At the end of every year, gamers always pay attention to which title will get the most GOTY awards.

Many players argue that the number of awards doesn’t hold any significance as there are too many media outlets awarding their own GOTY. Some say that the few outlets with more public recognition can be considered significant while others claim that they need more objective standards to decide.

However, there is no doubt that those nominated for the various GOTY lists are all well-made games. Notably, God of War 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) have been locked in a fierce competition to become the most GOTY-awarded title.

God of War 4 ultimately claimed the most GOTY awards in 2018. On the other hand, RDR2 received three titles at the Game Awards and achieved a 97 Metascore, becoming the highest-rated game in the year of 2018.

What was your most favorite game between these two high-quality titles?

God of War 4 - An action adventure with everything; combat, story, and sentiment

On April 20, 2018, God of War 4 released as a PS exclusive title; the fate of SIE Santa Monica Studio was to be determined by the game. However, the title soon received many criticisms when a couple of trailers and demos were out because of Kratos’ altered appearance and the presence of his son in the game.

That early negativity vanished like dust in the wind right after the game release, and the title has been considered the best game in the God of War series so far. The thrilling combat, in-depth story, and rich sound effects were widely praised and the game earned a reputation as one of the greatest games in the market. Many media outlets acknowledged its high-quality game elements, with some even judging that it had “no flaws”.

Though the title is exclusive to the PS4, more than 5 million copies were sold globally within a month of its release. For many people who aim to buy a PS4, it is often the No. 1 game they want to buy first.

The title received a Metascore of 94, 9.1 on Userscores, and 95 on OpenCritic, and many players are eager to try the next title.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Extremely realistic details with cinematic plots

While God of War 4 was the most anticipated title in the first half of 2018, RDR2 was undoubtedly the most anticipated title in the second half. Released on October 26, 2018, both on the PS4 and Xbox, RDR2 is the title commemorating the 20th anniversary of Rockstar Games, a reputable developer of open-world games.

The title is a prequel to the original RDR which was released 8 years ago and is considered the game that most reflects the developer’s skills, receiving overwhelming praise after its release.

The developer unraveled the story of the post-Wild West period in the early 1900s from the perspective of Arthur Morgan. The story vividly captures the changing era, an element which was highly-praised by many players.

Although many were fond of the exquisite details and how the game allowed players to interact with almost every object in its open world, there were also people who disliked this, claiming that it was too realistic and made the game characters’ actions relatively slow (7.3 Userscores). Despite criticisms, many people still agree that the developer created an attractive world that almost every gamer would love to jump in and experience.

RDR2 is the biggest hit following Rockstar’s GTA 5, earning 725 million dollars in only 3 days after release and also earning Best Narrative, Best Audio Design, and Best Score/Music at the Game Awards 2018. The title maintains the best scores of 97 on Metascore and 97 on OpenCritic.