It's Elden Ring vs God of War: Ragnarok for GOTY 2022

Ultimately, we'd be surprised if neither one of Elden Ring or God of War: Ragnarok won the Game of the Year award at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 8.

Speaking of surprises, the nomination of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 wasn't expected. Although the game was impressive when it came out in the summer, some felt that the nod should've gone to Bayonetta 3.

The other nominees are quite understandable, albeit they won't really stand a chance against God of War: Ragnarok and Elden Ring. A Plague Tale: Requiem improves on the first game and its narrative will stick with you after you finish playing the game. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the complete package as the gameplay felt underutilized and the final act left a lot to be desired. On the other hand, Stray is a one-trick pony (or is it kitty?) that didn't have much staying outside power outside of the novelty of playing as a cat.

The only other nominee that could've stood a chance if it came out in another year is Horizon Forbidden West. If it came out last year, as originally intended, the Guerilla Games sequel could've beaten It Takes Two.

Having said that, this marks the third straight year that two games from a first-party Sony studio got nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards by Geoff Keighley. The last time that a PlayStation exclusive won GOTY was in 2018 with the God of War reboot.