What future game will join TW3, BOTW and God of War in the Game of the Gen conversation ?

[spad3]

Aside from branching storytelling.. what exactly does the Witcher 3 do?

Click to shrink...

1. One of the biggest things that Witcher 3 does is that it gives importance to side quests almost as much as it does to the main storyline. The decisions you make in the side quests ripple through the main campaign. Branching storylines is one thing, but having your side quests affect your main story? What other open world game does that?
2. The other huge thing is that unlike most open world games, the game world isn't empty. GTA, RDR, Assassin's Creed, Horizon, all these games have huge worlds that are relatively empty to the amount of content. Witcher 3 almost always has something for you to explore or hunt within reach. Almost everywhere you go, there's hidden loot, bandit encampments, a contract monster, or a side quest nearby...even when you're boating around. Exploration isn't only encouraged, its rewarded.
3. Tons of replay value with entirely different outcomes and an entirely different playstyle.

 

[Acorn]

Cyberpunk probably, personally I think it's gonna come down to rdr 2 or BOTW. Two very different types of game despite being the same genre, BOTW is gameplay first and everything followed that. RDR2 is story first and everything follows on from that.

I go back and forth on which I prefer.

 

[Maneil99]

1. One of the biggest things that Witcher 3 does is that it gives importance to side quests almost as much as it does to the main storyline. The decisions you make in the side quests ripple through the main campaign. Branching storylines is one thing, but having your side quests affect your main story? What other open world game does that?
2. The other huge thing is that unlike most open world games, the game world isn't empty. GTA, RDR, Assassin's Creed, Horizon, all these games have huge worlds that are relatively empty to the amount of content. Witcher 3 almost always has something for you to explore or hunt within reach. Almost everywhere you go, there's hidden loot, bandit encampments, a contract monster, or a side quest nearby...even when you're boating around. Exploration isn't only encouraged, its rewarded.
3. Tons of replay value with entirely different outcomes and an entirely different playstyle.

Click to shrink...

I felt RDR2's world far more alive then W3. The characters in the world also reacted to what I did and what I was wearing/doing better then W3. Camp members felt like real people and emergent hunting/robbing/fishing felt natural.

The NPCs and main characters in W3 feel like NPCs. RDR2's gang members feel like real people interacting and doing stuff even when you aren't paying close attention.

I love the W3. I just don't know how someone picks it as a potential GoTG but feels like RDR2 isn't up there.

 

[Rygar 8Bit]

Red Dead 2 is filled with stuff to do in the world. In fact I think it's the game with the most secret shit to find in the world, so much so that it's still being hunted down and multiple things are being found every couple days.

 

[NLCPRESIDENT]

The idea of GOTG is a hard one. It's not about metacritic, it's not about sales.

Let me dream

Click to shrink...

Ok, ok.. but I'm on to you! I seen that 60%..

Metroid Prime

Click to shrink...

This is getting good! Prime is one of my favorite games of all time, as well as RE4.. I dunno..

Didn't Breath of the Wild already wipe the floor with the competition? It's not even a contest.

Click to shrink...

It is a contest and BOTW ain't it.

But, really.. I think it's more fair to have games that defined genres instead of whole generations or gotg. But if it has to be that way..

Gotg:
Bloodborne or TW3 for this gen.
Bloodborne brought an excitement to the industry that I haven't felt since the leaks. To make things even more complicated, it turned out better than anyone hoped.

Last gen was TLOU or Demons Souls.

Ps2/xbox/ GC: Metroid Prime or RE4.

 

[Tanooki]

Cyberpunk and/or Death Stranding will be strong contenders if they are this gen.

Breath of the Wild will be GOTG, though.

 

[Navid]

Feel like Fortnite already walked away with the title...

Like it or not it's the game that will define this generation, it's widely known in ways most games never come close to and has even broken down walls between platform holders due to sheer magnitude.

 

[ThisIsMyDogKyle]

yeah the battle for runner up to Hollow Knight is going to be tight. In all seriousness there's obviously never going to be anything vaguely resembling a consensus on this as it completely comes down to player preference.

 

[Branson]

Assassins Creed is moving themselves up the list of all-time greats.

Click to shrink...

Odyseey is rivaling W3 for me right now as I'm playing through it.

 

[Dark_EMT]

Bloodborne is my game of the generation. I used to a huge GoW fan but the new one was a let down and it's nowhere near GOG. Not even game of the year. So bloodborne gets my vote.

