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- Black Myth: Wukong is the biggest release of this year, and its success will go down in history.
- However, despite achieving these tremendous milestones, it couldn’t win Game of The Year 2024.
- Despite that, The Game Awards jury thought Astro Bot is deserving of the most prestigious award of 2024.
Black Myth: Wukong surprised everyone with its launch. No one could have seen it literally destroying the record of almost every single game. This title launched to nearly 2.5 million players on Steam, which is just straight-up absurd for a single-player game.
Be honest, could you have expected this game to destroy records like this? I didn’t. It received a lot of unfair reviews, with some even claiming that it doesn’t have enough diversity and inclusivity.
However, if you look up Steam’s user reviews, you can clearly see what those who actually played the game and weren’t just stuck at Wandering Wight and thought it had no exploration think about it. Despite having overwhelmingly positive reviews and such an outstanding, it couldn’t win the Game of the Year award, which is the biggest upset of 2024.
Why it matters: Game Science curated a masterpiece despite having no prior experience shipping a game on such a massive scale. It is a miracle how the studio not only met the fans’ expectations but exceeded them completely.
Black Myth: Wukong Was The Right Answer For GOTY
Before Sony fans jump me without thinking, let me tell you I have played Astro Bot, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, do I think it is a game that would give me chills, make me want to play it again and again and be something I am really excited about? No, not even close.
I just played it for 30 minutes or, at most, an hour, and that was the best I could do. The experience was good but wasn’t close to being the GOTY. I get it; the team really worked hard to make different features that complement the PlayStation 5 and its controller.
Astro Bot is a game that different age groups of people can play; it is a family game. However, does making a family game should be something extraordinary? If it is good enough, then sure, but is Astro Bot really good enough?
I have seen countless Sony fans just claiming that Astro Bot is better than Black Myth: Wukong without ever playing the game. I am a huge FromSoftware fan, and even I am ready to accept that the Chinese RPG has bosses cooler and better than a lot of the games from the said developer (well, not better than Messmer, Sister Friede, Bayle, and Gael).
Astro Bot Is The GOTY?
Believe it or not, Astro Bot is the Game of the Year 2024. How could games like Shadow of the Erdtree, Black Myth: Wukong, and Metaphor ReFantazio lose to a game like Astro Bot? No offence.
I used to take The Game Awards seriously, but now it just appears to be an advertising event. Still, I suppose I can’t ignore such a blatant injustice happening right in front of me. Game journalists have more of a say in selecting the winner than the actual gamers, which is baffling to me.
I have played all of the GOTY nominees except Balatro (I didn’t finish FF7 Rebirth due to how they massacred the story).
So, having played all of the nominees except one, the GOTY was clear to me. While I am more biased toward Shadow of the Erdtree, which I surely enjoyed the most this year, the award belongs to none other than Wukong. I’ll explain why.
Biggest Upset of 2024
First, the studio had no experience shipping such a massive game before, not to mention that it was developed on Unreal Engine 5. Second, it managed to curate a masterpiece that destroyed almost every record on Steam.
Third, it has a solid rating on Steam, which can only be given to those who have only played the game. Fourth, despite having over a million reviews, it managed to retain an overwhelmingly positive rating of nearly 96%.
Swen Vincke, the CEO of Larian Studios, made an interesting statement before announcing the winner. I couldn’t agree more with him. A Chinese Studio made a game with a Chinese background and rich lore from history that they would love to play themselves (which was quite obvious). So how did it lose?
Unravelling the beautiful lore and fighting my way through some of the toughest enemies was a great experience for me, and I still cherish it. While I am not happy with the GOTY winner at TGA 2024, I hope the industry starts appreciating games that are actually good.
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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