Happy New Year and Happy New Decade to you! I hope 2020 ends up being the best year of your life, especially since it’s the only 2020 you’ll ever get. Make the most of it and seize the day! Now that 2019 is over, it’s time to put the final nail in its coffin: Let’s nominate the Reader’s Choice pick for TWRM GOTY 2019! You might’ve thought the Game Awards was the last word on the matter, but in this house we wait until the year is completely over. Eat your heart out, Geoff.

If you participated in these GOTY voting events before, you’ll know the rigamarole, but here’s the rundown for any greenhorns.

Below is a list of our nominees, followed by the arguments put forth by our writers as to why you should vote for their nominees, followed by the poll. You will have the opportunity to vote for a single game. The polls will remain open for one week and the winner will be announced on Thursday (1/9/20). If you want to earn more votes for your personal pick to win, get out there and find some voters!

MAY THE BEST GAME WIN…

The One-Winged Mage – Super Mario Maker 2
The Slipstream Mage – DiRT Rally 2.0
The New Age Retro Mage – Resident Evil 2
The Well-Red Mage – Tetris 99
The Regional Exclusive Mage – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The Arcade Mage – Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
TriformTrinity – Fire Emblem: Three Houses
The Tickled Pink Mage – Kingdom Hearts 3
The Off-Centered Earth Mage – Death Stranding
The Wandering Mage – Pokémon Sword/Shield

POLL AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE

SUPER MARIO MAKER 2

What’s better than a Mario game? A Mario game with an endless amount of levels! With literally millions of levels created so far, the fun never ends. Whether you like speedrunning, puzzle, kaizo (extremely hard), or more traditional styles of levels, there’s always something here for everyone. Nintendo has added tons of new parts, enemies, and environments, and the 3D World style that is surprisingly fun to play. Super Mario Maker 2 is by far the game I’ve played the most this year. I’ve spent countless hours on the creator mode alone and the recently added Link as a playable character adds a surprising amount of depth and will keep me coming back well into 2020!

Pros:
+ Free updates keep things feeling fresh
+ Story mode includes 100 Nintendo made courses
+ New multiplayer modes

Cons:
– Level sharing with friends still unintuitive
– Online multiplayer is oftentimes broken
– Costumes did not make a return

-the One-Winged Mage

DIRT RALLY 2.0

Upon my initial review, DiRT Rally 2.0 was not GoTY material (7.5/10). It was a strong entrant into the field of 2019 racing games, but it was missing a larger body of content to put it into elite status. Since that review, Codemasters has appended the game with a steady stream of new rally locations, rallycross tracks, cars, liveries, leagues, and even a free-roam area. Add these elements to a base game that strips down the rallying experience to your car vs. the road while providing the best rally car physics and control in any game to date, and you’ve got a legitimate case for GoTY.

Pros:
+ Hyper-realistic physics
+ Precise controls
+ High degree of challenge and replayability
+ Excellent selection of cars and driving locations

Cons:
– Lacks high-end visuals
– High degree of difficulty tough on new players
– No Hill Climb mode

-the Slipstream Mage

RESIDENT EVIL 2

Remaking a classic is always a tricky proposition. Too close and you get accused of wasting time, too different and it pretty much isn’t what the fans remember. Capcom was able to remake Resident Evil 2 in such a way that felt reminiscent of the original but with new modern mechanics. While many of the beats are similar, they expanded on many situations. Side characters like Marvin Branagh are given much more characterization this time with several cutscenes dedicated to him. In fact, almost every side character that you only saw for a small bit during the original are expanded upon or given more complexity. Though the biggest change was Mr. X. Originally a character in the Side B portion of the adventure, in this one he plays a much larger role actively hunting you down through a large portion of both plots. On top of the more deadly enemies (zombies don’t go down easy), the extra tension really makes this a major revisit of the classic.

