Game of the Year Contenders From The First Half of 2016

2016 has had some good games so far and ThisGenGaming weighs up the GOTY contenders from the first half of 2016.

[ArchangelMike]

If those are the GOTY contenders we have, then it's been a sad year for gaming. I know we still have heavy hitters like Gears4, FFXV, The Last Guardian, No Man's Sky etc etc. But even if you add all the upcoming games to the list, it's still pretty slim pickings.

If those are the only choices, then It'll probably be the easiest GOTY award an Uncharted Game has ever won.

[TGGJustin]

Uncharted 4 is the only serious contender listed in this article. Inside is good but it's not GOTY quality. Journey is the only indie game that has ever won a significant amount of GOTY awards. I like how the article also says that Dark Souls 3 is the most critically acclaimed entry in the franchise which is also false. Doom again is good but it won't win GOTY on its single player alone.

As for other games coming up No Man's Sky, Deus Ex, Mafia 3, Dishonored 2, and Watch Dogs 2 probably have the best chance. The article writer is delusional by listing a racing game like Forza Horizon 3 as a contender. Racing games will never be a big winner of GOTY awards. History has shown that. He only lists it because he is a HUGE Xbox fanboy. Also Cuphead is not great from the reports out of E3 so cross that one off too. Walking Dead Season 3 won't be fully out by the end of the year so that one is eliminated as well. It can't win GOTY based on one or two episodes. I wish people who write these kind of articles would do their research.

[WellyUK]

Why can't a racing game be GOTY? surely that is a huge problem with the system... If the game is stellar and one of the best racing games ever then it should have as much right as any other game of winning GOTY, sadly it won't and sadly Uncharted 4 will probably win despite adding nothing to the series and doing nothing special or unique what so ever. Shame really. Just a big name by a big dev so it gets a free pass to GOTY.

[TGGJustin]

@WellyUK maybe it could be best racing game ever but that doesn't mean it qualifies for GOTY. To win GOTY a game usually needs a complete package. Great Story, gameplay, presentation, voice acting, etc. When a racing game gets a really good story then maybe it will qualify but that probably isn't going to happen anytime soon.

As for Uncharted 4 maybe it didn't do a lot new but what it did it did better than any other game in the genre. You don't see a game with such great story, characters, animation, acting, graphics, and gameplay very often. UC4 did them all great.

[WellyUK]

you don't see a game like uncharted very often? yes you do... Pretty much every game that wins GOTY now has all those things as for some reason the better film like game you make the better chance of winning GOTY you have. Don't see why a racing game doesn't deserve GOTY if it has great gameplay, great MP, vast amount of vehicles, vast amount of maps or map, good visuals, Story mode is hard to do in racing games anyway as at the end of the day you can't change much up for a story in a racing game you either win or you lose. Gameplay is FAR more important to a racing game than a story so it should be balanced out that way as no one really plays racing games for a riveting story.

[Vegamyster]

Deus Ex MD & Dishonored 2 will probably be contenders later this year then you have some other less likely but potentially great games with Mafia 3, TF2 & BF1 (if the SP is good in both) ect

[LAWSON72]

As far as big sites GOTY the only game with a chance is probably UC4 so far.

[Skankinruby]

Unless no man's sky is a huge disappointment I see that and uncharted 4 being the only real contenders

[ArchangelMike]

I'm all for No Man's Sky, believe me, but it won't win GOTY. It will be a great game, but will be way too polarising for it to win GOTY.

[Kingdomcome247]

I don't agree. I truly feel as though Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be one of this gen's defining experiences. Right up there with the likes of UC4, The Witcher 3, etc... with a metascore of 90+. I have a great deal of faith in Deus Ex being a true masterpiece.

[Haru]

Uncharted 4 has the most chances to win GOTY this year

[formanbradley]

Street Fighter V? Post July 1st update

[ArchangelMike]

No chance there. The "story mode" is completely atrocious. It plays like it was written by a pre-pubescent boy with very little imagination and no writting ability whatsoever.

[formanbradley]

No wonder I love it so much.

[goathouse774]

The Witness is a better game than Uncharted 4. So, yeah. That's a thing.

[AnubisG]

In my opinion Uncharted 4, Doom and Dark Souls 3 are all deserving titles. Keep in mind though that games released early in the year usually don't make it to be GOTY because the experience fades away and the experience of the current hot new releases seem to be better. Just look how many times games released during the end of October to the end of November get the GOTY.

[goldwyncq]

Inside was just amazing from beginning to end. It's the closest to a perfect game that we have in this year so far.

[Errorist76]

Too short.

[Movefasta1993]

UNcharted 4 and Dark souls 3 haven't attempted any innovative big risks,they aren't much different to their predecessors.Let's keep it real.Neither of them deserve goty,especially due to uc4 having a trash mp if you want to go there.You have to include the total package,and ds3 hasn't taken as much risks as bloodborne or Dark souls 1.
Safe games shouldn't be contenders, games that try to be or are innovative do however.Games that bring a change to its genre,that other games have not other than better gfx.
No Man's Sky has potential.

[pyroxxx]

Safe is awesome,.. DKS3 and U4 are awesome,..U4 improved combat a lot (plus way better climbing/traversal and they added rope for swinging) How on earth would you improve Dark Souls at all that is the question( except maybe make it look as good as Bloodborne),.. Games are perfect,..I Like Bloodborne's combat flow a bit better, but is Souls are slower games in general. Still DKS3 maybe not my favorite Souls,.. but still clocking 300+ hours.
Innovation is way overrated.

[TheOptimist]

Innovation if done right is not

[Movefasta1993]

I AM NOT saying they are bad games,i think dark souls 3 is an incredible game.But we are talking about the game of the year awards,and imo we should reward innovation.ANybody who thinks i am saying uc4 SP or dark souls 3 SP/MP aren't fantastic you got it wrong.

[100_SavAGe]

That so called trash multiplayer is fun to some people

[TGGJustin]

Agreed. A large community loves the UC4 MP myself included. In no way is it trash.

[Movefasta1993]

Same with advanced warfare,i think it's trash but other people love it.Opinions are amazing right?

[WellyUK]

fighting a losing battle here bud, But I 100% agree with you.

[TheOptimist]

Well, I won't be saying about the first half of the year. The most fun I have had playing has come from a DLC, Blood & Wine of Witcher 3. All other games are just generic, not necessarily bad, but neither doing something special. Well if there was a category of 'Most Blandest Games', I would put most of the games in there, including Inside. Yes maybe B&W was bland if you compare it to the main game, but at least unlike other games which have the same mechanics for nearly about 4-5 games, I find it tough for them contending for the GOTY. In fact Tomb Raider was less bland in comparison to others due to the rewarding exploration factor, but still bland. I would say, the only game I would select for GOTY would be the Witness out of the first half. I would rather put games like Furi as my GOTY, much better gameplay than most other games and a decent story and awestriking visuals.

Now let's see the second half, we have seen some footage of Deus Ex: MD, and clearly they have bumped up the features in the game. If the story of that game will be good, it could dethrone Witcher 3 as the best game ever created, because I feel that the gameplay of Deus Ex is much more slick than Witcher (Even if both are of different genres. Then there is Dishonored 2, and that game also has changed a lot from the 1st part. Then there is No Man's Sky, maybe not GOTY, but will definitely get awards for innovation and visual aesthetic if the game launches with less bugs. Mafia 3 maybe if the story is great. Then there is FFXV and Gravity Rush 2, I think that the first half of the year had better indie games than AAA games.

The author has forgot XCOM 2 which was released to high critical and commercial acclaim.