Isn't Path of Exile made by Australians? Or maybe they're from New Zealand, in any case that has to be the biggest and most popular game produced there
New Zealand yea. Other notable Kiwi games are Bloons (yes, the monkey popping balloons flash game series) DayZ and Tales from the Shire, which came out this year
It's because the big two publishers from the US refuse to take any risks. Sony and Microsoft games are made by committee with checklists to appeal to the widest possible audience and generate revenue. Just look at the drastic drop in writing quality from Spider-Man 1 to 2, God of War to Ragnarok, etc.
The writing in SM2 was absolutely atrocious, especially when directly compared to the first game. All the characters were pretty much lobotomized in terms of personality.
As for Ragnarok, the titular portion of the game was a minor scuffle at best and obviously rushed, and often it undercuts serious moments with MCU-level jokes. It's tonally not at all what it was set-up to be in 2018's entry.
i see your opinion and i disagree, especially with Ragnarok which was a beautiful conclusion of Kratos' journey from a rageful man who inspires fear to a wiser man who inspires hope
I'm so much more hyped for The Witcher 4 than GTA VI. I'm single-player only, so I don't care about GTA online, and the main story in these games are always just serviceable. I do appreciate the attention to detail in these games, that you can just fuck around doing stupid stuff. But in the end it's like a really good fast-food.
The story of The Witcher 3 and Hearts of Stone especially, will stay with me forever.
Edit: And of course Control 2 is set to launch in 2026. Remedy is the studio I blindly trust at this point. Their games are probably the most insane single-player experiences in gaming today.
Dont know of I agree that it is all thanks to CDPR... Dice has been an engine of Swedish game industry for decades by giving people work experiencethat they then use to create hundreds of indie Studios with. Along with game development focused education there are so many talanted people that learn how to create their ideas.
From Minecraft and Battlefield to Amnesia/Soma, Totally Accurate Battlegrounds and Hotline Miami to R.E.P.O, PEAK and RV there, yet just to mention a very select few, video games has been a huge swedish success and export for decades.
Because Paradox has had a fairly rough year even with EU5 releasing. The two DLC for Hearts of Iron 4 that released this year were disasters and the update intended to fix the lag in Stellaris made the game actually lag more and it still has lag issues months later. Parts of Stellaris were outright unplayable and Paradox was still releasing DLC for the game Cities Skylines 2 also got taken away from Colossal Order and Bloodlines 2 flopped
EU5 release was also rushed, with way too many bugs on release and features that EU4 had but EU5 doesn't, even simple things like having a sub-title on steam's friends list " rulling x as king y ".
Still, the game is unparalleled and I'm sure with the polish of the next years it will be the king of the genre as its predecessor was.
I didn't at all mean to imply it "was all thanks to CDPR," just that ten years ago another prominent European dev had a GOTY level, iconic open world RPG that is personally special/important to me.
The association is due to their similar genres and level of mainstream breakthrough, hype, etc.
The US only makes big blockbuster franchise sequels that try to wrestle every last cent from their audiences now. Your Robloxes, Fortnites and Call of Duty's basically.
E33 for sure was my game of the year but it is a shame only one game gets celebrated at these events since 2025 was, in my opinion, one of the best years in gaming ever together with 2023.
I just started kcd1 one and despite the eurojank of it I am having a blast
I think they just need to give several awards for the same category.
The division by year is totally arbitrary, you could ship a game 1 month later or earlier and another gem gets it, I think it's absurd.
If a game is excellent in a way, it should be awarded for it.
I know I'm idealistic but I'm always so frustrated for devs that do absolutely incredible work but get shadowed because of bad timing or luck.
In France we also have a meme with Orson Wells : https://youtu.be/oE76tYhHcWM?si=EoLNYckswt2Njo9v
He said :
"Hello. It's me Orson Wells. This is my house that you can see behind me. Not bad, it's french. I allow myself to interrupt this movie, because nobody cares about me. This is theft and plagiarism. I don't like thief and son of a bitch."
The fact that an RPG is the game of the year make them not robbing anyone to be the best rpg of the year too. It's logical. Sure you can think that, the same way you can think the earth is flat too I guess.
2025 : E33 is GOTY, E33 is a RPG, E33 won best RPG
2024 : Astrobot won goty, Astrobot won best action game
Previously it was the same for BG3, ER, It takes 2, Sekiro, GoW etc
We can agree or disagree on exactly whether RPG in video games should have the same meaning as pen and paper RPG, but it certainly counts as a video game RPG.
I mean in your opinion. It was never going to win. First off its a sequel (off a game that while good still has massive issues) second off some fans have been disappointed by the dlc. And the combat isn't intuitive for the average player and the setting isn't massively relatable for people who don't enjoy history.
These aren't complaints. In many ways I think it makes it a better game. But cmon you knew it wasn't going to win.