Pros:
+ Expands on many things, including characters, enemies and plot threads
+ Superb graphics really illustrate the gory horror of Resident Evil franchise
+ Modernized gameplay without sacrificing the tension and feel of the original

Cons:
– Side B stories aren’t as different as they were in the original, mostly just being the same thing but from a different starting point.
– Music, while good, doesn’t have the same horror punch of the original, though you can get DLC that allows you to play the game with the original music

 -the New Age Retro Mage

TETRIS 99

Let’s face it: Tetris has always been there for you. Long after all these other franchises lie moldering in the dust like so many pillars of Ozymandias, Tetris will still be there. Who stayed up with you all night when you had your first breakup? Tetris. Who was there on that long road trip with your vexing kin? Tetris. Who was there while you waited anxiously for that work meeting to begin? Tetris. Now, Tetris 99 might not have the storytelling, the visuals, or the soundtrack that some of these other games pull, but what it does have, it has in spades. Gameplay. If you’re a gameplay over graphics person, I implore you: vote for Tetris 99. Think of this GOTY event as its own battle royale, and this game will beat the 99.

Pros:
+ Classic Tetris gameplay isn’t too muddled with new-fangled features
+ Battle Royale makes the experience intense
+ The joys of being the one winner is ineffable
+ Great matchmaking keeps rounds loading quick
+ As addicting as any game could ever be
+ Frequent tournaments hosted on the Switch
+ FREE

Cons:
– Everybody got suuuuper good at this game after a few weeks, so good friggin luck
– Certain gameplay features like targeting are confusing and obscure
– Not the best version of Tetris available
– Takes time to work up to the game’s pace
– Still just a bunch of falling blocks
– No local multiplayer functionality so your friends can’t join in the battle
– Ragequit fuel

-the Well-Red Mage

SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE

It feels as though From Software had a lot to prove with Sekiro. First of all, could they create another game-world as deep and intriguing as those in Dark Souls and Bloodborne? Could they build something that seems familiar yet is oh-so-different? Could they, and this one is important, make Dark Souls go vertical? The answer to all three of those questions is… absolutely! By invoking the spirit of the Tenchu series and imbuing it into their own now-ubiquitous game format, Miyazaki and his team have made something so special that the term ‘Soulsborne’ doesn’t even do it justice. In fact, Sekiro is probably an easier game if you DON’T already have experience with From games. Being struck down time and time again by regular enemies can feel like a katana to the back.. until you clear your mind of everything you think you know. Re-learn combat from scratch: take care to parry and dodge and grapple the way THIS game wants you to, rather than relying on lessons learnt from Dark Souls. Only then, through hard practice and a lot of perseverance, can you even hope to take down some of the fantastic bosses Sekiro has to offer. That moment of relief, joy and power from taking down a seemingly unbeatable boss: that’s the moment it all clicks. You are now a shinobi, and Sekiro is a serious contender for Game Of The Year.

Pros :
+ Beautifully designed levels, made ripe for exploration thanks to the grappling-hook
+ A deep and engaging combat system that rewards organically the more you understand it
+ An immense challenge that offers a great sense of accomplishment

Cons:
– Extremely difficult to learn and even tougher to master
– Some core game-mechanics are not explained clearly enough and can make the game off-putting

 -the Regional Exclusive Mage

BLOODSTAINED: RITUAL OF THE NIGHT

The 2010s have seen a marked shift in gaming. With the advent of iOS, Steam, and ‘indies’, Bloodstained is perhaps the apropos bookend to the 2010s and GOTY for 2019. With Koji Igarashi (former Castlevania producer) leading the dev team, crowd-funded, and blending modern gaming with nostalgia and time-tested mechanics, Bloodstained is a success where so many others failed. With excellent music, gameplay, and story, Bloodstained not only understands the history of gaming that came before it, but places itself within it as a modern example of how old and new can make the perfect gaming cocktail.

Pros:
+ Dynamite Soundtrack
+ Story & Gameplay competently executed
+ Castlevania Love-Letter

Cons:
– Niche Intended Audience
– Low Replayability
– Frame Rate Issues

 -the Arcade Mage

FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is an amazing game as your first step into the series. The thing I can say is this: it reinvigorated the turn-based strategy JRPG genre with its new entry and showed how Fire Emblem can evolve into something more. So strap your Switch and books in, you are gonna teach the new rulers in each house in Fódlan.

