aside for it. That last spot could be anything, Deltarune, Mario Kart, Silent Hill f, or even Hades 2 if those release rumors can be believed.

Given that roster, it seems like Silksong's biggest competition is Expedition 33, and I think in a head-to-head, E33 takes it. Based on Hollow Knight, Silksong should have all the same qualities: great music, gameplay, art design, and progression. The thing is, E33 has all those too, but also has an exceptional narrative, and that's the one area where Silksong probably can't compete.

Anyway, that's my rant 😂. Does Silksong have a shot at GotY? Definitely, but I don't think it's a lock.

Thanks! I'm not entirely against tower climbs either (I've played every AC game and they're usually my favourite part). To me, it's more that they appear so often in so many games. It's a lot like the bonfire checkpoints; they feel like they're used as a simple solution rather than as a mechanic that fits their respective games.

I don't think any game has made me want to explore like Outer Wilds. Other games have encouraged me to explore and seek out rewards or progression, but Outer Wilds didn't need to offer anything in recompense. I just wanted answers to my questions, so I went looking for them.

So, in researching for this list, I discovered a GBA game called Juka and the Monophonic Menace, wth a final boss called the Frostinator. When the game came out, there was a glitch that made the boss literally impossible to beat, but they patched it. Probably good for the game, but bad for this list lol.

I thought about including The Father from I Wanna Be The Guy, too, but the whole game is so hard that by the time you get to the final boss, it's not really any harder than anything else before it.

This is one of those years where I'll never play all the games I'm excited for.

Indy on PS5, Clair Obscur, The Midnight Walk, Doom, Ghost of Yotei, Monster Train 2, Ninja Gaiden 4, Death Stranding 2, Chained Echoes DLC, MGS Delta, Cronos, Toxic Commando, Splitgate 2, Sinking City 2, Mario Kart, Marvel 1943, Bloodlines 2, Hell is Us...

Oh, and some game called GTA 6 is apparently going to be pretty good too.