Probably Shin Megami Tensei V or Monster Hunter Rise. I cannot thing of anything else that can compete with them in my book.

Returnal. Not even close for me. Gameplay is among my all-time favorite. And it’s got awesome atmosphere, sick bosses, and an intriguing story, to boot.

SMT V, hands down the best RPG I've played in years.

Disclaimer, never got the chance to play persona 5

Completly different games and not even comparable. That said SMTV is my favorite Atlus RPG I ever played.

Plants Vs Zombies. Such an excellent game.

Haven't played Halo Infinite campaign yet, so for me it's Forza Horizon 5.

My GOTY:

GOTY (1): Shin Megami Tensei V
2. Metroid Dread
3. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
4. Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
5. Monster Hunter Rise

I enjoyed playing this game a lot this year, wasn't sure if it counted since it's a refresh of a game that was released in 2007. I hope it did well enough for Sega to consider a full-blown VF6.

Crab Game

Halo Infinite for me. It's not a perfect game by any means. There's features missing that really should have been there at launch, obviously the f2p monetization atm is uncomfortably aggressive, and there's some areas of the game that could have used a bit more polish and refinement.

BUT, all that ultimately takes a back seat to the fact that playing this Halo game, felt like coming home. Like I was a teenager again, re-discovering the joy of Halo. It was just right. The tone of the art style, the tone of the story, the music, the gameplay. I had a big stupid smile on my face the entire time, and I'm just so happy that it finally feels like 343 gets what Halo game should be like.

Edit: Do wanna give a shout-out to some honorable mentions. Forza was obviously excellent, as it always is, and Mexico was a MUCH better setting than the UK imo. Gonna be a game I play for a long time no doubt. Pyschonauts 2, while lacking a bit in the gameplay department for me, was wonderfully written game, and the level design was so beautifully woven into said writing, that it really elevated the whole game. It Takes Two, imo, is a totally deserved GotY winner. I adore great co-op games, and It Takes Two was an absolute joy to play the whole way through, constantly surprising with new mechanics, and always making me and my friend laugh. Guardians of the Galaxy was a huge surprise. Like Pyschonauts, gameplay left a bit to be desired, but the narrative hit all the right notes, and the cast was literally perfect. It is the definitive GotG experience, better than either of the Marvel movies.