Pros:
+ Full Voice Acting
+ Solid Cast of Characters
+ Great Customization
+ Music
+ Exploration
+ Replayability of stories

Cons:
– Maps getting reused too often
– Main character lacks development
– Confusing final acts
– Replayability of stories

-Triform Trinity, warrior of light

KINGDOM HEARTS 3

The epic saga that began 17 years ago, famous (and infamous) for it’s cryptic, non-linear story-telling, finally concludes! The intense gameplay improves upon the formula demonstrated in Kingdom Hearts II, but with the best elements from the numerous handheld titles mixed in, as well as plenty of original ideas, which makes for a never-ending good time. The story answers many questions, and raises still more, and is told through a large cast of interesting, entertaining, and/or mysterious characters, who for the first time, are all joined in one game. Their heart-warming relationships and desire to protect one another fuel the Guardians of Light to stop Xehanort and the Seekers of Darkness in this fantastic action game that somehow manages to keep the exact feel of the series, despite the long span of time separating them.

Pros:
+ Intense, addicting, diverse, over-the-top combat
+ Convoluted story that keeps you wanting more
+ Amazing new Gummi Ship gameplay, and great customization options for Gummi ships
+ Huge DLC expansion around the corner

Cons:
– Normal and Proud Modes far too easy.
– Convoluted story that keeps you wanting more
– DLC expansion is expensive.

 -the Tickled Pink Mage

DEATH STRANDING

Death Stranding, the most recent entry into the amazing back catalogue of games directed by Hideo Kojima himself is by far my game of the year and in many ways, up there for my game of the decade. This unique and fresh take on the increasingly overdone open-world genre came at a brilliant time for me. Everybody can get burnt out of gaming, especially in this day and age where we as a community are utterly spoiled. However, Death Stranding truly did remind me what it felt like to fall in love with a game all over again. Everything here is perfect for me. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about? Not once has anyone said that Game of the Year should mean Best Game of the Year. Death Stranding was simply the game that meant everything to me this year and affected me the most. I can’t recommend it enough, please give it a go, everyone!

Pros:
+ Amazing acting and motion capture
+ A truly profound way of storytelling resulting in one of the best stories this generation has seen yet

Cons:
– At times gameplay can feel repetitive, almost enticing the player to rush things along
– Long sections of very little direct storytelling, for example, huge sections without cutscenes

 -the Off-Centered Earth Mage

POKÉMON SWORD/SHIELD

Look, it’s Pokémon. What more do I have to say? You know the drill. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go evolve my dragon-in-an-apple into a dragon-in-an-apple-pie so I can beat up a dude’s pet skyscraper. God, I love these games.

Pros:
+ Pokémon spawn on the map now, making the world feel much more alive than the random encounters ever did, but there’s still random encounters, too, hiding the rarer and smaller ‘mons, so you’re still encouraged to explore
+ Turning the gym challenge into a seasonal competitive sport instead of “whenever you get to it” works surprisingly well for the story, and the little touches of your growing fame as you progress through give a real feeling of progress beyond “your Pokémon are leveling up”
+ There are SO MANY POKEMON. The new ones have such a range of creativity and really feel like they belong in the Galar region’s theme; plus, experimental evolution methods and fun Galar-specific forms for old favorites
+ Max raids/battles are a fun new twist for boosting battles while staying reasonable about when you can use it, so you don’t just steamroll everything
+ The music is literally the best music I have ever heard in this series, there are so many jams
+ You have three rivals, and they’re all unique with different motivations and personalities

Cons:
– The world feels a lot smaller compared to the other games, and as a result, its main story is much shorter than others; it’s also a weaker story too, with less focus on World At Risk and more on Be The Champ
– With the 3DS games, you could play with your friends and meet new people with nothing more than a Wifi connection but with Sword/Shield, you need a Nintendo Online account to do anything socially
– Because there are so many previous gen Pokémon carried over, there aren’t as many new ones; I really wanted to see more things I hadn’t seen before, but they were often buried under oldies
– You don’t need three rivals. You really don’t.

POLL

And those are our nominations! You may vote for just one game in the poll below. Choose wisely. Best of luck to all nominees.

Pump up your favorite pick and share this post to earn more votes for the game of your choice. Come back soon to see the results! Consider subscribing by email or enabling notifications so you don’t miss a beat from The Well-Red Mage!

Red formerly ran The Well-Red Mage and now serves The Pixels as founder, writer, editor, and podcaster. He has undertaken a seemingly endless crusade to talk about the games themselves in the midst of a culture obsessed with the latest controversy, scandal, and news cycle about harassment, toxicity, and negativity. Pick out his feathered cap on Twitter @thewellredmage, Mage Cast, or Story Mode.