>And the combat isn't intuitive for the average player and the setting isn't massively relatable for people who don't enjoy history
So what? I don't like FPS games, but if one that was truly great released I wouldn't disparage it from winning awards for its genre on the basis that I'm no good at it and don't find the premise appealing
I literally said it made the game better for me but it could be better? Selective reading and being upset just makes you seem like a dork. Or on the spectrum.
i mean yes obviously e33 was gonna win goty. my point is that the best rpg award should've gone to it because it's better at the rpg elements than any other nominee for that category
I mean, obviously being difficult doesn't make a game bad, but if you are going to vote to express your opinion then saying "I did not have fun with this game because it was too difficult and/or unwieldy" is a perfectly valid take, no matter how many "game journos suck at games" memes you make.
I haven't played this series in particular, just speaking in general.
You are right about bg3 being 2 years old, I guess I don’t understand the voting rules then. I picked up bg3 oven KCD2 when they were both on sale with a discount and decided to give KCD2 my vote, but still…it did not appear in the rpg listing for me. Which is why I did not vote at all.
They even added one black character with a sidestory about racism just to shut those guys up. The sidestory and message was good but the reason why they added it sucks.
I always wonder if they truly are that stupid or if they are just huge trolls.
Back in the day Brabant was considered French, but nowadays it is Belgian territory (his "last name" is the region he's from) so don't drag Larian into this! 😛
Honest question, do these awards really matter to consumers? I've always thought that it mostly matters to the devs, so they feel a little bit more rewarded for their hard work.
I can't say that I've ever bought/not bought some game based on the amount of awards it has won, neither am I aware of who has what awards or which awards even exist.
It's great for marketing and to prove you (as a studio and/or developer) achived something. Just being nominated is great marketing tool, just look how many games are released yearly and how many spots you have on TGA
Well actually, I watched some of it and then switched to a couple of people taking over most of the non trailer stuff whose opinions I mostly share which successfully muted the hosts and the cringeworthy nonsense
Expedition 33 took the top of the "best seller" category on steam since they won the GOTY award. So yeah there are real consequences to them. Also it's a show that is seen by over 140m person. The stakes are high.
Imo, RPG of the year should have been Kingdom Come, hands down. 33 Is a phenomenal game and deserves every Award it got, but not that one.
Its hardly an RPG in the first place, save maybe for some Gameplay elements (which do NOT define an RPG for me). KCD2 on the other hand really immerses you into medieval bohemia in a way I never experienced before. Gives you choices that make you define your Henry. You know, the ROLE-PLAYING in RPG.
Is 33 the better overall game to KCD? There is controversy online on this subject, which is a testament in on itself that its close. In my opinion as someone who played and enjoyed both, I will say yes. But better RPG? HELL NO.
And I am not here to argue that. However, the roleplay aspect, for me personally, is a core aspect of RPGs.
So, if I am asked which game is the better game and which game is the better RPG, my answer may vary, based on my ability to roleplay in both games. In this case, KCD has more fleshed out roleplay mechanics and is thus the better roleplaying game.
And, of course, this is but my personal opinion on the matter.
The RPG aspect of E33 wasn't that great though. If you'd rip the skin of with the incredible theme and storytelling, the core gameplay loop is fun, but nothing that would sweep award shows. In that aspect KCD2 far outdid everything else where both the gameplay mechanics and actual role playing aspect are far superior.
In strange terms I think E33 loses most of what makes it amazing if it'd look like FF6, but KCD2 would still be enjoyable if it'd look like Daggerfall.
It's more that KCD2 fits pretty neatly into the immersive-sim subgenre of RPGs. E33 is a RPG, but more like the classic JRPGs. KCD has more in common with games like Deus Ex.
Many people vote the games they played. It is less common that people played both games and were able to really compare. I never voted for E33 because I simply didn't play it yet and voted on other games instead.
I should clarify. I am specifically refering to my opinion as to what an RPG is and what isnt. And what makes an RPG. And in that sense, I tend to be quite literal. In Role Playing games, I play a role. I define that role, to a degree.
You are correct: JRPGs tend to not check those boxes, yet they are referred to as RPGs, which primarily has historical reasons (the term RPG in on itself stems from tabletop roleplaying games, which in some twists and turns lead to JRPGs, the name simply stuck). And again, i want to stress this, in MY opinion, this makes them less role-play-ey than games like KCD.
In 33 I do not play a role. I experience the phenomenal story of the characters on screen. As is the case in games like Xenoblade Chronicles. Which is great. But it simply isn't an RPG in my book. I am aware of differing definitions of the name, I simply do not agree personally.
This is like those people that say "super smash Brothers is not a fighting game it's a party game" (it just so happens to be played at the biggest fighting game tournament in the world because everyone in the whole wide world is dumb except me)
I... what? I simply state the opinion that the Genre of RPGs is way too broadly defined. I am, as I said, well aware of the fact that going by the established definition, yes, E33 is a RPG.
