Well, my GOTY is Kingmaker :) not that I really played other games this year but considering Kingmaker is now one of my top 3 favs, I doubt other game would have pushed it off GOTY.

Still meaning to play Deadfire, waiting for a hefty sale. Was thinking of signing up for the Watch giveaway but thought maybe others may find it more enjoyable than I

Good point! Didn't think of that. I guess it'll probably be AC: O then.

PoE2 is vastly superior to PoE1 though.

Yeah, it's definitely better in many ways. Like I wrote, I feel like it's a game that I "should" love.

However, for some reason I just can't really get into that game-world and its mythos, or get attached to the characters and their personalities/stories, or become very interested in the main plotline (in either game).

With all of those things "missing", the only things left to enjoy are pure game mechanics, like area exploration, character development & combat. That goes quite a long way but not far enough to really love the game.

Very true. As a backer and under strong hype influence I wanted to like PoE a lot. But way to finish the game was struggle and chore for me. Deadfire I did not back, but anyway went for it shortly after release. Its decent and much better game and if not for Kingmaker, I would probably play it right now (since Kingmaker release its on stand-by for me).

Although i really liked PoE II and i don't get the hate it gets, i would probably say that Pathfinder is the better RPG this year, despite the bugs it had. Good thing is they seem to have fixed most of them at least, so it is in a perfectly playable state.

There will be more bugs as the new DLC and expansions get released. Also some of those hot-fixes have caused bugs when released, but yes it's playable at least.

I was mildly disappointed with my first Pillars 2 playthrough on veteran (writing and main plot felt weaker, less interesting companions overall and combat was much too easy) but now that all of the DLC are out and the difficulty has been sufficiently tweaked, it's almost time to have a second look at the game.
I think it's subjective and not near as black and white as you state; but ultimately we've been there in previous discussions and will probably have to agree to disagree. Currently for me, the nature of the combat renders the game not on the same level as the first game. But naturally the DLC (notably the last one "The Forgotten Sanctum") should alleviate this problem somewhat. We'll see! :)

Yeah, my 2nd playthrough is currently on hold due to a game breaking bug near the end of the game. Mildly frustrating to say the least. "Luckily", I'm not the only one encountering it, as can be seen here, so I assume they'll be looking at it. No confirmation yet though.

Nasty glitch. Can imagine how frustrating it must be. Im glad I did not encounter anything like it so far. But I didnt make it to 5th chapter yet. As usually Im fighting (not very succesfully) with urge to try new and new characters which keeps me from progressing further :-).

PoE classes and overall character build was never so interesting to me. So I never had as strong urge to try different builds or multiclass or whatever. Maybe thats why I encountered more bugs in it then Kingmaker. Like when I pulled out from The Hanging Sepulchers as it seemed too tough for my level and when I returned back upon many hours I realised the entrance cannot be opened second time (even though I have key still in my inventory). Or when I realised I cannot change party members in tavern because its bugged. I think both was already fixed by Obsidian though :-).

I'm currently playing PoE2 and it's just not grabbing me, at all. I don't know if it's because of the stat system which I hate, or that I don't care much for RTwP, but I'm almost forcing myself to continue playing it. The shortcut is there on the desktop, I should double-click it, but… meh.

Pillars 2 and Kingmaker are in a tie for me at first place, but I'Ve only played some 30 hours of Kingmaker so far. KCD is my 3rd place. And I'll have to argue with the Potato. Battletech is more of an rpg than either X-Com game. Its an SRPG. That would be sitting at 4th place for me. I've also played/am playing Vigilantes, Insomnia, and Bard's Tale 4. I also hope to get around to Kenshi before its time to vote.

Sadly I haven't played yet so can't say much on the matter. Been waiting for the last dlc (which was release last week) and I'll probably wait for the dlc fixing patch that is bound to happen soon.

The years go by so fast I am not even sure which games I got came out in which year at this point. But think this might be for this year and I agree with the post.

1 - POE2
2 - Kingmaker: Pathfinder
3 - none but if had to pick Insomina Ark if they would fix a few more things.

Top three favorite games of all time? Much harder but BG was finally displaced.

1 - DAO
2 - Skyrim
3 - FO4

I've really enjoyed certain parts of the game, such as Fort Deadlight and Splintered Reef. But the island nature of the setting makes it feel a bit scattered and disjointed. I'll probably appreciate it more during my second play-through.

Meh to all isometric puppet flail about.

Kingdom Come was great and Vavra provided our Deliverance. :)

The fact that Deadfire had unlocked its final form before December 31 gives it the edge over Pathfinder for best of 2018 in my book.

Once Pathfinder is actually finished, maybe it'll be in the running for best of 2019.

Fallout 76 for sure.

Edit: Sorry, thought it was the SOTY(Shame of the Year) awards.

Maybe a tactical RPG… maybe. But how do you say BT isn't and Valkyria Chronicles is an RPG?

BattleTech is a turn-based strategy game with no role-playing. Valkyria Chronicles is a tactical role-playing game. Its not hard to spot or see the differences.

Heck Battletech is not even advertised as an RPG.
So different genres once again where most cant see the difference.

We should have an annual "Bargain Bin Award" category for just such sub-par releases. Like the Razzies for movies.