Welcome to the inaugural Just About Video Games Game of the Year award! Also known as the JAVGGOTY (future acronyms may be workshopped). We set not one but two bounties asking our community of passionate gamers to nominate a single game that really blew them away this year. In true hype-building fashion, you’ll find a series of runners-up below, before discovering the game that earned our 2023 crown at the bottom. No peeking!

Fifth place: Dredge

Nominated by @scrbzy

Dredge is a single-player horror-fishing sim - stay with us - developed by Black Salt and published by Team 17. It made a big splash in indie circles this year, but for those who may not have heard of it, it can be described in two words: Lovecraftian fishing. Yeah, you read that correctly. Thinking, perhaps, that it's a cosy coastal life simulator, you sell your catch, upgrade your vessel, and venture out to deeper waters. But dredging the darkest depths of the seas disturbs unspeaking horrors from your deepest nightmares. Some secrets are best left to the depths.

“I’ve clocked quite a few hours in the survival game Sunless Sea, which at its core shares some similarities with Dredge. However, Dredge captivated me with its charming art style and excellent use of sound. The mechanics are simple enough that you can pick it up very quickly, but I don’t think that’s a detriment to the game. Where it really shines though is its depth, with quests, secrets, a vast collection of fish, and clever puzzles that combine the simple art of fishing with eldritch horror. It’s cheap and worth picking up!”

Fourth place: Sea of Stars

Nominated by @Retro_Stu

Set in the same universe as the 2018 action-platform game The Messenger, Sea of Stars is a  turn-based RPG from Sabotage Studio. It follows the story of Valere and Zale, two Children of the Solstice. Their quest to defeat The Fleshmancer plays out alongside a fantastic score from Yasunori Mitsuda and Eric W. Brown. Sea of Stars has a hand-drawn aesthetic that retro game lovers will love - retro game lovers like Retro Stu.

“If ever there’s an indication of how good a game is, it’s its ability to draw in players who would never normally consider that genre. Enter: Sea of Stars and me. Turn-based games have never been my thing, not in the slightest. My hot take, which I know people will argue with, is that I find them too slow. I have a couple of uni friends who were obsessed with Final Fantasy VII, and yet I just couldn’t get into it because I felt so passive just selecting combat actions. I gave it a couple of hours but decided it wasn’t for me.

“Sea of Stars had two things that drew me in. First, it’s not only set in The Messenger’s universe - which is one of my favourite games of all time - but shares one of the same composers: RainbowDragonEyes, aka Eric W. Brown. It even has new takes on The Messenger’s score. Secondly, you can cause bonus damage or parries with strategic button presses. I immediately felt like this was a turn-based game that could hold my focus - and it did.

"For a solid 50 hours or so, I strived on Steam for every possible achievement and the true ending, which was so satisfying. I know some people felt like it was offering nothing new to the genre, but for me it’s proven to be a gateway into it. I’m now enjoying a tonne of turn-based stuff as a result. The gorgeous art style, infectious music, and overall gameplay of Sea of Souls absolutely won me over. Full marks to Sabotage Studio!”

Third place: Lies of P

Nominated by @GameofBeardz

"Your lies are a rare ability. Geppetto's puppet, our only hope." Enter Lies of P: the soulslike Pinocchio game you didn’t know you needed. Those who like Lies of P tend to love Lies of P, and if you enjoyed Guillermo del Toro’s dark retelling of Pinocchio, then you’re in for a treat. Lies of P is an imaginative, grim, and unforgiving reinterpretation that has earned its cabinet full of 9/10 and 10/10 reviews.

“Lies of P snuck under the radar but blew me away when it hit. This was not a game that I was expecting, less so a game that I was expecting to get sucked into so violently and wholeheartedly. There are many soulslike games out there now, many of which are magnificent in their own ways, but Lies of P’s story, set in a gritty industrialised London where killer puppets are on the loose, grips you from the very beginning to the very end.

“The classic tale of Pinocchio is presented in a way that’s never been seen before, but has all the trademarks of the beloved story: Geppetto being the father of the puppets, the Blue Fairy, and Jiminy helping you in your quest (in their own way). You have choices to make throughout the game: will you lie or be a good boy and tell the truth? Your choices influence both your character and the story.

“If you have the stomach for a soulslike and the hankering for a unique world and story, I cannot recommend this game enough. The fact that it came out of nowhere and hit us with the unexpected is what makes Lies of P my GOTY.”

Second place: Final Fantasy XVI

Nominated by: Lanah Tyra

Square Enix’s latest Final Fantasy game, FFXVI (that’s 16 to those of us who prefer Arabic numerals to Roman ones) is an ARPG that breaks with many of the series’ defining features, such as turn-based combat and multiple controllable characters.

“It’s a really refreshing addition to the franchise. Hopefully, it will prompt developers of future instalments to dare to dream up different concepts. Here are some of the things I love about it: the amazing boss fights, the music, the voice acting, the accessibility option provided by the Timely Accessories, the story, the well-designed summons, and the new features like the Active Time Lore.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaJ4VVFGIa8

Lanah went beyond the call of duty and put together a great spoiler-free review of FFXVI. If you’re considering giving the game a try, then we recommend reading the full review. We’ve taken a few key quotes from it to whet your appetite, and elucidate why we chose FFXVI as our second-place winner:

“What first seems like a typical Middle-Ages kings-and-castles story will make you think about problems our own society is facing regarding how we treat those who are different to us.”