My point is that it shouldn't be, since it doesn't really involve any kind of role playing from the player's side. Since, that is kind of in the name of the Genre. Again, I know that this is not the case right now and probably never will.
Just my little pet-peeve that I have regarding the RPG Genre. Certainly nothing I have strong feelings over and especially nothing I would regard anyone else "dumb except me".
Yup, not to take anything away from E33, it's clearly a generational game from the response to it, but for me choosing the best RPG is as simple as:
Was I more immersed in the role of being a medieval peasant, or an expeditioner.
I felt like a medieval peasant in KCD2, I did not feel like I was an expeditioner in E33, it felt like I was controlling expeditioners. Sort of like how for example I'd never say I was 'immersed' as Franklin in GTA the same way I was in KCD, Witcher, Cyberpunk etc. Doesn't mean the game isn't great, just isn't the same kind of immersion.
The part about TGA that bothered me the most this year was honestly the "Best Performance" category.
Afaik this was the first year EVER that more than one performer from the same game was considered, and E33 didn't have two, but three nominees in this category!
I am not at all disappointed that Jennifer English won, but having half of one category being taken up by one game is just blatant favouritism. Especially as Charlie Cox himself has said he only worked on the game for one day!
The nominations in that category were all messed up. The Charlie Cox nom was blatant starfucking. Awards ceremonies focusing on who looks good in the audience and will hype up your VIP section at the after-party (for the 15 minutes he gets strong-armed into showing up).
They also pretty nakedly nominated the native anglophone VA cast over those giving the most consistent performances.
They were robbed in the rpg category. I loved both games, but you must be insane if you think, as far as the role playing experience, Kcd2 wasn't the best on the list.
I legit don’t understand how CO33 won all of it. I honestly think other games where in some aspects way better than CO33 but well I guess the hype is still strong!
Wow I already see your post downvoted for such a tame take.. E33 are as militant as BG3s hypers were and god forbid you didn’t think Witcher 3 was the best game ever made between 2015 until Elden Ring released…
Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Arcanum, Bloodlines, Morrowind, Gothic, Deus Ex, etc.
Before you're also going to point out "Those are CRPGs, E33 is a JRPG": If there's so big differences between CRPGs and JRPGs, maybe they shouldn't be considered the same genre?
Games which deliver on the Core Aesthetics of Fantasy and Expression through allowing you to "Play" a "Role".
If it does not allow you immerse yourself in pretending to be someone else, it is not an RPG.
If it does not allow you to express yourself through how you pretend to be someone else, it is not an RPG.
If you do not "Play" a "Role", it is not an RPG.
What role do you play in E33? Not which story you experience, or what characters do you encounter. What Role do you Play?
Art direction isn't about what engine you use? The design of the Gestrals and Nevrons, how the Mansion looks, how the flowers are used and what their colours represent, the image of the Paintress changing the number on the Monolith.
"Art Direction" is about the quality of the concept art that makes it ingame.
It's like they knew their theme was post apocalyptic (yes I know the twist) and then just mashed together a bunch of post-apocalypse objects and patterns.
Each area has a general theme that hints at what happened here in general but the surroundings rarely felt like they gave any examples to actually make it feel immersive, what specifically may have been in this exact spot before, what were the people that were here doing when it was thriving, what was this place known for, any stories lost to time that didn't have anything to do with the expeditions.
The art style doesn't do much to convince me that this used to be a thriving world that was destroyed by the painted lady and the nevrons other than having broken buildings, the Eiffel tower and some rusting Ferris wheels.
Even knowing the twist it doesn't improve my impression of the art direction, especially when you play most of the game without knowing about it and the art direction wasn't used to drop any bread crumbs about it. It just has good graphics imo.
E33 deserves awards. But not indie and rpg. 7 awards would have still been record equalling (is e33 the best game in game awards history? I would say no, so doesn’t deserve the record, but neither is TLOU2)
Only Player's Choice is 100% voted on by the public, for every other category around only 10% of the vote by the public is considered.
Professional game journalists voted like this - people who by all means TALK to each other and consider their decision carefully. But maybe not, in this instance. 🫤
And player's choice is ruined by gacha addicts voting for their dealer to get rewarded with free pulls, which is why you can't rely on popular vote for every category.
In this case nothing, I just found out Steam has its own Steam awards (similar timeline) and its player vote as opposed to media jury votes in Game awards (Which now I kind of despise but that doesnt matter)
Without having played it, i think E33, despite it probably being pretty damn great in itself, has the advantage of character aesthetics that slightly tips the scale here. Id bet hard money an E33 with less fuckable/less jrpg-perfect looking characters (while not being too cartooney) wouldnt have sweeped as much as it has.
