If you have not already listened to the podcast of this category, this is the final results, so this will spoil the course of the discussion on that podcast! Be warned!
Of all parts of a game, I think characters are the part we latch onto and carry with us the most. Even games that we may have turned on, the characters can stick with us. Jen has a deep attachment to Naoto from Persona 4, and I Futaba from Persona 5. Those games are problematic! But that connection that good characters can establish simply can’t be denied.
The Winner
Juliana (Deathloop)
I bet this game could work without Juliana. But honestly, I also bet I would have given up on it by now. I sort of gave up on it, I suppose- at launch it had enough bugs that were costing me progress that I decided to stop (after at least a dozen hours ^^;) and give them time to patch. That’s enough to kill the momentum on any game. But I’ll be heading back, and Juliana’s no small part of why.
Honestly, it’s just an amazing performance. What if you had an inescapable relationship with a girl who was just way smarter than you? I would feel bad for Cole if I didn’t know how he ended up here. Juliana is as engaging to talk to as she is tired of your shit. She’s fantastic.
The Runners-Up
Nagoriyuki (Guilty Gear Strive)
Look let’s not beat around the bush. Boy hot. Like. Boy hot. I mean yeah. He’s cool. He’s polite, he’s fun to play, he’s got a distinctive style, everyone loves a good vampire. He’s got an interesting place in the story. But.
Boy VERY HOT.
Lucian Galade (Suzerain)
Being president in Suzerain is to be surrounded by people you cannot stand. Corrupt politicians, smirking industrialists, idiots with idiot agendas. And then there’s Lucian. Make no mistake, Lucian is evil. He is a sinister person. He doesn’t respect privacy, he seems to lack basic empathy, and he’s a well of darkly patient ambition. But if you want to get shit done, he will get that shit done. And he’s very polite about how evil he is!
—-
One more category for the day, and it’s Best DLC/Add-on! We had a lot of great ones this year, and it led to a great conversation, so I hope you enjoy it.
A big thank you to daanboii (@daanboii on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!
