With Red Dead Redemption 2 Delayed Who Can Stop Zelda From Scooping All the Awards?

"So if not Red Dead, who could potentially compete with Zelda? 2017 has been a standout year for games so far and we aren’t halfway through it, yet we already have a couple of titles that could give Zelda a run for it’s money, plus some titles releasing later this year that look promising. So let’s look at the candidates."

-Sidearc.com

[freshslicepizza]

Well I imagine Horizon will be a top candidate. If Star Citizen ever came out this year it might have a shot. Don't count on just Zelda for Nintendo, Mario might outdo it.

[generic-user-name]

As good as Horizon is, it didn't seem to get that universal acclaim like Zelda did. Though it's still an amazing title and I hope it fares well in awards.

[AspiringProGenji]

Yeah and remember when GTA V was declared winner in 2013? Which game won more awards in the end?

Hint: the haters' Bane of their existence

[generic-user-name]

@AspiringProGenji

That's a good point, I'm not going to write off any of these games being mentioned but, so far, it seems like Zelda is being pushed as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Remember when Jim Sterling got DDoS'd for giving the game a 7?....7!!

[-Foxtrot]

It deserves more then Zelda at the end of the day...it's a new IP which has a fresh take on the open world genre by a team who have only developed first person shooters.

Zelda BotW is basically just doing things we've seen since...well last gen alone, Skyrim, Witcher, Fallout, even Dark Souls or Dragon Age for example...and yes Horizon isn't doing anything new but for Zelda it should have been doing the things found in BotW in 2011 with Skyward Sword.

Things like dungeons, enemy variety, weapon breakage, stealth is meh, story is not the best from past games. It feels like a step forward but other parts it takes a step back.

We wanted a new IP, we got it and with a nice concept of a ruined world with robo dinosaurs...it deserves a little credit in the reward section rather then "OMG ZELDA 10/10...HERE'S 40 AWARDS"

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

A lot of idiots out there treat a 7 on a 1 to 10 scale the same way they treat a 4 or lower, which is really stupid.
I don't agree with Jim's score, but the whole DDOS thing really was taking things too far, when most gamers these days don't know how to accurately decipher and use a 1 to 10 scale in the first place.

[Gazondaily]

Zelda > Horizon all day every day with ease.

Haven't tried Persona though.

[ninsigma]

Zelda wasn't worth all that praise. It did nothing to deserve being revered like it was. I terms of Zelda Vs Horizon, Horizon was a far better game but overall GOTY, I really just can't call it so far. There's been too many great games released that it's gonna be tough. I'd say both Persona 5 and Nier: Automata will have a good running for goty, more so Persona. With Uncharted: The Lost Legacy releasing in August, will that be counted as candidate seeing as it's a standalone??

[Luucifa]

@Foxtrot "OMG ZELDA10/10... HERE'S 40 REWARDS!"...? why wasn't that the case with Skyward Sword and A Link Between Worlds then? I thought those were Zelda games?

[UltraNova]

My money is on Mario with horizon being 2nd (its a brand new ip, that has to count for something) and Zelda 3rd.

[Altovoltage]

Universal acclaim? Horizon has sold more copies than Zelda

[Sitdown]

Altovoltage
More sales is not always indicative of universal acclaim, and clearly in this regard, the individual was speaking of reviews.

[raWfodog]

Yeah, everyone will have their own opinions on what game(s) they think is(are) better. We'll just have to see which ones actually get the most awards (which is still subjective as its still opinion-based). Anyone saying a game is better/worse than others is only stating their preference, of course.

[Shiken]

@Altovoltage

Actually Zelda's combined sales of WiiU and NS have exceeded Horizon by quite a bit. The NS sales alone are right behind Horizon and the WiiU was reported to sell another mil on top of that. Plus Zelda is still at the top of the sales chartz while Horizon has dropped quite a bit.

Zelda has innovated open world gaming, and deserves any and all awards it gets. Easily game of the generation. I find it funny how some people try to down play it saying other games did the same things Zelda has done, because that could not be further from the truth.