Its a massive psychological influence in other media (awards), so why wouldnt it be a factor in gaming (awards)? KCD2 also looks great, but its more realistic aesthetic means Henry and all the others look like real humans.
E33 is way more approachable than KCD2 but imo the latter is much better as a game.
Story will be in the eye of the beholder but E33 certainly tries harder for emotional reactions while KCD2 gives freedom
it was definitely a good year for european game studios
Most good games come from eu nowadays, didn't realise it until recently!
And Australia.
Which games? Honest question, I just don't know
Hollow Knight, Untitled Goose game, The Plucky Squire, Fruit Ninja, Cult of the Lamb and LA Noire are the most notable I think
Thanks, didn't know any of them were Australian!
And Schedule 1!
Isn't Path of Exile made by Australians? Or maybe they're from New Zealand, in any case that has to be the biggest and most popular game produced there
Path of Exile is Kiwi.
New Zealand yea. Other notable Kiwi games are Bloons (yes, the monkey popping balloons flash game series) DayZ and Tales from the Shire, which came out this year
Silksong
And New Zealand
It's because the big two publishers from the US refuse to take any risks. Sony and Microsoft games are made by committee with checklists to appeal to the widest possible audience and generate revenue. Just look at the drastic drop in writing quality from Spider-Man 1 to 2, God of War to Ragnarok, etc.
what? Ragnarok was excellent, Spider-Man 2 wasn't as good as the first game but it was by no means a "drastic drop" imo
The writing in SM2 was absolutely atrocious, especially when directly compared to the first game. All the characters were pretty much lobotomized in terms of personality.
As for Ragnarok, the titular portion of the game was a minor scuffle at best and obviously rushed, and often it undercuts serious moments with MCU-level jokes. It's tonally not at all what it was set-up to be in 2018's entry.
i see your opinion and i disagree, especially with Ragnarok which was a beautiful conclusion of Kratos' journey from a rageful man who inspires fear to a wiser man who inspires hope
And Canada are good at horror/extreme violent games.
Like hockey?
No, like curling
Shudders
And Japan
No wonder the birthrates are so low, the world appreciates EU's sacrifice for prime leisure
It's been quite a few great years for European game studios, and next year has GTA VI, headed by Rockstar North in Scotland.
And a decade ago it was CDPR leading the way with The Witcher 3, still one of the greatest open world RPG’s ever made. It holds up so well.
Incredible IP, incredible game from a kickass studio. Warhorse is in good company and European devs are on fire right now.
I'm so much more hyped for The Witcher 4 than GTA VI. I'm single-player only, so I don't care about GTA online, and the main story in these games are always just serviceable. I do appreciate the attention to detail in these games, that you can just fuck around doing stupid stuff. But in the end it's like a really good fast-food.
The story of The Witcher 3 and Hearts of Stone especially, will stay with me forever.
Edit: And of course Control 2 is set to launch in 2026. Remedy is the studio I blindly trust at this point. Their games are probably the most insane single-player experiences in gaming today.
I would sacrifice my first born child to remedy 💞
I'm afraid Witcher 4 is going to be trendy and soulless, closer to Cyberpunk 2077 than to Witcher 3
This is bait
Why? It's been 12 years since V. This was the second most sold game of all time and the entire series is a cultural phenomenon.
Dont know of I agree that it is all thanks to CDPR... Dice has been an engine of Swedish game industry for decades by giving people work experiencethat they then use to create hundreds of indie Studios with. Along with game development focused education there are so many talanted people that learn how to create their ideas.
From Minecraft and Battlefield to Amnesia/Soma, Totally Accurate Battlegrounds and Hotline Miami to R.E.P.O, PEAK and RV there, yet just to mention a very select few, video games has been a huge swedish success and export for decades.
To add a few more, Satisfactory that won a golden joystick award for best PC game last year, Deeprock Galactic, Valheim.
The anno guys are german aswell, arent they?
Rock and stone to the bone!
For Rock and Stone!
And an endless amount of AAA titles
Paradox is also Swedish and they dominate the Grand Strategy genre.
How are you leaving out Paradox? The Grand Strategy genre is basically completely cornered by them!
Because Paradox has had a fairly rough year even with EU5 releasing. The two DLC for Hearts of Iron 4 that released this year were disasters and the update intended to fix the lag in Stellaris made the game actually lag more and it still has lag issues months later. Parts of Stellaris were outright unplayable and Paradox was still releasing DLC for the game Cities Skylines 2 also got taken away from Colossal Order and Bloodlines 2 flopped
EU5 release was also rushed, with way too many bugs on release and features that EU4 had but EU5 doesn't, even simple things like having a sub-title on steam's friends list " rulling x as king y ".
Still, the game is unparalleled and I'm sure with the polish of the next years it will be the king of the genre as its predecessor was.
because paradox as a publisher is trash and should be killed
Very clearly talking about the developer.
