I have a soft spot for Skyward Sword and Arkham City. But Portal 2 (which I completed yesterday for the first time btw) is one of the most perfectly perfect games I've ever played. A joy from start to finish. No downs, just ups.

Now I just find someone to play the co-op mode, which they say is equaly good ^^

Portal 2 is a masterpiece and one of my absolute favorites. The runner-up would be Skyrim. DS1 is mid-tier of the Soulsbornes I've played and even the best ones fall short of those two imo.

My top 5 for the year:

1. Portal 2
2. Skyrim
3. Skyward Sword
4. Tales of Xillia
5. The Witcher 2

Skyward Sword is my favorite game of all time, so that's an easy win. But Portal 2 and Arkham City were so freaking good and most other years would have won.

Portal 2, followed by Rayman Origins, and then Dark Souls. I prefer the original Portal to the sequel just slightly, because GLaDOS is much better in the first game, and there was a slightly more sinister undertone when you started to discover the back rooms and piece together the lore. Plus of course it was the original and therefore the innovator. Portal 2 had the benefit of being a full length game, adding an extra dimension to the puzzles, and introducing some other strong and amusing characters, so it was an excellent sequel.

Dark souls easily

Seems like a very strong year, but none really stick out for me. I was excited for Arkham City but it was a letdown due to more open world, all over the place design. Portal 2 gameplay was great but I hated the Wheatley character along with Glados, I wished they shut up, I even switched the sound off at one point! Wtf was that beginning of Witcher 2? Cringey try at making a hollywood blockbuster. I can't express how much I hated Human Revolution, as a fan of the original game from 2000 I hated every single thing about it - the yellow piss filter, the cover system, the mind numbing mini game, the visual style, everything. A game that wants to be a deep RPG but gives you health regen from the start. Skyrim seemed very boring to me. Uncharted 3 wasn't as good as 2 and had bad pacing. They added the Jason Statham character for no reason and later realized their mistake and brushed him under the carpet lol I would vote Dirt 3 as my GOTY although it wasn't as good as 2 from 2009.

Wow, that was some perfect timing, lol.

This one is one of the easiest years for me to pick GotY, and one of the hardest to pick my favourite.

There were several games I really liked, Batman: Arkham City, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Rayman Origins, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Trine 2. I was fairly certain I wouldn't care for Skyrim even before it launched, given that I already found Oblivion to be systemically inferior to Morrowind, so no surprises there - not a bad game, but ultimately TES for CoD era.

My favourite game comes down between Portal 2 and Dark Souls. Both sequels (of a sort in case of DS), both refining the formula, and both very different from each other. It's really a flip of the coin, since I can't really choose.

My vote, without a second thought or any shred of doubt, goes to Minecraft. Its influence, both on players and developers, in addition to being the best-selling game of all time, makes it once in a generation kind of thing. I personally find it to be quite good and fun, though nowhere near close as my favourites from this year.

Indeed. Purchased the Companion Collection for Switch with the Black Friday deals on the eShop and blasted through both Portal and Portal 2 in less than a week. Such good games. I can't believe I hadn't played them before and I can't wait to play the co-op campaign xD

I really need to replay Skyward Sword. Beat it one time shortly after release and I still remember it as my favorite first playthrough of any game. It sure have its flaws and as stated need to replay it in order to confirm or disprove it as one of my favorite games ever. But it still takes 2011 for me.

Uncharted 3 is almost, but not quite, as good as the second game imo, still one of the best action adventure games out there.

Skyrim. The only open world focused game I enjoyed and I'm starting to think it is because it was the first that did it well. Many years since I played it now. Have a feeling that I would feel as insignificant playing it as I do in other open world games.

Minecraft is not for me. My total voluntary exposure to it is watching a friend play for one hour. Prefer lego in the real world. Can't deny its massive impact however.