I would put Triangle as GotY over Horizon.  I thought Triangle was something special.  GotY isn't really any different than reviews.  It is an opinion.  GTA has won a ton of awards and I would never nominate the series.  I think it is complete and utter trash.  Why would I nominate something for GotY that I thought was awful?  RDR2 fits that bill, it was terrible IMO.  I would never nominate it for GotY.  

If you think the game is simplistic, you definitely have not played it. It's an insanely deep and dark story that tackles VERY heavy subject matters. Not to mention a huge history lesson. I've learned more about the Holy Roman Empire in 5 hours of this game than I did in my High School history class It earns its M rating for sure. The high critical praise for Pentiment is completely justified. It's gameplay loop though isn't designed to appeal to a mass gaming audience though. It was intentionally made to be a niche game. 

Would I put it over something like GoW: Ragnarok? Absolutely not lol. Ragnarok is a special experience that you don't get to experience that often, and I'm currently working on getting Platinum.

Not that it would matter anyway. Pentiment came out the day after all the nominees were announced, so it wasn't up for any nominations.

When reviewers do ignore several technical aspects and depending on category/genre/platform the metric change then GOTY wouldn't be equal to reviews, otherwise most likely the highest meta would always win GOTY.

Simplistic in design and gameplay not storywise, as that isn't the only aspect a game should be reviewed (and I didn't play it). It can be a good experience, but when for me reviews should be technical and impersonal, Pentiment wouldn't get a high score from me due to that. But I know currently in VGC I would be an outlier as most think reviews should be based on personal taste and enjoyment of that person.

To me, gaming nominations for a pristine ceremony, such as TGA since it touts itself to be the video game version of the Oscars, is take into account everything a game has to offer, including the game as an artform. Best Picture nominees are supposed to encapsulate film as a form of art. Very rarely does a high budget movie ever have a Best Picture nomination. It happens more often now than it used to, but still rare. GoW: Ragnarok would be to me what The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was at the Oscars. A high budget film that took everything that made movies fun to watch, yet still be a piece of art. And it swept all 11 Oscar nominations it had that year.

If just those kinds of games get nominated though, why bother having other genre of games if those aren't just as viable to be considered for GOTY? Inside was just as simplistic in design and gameplay as Pentiment, yet it received a GOTY nomination in 2016 as it was a very powerful and moving game, but lost to Overwatch, a multiplayer only hero shooter. If the entire presentation of the game is a work of art, it should be considered for GOTY. I don't like to discredit a game if it doesn't match a very specific type of standard.

If you think the game is simplistic, you definitely have not played it. It's an insanely deep and dark story that tackles VERY heavy subject matters. Not to mention a huge history lesson. I've learned more about the Holy Roman Empire in 5 hours of this game than I did in my High School history class It earns its M rating for sure. The high critical praise for Pentiment is completely justified. It's gameplay loop though isn't designed to appeal to a mass gaming audience though. It was intentionally made to be a niche game. 

Would I put it over something like GoW: Ragnarok? Absolutely not lol. Ragnarok is a special experience that you don't get to experience that often, and I'm currently working on getting Platinum.

Not that it would matter anyway. Pentiment came out the day after all the nominees were announced, so it wasn't up for any nominations.

To me, gaming nominations for a pristine ceremony, such as TGA since it touts itself to be the video game version of the Oscars, is take into account everything a game has to offer, including the game as an artform. Best Picture nominees are supposed to encapsulate film as a form of art. Very rarely does a high budget movie ever have a Best Picture nomination. It happens more often now than it used to, but still rare. GoW: Ragnarok would be to me what The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was at the Oscars. A high budget film that took everything that made movies fun to watch, yet still be a piece of art. And it swept all 11 Oscar nominations it had that year.

If just those kinds of games get nominated though, why bother having other genre of games if those aren't just as viable to be considered for GOTY? Inside was just as simplistic in design and gameplay as Pentiment, yet it received a GOTY nomination in 2016 as it was a very powerful and moving game, but lost to Overwatch, a multiplayer only hero shooter. If the entire presentation of the game is a work of art, it should be considered for GOTY. I don't like to discredit a game if it doesn't match a very specific type of standard.

I do need to look into it more, but it's Obsidian so I have a lot of faith. I don't think they've ever made a game I don't like. That said, I actually tend to prefer the simpler-looking games. More and more I'm finding I'm adding 2D platformers, pixel games, and indies to my lists more than AAA titles. yeah, stuff like Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild and Red Dead Redemption 2 are special, but lately I am finding I am getting more pure joy out of TMNT Shredder's Revenge and Cuphead and the Delicious Last Course. 

Don't sleep on the indies, man. They are doing so much for the industry in a world where most AAA means Activision-Blizzard, EA, and Ubisoft garbage. 

To me, gaming nominations for a pristine ceremony, such as TGA since it touts itself to be the video game version of the Oscars, is take into account everything a game has to offer, including the game as an artform. Best Picture nominees are supposed to encapsulate film as a form of art. Very rarely does a high budget movie ever have a Best Picture nomination. It happens more often now than it used to, but still rare. GoW: Ragnarok would be to me what The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was at the Oscars. A high budget film that took everything that made movies fun to watch, yet still be a piece of art. And it swept all 11 Oscar nominations it had that year.

If just those kinds of games get nominated though, why bother having other genre of games if those aren't just as viable to be considered for GOTY? Inside was just as simplistic in design and gameplay as Pentiment, yet it received a GOTY nomination in 2016 as it was a very powerful and moving game, but lost to Overwatch, a multiplayer only hero shooter. If the entire presentation of the game is a work of art, it should be considered for GOTY. I don't like to discredit a game if it doesn't match a very specific type of standard.

That is the reason why categories exist.

I haven't played Pentiment but will believe you on it having a great storytelling, so I would have 0 issue with it being nominated and even winning on a category for best narrative, history or similar. But would it win on best picture, soundtrack, gameplay, etc, etc?

But for GOTY it would be the equivalent of the best movie, so that would need to check all the boxes.

Perhaps this award needs more categories, although I think they already have the bases covered.

This is the best take. Its not that i have a problem with indys its just like you said the best game has to check all the boxes. If rhese smaller games want to chase a single category like narrative then theres an award just for narrative where it could win. But indys just dont belong in the goty category.