 

[saiko]

I never see Sekiro mentioned as a potential GOTG contender. If Cyberpunk can get the nod, then Sekiro most definitely deserves to as well. From Software has a far better pedigree than CDPR does who, as far as I'm concerned, have made only one good game.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

But those games are bad games with bad stories where as Bloodborne, Hollow Knight, Undertale, and Pillars of Eternity 2 are good games with good stories?

Edit: Also I read the OP, they say "That's just me" in regards to their definition. I think calling something game of the generation because it had mainstream appeal means that the games that won it were utterly meaningless to me.

 

[Eros]

Did Fornite get GOTY awards or nods this year or the year it actually came out? Doesn't seem like the type of game that gets mentioned in these conversations, despite of how popular they are. Like fighting games, sports games, etc, they're just not a part of the conversation as much.

 

[dreamfall]

Red Dead Redemption 2 & Bloodborne should be included in that list.

 

[Deleted member 17952]

The premise of the OP is already invalid without Bloodborne in it.

Barely anyone mentions TW3 nowadays unless always in contrast to Bloodborne.

 

[Pascal]

More people should play Hollow Knight.

 

[Deleted member 14400]

Civ 5 is a last gen game. Definitely among the best games ever made though.

Click to shrink...

Yea I tend to put Civ V and XCOM 2 together in my head. My bad. Still play them both on occasion to this day. XCOM 2 still counts tho!

 

[Deleted member 249]

The premise of the OP is already invalid without Bloodborne in it.

Barely anyone mentions TW3 nowadays unless always in contrast to Bloodborne.

Click to shrink...

You need to see outside of the Era bubble.

 

[spad3]

I felt RDR2's world far more alive then W3. The characters in the world also reacted to what I did and what I was wearing/doing better then W3. Camp members felt like real people and emergent hunting/robbing/fishing felt natural.

The NPCs and main characters in W3 feel like NPCs. RDR2's gang members feel like real people interacting and doing stuff even when you aren't paying close attention.

I love the W3. I just don't know how someone picks it as a potential GoTG but feels like RDR2 isn't up there.

Click to shrink...

That's what i'm saying though, RDR2 is more polished in that aspect, but it doesn't do anything with it. It's the peak of the GTA-style game and its the best of its kind in that regard.

The Witcher 3 doesn't have a comparison point, there's really nothing like it on the market. Dragon Age Inquisition is kinda similar, but even that is an entirely different beast.

 

[Kyra]

More people should play Hollow Knight.

Click to shrink...

Truth.... It stands shoulder to shoulder with these games.

 

[Deleted member 17952]

You need to see outside of the Era bubble.

Click to shrink...

We're in ResetEra, it's fine to look at it from Era's perspective as we're having the conversation here.

 

[Deleted member 249]

We're in ResetEra, it's fine to look at it from Era's perspective as we're having the conversation here.

Click to shrink...

Re-read the OP.

 

[RespectThySole]

I felt RDR2's world far more alive then W3. The characters in the world also reacted to what I did and what I was wearing/doing better then W3. Camp members felt like real people and emergent hunting/robbing/fishing felt natural.

The NPCs and main characters in W3 feel like NPCs. RDR2's gang members feel like real people interacting and doing stuff even when you aren't paying close attention.

I love the W3. I just don't know how someone picks it as a potential GoTG but feels like RDR2 isn't up there.

Click to shrink...

There's a lot of things The Witcher 3 does better than RDR2 to me, but I'll focus on just one of the major things to keep my post short.

Sidequests are better in Witcher 3 by several orders of magnitude.

- the brilliance of the way the game interweaves the choices you make in side quests into the main quest

- the way the game plays with the notion of what the player expects. A lot of side quests or even most don't turn out the way you expect them to. Compare that to RDR2 which has been criticized over and over for how damn near every mission tends to play out the same way. The branching quest lines also helps this aspect for TW3 as well and leads to replayability. The OT was filled with "I didn't even know that could happen if I did this" or I didn't know that if you did that you could still get that ending if you did this." There's no story to tell for RDR2. Everyone who plays RDR2 largely has the same story. Many missions fail for even veering slightly off course from what the game tells you to.

-the creativity that CDPR put on display in the quests scenarios is on a completely different level and unlike any game I've ever played. The amount of ridiculous, funny and twisted quests that the game has is mind boggling. From a simple trip to the bank that goes horribly wrong, the quest where your horse Roach talks, the Cave of Dreams quest, the wedding quest, etc. and this list could go on and on if you wanted to do so.

 

[Maneil99]

There's a lot of things The Witcher 3 does better than RDR2 to me, but I'll focus on just one of the major things to keep my post short.