I didn't at all mean to imply it "was all thanks to CDPR," just that ten years ago another prominent European dev had a GOTY level, iconic open world RPG that is personally special/important to me.
The association is due to their similar genres and level of mainstream breakthrough, hype, etc.
The US only makes big blockbuster franchise sequels that try to wrestle every last cent from their audiences now. Your Robloxes, Fortnites and Call of Duty's basically.
It truly is a capitalist hellscape over there
Im surprised theres no BREAKING in the title...
"KCD2 Devs SLAM the French"
Ahem...
BREAKING: KCD2 Devs SLAM the French
Czech Republic provokes THIS European nation
Game studio DECLARES WAR of popularity on France
Next thread: The French CLAP BACK
We have the vegan wolf, so immunity !
They broke their bait.
"Blame the french" is a joke and option from the KCD2 ( where you get betrayed by french )
And in KCD1 when you're trying to get Hans laid.
The joke's from KCD1, actually.
And accurate English statement in use for hundreds of years! And vica versa for France!
Thanks for the spoiler I just downloaded the game
It's not a spoiler really, you should never trust the french in the first place
Both games are currently available at a discount on GOG (and other stores)
So 3€ is the markup for winning GOTY
And both games are phenomenal!
Sigismund and his cronies were clearly bribing the officials.
E33 for sure was my game of the year but it is a shame only one game gets celebrated at these events since 2025 was, in my opinion, one of the best years in gaming ever together with 2023.
I just started kcd1 one and despite the eurojank of it I am having a blast
Think they need a limit to how many categories you can be nominated at
I think they just need to give several awards for the same category. The division by year is totally arbitrary, you could ship a game 1 month later or earlier and another gem gets it, I think it's absurd. If a game is excellent in a way, it should be awarded for it.
I know I'm idealistic but I'm always so frustrated for devs that do absolutely incredible work but get shadowed because of bad timing or luck.
KCD2 is much superior to 1 and forme at least better than E33…
MWWAAAHHH the French ... video games.
in case someone doesn't get this excellent joke
In France we also have a meme with Orson Wells : https://youtu.be/oE76tYhHcWM?si=EoLNYckswt2Njo9v He said : "Hello. It's me Orson Wells. This is my house that you can see behind me. Not bad, it's french. I allow myself to interrupt this movie, because nobody cares about me. This is theft and plagiarism. I don't like thief and son of a bitch."
Thank you for showing that. 🤣
KCD2 won for me in every single one of them. Warhorse secured themselves a legacy.
it highkey got so robbed of best rpg
GOTY ALWAYS won in his category, nothing crazy about it....
it may not be crazy but i can still think it got robbed LOL
The fact that an RPG is the game of the year make them not robbing anyone to be the best rpg of the year too. It's logical. Sure you can think that, the same way you can think the earth is flat too I guess.
2025 : E33 is GOTY, E33 is a RPG, E33 won best RPG
2024 : Astrobot won goty, Astrobot won best action game
Previously it was the same for BG3, ER, It takes 2, Sekiro, GoW etc
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A JRPG surely has got to be a RPG.
We can agree or disagree on exactly whether RPG in video games should have the same meaning as pen and paper RPG, but it certainly counts as a video game RPG.
So Final Fantasy games are not RPGs?
[deleted]
LOL ok mate.
I mean in your opinion. It was never going to win. First off its a sequel (off a game that while good still has massive issues) second off some fans have been disappointed by the dlc. And the combat isn't intuitive for the average player and the setting isn't massively relatable for people who don't enjoy history.
These aren't complaints. In many ways I think it makes it a better game. But cmon you knew it wasn't going to win.
>And the combat isn't intuitive for the average player and the setting isn't massively relatable for people who don't enjoy history
So what? I don't like FPS games, but if one that was truly great released I wouldn't disparage it from winning awards for its genre on the basis that I'm no good at it and don't find the premise appealing
I literally said it made the game better for me but it could be better? Selective reading and being upset just makes you seem like a dork. Or on the spectrum.
i mean yes obviously e33 was gonna win goty. my point is that the best rpg award should've gone to it because it's better at the rpg elements than any other nominee for that category
So basically journalists got noob filtered, skill issue, mad at game, didnt vote for it.
I mean, obviously being difficult doesn't make a game bad, but if you are going to vote to express your opinion then saying "I did not have fun with this game because it was too difficult and/or unwieldy" is a perfectly valid take, no matter how many "game journos suck at games" memes you make.
I haven't played this series in particular, just speaking in general.
Not sure having to play another 100 hour rpg is noon filter but...
Game sucked, had too much content, couldn't be bothered to put 100+hours in. /S
So you would say kingdom come one is a perfect game? You are being disengious
Paid job
All irrelevant. The reason people's vote barely count at all is because irrelevant shit is supposed to be irrelevant.
