IGN's 2012 Game of the Year

Find out which game in 2012 earned IGN's top honors, and look at every other IGN GotY so far.

[OllieBoy]

Mine too!

[guitarded77]

Me three! It is so deserved... Journey takes so many chances, and does everything right.

[piroh]

i agree with them, Journey is the best this year

in my eyes Journey won best soundtrack, best PS3 game, best graphics and overall GOTY, although they gave best graphics to Halo 4 - congratulations, lets wait till 2013, my bet is on Last of Us and Last Guardian. i like this friendly battles, its good to be a gamer here and now

[MerkinMax]

When you emerge from the snow and begin souring at that end, so many feels. The music, the scenery, everything about the build up to that point made it so emotional. Such a simple game that really shined this year. Loved it!

[sonic989]

me four Lol
its been a long time since i engaged emotionally with a game
rightfully deserved

[nintendoland]

Seriously I think black ops 2 is the best game of this year. I'm not trolling. Multiplayer is so epic

[Enate]

@nintendoland na you must mean that lag compensation is epic because that's the only thing I have experienced playing that games multiplayer.

[JoGam]

Omg the soundtrack alone makes me wanna go play it again. So powerful. Awesome!

[HammadTheBeast]

What makes Journey stand out is that it's a complete game experience. I can play over and over, to try and play with others, and experience a different "Journey" every time. Not to mention the impressive art style, and amazing soundtrack.

And it does all this with so little. That's what makes it my Game of The Year, and i approve of IGN.

[shotgun_ps3]

Yep that about sums it up for me as well. Well done ThatGameCompany!, think I woke my flatmates up cause I actually yelped when I saw it had won.

[360ICE]

I think mine too. My favorite was maybe Gravity Rush, but Journey is just an incredible game.

[miDnIghtEr20C_SfF]

Too bad this doesn't mean a thing, since PS3 fanboys hate IGN, and IGN is nothing but a bias, horrible site now.

Oh wait. Did they give PS3 game an award? Oh, nevermind,.. IGN is great again!

[xursz]

i don't like ign all that much because i think they tend to be less professional than other game coverage sites. but i do think the award is well deserved. And yes i played halo4, gravity rush, persona4G, far cry 3, and TWD.

BTW i think there are plenty of ps3 fans who frequent ign.

[neoMAXMLC]

What you're doing is generalizing. Unless you can give specific examples of who does this then you're simply making a tantrum. I might as well say, "Typical argument from a typical 360 fanboy."

But seeing as you are one who runs his own 360 fanboy site (or least one infested with them) then I guess my argument is more valid.

[aquamala]

I don't get it. it's a 2 hour long game, most of the time walking to the objective and solve VERY simple puzzles, and none of the puzzles require 2 people to solve so a companion doesn't even need to be there? this is GoTY?

[NastyLeftHook0]

so many ps3 exclusives get goty's!

edit: uh oh! the disagree fairy is here!

[Enemy]

There won't be any clean water to drink after the apocalypse in a couple hours. I brought my buckets into this story for the tears for which I will shower with.

[NastyLeftHook0]

ahh, nibiru...

[Norrison]

uc2 deserved it, but journey's lenght killed it for me. Didn't disagree tho

[PirateThom]

It was either Journey or Sound Shapes for me.

[xursz]

+1 for sound shapes.

that game racked up so many awards this year it's ridiculous.

[TryMe]

Should have gone to Tell Tale's Walking Dead but whatever.

[TryMe]

All the disagrees are going to be coming from people who never even played tell tale's walking dead. It's cool, I never played Journey and I like to press the dislike button as well ;)

[Blastoise]

I played it, I thought it was a rather inconsistent game (episode 2 was awesome, episode 1 was okay, episode 3 was meh) and it had a quite a few bugs (weird lip sync at times. Going under the train...duck turning invisible?!)

A good game, glad I bought it, but I can see why people wouldn't give it game of the year.

[guitarded77]

I played it thought it was amazing. It's not a slap in the face to other games that didn't get picked, it's a celebration of a great game, and Journey is a great game. It does not lessen how great Walking Dead is.

If your pick for GOTY was Walking Dead, so be it... no one can tell you what to think GOTY was except you, but don't go pissing on Journey, because it too was a great game, and IMO GOTY.

[dgonza40]

I've played it and disagree.. it's not like spike didn't give it to the walking dead anyways.. So everyone wins.

[LtFaku]

I've played TWD game, and only for the last chapter,itwas dissapointing, the game says that the story is tailored by the decisions you take and you only got ONE ending, with the same "villian" at the end, no matterwhat have happened before. To me, was a good game, but dissapointing at the very end, just doesnt have any replay value.

