Don't get me wrong, I loved the 2.5 D effect on the Metroid franchise, but I mean come on, it just cannot compare to the highly distinctive and more inspired visual aesthetics of games like The Artful Escape and Psychonauts 2 for my taste. But I figure fewer people played The Artful Escape and that only so many people here yet own a Series X for Psychonauts 2, so I'll write the discrepancies up to those things.

That said, I have a hunch at this point what the overall GOTY winner will be, and actually do find the most likely victor to be in its own ways an interesting choice that would distinguish the preferences of this community from nearly all other gaming sites out there in at least two or three ways I think I'll save for discussion at the time of the final award.

I think Metroid Dread is fine in terms of art direction, but it wasn't anywhere close to being the best in that category this year in my opinion. All the other games on the shortlist were superior to the winner in this case.

The other games in the shortlist all have a more expressive art direction than Metroid Dread, but I think it deserves it's win (I also voted for it) because it's art direction successfully enhances it's impeccable atmosphere in many ways.

Art direction is a tricky one. I think there are a few competing definitions out there.

If art direction is judged mostly by aesthetic design and execution, then I think Dread is overshadowed by a lot of 2021 games.

Lately, however, I tend to treat art direction more as the overall visual experience, including prop and set design, the sense of time and place, and how the art informs the player. It’s a holistic thing that captures theme and emotion as well as individual artistic assets.

Using that definition, I think Metroid Dread deserves a place on the shortlist. Winner, though? That’s a stretch for me. I voted It Takes Two, for so convincingly transporting me to a miniature world.

So you're telling me Metroid Dread lost this by just one vote? Damn.

Not sure anymore what I voted for. I don't think Dread's soundtrack is bad at all. Together with the sound effects and it's visual style it also managed to give the atmosphere an even more lasting effect. While the soundtrack itself is not memorable at all and mostly isn't something I'd put into my playlist, it still in most part succeeds what it was supposed to do. Especially the EMMI tracks help making the game more tense.

Metroid Dread's soundtrack only really shines when in the game itself and not listened to separately.

Yeah, I probably voted for Metroid (I think I voted for Metroid in every category it was available in lol).

Edit: come to think of it, I must have voted for Ys IX. Forgot about it, since it only launched in 2021 in the west.

Another result that I really don't agree with. I listened through all five soundtracks when I started writing the result article, and I think both of the top two games had weaker scores than the three other shortlisted titles. Music is a very subjective thing though, so to each their own.

I haven't played most of the games that made the shortlist in this category, so I can't really say that much about what was deserving and what wasn't, but I will say that The Artful Escape's soundtrack really stood out to me out of all the games I did play. I just narrowly had to go with the ScourgeBringer soundtrack though because, well, even though the game was actually released originally in 2020, it was somehow eligible for the 2021 awards and I had to give it it's props 'cause...well I explained over on the thread. It's just quickly become one of my all-time top 5 gaming soundtracks (and also a top 20 game for me, half as a result).

That happens on here a lot, but I was glad to see some votes went to games like It takes two, which I feel deserved what it got.

The thing is, most on here are just going to vote with what they liked before or what IP still exists. Metroid was going to get some, simply because ppl here love that IP and have also waited a long time for a new sequel, so that was going to get votes without a doubt, while other indie titles were likely to be swept aside, simply because they aren't an existing and beloved IP.

I remember voting for Undertale way back in 2015 on here and afaik it didn't really win anything, because at that time, there were existing or bigger IP's out there that were played as favourites and naturally won.

We would have to have a year of gaming where there is no beloved and big AAA game from the big 3, for smaller less popular or known indie titles to win more awards, but I'd hazard a guess that those votes won't be out of a want to vote for them, but more just to fill in the form (but even then, it sounds like not many even complete the form fully on here). 

Was there no strategy genre award?

Yeah, I think last year was weak on strategy if I don't miss something (maybe Age of Empires), this year should be better with Triangle Strategy and Advance Wars coming.

Simulation though seems to be strong throughout the last years - just not so much on console.