Xbox Console Exclusive Wins BAFTA 'Best Game' Award, Beating Elden Ring And God Of War

Was hoping for it to be Immortality honestly.

Baffling to me. VS is not my cup of tea so I guess I just don’t get it

I've completely finished VS, and it's a great game. Not sure I see it in the same league is GoW or Elden Ring though 🤔

Stray was a real good game and Elden Ring would have been my pick. Didn't really care for GOW Ragnarok. I can recognize that it was a very well done game and I can definitely see why it could be considered as GOTY, but just didn't do it for me. Haven't played Vampire Survivors. Should give it a try.

Don't understand the buzz for this game, I will have to try it I guess.

I've tried this on my mobile and I didn't really enjoy it, although that's nothing to do with the game and more about me hating touch controls with a passion. I could see it being really fun being played with a controller.

My friend gifted me the early access of this game on Steam last April. Even in early access I knew this was a strong GOTY contender. Everyone else just thought I was out of my mind.

This is very well deserved. The other games may be epics but this game is the most addictive game I have played in years. And that’s the point of video games, to play, over and over again, and enjoy. Very happy for these guys.

@munstahunta same here. I played it for a few hours, but just don’t get all the buzz for it. Cult of the lamb was way better.

I was one of those who said it doesn't look like my type of game ....I was sooooo wrong , it's addictive and I had to get the 100% and get the dlc
I sit patiently and wait for more dlc for the game like a crack head waiting for their dealer to supply Thier next fix lol

Honestly if you haven't given it a go it's well worth it

I have played through VS and really enjoyed it. But ahead of Elden Ring and GoW? Not in my books.

VS was designed really well. But there is next to zero story telling, the controls are average, the sound is average, and the graphics are very limited. VS is also very addicting once you understand the game, but addicting and great level design doesn't warrant best game.

i dont think it was as good as other indies like tunic/ cult of lambs.
was fun for 2days, then you realise you are just holding one analogue stick. then stand still for 20mins. not actually playing.

regardless of my opinion, congrats

It's only a timed exclusive so it will be coming to playstation 5 eventually and apparently even the Vita, so maybe then some playstation players can stop crapping on it.

Whilst I admit its not my type of game due to its retro design thats not a good enough reason to dismiss it as rubbish, there's a reason it's got a 95 on metacritic.

So well done to the team behind it, I bet they are well chuffed.

I love vampire survivors as much as the next person but better than Elden Ring?!? What on earth are the metrics for winning this award?

Kind of funny just seeing this beat the triple A contenders. Fair play to them, VS is massive.

How was Stray in there? It was one of the biggest disappointments for me of the year. Cute cats go a long way to getting you nominations I guess.

Crazy award imo. To suggest that the intricacies of game design involved VS was better than that of Elden Ring would suggest that the Baftas are judged by those who know very little about what it takes to bring a game to market.
Love VS, but this award just means I have no respect for Baftas and will take little notice of them now.

Giving VS goty award of any sort always sounds like a completely mad decision, in the worst sense.

Some really salty people in here lmao.

@Jenkinss They’re just mad their AAA schlock didn’t win for once.

Firstly well done to the team for the award.
Wouldn’t have been my pick, but I’m not in charge 😂

@munstahunta I don't think it sinks in until you get a longer run, say approaching 20 minutes. Then you start to think about your upgrades and strategize a little more. When you get close to 30 minutes or reach it feels good.

The recognition has to do with doing so much with so little. The game is simple (from a technological standpoint) and a lot of fun. VS is no looker, so people are certainly not enamored with the graphics.

Wow I wasn’t expecting that. Vampire Survivors didn’t look too appealing to me, guess I’m going to have to try the game out now.

I really loved tunic and i really loved elden ring

@munstahunta it several attempts to really "get" it, I stopped playing when it first came out.

Then it clicked with me and it's one of the most addicting games.

It should NOT have won.

