The 2021 Game Awards are set to air this Thursday, December 9, and many are speculating as to which game may take home the top prize of Game of the Year. While many people tune into the awards show primarily for new announcements and reveals, a large portion of the audience still get invested in which games take home which award. The show has many different award categories, but GOTY is the most prestigious and sought after, with many high quality titles in contention.
The six games up for the award this year are as follows: Pyschonauts 2, Deathloop, Metroid Dread, Resident Evil: Village, It Takes Two, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. It's a quality and diverse list, but what's most interesting about this group of games is that none of them stand out as a particularly heavy favorite when compared to the others. Last year's GOTY winner, The Last of Us Part 2, was divisive, but it reviewed very well and entered last year's Game Awards as a heavy favorite in many categories. The field for GOTY this time around looks to be much more open, containing a group of games that appeal to a wide audience and all reviewed similarly well (four of the six games have identical scores on Metacritic). So with what looks to such be a close and competitive race, which game has the best chance to come away as the winner?
Let's begin by looking at the games that probably don't have all that realistic of a chance, starting with what is probably the biggest long shot of them all: It Takes Two. It Takes Two released on March 26, and is currently holding an 88 critic score on Metacritic. This game generated a lot of buzz when it was released, and was almost universally praised for its mature story centered around divorce. However, it may seem like a long-shot for GOTY. Although It Takes Two's trademark co-op mechanics were strongly praised, the co-op genre is still much more niche than single-player or competitive multiplayer games are. That, combined with the fact it released back in March and much of its buzz has long disappeared, may mean it misses out on the top spot.
It Takes Two, RE: Village & Metroid Dread Probably Won't Win GOTY
The other two long shots are much bigger names than It Takes Two, but probably still have an uphill battle to claim the GOTY trophy. Despite being a part of the most popular franchise on the list, Resident Evil: Village is actually the lowest-scoring game of the group, clocking in with an 84 on Metacritic. RE: Village was a generally well-reviewed entry in the RE franchise, although some did take issue with its relatively short runtime and how much it dialed down the scares when compared to its predecessor. Despite having some of the best gameplay and most exciting set pieces in the series' history, the criticisms of the entry may ensure that it won't have enough to garner strong consideration for the award. (Although one can never count out a title that carries the Resident Evil name.)
The other prestigious franchise with an entry on the list that may not have as big a chance to win as other contenders is Nintendo's Metroid: Dread. Dread released on October 8 and currently has an impressive 88 score on Metacritic. Dread has a couple things working in its favor, with many considering it as one of the best Metroid games to date, and its relatively recent October release date ensuring it's fresh in many voters' minds. However, Metroid has always been somewhat of a niche franchise when compared to Nintendo's other big guns, and whether it's fair or not, it seems unlikely that a 2D game would take home the Game Award's most prestigious prize.
GOTY 2021 - Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart & Pyschonauts 2 Could Win
The two most similar games on the list are Psychonauts 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Not only are both 3D action platformers, but they also both had summer release windows and scored an 89 and 88 on Metacritic respectively. These feel like the two wildcards on the list, as both have very vocal and passionate supporters but both also received criticism for not pushing as many boundaries as they may have been able to.
Pyschonauts 2 didn't seem to generate quite as much review buzz as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart when it was released, but it was lauded for its mature story and engrossing environments, even if its gameplay wasn't as polished as it could be. Despite their shortcomings both of these titles seemed to generate enough buzz and have enough support to potentially take home the award. However, there is one game that deserves to be the odds on favorite.
Deathloop Has A Strong Chance Of Winning GOTY
Deathloop released on September 14 for PC and PlayStation 5 and sits at an 88 Metacritic score for PS5. Arkane's latest action game drops gamers onto the island of Black Reef where they're forced to break a three-day time cycle that sees protagonist Colt Vahn dying over and over again. The game injects some interesting ideas into the classic time loop story and as is expected from Arkane features rock-solid first-person action gameplay. The story is a bit of a mixed bag, with some criticizing Deathloop's ending as being disappointing, but it does feature a couple of standout performances from its two leads and is compelling enough to ensure most players will stick around through its relatively brief runtime. Deathloop earned more critical praise than any other game on the list, even earning perfect scores from a number of publications. The enjoyable, accessible gameplay, combined with its critical acclaim and recent release date seems to make Deathloop the favorite for GOTY.
Thursday could end up being one of the most exciting Game Awards in recent memory. Not only are fans anticipating some big announcements and surprises, but many of the award categories seem far more open than previously. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the GOTY category, where all six games have at least somewhat of a chance of taking home the hardware. It's a wide-open race, but if anyone out there has a Game Awards pool going, the smart money for GOTY has to be on Deathloop.