Here's my GOTY awards, sloppily copy pasted from a file. Too lazy to even submit officially. Ordered by rank.
Quake 2 RTX
Rarely do we get professional a remake of this quality that is both free and pushes technology to the absolute limit. Besides being the best looking game of 2019, Quake 2 RTX actually changes up the gameplay with its lighting mechanics. Quake 2 was already a great game, and stands head and sholders over the vast majority of modern FPS, but this update makes the game better than ever. Now I just hope some other classics like Doom and Quake 1 get similar treatment.
Anno 1800
The richest and most well balanced management sim of its kind in a long time. I haven't had this much fun building a city since Sim City 2000.
Boneworks
When the music swells in that creepy synth style and a nullbody exterminator has you pinned down and you duck down low, jamming a fresh mag into your assault rifle, and you burst out of cover, take aim with the stock on your should and let loose with precision -- nothing else comes close to these moments.
The physics puzzles with their countless solutions, even when struggling with stacking a heavy box on top of another box, these moments remind me of Trespasser in a good way. I make my own solutions.
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order
One of the better and more interesting action adventures in a while. Combining elements of * Souls, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, and Metroid Prime, this game doesn't break new ground but combines disparate elements together in a way that works. The game world, characters, and plot are above average for contemporary Star Wars works, as well.
Baba is You
Brilliant puzzle game. Original concept. Fantastic balance of challenge. Addictive.
Ion Fury
Fantastic gameplay. Fun and interesting level design. Good core mechanics. Why can other FPS titles be on this level?
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw
The best Wing Commander game in many decades. Recaptures the enrapturing gameplay, challenge (at least on old school difficulty), storytelling, and even visual style of the classics. However, the mission gameplay design is a bit lacking, and the open world randomly generated missions fail to impress.
Luigi's Mansion 3
While distinctly feeling a bit un-Nintendoish and reminding me more of the Super Mario Bros cartoons in vibe, the gameplay and exploration are compelling, the visuals great, and the puzzles intuitive enough for a child yet still providing occasional resistance to an adult.
Hypnospace Outlaw
Extremely unique, nostalgic yet scathing. Depth of commentary and ingenuity. Smart.
Wargroove
Wargroove's main strength is in taking the Advance Wars gameplay schema and greatly increasing strategic diversity by allowing the player to choose many different strategies to win. It accomplishes this by having larger play maps, and many more units with more intricate balances (rather than having units that are simply better in every way from other units but cost more resources). Wargroove, as a result, is much less deterministic and chess-like than Advance Wars. It allows the user to experiment with risky play styles for greater reward.
Hades
The first addictive & fun game by this dev since Bastion. Primarily it has that good click-feel that Diablo 2 and very few other games have.
Blaster Master Zero 2 (PC)
Dragon Quest Builders 2 (PC)
Mechwarrior 5
Bloodstained Ritual of the Night
One of the best Metroidvanias of all time. Lots of item types, areas, superior level design, storytelling, and the music is good, too. Addictive to play.
Outer Wilds
Something else, like the sort of innovative games we had in the past. This game solar system is astonishingly well realized.
Indivisible
This underrated title packs a powerful punch of fantastic character design and great soundtrack with unique combat mechanics and satisfying platforming. Neither the combat nor platforming are absolutely top tier, and the gameplay balance is off, but the game is nevertheless more satisfying to play than many titles, with great flow and rewarding exploration.
Dead or Alive 6
I played a whole lot of it due to the costume unlock system. It's still fun, but the production values have been weak ever since 4. The gameplay remains largely unchanged but still a lot of fun to play.
Control
Remedy is back, kinda. After the disappointing Alan Wake and the crushingly poor Quantum Break, Remedy is back in fighting form, delivering cutting edge tech that performs well, engaging gameplay and a stylish and interesting world.
Trials Rising
Despite some toe-dipping into microtransactions, these Trials challenges are as compelling as ever, and greatly outshine recent Trials efforts in gameplay design, theme, and visuals. Trials hasn't been this good since the earliest iterations.
Noita
While falling short of the mark in terms of gameplay, this game breaks a lot of new ground, with a lot of literal ground breaking mechanics never seen before in games.
Super Mario Maker 2
Dirt Rally 2.0
It really is the Dark Souls of racers. Challenging, yet rewarding. The physics, gameplay, and environments lend to an atmospheric experience. Driving at night with broken headlights compares favorably to the darkest demon-filled swamp.
Disco Elysium
Mortal Kombat 11
The microtransactions take what could have been one of the very best games of the year and make this one just very good.
Resident Evil 2 Remake
It's pretty, and it plays real well. There is a lot of nuance in the animations and presentation. It is well balanced. Well designed game world progression.
Devil May Cry V
Completely stylish. As always DMC provides a compelling universe with thrilling cinematic action. The gameplay is smooth and deep.
Trover Saves the Universe
It's a funny game that has a smart, minimalistic VR implementation and decent gameplay. The game gets a lot of really difficult to do stuff right.
Metro Exodus
A more directed open world shooter, and that direction and progression really keeps the game going. The graphics are of course cutting edge and rich. Atmospheric & beautiful. The RTX GI gives the world an authentic appearance no other can match. Nice sense of maintenance, natural feeling stealth, tactics, and combat, good environmental exploration, decent characters and compelling world. Not as focused as I'd like. A lot of filler / busywork. Some parts drag.
A Fisherman's Tale
Nice use of perspective in this very pretty puzzle game.
Angry Birds VR Isle of Pigs
It's a good take on Angry Birds in VR. Nice presentation. Over quickly.
Bomb Chicken
Supraland
Ace Combat 7
Civilization VI Gathering Storm
Sekiro