[Jockamo]

Journey and Walking Dead were great games. But this is all a matter of opinion. For me, my favorite game of the year was Faster than Light, but that's just my opinion. But when these more independent games beat out the mainstream titles, that's always a good sign for the future of gaming.

[silkrevolver]

Good on you IGN!

[BanBrother]

Nah, IGN are Xbox fanboys.......... /s

[iNMyFiN4LH0uR]

That was beautifully made, captured the game's feel. My personal GOTY is Dishonored.

[johnsonbat]

Great vid.

[KangarooSam]

Very nice video and an obvious choice, such a great game. Or should I say piece of art?

[turgore]

A 3 hour game that costs 15 dollars should not be game of the year, no matter how pretentious it is.

[KangarooSam]

I thought the same thing, then I played it. It's THAT good.

Might even have some replay value, I kinda feel like playing it again soon.

[TryMe]

Exactly why Tell Tale's Walking Dead should have won.

Each episode is roughly 2-4 hours, equating to 10-20 hours of gameplay, all for 25 bucks (5 bucks an episode)

An to add on to that sweetness, the first episode is currently free, so you would only have to spend 20!

[grailly]

I found that every WD episode was 2 hours flat and the last one a bit shorter. I finished the game under 10 hours.

It' s great experience, but once you realize that your choices really have no impact on the story, it's hard to see it as one of the greatest games of the year.

[Daver]

Its all about the experience, not money and time.... Its far from being pretentious.

[HammadTheBeast]

Ok, let's make it cost $60. Happy?

[ginsunuva]

What a very wise and thoughtful individual.
He has a point.

Oh wait, he doesn't.

[RXL]

hope developers don't see this as "Hey! 15 dollar games that are a few hours long are the way to go!"

i enjoyed this game VERY much...great experience..

but what about
Borderlands 2
Mass Effect 3
Darksiders 2
Uncharted 3
Halo 4
Assassins Creed 3
The Witcher 2

?

kinda a big F-U don't you think?

[poopsack]

2011's Uncharted 3?

[Enemy]

Borderlands 2 was good but still suffered from cringeworthy forgettable storytelling

Mass Effect 3's ending was so bad that even the two main guys at BioWare had to step down

Darksiders 2 wasn't as good as Darksiders

Uncharted 3 came out last year but is easily outclassed by Journey

Halo 4, same old

Assassin's Creed 3, same old

The Witcher 2 on 360 is just a port of a PC game that came out last year

Journey did give everything else a big FU but I knew it would as soon as I finished it. It is simply unforgettable.

[coolbeans]

Take that same realm of thinking over to film and it would be like crediting a solid mainstream movie over a masterful art film. Both serve as having two different identities. Almost all of those titles you've mentioned serve to improve upon past conventional setups whereas Journey has been stated (haven't played it yet) to adventure towards something new in the 'art game' genre with an adequate price.

Judging from what I've seen/heard, Journey doesn't seem convinced that resting on its laurels of being an 'art game' is enough. Rather than being something like Dear Esther, which I found to be boring and end with writing that could only be summed up as "tawdry grandiloquence," it wanted to do something different.

In an artistically-starved industry as this one, I don't see why anyone would act hostile towards this choice.

[HammadTheBeast]

What makes Journey stand out is that it's a complete game experience. I can play over and over, to try and play with others, and experience a different "Journey" every time. Not to mention the impressive art style, and amazing soundtrack.

And it does all this with so little. That's what makes it my Game of The Year.

[Nes_Daze]

Assassins Creed 3 is nowhere near GOTY quality....

[Hellsvacancy]

AGREED!!!

[Ezz2013]

uncharted 3 was in 2011 and won 70+GOTY award

[ABizzel1]

Borderlands 2 was great, but just lacked that something special. I played through it in 2 days, and enjoyed it, but it wasn't OMG WOW, or OMG this is so ORIGINAL, or OMG this is what gaming was about.

Mass Effect 3 again great game, but there were still technical problems that you'd think be gone by now, and the ending wasn't up to par.

Darksiders 2 was another great game, but again it had technical issues, and a couple of iffy design choices (Suffered a bit cause of what was happening Take Two and their budget).

Uncharted 3 was 2011.

