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[COLUMN] Should DLC Be Eligible for Game of the Year? | by Marty Sliva
🕑 Added 2024-11-19 15:00:12 +0000 UTC
Nothing in this life is certain, save for death, taxes, and the internet getting all up in a tizzy the day that the nominees for The Game Awards are announced. And sure enough, when Geoff Keighley dropped his short video going over the list of games that would be celebrated at this year’s ceremony, the internet seemed to collectively banging on their keyboards over one nominee in particular: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Now before we dive into the hot-button issue of the day, I want to say that overall, I think the games that are up for awards this year are actually pretty damn good across the board. The six nominees for Game of the Year include Astro Bot, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Metaphor Re:Fantazio, which are three of my favorite games of 2024, and all well-deserving of their flowers.
They’re joined by Balatro, something that I don’t personally gel with, but whose story of a solo developer taking the gaming world by storm is one that I absolutely adore, so more power to it. And there’s also Black Myth: Wukong, which again I don’t really hold in the highest regard, but sales numbers, Steam user reviews, and online reception show that I’m probably in the minority there.
But the last nominee is the one that a bulk of the conversation seems to be circling around. And it was pretty obvious that this was going to happen over the weekend when The Game Awards shared an FAQ that shined a light on some of the process that goes into choosing the nominees, including a bit on “Expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes and remasters are eligible in all categories, if the jury deems the new creative and technical work to be worthy of a nomination.”
That prior warning didn’t do much to calm the waters, as the gaming sphere seemed to spend the entirety of yesterday arguing over why Shadow of the Erdtree should or shouldn’t be eligible for Game of the Year accolades. Detractors pointed to the fact that accessing the new adventure relies not only on owning 2022’s core Elden Ring game, but also having made significant progress in it while completing a series of tasks that many folks might need to follow a guide for.
And as someone who spent hundreds of hours in the base game and devoured Erdtree when it dropped earlier this year, yeah, I get it. The archaic nature of accessing FromSoft expansions make them feel like additions to the core experience, and not their own thing that can be experienced separately.
But on the flip side, if The Game Awards are about celebrating the titles that defined a given year, it seems perfectly reasonable to include Erdtree in that conversation, as it absolutely felt like one of the games that 2024 will be remembered for. I loved the communal nature of folks banding together to help explore the Realm of Shadow, conquer its bosses, and untangle its web of lore. Plus, if remakes of games like Resident Evil 4 are eligible for GOTY, then why shouldn’t expansions be?
One argument I can get behind is that The Game Awards should add a “Best DLC/Expansion” category. And given how often games are updated with these, including the recent success of experiences like Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, it seems like a no-brainer. But until then, I see no problems with shining a spotlight on Erdtree.
It’s worth noting that while so many folks seem upset at the nomination, there’s no general consensus on what game should’ve taken its place. I’ve seen arguments made for everything including Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Stellar Blade, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Satisfactory, and Helldivers 2. And just as a note, the correct answer is either Animal Well or 1000xResist, because holy moly those two games have not left my brain since their release.
2024 doesn’t have the kind of clear frontrunner that we’ve seen in the past from games like Baldur’s Gate 3, The Last of Us Part II, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And while it points to a lack of monoculture across the medium, I personally think it’s great that so many people can have so many different picks for their personal favorite game of the year. The range of nominees filled with unique experiences is a feature, not a bug.
This year’s Game Awards will be the 11th since its inception in 2014. And of the previous 10 winners, the top prize has only matched my personal pick once, that being 2017 and Breath of the Wild. But that doesn’t mean that the awards are wrong or that the judges are corrupt or any dumb conspiracies like that. We’re talking about art here, and there’s no mathematical formula to say that one piece of art is better than another. Anyone who says that something is “objectively the best game of the year” doesn’t understand how several of the words in that sentence work. For me, GOTY is based on vibes, and vibes come to all of us differently.
Are The Game Awards perfect? No, of course not. The voting pool can absolutely use a freshening up, and it’d be great to see even more of a spotlight shined on the smaller games that are actually helping push the medium forward, which is why I’m thrilled by Balatro’s nominations, even though the game personally didn’t do a ton for me.
And logistically, I’ll always find it strange that the show’s timing means that games released during the final month and a half of a year are ineligible. Sure, they’re kicked to the following year’s ceremony, but by then, nobody’s really thinking about something that was released back in the previous December. And while 95% of games are dropped before the mid-November cutoff, we occasionally get a banger like Far Cry 3, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, or Immortals Fenyx Rising that comes in right at the finish line, which we’ll possibly be seeing again this year with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
But amid all the arguing over who should be nominating what and how it should all be presented, I’m just over here excited to watch another night of The Game Awards in a few weeks. I’m looking forward to hearing the orchestra play a medley of tunes from the six GOTY nominees, especially Astro Bot, FF7 Rebirth, and Metaphor, all three of which have soundtracks I’ve been replaying on loop since release. I’m stoked to see trailers and reveals for upcoming games, some of which I’m sure will be my favorites in the coming years. And I love getting those real moments where the talented artists behind these games are allowed to speak from the heart, especially when they’re not ushered off stage to make time for the next Hollywood A-lister.
Comments
Steven Thomas
For me, Erdtree is not a game, but an expansion, a DLC, it shouldn't be in the running. As for remakes, I think they could be in the running, but given that the story, level design, and game mechanics are already done, it would have to be a super amazing game to make it there IMO.
