Yesterday, Game of the Year tallies revealed that Elden Ring had broken the record for the highest number of awards for a single game, previously set by The Last of Us Part 2 back in 2020. Understandably, the communities behind those two games reacted to that news in two very different ways.
Over on the Elden Ring subreddit, players are taking the opportunity to heap further praise upon the game, with one top comment saying they'd been waiting for an experience like FromSoft's latest since the launch of The Witcher 3, which held the record before The Last of Us Part 2. Others have used the pile of accolades as another excuse to call for Elden Ring DLC. There's a little bit of dunking on The Last of Us, but you've got to scroll quite a long way through the thread before you find much more than sheer celebration.
That's not really the case on the The Last of Us subreddit. In that thread, one of the very top comments begins "[I] honestly don't get the fuss over ER." Further down, however, things get a little more positive. One comment suggests that Elden Ring can hold onto the accolade for now, but will be forced to give it up if or when The Last of Us Part 3 comes out.
- It's about sending a message: Elden Ring fan waits for Nightreign by no-hitting Shadow of the Erdtree's Messmer on NG+7 difficulty with a new weapon every single day
- The Last of Us "became the brand name for quality and storytelling within games" says Joel actor Troy Baker: "It became like the fridge"
Another praises Naughty Dog in general for its excellent track record, pointing out that of the 16 games to ever claim more than 100 Game of the Year awards, the studio is behind four of them (Uncharted 2, Uncharted 4, and both The Last of Us games). Overall, there's a slightly more truculent tone on the TLOU thread, but plenty of players were also prepared to acknowledge the excellence of Elden Ring.
While there are several awards still to be handed out, including high-profile shows like DICE and BAFTA, Elden Ring's hold on the top spot seems set in stone. God of War: Ragnarok sits in a distant second place, with around 70 awards to Elden Ring's 324 at time of writing. The real test now is whether FromSoftware can hold onto its overall percentage. The Witcher 3 claimed just under 60% of all awards given out in 2015. By contrast, Elden Ring currently boasts 75% of 2022's prizes, but there are plenty of awards yet to be handed out.
It's set to be a huge year, so here's our list of new games 2023.
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