Halo 4. Again another great game, but it suffered from being more Halo. We've had Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo ODST, Halo Reach, Halo Anniversary, and now Halo 4 all on one console. So while it was a great game, it needed to be a OMG experience to rightfully win GOTY (same thing with God of War Ascension next year, it has to flat out WOW us)

Assassins Creed 3. I though it was a good game, but it was a bit disappointing, and I think it's because Ubisoft was working with their new engine for this game. Instead of evolving the series it took some steps back and was a glorified tutorial for the first couple of hours. After that it got a lot better, but I'd even put Assassin's Creed Liberation above it as far as pure entertainment.

Didn't play the Witcher 2, because those kind of games aren't my thing, but from all the reviews and response on how good it was should have put it as a GOTY contender. But what probably held it back was that it was port of a PC game from 2011 to the 360 this year, and I don't think gaming journalist treat ports fairly (although Persona Golden has been getting some love).

The only other games were The Walking Dead (again great game, but technical issues), Dishonored (not done playing it yet), and Max Payne (which I had my fair share of complaints with, but can't deny it's a good game).

Overall I can't be mad at anyone who picks any of those games for GOTY. There wasn't 1 game that just smashed the pack this year. However, downloadable games really stepped up and outshine retail this year, and that's why you see Journey and The Walking Dead winning so many awards. We expect great retail games from big budget developers, but when something lesser comes around and impresses just as much as the best retail has to offer it's worthy of the praise in the eyes of gamers and the journalist.

[KingKevo]

Awesome game, awesome video. Definately the right choice.

[-Falaut-]

O_o IGN, seriously?

In my 25 years of gaming, Journey was the most impact full and emotionally stirring "video game" experience I had.

...but IGN...

[eliteslaya13]

Why did this game win you ask?

It's the perfect blend of gameplay, visuals, and audio.

Your game does not have to be thirty hours long and pretty to win GOTY. This game is the shining example of that.

[Ducky]

I've played Journey twice and don't really get all the 'emotional impact' that everyone else seems to be having.
Maybe I don't have a soul, I dunno.

Personally, I'd have gone with FarCry3 or Dishonored.

Still, looking through IGN's other awards for this year, they've done a good job with the picks.

[MasterCornholio]

Journey is a beautiful game its a shame that i haven´t played it yet.

Even though people are complaining that the game is too short to be a game of the year it is an excellent title filled to the brim with innovation which is something that most titles of this year lacked.

@eliteslaya13

"Your game does not have to be thirty hours long and pretty to win GOTY. This game is the shining example of that."

True just because a game is extremely long doesn´t mean that its good. Developers should concentrate on providing an incredible game instead of a mediocre 30 hour experience.

@disagrees

I guess you people hate new innovative titles then.

[Locksus]

The game is amazing, and it fully deserves the GOTY.
But nothing about it is innovative; it didn't introduce anything new or groundbreaking.

But the game is amazing, especially the soundtrack.

[pandehz]

Im glad Journey won it. Beautiful game

[from the beach]

Atrocious choice, one I reckon they and everyone who praised this game will feel very silly about in a couple of years.

[ayabrea93]

fantastic choice and a genuinely worthy winner. great graphics not only in terms of raw power but also sylistically. superb soundtrack, great multiplayer and utterly memorable sequences.

[SageHonor]

Persona 4 Golden is my GOTY

[Sizzon]

Great choice! congrats to Jehova Chen and all the other guys over at thatgamecompany.

Journey is like no other.

[DasTier]

What a surprise, the pointless, overrated hipster "game" was created by an Asian. Who saw that coming!

[Sizzon]

Overrated hipster game? eh lolwut?

A hipster game would be Black Ops 2 or Assassin's Creed 3, well Assassin's Creed is actually great and Call of Duty used to be great.

[DasTier]

@Sizzon

Those games you listed are to popular and "conformist" to be enjoyed by a hipster lol, but I agree that Call of Duty and Call of Duty 2 were incredible games.

[MariaHelFutura]

Racist, stupid, and pointless.

I don't whether to hug you or slap you.

[MehmetAlperTR]

Excellent choice! Congratulations on IGN and ThatVideoGame Company.. I m so happy to have both consoles ( Xbox 360, PS3 and PC )..

[QuantumWake]

:O Well deserved! Journey's soundtrack is by far one of the best I've heard.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Does anyone really care about IGN? My trusted source for games is Giantbomb...I will hold my tongue until I hear from them next week during their GOTY deliberations.

[Kran]

So... when IGN praises a PS3 game its all YAY HAPPY FLOWERS.

When they say something bad about a PS3 game or perhaps choose something "better", its all BOO HISS THIS SITE IS CRAP.