Dakota Durbin
Interesting column, Marty! :) In all honesty, I haven’t heard any good excuses as to why Erdtree should be ineligible. While DLC being nominated might be unprecedented, you can’t argue that it isn’t a game, and even if accessing it is obtuse, that shouldn’t affect whether it receives a nom or not. It’s funny though, with that being said I still feel a knee jerk response to boo it being nominated, but maybe because it feels like Elden Ring already received its accolades and it’s time for something new to get the spot light. Regardless, I doubt it will win, but it will be interesting to see if this starts a trend for a higher quality of DLC content for games in the future!
Jared
Did Marty call Immortals Fenyx Rising a banger and put it in the same sentence as Far Cry 3 and Smash Brothers Ultimate?
Cerulean
No, it shouldn't be eligible. There also shouldn't be any gdamned muppets muppeting around while actual awards get twenty second mentions on the show itself. The Game Awards are gonna Game Awards.
GayBearDaddy2
Ah, I didn't address that since I hadn't read the article before my comment. I also think remakes/remasters shouldn't be on GotY and should have their own category as well. Since their proliferation is more recent, I can see why they haven't gotten a category yet, but their rise to market share of modern gaming more than justifies a category of its own. In that case, FF7R (both of them), P3R, RE4R, SH2R, etc. should all be put into a different category. Ports of a game, unless it's a remaster, shouldn't be considered in the GotY or Remaster/Remake category (so FFXVI for PC or Etrian Odyssey for PC wouldn't be considered, but Tales of Symphonia Collection would, due to its expansions on the respective games).
Tim Wilson
For me it’s a semantic difference. DLC is, by definition, part of the same game and therefore is not eligible for a new award, especially if that game has already been nominated in years past; it’s a second bite of the cherry. In contrast, a remake/remaster is a dependent work from the original, no matter how similar it is; SH2 and RE4 remakes are very different to the originals, not an add on. Stick it in “Best Continuing Game” or whatever they call it these days or make a new category to be stuck on the side of the screen in between teasers and give recognition to the 6 new games that they decided to pay attention to this year I say.
Shchella
But since remakes and remasters are eligible, why not a DLC/Expansion? As long as it adds significantly new content... Saying Shadow of the Erdtree should be ineligible on principle but letting FF7 remake pt 2 in seems counterproductive. And just because the FF14 expansion didn't get nominated doesn't mean it was ineligible (or even made it to the longlist of nominees which the public doesn't see), so it seems a little biased for you to suggest SotE shouldn't have been considered just because you liked FF14 better (since art and the merit of it is subjective). P.s JiC, I'm not trying to be combative, and I'm not even necessarily disagreeing with you. So while I agree with the common solution of "just make a DLC/Expansion specific category in the game awards," it's a little unfair to say SotE should be denied any recognition in the meantime.
JR
A "lack of monoculture across the medium"? It's a slip of the... fingers on the keyboard, I know, but man, that sounds like the complaint a mustache-twirling CEO with a British accent would make at a cartoonish conspiracy meeting with his peers. (Glad you're saying the opposite, Marty!)
GayBearDaddy2
Extremely true. In Endwalker's case, it came out in December of 2021, so it very much left the public conscience by 2022's Game Awards (in which case, I'd whole-heartedly throw Elden Ring down a bottomless pit to experience Endwalker for the first time again). That said, I agree with the point that there should be a Best Expansion/DLC category, even if it'd only have 5 or 6 options every year.
Marty Sliva
I point it out in the piece, but expansions are also eligible for being nominated. I just don’t think the voting block is comprised of a lot of MMO players, so FF14 expansions would rarely have a chance, but that’s a separate issue entirely.
GayBearDaddy2
Before reading: No. DLC is in the realm of expansions, so if something like FFXIV: Endwalker wouldn't get nominated, Shadow of the Erdtree shouldn't, on principle. That said, I don't think SotE earned the nomination over new games like Unicorn Overlord or even Crypt Custodian; it didn't exceed expectations in the way Old Hunters did for Bloodborne or Ring City did for DS3. The difficulty of it being primarily HP sponges or bosses that just don't break poise (or worse, recover from a poise break before your character gets out of the swing animation), means I had significantly less fun with it than I did the base game, or even Lords of the Fallen 2023 (a souls-like that actually made me feel powerful without having to stack buffs for a minute before entering a boss arena). It was hypertuned in a way that killed the fun of playing it.
Ryan Pattison
Thanks for always bringing reasonableness, civility, and positivity. If it were up to me, I wouldn't allow DLC and remakes to meet the qualifications for the nomination and think it makes more sense for them to have their own categories, but since there isn't SotE deserves a nomination and it isn't a big deal.
Adithya Kale
The problem here is that SOTE has been so influential this year and needs somewhere to be recognised. Ideally there would be a best expansion/remaster category, but in the absence of this I think it has earned a spot on the list
Andrzej Banaś
Short answer: no. Long answer: nooooooo. But that's my two cents, let Geoffrey do as he pleases.
Brian S
Excellent article, Marty, and you called it. There should be a category for expansions and updates. Until then, I’m happy that Erdtree was nominated, even as the DLC caused more than a few gray hairs and a multitude of curses.
