ReFantazio's assessment results have made it a three-way race for GOTY 2024

Never count Atlus out, and now the famous studio has released a latecomer for GOTY 2024. What may have previously seemed like a surefire head-to-head duel is now up in the air.

Metaphor: ReFantazio has arrived with a Metascore of 94, which, along with Sony's Astro Bot and Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, is the highest of the year. Now it seems to be a three-way race for GOTY unless there is a last-minute dark opponent.

But… these three? No, not if most places don't consider Shadow of the Earthtree its own game. You might be able to make this argument if it were standalone, but that's not the case, and you absolutely need to have played Elden Ring (a decent amount) to even get started with it. So I think it's left off most lists for this reason.

The three-way race will likely be between Astro Bot, Metaphor: ReFantazio and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, with the latter having a still excellent score of 92. Other possible shortlists could include Animal Well, Balatro (a favorite for many) and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Something impactful like Helldivers 2 could get a nod despite its ups and downs. I wouldn't expect Black Myth: Wukong to be nominated for GOTY despite its huge sales numbers, as popularity doesn't necessarily mean placement on such lists. I also think there are just a lot of better games this year, and I suspect most critics who vote on such things would agree with that.

What has the best chance of winning? I still say “Astro Bot” because not only is it a great platform, it pays homage to decades of PlayStation gaming in a way that doesn't feel cheap, and it's extremely popular with both critics and fans was. The score of 94 comes from 135 reviews, while Metaphor's rating is currently based on 35. I also just think that by the end of the year more people will have played Astro Bot. However, Final Fantasy's 92 reviews are 151, and I don't think you can rule it out as a potential winner.

At first it seemed like 2024 might have less impressive games than 2023, but I'm not sure that will turn out to be true in the end. Yes, there were more big games over 90 in 2023, but aside from Baldur's Gate 3, which we knew was going to win it all, I think 2024 is going to be a lot more competitive than anyone thought, and now Metaphor is helping with that . Two more months until we know what GOTY will be, at least at the Game Awards.

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