Even Awoved deserved best RPG ahead of E33 and Monsters hunter Wilds. KCD2 and Outer Worlds 2 are by far the best RPGs nominated
When I visited the voting page, KCD2 was not even listed under the RPG category, neighter was BG3. Seemed very weird to me.
BG3 wasn't new game, so it could only be in one or two categories. Community support(?) and something else.
Kcd2 was listed as RPG this year. I saw it.
BG3 was 2 years ago bruh... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_Awards_2023
You are right about bg3 being 2 years old, I guess I don’t understand the voting rules then. I picked up bg3 oven KCD2 when they were both on sale with a discount and decided to give KCD2 my vote, but still…it did not appear in the rpg listing for me. Which is why I did not vote at all.
Only thorn in their side is their their racist creative director, who cannot shut his mouth on social media even if his life depended on it
You guys are still going on about that? It's about people of colour in the game, isn't it?
The media wet themselves with it. How do you think the population in rural central Europe looked like in the 15th century?
Varva has a sharp tongue, or at least he used to, but he's not a racist ffs
They even added one black character with a sidestory about racism just to shut those guys up. The sidestory and message was good but the reason why they added it sucks.
I always wonder if they truly are that stupid or if they are just huge trolls.
Musa was written so well though, I loved him
No idea
JESUS CHRIST BE PRAISED!
Also Brabrant can go eat a dick.
Back in the day Brabant was considered French, but nowadays it is Belgian territory (his "last name" is the region he's from) so don't drag Larian into this! 😛
North brabant is dutch, south is Belgian :)
If you go to the Brussels city museum, you’ll see that virtually every document pre-1800s was written in Dutch and not French.
My impression is that Brabant should be considered a Flemish state that became French-speaking.
Honest question, do these awards really matter to consumers? I've always thought that it mostly matters to the devs, so they feel a little bit more rewarded for their hard work.
I can't say that I've ever bought/not bought some game based on the amount of awards it has won, neither am I aware of who has what awards or which awards even exist.
Not really to consumers, but for developers and performers it's probably the biggest stage they'll ever get on.
The amount of eyeballs TGA brings is basically why it's considered "The Oscars of Gaming", so it matters a lot for visibility and recognition there.
E33 surged to best selling game on steam if I'm not mistaken. If it's the case it means it matters to everyone.
It's great for marketing and to prove you (as a studio and/or developer) achived something. Just being nominated is great marketing tool, just look how many games are released yearly and how many spots you have on TGA
Of course they are, it's free advertisement.
Doesn’t matter directly, but if you’re supporting devs that excel at their craft I’d argue we as consumers will all be better off
I do think some people will be curious about the winners. It makes headlines outside the bubble.
I watched for the trailers
Well actually, I watched some of it and then switched to a couple of people taking over most of the non trailer stuff whose opinions I mostly share which successfully muted the hosts and the cringeworthy nonsense
And not live obviously
kinda.
if you're shopping for a product, and that product has an award for being the very best, wouldn't that make you think about choosing that one?
Expedition 33 took the top of the "best seller" category on steam since they won the GOTY award. So yeah there are real consequences to them. Also it's a show that is seen by over 140m person. The stakes are high.
Imo, RPG of the year should have been Kingdom Come, hands down. 33 Is a phenomenal game and deserves every Award it got, but not that one.
Its hardly an RPG in the first place, save maybe for some Gameplay elements (which do NOT define an RPG for me). KCD2 on the other hand really immerses you into medieval bohemia in a way I never experienced before. Gives you choices that make you define your Henry. You know, the ROLE-PLAYING in RPG.
Is 33 the better overall game to KCD? There is controversy online on this subject, which is a testament in on itself that its close. In my opinion as someone who played and enjoyed both, I will say yes. But better RPG? HELL NO.
Oh yeah? Well uhhh in the beginning of ex33 you could choose to pick the flower or not. So truely a rpg through and through!
Damn. Well, you got me.
RPGs as a genre are split in 2, you have Japanese RPGs and Western RPGs. Expedition 33 is a JRPG while KCD2 is a western RPG.
JRPGs focus more on playing set characters in a story
WRPGs focus on more the player chosimg the role in the game.
And I am not here to argue that. However, the roleplay aspect, for me personally, is a core aspect of RPGs.
So, if I am asked which game is the better game and which game is the better RPG, my answer may vary, based on my ability to roleplay in both games. In this case, KCD has more fleshed out roleplay mechanics and is thus the better roleplaying game.
And, of course, this is but my personal opinion on the matter.
E33 is a pretty true to the genre roots JRPG which is still an RPG.