It's a glorified idle clicker. As soon as you figure it out, which takes only a handful of runs, you will never die. Then you can afk every run after the 12 minute mark. He used to design mobile slot machine games, flashy, addictive, no substance.

VS has no story AND no gameplay. Pentiment, Immortality, and Tunic were light years ahead of this game.

@Kaloudz
Not sure a BAFTA thing 😂

@AverageJoseph

Then you can afk every run after the 12 minute mark.

If you don't want to do any of the challenges and therefore never actually progress through the game, yea you can go afk.

@Tharsman most of the challenges are just to get to a certain level on each character, or survive X minutes on Y level, or evolve each item though right? I got all the achievements in the first few days after it joined gamepass and I literally fell asleep during one run and didn't die.

@Kaloudz
Never played it so can’t comment on that one.
Waiting for Redfall & TOTK.

@AverageJoseph there is quite a lot of variation, including leveling specific weapons to specific levels and, the hardest (and technically the end game) killing death itself (the same death that comes and one-hit-kills you.)

It can take over a 100 hours, for some over 200, to "finish" the game.

@Tharsman Once the chosen gear is fully upgraded, usually around the 12-15 minute mark, you can turn on auto upgrades and just sit there while enemies die on your auto cast aoe. There is zero gameplay beyond which upgrade path to pursue, and after you figure it out, those choices will rarely vary. Book, garlic, and santa water were all you ever really needed, so there were several meaningless filler slots that could be chosen to fulfill the upgrade challenges. Then you just pick a new character and repeat.

I finished the game, I unlocked everything on the in game check list, killed all the bosses, unlocked all the characters and items. I checked my achievements, 140 for 1200 gs which was 100% before the dlc, the first earned on Nov 9th the last on Nov 16th. I have 38 hrs played. But time investment is not really relevant to me when thinking about goty. VS held my interest for 2-3 hours until failure stopped being a threat, and then I just completed it for easy achievements.

Its main strength is an addictive progression system, similar to many mobile games, but it makes no attempt at innovative gameplay or story telling. I ended up listening to my own music or podcasts while playing. Many of the art assets and even the items' functions are just copied from Castlevania. I would consider all of these to be areas that should count against it when you look at what games like Elden Ring, Immortality, Pentiment, and Tunic were doing in the same year.

@FatalBubbles i’m exactly the same. I tried it once, had bout 5 goes. It was ok, i guess, i’ll 💯 never play it again.

@UltimateOtaku91 lol, Vita will run the 2022 goty.... Vita vitae!

@Fenbops kitteh haz noms?

Vampire Survivors is digital crack. It should be rubbish but it's brilliant.

More importantly it's fun. A key element to games that seems to be mostly forgotten.

Well done to that team! A worthy winner, I haven't played it much but with its simple gameplay I can see why so many love it. It's actually fun rather than trying to tell you 'the message' or some deep story. The Cult Of The Lamb is also very good.

@Fenbops Well people still make cat videos right? I agree though why was Stray in the list.

@Romans12 you have to try it. I posted on here about a month ago about how I was curious and wanted to try it … someone messaged me and told me to give it a go it was awesome so I did and put about 26hrs into it and have 100 precented it now. So if your interested I’d totally recommend checking it out

@AverageJoseph totally agree, the addictive loop and curiosity of how to evolve weapons that first time you see them. For the price and type of game it is, it’s good. Not really in the same league as Elden Ring in my opinion but they’re both great games in their own ways

I hate rogue games with a passion so VS is just not for me, at the same time I also hate the punishing concpet of Soul games but Elden Ring is one of my favorite games of all my 45 years of living and gaming so just for that it’s by far my GOTY 2022.

@LordFunkalot definitely, I have no problem with the game just has no business as goty imo, for $5 it's pretty good for sure. Compared to the $70 I spent on Hogwarts. The castle was so so perfect, and Hogsmeade was great and then after a few hours it just felt desolate, a huge open world filled with menial tasks, no immersion, no impactful choices

@Kaloudz
Tears of the Kingdom
Breath of the wild 2

@AverageJoseph I know what you mean re Hogwarts, playing through it at the moment. It does feel like a bit of a slog in the second half. (what I’m hoping is now the second half)

@LordFunkalot if I could do it over I would just focus on the story missions, the main story is pretty well done. I felt like I needed to clear the map and it ended up being unsatisfying. Lesson learned.

