2023 is well underway, but that doesn’t stop us from talking about the previous year producing some absolute juggernauts in the video game world. The majority of Game of the Year awards have been settled, although there will be a few more than will be decided over the next couple of months. However, what we do know already is that Elden Ring has broken the previous GOTY Awards record that was set by The Last of Us Part II.
How do we know this? Well, due to a team of dedicated gamers of course, who have been noting down every GOTY award winner of the titles that launched last year. The latest update that was posted on ResetEra showed Elden Ring sitting pretty at the top of the list with 324 awards so far – if you’re surprised about how many award shows take place with a number like that, then you’re not alone.
To put that into perspective, this figure is four times more than what God of War Ragnarok took home. But the most impressive fact about this figure is that it’s two more than what The Last of Us Part II managed to win during its very own successful year. The critically acclaimed sequel to The Last of Us won a total of 322 awards, which set a huge new record at the time – something that we all thought would be unbeatable.
Take from this what you want, but if the figures on ResetEra are in fact true, does this make Elden Ring the greatest game of all time? There’s definitely an argument to say it is. Let’s break down the votes and compare the notes between these two games anyway: TLOU 2 received 208 votes from media outlets compared to Elden Ring which received 281 votes, but TLOU 2 obtained 114 votes from fans which are vastly superior to the 43 votes Elden Ring achieved from fans. It does show that Elden Ring was better received by outlets than it was by fans, and that’s what helps the overall score it seems.
Elden Ring will surely have an even higher awards total when the final shows have rounded up in the coming months, but how long will it keep the GOTY awards record? Surely there will be some 2023 releases that will be gunning for the top spot, something like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom maybe. These stats are all well and good, but what was your game of 2022?