Sidequests are better in Witcher 3 by several orders of magnitude.

- the brilliance of the way the game interweaves the choices you make in side quests into the main quest

- the way the game plays with the notion of what the player expects. A lot of side quests or even most don't turn out the way you expect them to. Compare that to RDR2 which has been criticized over and over for how damn near every mission tends to play out the same way. The branching quest lines also helps this aspect for TW3 as well and leads to replayability. The OT was filled with "I didn't even know that could happen if I did this" or I didn't know that if you did that you could still get that ending if you did this." There's no story to tell for RDR2. Everyone who plays RDR2 largely has the same story. Many missions fail for even veering slightly off course from what the game tells you to.

-the creativity that CDPR put on display in the quests scenarios is on a completely different level and unlike any game I've ever played. The amount of ridiculous, funny and twisted quests that the game has is mind boggling. From a simple trip to the bank that goes horribly wrong, the quest where your horse Roach talks, the Cave of Dreams quest, the wedding quest, etc. and this list could go on and on if you wanted to do so.

Click to shrink...

But you see, I felt more interested in the side missions in RDR2 due to the characters in the side quests themselves. Everyone was better written and acted. Many side quests in W3 have mediocre VA at best and visually don't look like a real person. I wanted to go find the circus animals because I wanted to see Arthur interact with the characters in that game. I never felt Gerald was surrounded by real people. Some quests had great storylines but the people themselves never felt like people. RSR2 is the first game in a long time that does that for many and on a wide scale with a palpable world

 

[Phendrana]

RDR2 will be leading.

Click to shrink...

RDR2 isn't even leading for GOTY. Why would it lead a GOTG discussion?

Then again, people tend to forget the bad parts of a game after a while. So if people forget like 90% of Red Dead 2, maybe it has a chance?

 

[RespectThySole]

But you see, I felt more interested in the side missions in RDR2 due to the characters in the side quests themselves. Everyone was better written and acted. Many side quests in W3 have mediocre VA at best and visually don't look like a real person. I wanted to go find the circus animals because I wanted to see Arthur interact with the characters in that game. I never felt Gerald was surrounded by real people. Some quests had great storylines but the people themselves never felt like people. RSR2 is the first game in a long time that does that for many and on a wide scale with a palpable world

Click to shrink...

They both have characters that feel "real" and others that don't. It should be expected for a game of that size. I don't find that to be a significant criticism. It's not like they're Horizon: Zero Dawn tier or something where it just completely takes you out of it.

Some of RDR2's side characters are hilariously cartoony in typical Rockstar fashion. A lot of Witcher's side characters have personality in a way RDR2's just don't.

Take Djikstra, Dandelion, Regis, Zoltan, Lambert, Keira or Vlodimir von Everec for example and compare them to any RDR2 side character you want. It's really not even all that close. Rockstar did well with Sadie but they get too tropey with a lot of their characters. CDPR always puts a spin on your expectations.

See this article for an example of how they make incredibly minor characters like this have impact that a lot of the gang members in RDR2 don't even have.

https://killscreen.com/articles/lets-talk-about-rosa-var-attre-impossible-romance-witcher-3/

A lot of them are frankly uninteresting and that's before we even get to the non-gang members. Pearson is just there to be a cook. There's like 3 members of the crew that are always drunk. Does Javier exist to do anything more than play the guitar and sing in Spanish? Bill is...... angry. How many times have I heard about people mixing up Sean and Kieran lol (and again the Irish trope with Sean smh)

 

[TsuWave]

Cyberpunk, TLoU 2, and I have a feeling that Death Stranding will shake the board as well

 

[nib95]

But you see, I felt more interested in the side missions in RDR2 due to the characters in the side quests themselves. Everyone was better written and acted. Many side quests in W3 have mediocre VA at best and visually don't look like a real person. I wanted to go find the circus animals because I wanted to see Arthur interact with the characters in that game. I never felt Gerald was surrounded by real people. Some quests had great storylines but the people themselves never felt like people. RSR2 is the first game in a long time that does that for many and on a wide scale with a palpable world

Click to shrink...

I preferred RDR2 to TW3 as well, but I think it's pretty obvious that in terms of wider consensus, more people prefer TW3. RDR2 seems to be more polarising with a larger number of people, largely down to the poor controls (arguably worse than TW3's) and restrictive mission design.

This is exemplified in RDR2 sitting at a 7.9 user score on meta, whilst TW3 sits at a 9.2, one of the highest user scores of any game in history. Both have thousands of user reviews. Then there's the fact that RDR2 is losing to GOW in GOTY awards (both critic and user voted) whilst TW3 absolutely dominated, even though it was up against games like MGSV, Bloodborne and Fallout 4.