Definitely, feels way too much busy work. I am enjoying it but some of the tasks and side missions are a bit eye rolling. So many Merlin trials …

Can't believe it beat out the game about a dad realizing his child is growing up too fast and becoming hard to connect with, developed and played mostly by dads who should be spending more time with their children!

I cannot understand the love for VS. Played it tonight to see what the hype was about and thought it was awful. Looked and played like something that might have been released on the Atari ST or Amiga. How on earth it won this award I do not know.

It’s not Sony who wins. Oh hell. Blasphemy!,

@LordFunkalot "These Merlin trials won't get the best of me" yeah because they're insultingly easy. Merlin had SUPER low standards apparently. The ones where you have to jump on 4 platforms without touching the ground, you can just fly from one to the next on your broom lmao

Again though, decent game, just not goty, and many people crowned Hogwarts immediately

@Kaloudz
Have played probably nearly all the Zelda games.
Took me a couple of attempts to get into BOTW but once my brain clicked and also got used to the change, I would see it as one of the best games I’ve ever played overall.

VS is a cracking little title. I also play it on my iPhone.

It’s 100% a proper game. No issues there.

Not even close to my game of the year. But they deserve the coverage and Income that will follow no issues from me. Awards are just commercial nonsense…. So win lose or draw I don’t pay much attention. It’ll be a real boost for these guys though and that is well deserved.

@Chaotic_Goat that is how you should post a reply on here. Good stuff. No hate, just saying what you feel and displaying a love for games. I have my day one copy of Elden rings still sealed. I’m scared of it.

I must get to it. Could have saved myself a few quid!

My game of the year is “world of outlaws” so what do I know about gaming. You just turn left a lot.

Something I learnt in this thread is some people play games they don’t like for achievements and spend “38 hours” doing so.

Wow. Life is too short to spend 38 hours on a game you don’t like and just so you have a few more numbers next to your name on one online service

Lol

@Stocksy if you love open worlds and exploring everything then go ahead you will love Elden Ring because the world is amazing and the exploration will make you over leveled for most bosses. Optional bosses are something else though. But there is one thing that made the experience so much more enjoyable, an interactive map. I like knowing where to go and not having my time wasted. I finished it 3 times. It’s an imperfect masterpiece

This just proves what a joke Bafta is, trash game of the year. It just felt like a bad xbla game from 2006.

@Sebatrox says the one who watched the youtube walkthrough, no shame in it though just don't be salty

I have enjoyed VS....but it's an over glorified mobile/web game.

It's "addictive" for sure...."Number go up" then you get some dopamine.

It's why so many mobile games can make gangbusters on microtransactions. VS just removed that shady side of those kind of games.

The Cookie Clicker of console games.

There's many more Indie games that released this year that are less shallow.

@Sebatrox saying a game is boring without playing it is pathetic, hope it helps you cope

@Sebatrox as i said hope the copium helps (and those comments are from guys like you )

@Sebatrox ah the classic souls born fanboys (btw iam one too) both masterpieces and by no means this helps your argument lol

@Sebatrox copium keeps humans alive

@PsBoxSwitchOwner @AverageJoseph

Exactly my thoughts. It's just a minimal step above a clicker/idle-type game and to call that good gameplay or a well designend game is just ridiculous to me. It can be addictive, I give it that. But that's all these types of games have going for them.

And comparing that (let's stay just in the indie/nominees space), to Tunic, which has amazing, brilliant design that comes around maybe every 5-10 years, is absolutely insane.

But maybe that's just a sign of the times. With all those minimal attention span and instant gratification media on the rise (TikTok, Instagram, Clicker/Idle games being massively popular etc.), and honestly, that's a very concerning development.