I really dont get N4G these days :/

I'm not dissing Journey. I'm dissing it's users :l

[Ezz2013]

i really don't get that
you are trying to say ps3 owners are double faced trolls ..right ?!

i would like you to see this before you talk
http://n4g.com/news/1112193...
243 comment
80% of it praise to the review and IGN
both side do that all the time

for me i never trashed IGN or any big site for that matter

[Kran]

That's 1 game. You should see what I've seen over the past year.

[trouble_bubble]

You mean like painting everyone with the same brush? That happens a lot here too. One person once upon a time loves IGN the same week he hates it, and suddenly it means everyone is "that guy".

Maybe Journey really -is- a good game, and IGN knows it. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[Kran]

but then couldnt you say that "maybe its just one reviewer" who is bad on IGN rather than all the haters classing them all as bad like they do?

[imt558]

Very nice vid, IGN. I don't like IGN, but this vid is superb.

[RAFFwaff]

If Xenoblade Chronicles had been released on ps3 and had the marketing behind it that it deserved, it would have pushed Journey very very close indeed. Another beautiful game that wears its heart on its sleeve and leaves a sense of wonder with you long after you've put the controller down. I agree with IGNs assessment of Journey, but just wish that great Wii games were not automatically railroads out of overall goty polls because of the hardware.

[dboyman]

I enjoyed Journey, but I also wanted to play Xenoblade too. But Nintendo made a terrible mistake of not releasing it properly in NA. Such a hard title to find, and those who sell on ebay well they charge an arm and a leg...and maybe a liver. They should do a rerelease of the game. Plus it wont come on PS3, since Monolith is owned by Nintendo....

[mikemadden]

So a xbox exclusive has never won IGN GOTY?

[Ezz2013]

i think it happend once in 2006 with gears of war
here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
but it seem even with no big ps3 exclusive to face in 2012
xbox exclusives still have a hard time win GOTY awards since 2006
and even then a psn game win alot of GOTY awards
not trolling or any thing
just stating facts

[Norrison]

nope, don't say halo because it's on pc. Xbox is the only platform without an ign GOTY

[dazreah]

And who gives a crap?? Oh no it don't have an IGN GOTY.

[OmniSlashPT]

ME2 won it in 2010 and it was once an Xbox exclusive. It's kinda MS fault, not IGN's.

[Pandamobile]

Halo was an Xbox exclusive when it won GOTY.

Half-Life 2 was a PC exclusive when it won GOTY.

Mass Effect 2 was never an Xbox 360 exclusive.

[BanBrother]

"So a xbox exclusive has never won IGN GOTY?"

Yet the little N4G girls say it is an Xbox fanboy site. Xbox games aren't allowed to be good, and Playstaion games aren't allowed to be remotely not perfect.

Kudos to Journey though. I will get disagrees for stating a fact, but only fanboys will disagree with my comment, so it holds no merit.

[acktionjackson]

When I see comments like these I know I'm in the PS3 dick sucker zone. Any real gamer knows Mass Effect 3 was game of the year and if you say you havent played Mass Effect well then your not a real gamer and you opinion doesn't count. Walking Dead really? Now this? What a fucking joke!!!

[GamersRulz]

Good choice, Journey deserve this honor.

but I still didn't get over IGN's Fallout 3 GOTY over MGS4 in 2008.

look back again and you see which one of those games was legendary.

[Haha123]

Meh

[OmniSlashPT]

To be honest I was really pleased not only with Journey's win but with past winners. Seeing that Okami won in 2006 or Portal 2 last year shows that IGN knows how to pick their GOTYs, atleast much better than the VGAs for example.

And not only that, it's amazing how 2 downloadable games are taking all the awards this year (Journey and TWD). It kinda makes you think how the industry might be changing and wonder what will happen next gen.

[Freak of Nature]

My top two, a true tie.....

Far cry 3...Really some kind of fun and all the while beautiful and a standout among other games of 2012...

Journey.... For the obvious reasons, plus it's *sheer guts* to do something outside of the box...and succeed!

[fabod86]

Deserved! My personal GOTY too. :)

[wishingW3L]

Another year another PS3 exclusive gets a GOTY.

[HorrorGod]

A lot of people who played "Journey" said it was GOTY worthy.
Others said a downloadable game would "never" win GOTY...

I'm glad to see both "The Walking Dead" and "Journey" prove those nay-sayers wrong. Both games have been receiving this award from various gaming mags/websites... And both very much deserve this accolade. If you've played them both, you at least have an educated opinion. If you haven't, then your opinion is invalid.

[Acquiesc3]

Excellent pick. Didn't know they'd have the balls to choose it though.