The RPG aspect of E33 wasn't that great though. If you'd rip the skin of with the incredible theme and storytelling, the core gameplay loop is fun, but nothing that would sweep award shows. In that aspect KCD2 far outdid everything else where both the gameplay mechanics and actual role playing aspect are far superior.
In strange terms I think E33 loses most of what makes it amazing if it'd look like FF6, but KCD2 would still be enjoyable if it'd look like Daggerfall.
It's more that KCD2 fits pretty neatly into the immersive-sim subgenre of RPGs. E33 is a RPG, but more like the classic JRPGs. KCD has more in common with games like Deus Ex.
Many people vote the games they played. It is less common that people played both games and were able to really compare. I never voted for E33 because I simply didn't play it yet and voted on other games instead.
I should clarify. I am specifically refering to my opinion as to what an RPG is and what isnt. And what makes an RPG. And in that sense, I tend to be quite literal. In Role Playing games, I play a role. I define that role, to a degree.
You are correct: JRPGs tend to not check those boxes, yet they are referred to as RPGs, which primarily has historical reasons (the term RPG in on itself stems from tabletop roleplaying games, which in some twists and turns lead to JRPGs, the name simply stuck). And again, i want to stress this, in MY opinion, this makes them less role-play-ey than games like KCD.
In 33 I do not play a role. I experience the phenomenal story of the characters on screen. As is the case in games like Xenoblade Chronicles. Which is great. But it simply isn't an RPG in my book. I am aware of differing definitions of the name, I simply do not agree personally.
This is like those people that say "super smash Brothers is not a fighting game it's a party game" (it just so happens to be played at the biggest fighting game tournament in the world because everyone in the whole wide world is dumb except me)
I... what? I simply state the opinion that the Genre of RPGs is way too broadly defined. I am, as I said, well aware of the fact that going by the established definition, yes, E33 is a RPG.
My point is that it shouldn't be, since it doesn't really involve any kind of role playing from the player's side. Since, that is kind of in the name of the Genre. Again, I know that this is not the case right now and probably never will.
Just my little pet-peeve that I have regarding the RPG Genre. Certainly nothing I have strong feelings over and especially nothing I would regard anyone else "dumb except me".
Honestly. Not sure why that irritated me so much, just had a rough week and took it out on you. I'm sorry m8
Fair enough. I wish you a more relaxed weekend, for what its worth. :)
Thank you, I appreciate that :')
The categories seem like just suggestions.
2025 game awards, yet they put more than decade old games in the multiplayer category, like there isn't enough multiplayer games released each year.
Yup, not to take anything away from E33, it's clearly a generational game from the response to it, but for me choosing the best RPG is as simple as:
Was I more immersed in the role of being a medieval peasant, or an expeditioner.
I felt like a medieval peasant in KCD2, I did not feel like I was an expeditioner in E33, it felt like I was controlling expeditioners. Sort of like how for example I'd never say I was 'immersed' as Franklin in GTA the same way I was in KCD, Witcher, Cyberpunk etc. Doesn't mean the game isn't great, just isn't the same kind of immersion.
Its like watching a movie, in a sense. Nothing wrong with watching a great movie.
In all honesty best RPG should’ve gone to kcd2
GOTY ALWAYS won in his category.
I really liked KCD1 and loved KCD2 even more. They absolutely deserve at least one award.
As for Vauquelin Brabant, he is an embarrassment. But don’t blame the French for one bad apple.
The part about TGA that bothered me the most this year was honestly the "Best Performance" category.
Afaik this was the first year EVER that more than one performer from the same game was considered, and E33 didn't have two, but three nominees in this category!
I am not at all disappointed that Jennifer English won, but having half of one category being taken up by one game is just blatant favouritism. Especially as Charlie Cox himself has said he only worked on the game for one day!
The nominations in that category were all messed up. The Charlie Cox nom was blatant starfucking. Awards ceremonies focusing on who looks good in the audience and will hype up your VIP section at the after-party (for the 15 minutes he gets strong-armed into showing up).
They also pretty nakedly nominated the native anglophone VA cast over those giving the most consistent performances.
one of the nominees was a Japanese girl from Silent Hill F from her Japanese voive acting
I meant the nominees from E33, I should've been more specific.
They were robbed in the rpg category. I loved both games, but you must be insane if you think, as far as the role playing experience, Kcd2 wasn't the best on the list.
I mean it's fucking funny
Honestly I would've liked to see KCD2 win best RPG. It was the one category I thought it far outstripped E33 in.
I legit don’t understand how CO33 won all of it. I honestly think other games where in some aspects way better than CO33 but well I guess the hype is still strong!
Wow I already see your post downvoted for such a tame take.. E33 are as militant as BG3s hypers were and god forbid you didn’t think Witcher 3 was the best game ever made between 2015 until Elden Ring released…
E33 was fine, but it didn't deserve all those awards. Art direction especially is outrageous
What are you talking about? Art direction is 100% where it deserved the win.