“As you progress in the story and unlock more Eikons, you will be able to reroll your Ability Points any time, which makes it very easy to try out new setups and experiment with all the new abilities. There are some combos capable of dealing devastating damage and there are other less powerful but fun ones, so everyone can find a style they enjoy playing.”

“Yes, you can pet the doggo.”

“If you want to learn more about the main characters and the world, do the side quests. Some of them could have been part of the main story, they add so much extra meaning to everything that’s happening. The first quest that made me swear and cry was a side quest.”

“The music composed by Masayoshi Soken absolutely blew my mind away."

“I could go on for hours about every aspect of the game I loved. Are you ready to accept the truth that FINAL FANTASY XVI is the GOTY?”

Actually, Lanah, I’m afraid we’re not. And that’s all thanks to a game you all might have heard of by a certain Larian Studios.

Just About Video Games Game of the Year 2023: Baldur’s Gate 3

Nominated by: literally everyone else who took part in our bounties

If any of you were hoping that we - and by ‘we’ I of course mean you - would opt for a rogue choice for our game of the year, we’re going to have to disappoint you. Baldur’s Gate 3 is quite simply too good. On the assumption that there aren’t any subterranean rock-dwellers among our readership, we won’t spend any time introducing the game which will surely go down as the new high-water mark for epic RPGs. Instead, we’ll share some quotes from the many nominations for this once-in-a-decade marvel, starting with Schadsquatch’s take:

“Without a doubt, Baldur's Gate 3 deserves every accolade it's been given so far. The amount of freedom it gives its players is absolutely amazing and has set the bar for RPGs until the end of time. It was unabashedly pushing its 'You pay for what you get and more!' model, making its playerbase rejoice with the value they got out of the gate. Story, atmosphere, great characters, clever and rewarding gameplay, it's all there.”

Kane Carnifex kept his nomination short and sweet: “It has love, passion, and stunning longevity; you can replay it plenty of times thanks to the different outcomes [to many quests]. Damien Mason, however, went on a lyrical meditation about what makes BG3 so special in his nomination.

“At this point, we all know why Baldur’s Gate 3 is a great game: it has complex characters, an inconceivable number of branching narrative pathways, and genuinely feels like a labour of love from Larian. Still, there’s one personal reason that makes it stand out for me over Tears of the Kingdom - and keep in mind that I’m a huge Legend of Zelda fan - its faithfulness to D&D.

“2023 is the first year I’ve ever played Dungeons & Dragons. Baldur’s Gate 3 has helped me to get to grips with the otherwise overwhelming number of classes, races, spells, and mechanics. Knowing the game better helps me make the most of my maraca-wielding bard tiefling (pictured below), letting me tap into my imagination rather than breaking our immersion to ask questions.

“Even with the changes they made to the 5e ruleset to translate them to a video-game format, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the perfect digital representation of D&D. It’s accessible, replayable, and guides players without holding their hands. There’s a wealth of secrets and easter eggs for those familiar with the lore, but they’re rewards as opposed to obstacles to newcomers. We’ve been spoiled this year, but for a game to enrich your life outside of the world it creates is a feat very few can claim.”

Damien isn’t the only D&D-loving tiefling who admires BG3 for its ability to bring D&D’s magic to the virtual realms. Ross nominated it for the same reason and, as with Damien, it’s positively affected his life outside of the game itself:

“The game boasts a rich array of characters with branching storylines, well-thought-out and engaging voice acting, and above all else, unending replayability - a rarity in today's gaming landscape.

“I’ve been a fan of D&D for a long time, having played multiple campaigns in my life with various groups of friends. A lot of those friendship groups have fallen by the wayside either through lack of communication on my part or losing touch due to distance. BG3 really helped rekindle a lot of those friendships and let me really reconnect with people I'd long thought lost to me. It’s given us a platform to do what we love together again, without distance being a factor. This reason alone would be enough for it to have won Game of the Year in my eyes, however, there’s still so much more to it.

“The immersion and replayability offered by BG3 is, in my humble opinion, unparalleled. I really feel, for the first time in a long time, that I've got my money's worth. So much so that I've purchased four copies: one for myself, one for my partner, and a couple for friends so that I can enjoy it with them!

“I’m currently on my fourth playthrough - this time as a tiefling monk - and I’m loving every second of it. The game gives you the conventional “hit things and enjoy as they perish” gameplay, but it also allows you to come up with unique solutions to almost every scenario. It’s very rare that you come across a game that allows such a variety of outcomes, with each more absurd than the last. It’s honestly incredibly refreshing to see a studio invest so much time into making even the most basic decisions feel like they really have an impact. This is what really clinched it for me and put it top of my list, even against some tough competition. (I'm looking at you, Tears of the Kingdom).

“So from myself, my party, and the little owlbear in camp, thank you Larian for producing not only the Game of the Year, but potentially the Game of the Decade.”

We can’t think of a better note to end on than that. Thanks Ross, thanks to all members who contributed, and we hope you’re having a very happy end of the year. Here’s to seeing what 2024 brings!

Some text has been amended for brevity. You can find the original wording at the linked bounty posts. Images submitted by members.