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Dec 15
  • Categories Revealed
  • Readers' Choice Voting Begins
Dec 19
  • Editors' Choice Winners Revealed
Dec 30
  • Readers' Choice Voting Ends
  • Readers' Choice Winners Revealed
Jan 4
  • Editors' Choice Most Anticipated Games of 2012 Revealed
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Game of the Year

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and the Editors' Choice winner is…

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Editor's Choice Winner

Editorial Nominees

What does "best" mean? When you're talking about art and entertainment, the answer isn't that easy. Is "best" different from "favorite?" Is "welcoming" more important than "challenging?" These are but a few of the questions we asked each other as we went head-to-head in a GameSpot meeting room, staring each other down and passionately arguing for our personal choices for 2011's Game of the Year.

Each of our nominees for Game of the Year is a worthy winner. The question becomes: What's worthier and why? How do you compare such disparate games as Ghost Trick and Dark Souls? Is it more important for a game to do less but do it perfectly or to be more ambitious but mess up some of the details? The questions are endless. The fact is that there's no formula for this stuff. If there were, we could plug the pertinent information into our review-o-meter, it would spit out the answer, and we could have all gone go-karting instead. But face it: Some of these games are innovative and some are iterative. Some are buffed to a shine and others are a bit rough around the edges. Some focus on world building; others challenge you with devious puzzles. And sometimes, a game does something that defies comparison.

And so we asked ourselves the most important question of all: In a decade, when we look back on 2011, which game will define the year for us? From there, things started to come into focus. The game that defines 2011 may be different for us than for you, but what a testament to a great year in games--that so many games provided us so many different kinds of experiences and with such quality. The next time you think that there's no diversity in gaming, remember our nominees for Best Game of 2011. They tell a very different story.

1833 Comments

  • varunvikram1

    Posted May 7, 2012 8:13 am GMT

    @Rizhall456 hey i love dark souls too, i think i spent the same amount of hours on it as skyrim. Both those games are unique. Its true skyrim is a glitched up mess on consoles but try it on a nice pc and you might have a different opinion.

  • Rizhall456

    Posted May 1, 2012 12:11 pm GMT

    @varunvikram1 The game is barely a freakin' RPG. 3 stats and perks, big god damn whoop. It's a glitchy mess and Bethesda is giving us DLC before even fixing the problems. There are accounts of a lot of people being unable to play the game, and even PS3s DYING because of this game. What do they give us? Magic kill "animations". Dark Souls gave us a world uniquely crafted and melded together in a very interesting way, with a story far beyond a standard cookie-cutter nonsense, while this game gives us a field, scatters dungeons, towns and mountains around it, and call it a "world". But of course, people eat it up. And they'll eat up the DLC, even if it'll probably be a glitchy mess. The very fact that a game SO riddled with problems can win something as prestigious as "game of the year" shows how effin' far this site, and game-journalism as a whole, as fallen.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Apr 12, 2012 12:49 pm GMT

    Of course it's Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim! If they wanted to pick an RPG they weren't going to pick a small Eastern European developer! If EA, Blizzard or Valve release a hit title in 2012. It will win the Game of the Year award over anything not from a giant multi-national, North American based publisher!

  • Shtinky

    Posted Feb 20, 2012 5:21 pm GMT

    @porlino87 Well said. What would of been your game of the year, then?

  • mariuslil50

    Posted Feb 15, 2012 2:57 am GMT

    actually for me The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is the best ... and of course TES.- Skyrim and BAtman Arkham city are the BEST OF 2011...
    GameSpot Keep up the good work....

  • porlino87

    Posted Feb 1, 2012 1:07 am GMT

    I like to master games. Mastering a game, is winning a game for me. Even in open world games like Skyrim. If you master Skyrim like I did, you'll have chosen the best perks to make the most powerful character, the game will be way too easy around level 40. If the game gets easy, then what's really left? Roleplaying? Ok, thats fun too I guess, but Roleplaying isn't mastering. The story is actually quite cliche, and the quests are repetitive (fetch, kill, escort). What's the foundation of a game of the year? Gameplay. In terms of Gameplay, Skyrim falls flat on its face. The combat is dull and premature. See my review to get my full story. Gamepot will look back at this year and say "wow we really messed up on that choice".

    porlino87

  • x-2tha-z

    Posted Jan 24, 2012 7:32 am GMT

    If you read the description Gamespot gives for its rating system, Skyrim should've fell into the 4.0 - 4.5 range. Gamespot says games that get a score in this range are....

    "4.0 - 4.5 Games that just don't work right and maybe didn't spend enough time in production tend to fall in to this category. They simply lack the cohesion and quality that make other games fun."

    Sounds like Skyrim to me. Especially the first sentence, I'm sure most PS3 users will agree. So the question is not only, why did Gamespot award GOTY to something that doesn't work right, but also, why did it receive such a high review score? Even the PS3 version got a 9.

  • zeonfollower

    Posted Jan 13, 2012 4:28 am GMT

    Skyrim!

  • jper11

    Posted Jan 9, 2012 7:14 am GMT

    Anybody have the GameSpot Game of the Year complete list?

  • greatgamer0036

    Posted Jan 8, 2012 8:22 pm GMT

    the only reason that makes me understand thios choice is the multiplatform, but gears of war 3 is much better

  • RoboAddy

    Posted Jan 8, 2012 7:14 pm GMT

    All the reasons the gave for voting Skyrim, Dark Souls does better.

    All I can say is Bethsoft must have deep pockets...

  • varunvikram1

    Posted Jan 8, 2012 11:58 am GMT

    I can understand how people would not like skyrim, RPG is not for everyone. Me on the otherhand cant live without it.

  • clouduos

    Posted Jan 8, 2012 11:42 am GMT

    its 1 of 2, Dark souls or skyrim. and skyrim got it ^^

    uncharted is a good game but it does have some repetition ^^

  • m4u71n posted Jan 8, 2012 10:09 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    m4u71n

    Posted Jan 8, 2012 10:09 am GMT (hide)

    SKYRIM SUCK !! WITCHER IS WAY BETTER and plzz dont tell me uncharted or other shlts should be a game of the year ok

  • leodolon

    Posted Jan 8, 2012 9:35 am GMT

    NOT TO MENTION !!!!! THE UNCHARTED 3!!! ITS THE BEST GAMEPLAY,BEST GRAPHICS, best storytelling,best of all the nominated, but Gamespot did not recognize it!!! Poor Gamespot,!!!! You dont deserve to be a GAMER!!!!

  • StickmanRyan

    Posted Jan 8, 2012 4:10 am GMT

    There is no question that Skyrim is the GOTY. It's the greatest game made to date. I've never heard of a game more talked about and more praised. My Dad has even started playing it and he never plays games lol

  • alex-robin

    Posted Jan 8, 2012 3:34 am GMT

    i like skyrim style and specialy the character development it's awesome!!

  • Altambo

    Posted Jan 7, 2012 9:36 pm GMT

    Yeah where is Deus Ex..one of the best games ever.Whatever,still Skyrim was the best ^^

  • Jurassic85

    Posted Jan 7, 2012 8:55 pm GMT

    Deus Ex wasn't even a nominee? LOL.