Far more than "Best RPG" when it was not the best at being an RPG.
I saw the list of nominees, and literally every single one of them is better at being an RPG than expedition 33.
Really goes to show that the awards for these things are entirely based on popularity contests, and not an actual analysis of the games.
I'm not sure if MH Wilds is a better RPG than E33. MH is only an RPG by technicality, if anything it's its own sub-genre.
What's an RPG? Like, can you tell me your definition of an RPG?
Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Arcanum, Bloodlines, Morrowind, Gothic, Deus Ex, etc.
Before you're also going to point out "Those are CRPGs, E33 is a JRPG": If there's so big differences between CRPGs and JRPGs, maybe they shouldn't be considered the same genre?
No, I'm gonna point out that I asked you to tell me what makes a game an RPG, not a list of what you consider to be a RPGs.
Games which deliver on the Core Aesthetics of Fantasy and Expression through allowing you to "Play" a "Role".
If it does not allow you immerse yourself in pretending to be someone else, it is not an RPG.
If it does not allow you to express yourself through how you pretend to be someone else, it is not an RPG.
If you do not "Play" a "Role", it is not an RPG.
What role do you play in E33? Not which story you experience, or what characters do you encounter. What Role do you Play?
It looks exactly how you expect an unreal engine game to look like
Art direction isn't about what engine you use? The design of the Gestrals and Nevrons, how the Mansion looks, how the flowers are used and what their colours represent, the image of the Paintress changing the number on the Monolith.
"Art Direction" is about the quality of the concept art that makes it ingame.
I am one of the rare ones that agree.
It's like they knew their theme was post apocalyptic (yes I know the twist) and then just mashed together a bunch of post-apocalypse objects and patterns.
Each area has a general theme that hints at what happened here in general but the surroundings rarely felt like they gave any examples to actually make it feel immersive, what specifically may have been in this exact spot before, what were the people that were here doing when it was thriving, what was this place known for, any stories lost to time that didn't have anything to do with the expeditions.
The art style doesn't do much to convince me that this used to be a thriving world that was destroyed by the painted lady and the nevrons other than having broken buildings, the Eiffel tower and some rusting Ferris wheels.
Even knowing the twist it doesn't improve my impression of the art direction, especially when you play most of the game without knowing about it and the art direction wasn't used to drop any bread crumbs about it. It just has good graphics imo.
art direction and best score were the most predictable wins though.
I mean... They're the fr*nch... We can blame them for everything
I never played Clair but I can't imagine it being as good as KCD 2. Maybe I'll get it on the next summer sale.
It's different, and which one you'll prefer will depend on your own taste.
But it didn't sweep those awards by mistake.
Seems unfair they lost them all.. expedition 33 really falls off towards the end despite such a strong start
E33 deserves awards. But not indie and rpg. 7 awards would have still been record equalling (is e33 the best game in game awards history? I would say no, so doesn’t deserve the record, but neither is TLOU2)
E33 is a RPG, it the whole RPG category wich was the best game ? E33 ( as he won goty too), so nothing crazy that E33 won best RPG...
Meanwhile KCD2 only gets better as it goes along.
Maybe most game journalists didn't get that into it? Would be a shame as it's quite a long game.
Idk man last 15h before the end chapter felt like a massive slog to me. The entire Kuttenberg area was a bit too much imo.
It was so extreme that I'm left thinking they are going to have to change the voting system
Only Player's Choice is 100% voted on by the public, for every other category around only 10% of the vote by the public is considered.
Professional game journalists voted like this - people who by all means TALK to each other and consider their decision carefully. But maybe not, in this instance. 🫤
And player's choice is ruined by gacha addicts voting for their dealer to get rewarded with free pulls, which is why you can't rely on popular vote for every category.
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What does this even mean ?
I just thought Game awards meant more than it has.. I dont have to care then, I guess.
Yeah Valve, where's HL3???
What does Valve have anything to do with it?
In this case nothing, I just found out Steam has its own Steam awards (similar timeline) and its player vote as opposed to media jury votes in Game awards (Which now I kind of despise but that doesnt matter)
Without having played it, i think E33, despite it probably being pretty damn great in itself, has the advantage of character aesthetics that slightly tips the scale here. Id bet hard money an E33 with less fuckable/less jrpg-perfect looking characters (while not being too cartooney) wouldnt have sweeped as much as it has.
Its a massive psychological influence in other media (awards), so why wouldnt it be a factor in gaming (awards)? KCD2 also looks great, but its more realistic aesthetic means Henry and all the others look like real humans.
Stupid sexy french artstyle.
I need to play both games, they’ve been sitting on the backlog shelf
E33 is way more approachable than KCD2 but imo the latter is much better as a game. Story will be in the eye of the beholder but E33 certainly tries harder for emotional reactions while KCD2 gives freedom