‘Alan Wake 2’ holds up an already wild GOTY competition

I’ve been trying to formulate a reasonable guess at the GOTY nominees and list of potential winners for a while as we head toward the end of the year, but every time I turn around a new contender appears.

This week, it’s Alan Wake 2, which was released and scored 89 on Metacritic, a mark below 90, but 92 if you’re looking on PC where its visuals can max out.

A week ago, I wrote a list that showed the top potential GOTY candidates by Metascore, which included:

• The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom Tears – 96
• Baldur’s Gate 3-96
• Super Mario Bros Wonder – 93
• Resident Evil 4 – 93
• Street Fighter 6 – 92
• Marvel Spider-Man 2 – 92

That’s six, which is the number we got for the GOTY nominations list at The Game Awards. But it clearly leaves A Tons Among the high-quality games this year are Final Fantasy she has.

However, although Alan Wake 2 isn’t in the 90+ range like many games this year, my guess is that it will secure a spot after this release. The voters at The Game Awards are journalists, developers, and industry leaders, and I’ve seen dozens and dozens of them rave about Alan Wake 2 as a masterpiece.

I think Resident Evil 4 is out of the competition for being a remake. Street Fighter 6 due to its anti-fighting gameplay bias (but it clearly wins this category). And even this year, I’m not sure there’s room to pick a traditional indie film like Sea of ​​Stars or Dave the Diver. I can see Final Fantasy VI or Armored 6 getting there. I would have said Starfield a couple of months ago, but not anymore. Hogwarts Legacy will likely be the best-selling game of the year alongside Call of Duty, but this group won’t nominate it.

But Alan Wake 2? From everything you saw? Sure, and he might win Best Performance or Best Director. I still think Baldur’s Gate 3 is the game to beat for GOTY, and it’s hard for me to see anything, even Zelda, or even Alan Wake, surpassing it. But who knows?

I’m about to jump in myself to see what all the fuss is about, but yes, Remedy clearly has something special here after a 13-year hiatus.

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