While some other open world games used certain isolated aspects of BotW first, Zelda is the first one to weave everything together and form an execution to how we experience the game unlike anything we have ever seen.

With that in mind however, both are great games and deserve awards thrown their way. While I feel BotW is GotY, Horizon also deserves recognition as well.

[Christopher]

Of course it didn't get the same universal acclaim, it's not a 20+ year old IP that has floated by on name alone for some games in the past and finally made a game this generation worth owning even though it has its imperfections that people choose to completely overlook because it's Zelda.

Personally, I'm hoping for more goodness. I've yet to play Nioh or Persona 5 and I'm still in the middle of Prey as I've been busy playing other games. I'm hoping we still have a few good games coming at the end of this year to put in the GotY category.

[uptownsoul]

@Septic - "Zelda > Horizon all day every day with ease."

I can see why some can say Zelda > Horizon (although I disagree)...But all day every with ease......Stop it!!!

[bouzebbal]

Since when review scores were indicative of how good a game or a product is in general ?
I absolutely hated this zelda game. They should have called it The Legend of the Shrine instead.
On the world is big, ok it is seamless and enjoyable to explore but what's left in the game itself and the main story ? It falls so short compared to previous ones.
I respect people who like it but no matter how much you love it if you are honest with yourself you would understand my point.

Something like NieR deserves top spot this year.

Septic

Lol I did not really expect more than that. Just being yourself that's good to see.

[rainslacker]

Horizon has the advantage of being a new IP, which many can find refreshing. Zelda took a new path to game play, but that may not be enough when weighing all the pros and cons of the candidates.

In any case, it doesn't really matter. Everybody and their brother has to make a blog or article of their GOTY, and I'm sure Zelda and Horizon will "scoop" up plenty of rewards.

I think both are worthy contenders for GOTY. No complaints here.

There may even be other games coming out this year which will do some scooping.

In any case, getting tons of acclaim at release doesn't mean it will get all or even most of the rewards. But no doubt it will get some.

[Hardiman]

Zelda got a lot of that acclaim because it has decades of Zelda nostalgia going for it. It is an amazing game but to think that doesn't play an impact on some critics is silly. For Horizon to do the business it has and is brand new says more to me.

[Shiken]

@Hardiman

Actually the fact that the Zelda has been around for so long along with the delays make it the perfect target for clickbait. The fact that it still scored so high speaks volumes about how good the game turned out to be.

So it is, in fact, the opposite of the point you are trying to make. These days reviewers are looking for anything to get easy clicks. Don't believe me? Look at Washington Post's review for Uncharted 4. (They gave it a 4/10)

So yeah, while Zelda is still a much older franchise, there are those who look to nitpick established franchises to lower the score just to get clicks.

[crazychris4124]

Star Citizen isnt coming out anytime soon. 4.0 update isnt coming until next year and still a hell of a lotta content left after that. End of 2018 at the earliest but I would bet 2019 release.

[DevilOgreFish]

Squadron 42 is the one to be out sooner. with full single player to boot.

[Deep-throat]

Prey alone destroys Horzion... if you care about gameplay. Ubisoft's formula is tired.

[Nyxus]

Like your comments?

[generic-user-name]

@Nyxus

Dayum son.

[Razzer]

Prey is the best you have played this year? Wow....that sucks, dude.

Oh...and you really should try Horizon.

[-Foxtrot]

Prey can't even stick to it's own franchises name...it's a new IP now to stay relevant

[notachance]

guys guys give this man a break, his console hasn't got any decent game yet this year

[bluefox755]

Did you choose Prey because it's one of the only Xbox games this year to get a semi-positive reception?

[SpaceRanger]

Prey? Is the games drought affecting you that bad?

[candystop]

Maybe the guy enjoyed Prey more than the others. Some people have different taste and don't just ride the same bandwagon as everyone else.

[guyman]

Prey doesnt come close to horizon's quality.

And since you went there, there is nothing on xbox one that can touch horizon as well.