 

[jviggy43]

By leaving out the actual game of the generation, bloodborne, you mean what game will contend for second best with the games you listed? Sekiro, the last of us part 2 would be my best bet.

 

[Mr. Nice_Guy]

Devil may cry 5.

Click to shrink...

Depending on how it turns out it'll definitely be one for me. I don't agree with almost any of the game already released people keep touting as the best of the generation, but for one yet to release, I guess Cyberpunk 2077 has the most potential in my eyes.

Also to all the arguing over whether RDR2 will be remembered, I honestly doubt it. RDR1 was fun but I think is mostly remembered for being unique in being THE only western open world game worth playing and kind of the only one to exist before and after, (I know GUN existed), having a really remarkable ending, and a few cool moments where the music synched up nicely. RDR2 isn't original in any sense of the word, and is already facing some criticism for it's gameplay and how immediately money grubbing the online is. It won't be straight out forgotten, but I don't see it being remembered in nearly the same light as RDR1.

 

[jviggy43]

Why do you feel Bloodborne and Mario Odyssey would be stronger contenders than God of War ? For Inquisition, I think we ALL agree it won't be the Game of the Gen.

Click to shrink...

Because bloodborne has more than 5 non repeat boss fights in the game. About 6 or 7 times that amount compared to god of war. You dont get that accolade if you're a fighting action game and have less than double digit unique boss fights with the majority of what you do offer being reskins ad nauseam. Also combat, level design, atmosphere, story, weapons, are all better as well. Basically everything besides characters.

 

[callamp]

Given a choice between The Witcher 3 and Bloodborne, the gaming community overwhelming chose the former. And rightfully so.

A second-tier 'game of the year' candidate has no place in this discussion. So how about we stop looking back at Bloodborne, a known and insufficient quantity, and instead focus on future games?

 

[Fawk Nin]

The only thing I see beating BOTW in my mind is if Nintendo Majora's Mask it and release a sequel in the next couple of years.

 

[haolee510]

Whatever it is I will disagree, everyone has their own favorite. I dont have a horse in this race anymore, getting a clean consensus is pretty much impossible

Click to shrink...

This.

I don't get the point of threads like this, except for getting validation for one's own favorites.

 

[erlim]

Cyberpunk and Death Stranding are next-gen in my opinion, which rules them out. TLoU2 seems like a good candidate.

Click to shrink...

Why do you consider them next gen? I mean, if they are this gen, and maybe not even cross platform releases, then holy smokes this gen has a lot of juice in the tank.

 

[Mikebison]

Imagine not thinking Bloodborne was the clear game of the gen. just imagine.

 

[nib95]

Because bloodborne has more than 5 non repeat boss fights in the game. About 6 or 7 times that amount compared to god of war. You dont get that accolade if you're a fighting action game and have less than double digit unique boss fights with the majority of what you do offer being reskins ad nauseam. Also combat, level design, atmosphere, story, weapons, are all better as well. Basically everything besides characters.

Click to shrink...

I absolutely love Bloodborne, but I prefer the combat in God of War. To me it is more satisfying, weighty, diverse, nuanced, creative and fantastical (thanks to all the Runes, Atreus's different attacks, different specials and talismans, retractable axe etc). I also prefer much of the level design and puzzles etc in God of War as well (the latter of which there is almost a complete absence of in Bloodborne). Then there's obviously all the character and narrative stuff, the diversity of locations, graphics, art direction and more.

Point is, which has better combat, gameplay, level design etc, and which is the better overall game, is purely subjective. Try to remove purely your own subjective take, and see it more objectively. Eg not specifically what you yourself think or prefer, but what the gaming community and critics as a whole might pick. Presumably you already realise most gamers and critics aren't nearly as hard on, or as critical about God of War as you are or have been. Hell I prefer RDR2 to TW3, but that doesn't mean I believe the wider gaming community would agree with me. I'm fairly confident most wouldn't.

 

[mordecaii83]

I preferred RDR2 to TW3 as well, but I think it's pretty obvious that in terms of wider consensus, more people prefer TW3. RDR2 seems to be more polarising with a larger number of people, largely down to the poor controls (arguably worse than TW3's) and restrictive mission design.

