In the video game industry, it’s tradition to celebrate the medium by awarding the best titles at the end of each year, with The Game Awards being the most prominent celebration.
Formerly known as the Spike Video Game Awards, this gala has been around since 2003, intending to acknowledge those works that stole the hearts of critics and players alike.
However, our industry strongly connects to subjectivity when evaluating a game, so the winner is not always unanimously cherished.
Instead, there have been cases where some great titles got left behind, and now it’s time to honor them with this list of 10 games that deserved GOTY but lost.
10 Mass Effect 2
Sci-fi Masterpiece
Often called the best of the series, Mass Effect 2 is one of the greatest sci-fi video games of all time, as BioWare created a superb RPG that was phenomenal in every sense.
Launched in 2010, the second adventure of Commander Shepard lost to Rockstar’s sublime Red Dead Redemption, also a great contender that deserved the recognition.
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However, Mass Effect 2 has not only withstood the passage of time, looking as great today as it looked then, but it remains the peak of its franchise.
On the other hand, Red Dead Redemption has aged much more, especially after its sequel was an upgrade in every aspect, making its victory feel, in hindsight, a little unfair. Just a little.
Best Prequel Ever Made
- Released
- November 17, 2004
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes
- How Long To Beat
- 16 Hours
Since the creation of the awards, each main Metal Gear Solid entry has been nominated for Game of the Year, and each one has failed to achieve it, even the mighty Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
For the most part, the gaming community considers the third entry to be the best in the franchise, but even that title didn’t allow them to steal the victory from GTA: San Andreas.
Even 20 years later, Snake Eater is one of the best cinematographic experiences ever crafted, with enthralling stories, deep characters, and excellent narrative.
From its reflections on human identity or war to even its joke endings, it’s a delightful work of art that reminds us how inexplicable it is that Hideo Kojima has never won a GOTY.
8 Metro: Last Light
An Underdog Without Proper Nomination
Despite having three amazing games, the Metro franchise hasn’t gotten the recognition it deserves, as shown by the absence of Metro: Last Light among the nominees for GOTY in 2013.
That year’s conqueror, GTA 5, was a fair choice, but it felt strange that the judges and the players overlooked the immersive masterpiece of 4A Games.
It was a tough competition, but Metro: Last Light’s overall exceptional quality should have earned it a nomination and an honest consideration to be Game of the Year.
7 DOOM Eternal
Perhaps The Best Shooter Of All Time
More than just the righteous best game of 2020, DOOM Eternal is surely the best shooter of the generation and probably the best shooter of all time.
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Move over, Call of Duty.
Though The Game Awards’ jury and public believed that The Last of Us: Part II deserved it more, Naughty Dog’s masterpiece doesn’t play in the same league as the Doom Slayer’s last journey.
It’s not wrongful per se, as every game that lost on this list lost to a very competent game in its own right, but it’s one of those occasions where multiple contenders, including the likes of Hades, felt like a better alternative for the award.
6 Half-Life 2
Gaming Peaked In 2004
If we talk about the best games of all time, there is no debate about the imperative presence of Half-Life 2. It’s hard to imagine another video game with the same revolutionary impact, as Gordon Freeman changed the game for good (twice).
Yet, like Snake Eater, Half-Life 2 succumbed to the also revolutionary open world of San Andreas, a genre that was so fresh and new at the time that anything Rockstar produced seemed to win GOTY at a canter.
It’s certainly odd that such a schism in the industry didn’t win the title of Game of the Year, but I guess it makes sense since, even in 2024, we’re still trying to unravel how ahead of its time Half-Life 2 really was.
5 Deathloop
Underrated Greatness
Arkane Studios shares the same fate as Hideo Kojima: they create some of the most thrilling experiences in their respective genres but fail to win a Game of the Year award.
In the most recent case, Deathloop lost against It Takes Two in 2021, likely because it went low on the players’ radar despite getting the same (if not better) critical praise.
In a year when there wasn’t much to brag about, It Takes Two came up as something special, but Deathloop did, too, just without the credit it deserved. It’s a real shame, considering it’s one of the best shooters on Game Pass.
4 Assassin’s Creed 2
Ezio’s Prime
Whenever people think of what a sequel needs to be perfect, the only thing they have to do to find the answer is to look at Assassin’s Creed 2.
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What Does It Truly Take To Be An Elite Assasin?
After all these years, Ezio’s first appearance is still the most prominent example of a sequel being vastly superior to its predecessor in every single way.
History, characters, narrative, map, exploration, combat, progression, HUD, stealth, lore, secondary content, graphics, themes… You name it. Assassin’s Creed 2 was the peak of the franchise, but that wasn’t enough to beat Uncharted 2.
There’s an argument to be made about Uncharted 2 doing the same as Assassin’s Creed 2. However, the first Assassin’s Creed was more refined than the first Uncharted, so the parallel growth kept both series at the same distance.
3 Dark Souls 3
A Rare Loss For FromSoft
Titanfall 2, Dishonored 2, DOOM, Uncharted 4, INSIDE… There are multiple names to be recalled from one of the best years in gaming, but Dark Souls 3 stands out the most.
Curiously enough, neither of them is the name of that year’s winner: Overwatch. The community remembers 2016 as the most controversial edition of The Game Awards, with many titles forgotten in favor of a multiplayer that no longer exists.
Meanwhile, Dark Souls 3 was the perfect ending for a trilogy that marked the video game as a whole, and it wasn’t even nominated. A great but strange 12 months all around.
2 Dishonored
The Unexpected Stealth King
Dishonored, a worthy candidate for the best game in the history of its genre, lost the 2012 Game of the Year award to The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series.
Besides arguing over which title deserved it more, the truth is that no stealth game has ever won the prize. Many years later, it feels more than ever that Dishonored was the best opportunity for stealth to shine, while now the genre is slowly fading away.
It had everything to win: a great story, magnificent gameplay, beautiful art, and an amazing soundtrack. Arkane Studios developed a phenomenal experience that delighted everyone who tried it, but it wasn’t meant to be.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2
People’s Winner
At this point, you knew it, I knew it, and even my doomed Arthur knew it. When it comes to games that deserved the GOTY award but didn’t get it, there’s no more common answer than Red Dead Redemption 2.
As much as Santa Monica’s effort to revamp God of War is appreciated, especially after Ragnarök improved on the formula, it’s hard to deny how greatly superior Rockstar’s magnum opus is.
While Kratos’ Nordic, emotional, and profound origins are fresh but rough around the edges, Arthur’s journey is the closest we’ve gotten to a perfect open world, western, and video game simultaneously.
Still, Red Dead Redemption 2 remains one of the most award-winning games of all time, though not winning at The Game Awards is a burden that will never go away.
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