This is exemplified in RDR2 sitting at a 7.9 user score on meta, whilst TW3 sits at a 9.2, one of the highest user scores of any game in history. Both have thousands of user reviews. Then there's the fact that RDR2 is losing to GOW in GOTY awards (both critic and user voted) whilst TW3 absolutely dominated, even though it was up against games like MGSV, Bloodborne and Fallout 4.

Click to shrink...

I think this post is the closest to my opinion as well. I really dislike RDR2 even though RDR1 is my favorite game of all time. But I can recognize why others like it and recognize it absolutely created one of the most fully realized game worlds ever. And Arthur's story was enjoyable. The game is definitely polarizing no matter what some people want to think, and there are other games that are much more widely viewed as excellent games.

 

[Mr.Fletcher]

Why do you consider them next gen? I mean, if they are this gen, and maybe not even cross platform releases, then holy smokes this gen has a lot of juice in the tank.

Click to shrink...

I think they'll release on the new machines, though I could be wrong of course. Death Stranding looks like it is years away.

I could maybe see them appearing on both the new and old machines.

Breath of the Wild is touted as one of the best games of this generation... but it's a Wii U game really.

 

[RevengeTaken]

The Last of Us Part II gonna be the game of the Gen for sure. Meta prediction= 97

 

[Master Chuuster]

RDR2 is definitely in those discussions as well - maybe not on Era, but yeah.

As for upcoming games, I expect TLoU 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 will be in contention as well (and Death Stranding, if it launches anytime soon).

 

[Deleted member 19924]

-

 

[Mikebison]

Bloodborne isn't big outside of Era, I doubt it'll be a GOTG contender in the media or among casuals which is what the thread is about.

Click to shrink...

That's literal nonsense. Most of my friends aren't so plugged into video games that they look on forums or know about new releases unless they see a tv advert or something and they've all played and loved BB. I'm sure 2 of them haven't bought anything outside of FIFA for 10 years but still played BB.

 

[Deleted member 35598]

The premise of the OP is already invalid without Bloodborne in it.

Barely anyone mentions TW3 nowadays unless always in contrast to Bloodborne.

Click to shrink...

This statement is pure fantasy. Most reviews will refer to the Witcher 3 when it comes to open world games. I barely see ANY mentions of Bloodborne in reviews.

For some reasons Bloodborne seems to be one of ERA's favorite game. I give you that. But - very respectfully - ERA is not the whole videogames community. Let's try to see big picture here, let's step back and see this discussion for the community as a whole, for the industry as a whole.

So when we're talking about the Game of the Generation, we're talking about a game that is not only excellent in design or execution, but a game that brought innovation or even revolution into gaming... Think Mario 64, think Resident Evil 4, think Dark Souls. To put it simply a Game of a Generation should be seen as a game where there was a BEFORE and an AFTER that game. This is CLEARLY something that applies to the Witcher 3 and not to Bloodborne.

 

[MegaSackman]

Bloodborne isn't big outside of Era, I doubt it'll be a GOTG contender in the media or among casuals which is what the thread is about.

Click to shrink...

It'd probably be Easy Allies gotg.

 

[Mikebison]

This statement is pure fantasy. Most reviews will refer to the Witcher 3 when it comes to open world games. I barely see ANY mentions of Bloodborne in reviews.

For some reasons Bloodborne seems to be one of ERA's favorite game. I give you that. But - very respectfully - ERA is not the whole videogames community. Let's try to see big picture here, let's step back and see this discussion for the community as a whole, for the industry as a whole.

So when we're talking about the Game of the Generation, we're talking about a game that is not only excellent in design or execution, but a game that brought innovation or even revolution into gaming... Think Mario 64, think Resident Evil 4, think Dark Souls. To put it simply a Game of a Generation should be seen as a game where there was a BEFORE and an AFTER that game. This is CLEARLY something that applies to the Witcher 3 and not to Bloodborne.

Click to shrink...

Clearly does apply to Bloodborne fam.

 

[Lukas Taves]

RDR2 already released and trounced everything else, even the almighty W3

 

[Jaxar]

RDR2 will definitely have bigger long-term impact and is the game of the generation.

Click to shrink...

God no...

I honestly feel a few years from now (maybe even less), gamers will look back on RDR2 a lot less kindly, just as they did with GTA IV.

 

[Fina1e]

So when we're talking about the Game of the Generation, we're talking about a game that is not only excellent in design or execution, but a game that brought innovation or even revolution into gaming

Click to shrink...

Let me know when the Witcher 3 achieves either of these things.

 

[Artdayne]

Clearly does apply to Bloodborne fam.

Click to shrink...

I could see your point if you were talking about Demon's Souls or perhaps Dark Souls.