The Game Awards created quite a stir when it decided to nominate an expansion for Game of the Year. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is absolutely fantastic, and I can see why it made the cut. In fact, every nominee offers something unique, with this year’s bunch being the most diverse we’ve ever seen. However, I think 2024 will be the year of the monkey.

Black Myth: Wukong is one of the most hyped games in recent history, and that anticipation is absolutely warranted. Like past years, a few editors at TheGamer have gotten together to discuss why each of the TGA GOTY nominees deserves to win. While my colleagues will argue for the other nominees, I’m here to tell you that they are wrong.

The Monkey

Combat is Wukong’s strongest argument. At a time when we’re all saturated with Soulslike experiences, Game Science decided that fighting gods as a monkey with a stick should be fun. Spinning a staff around effortlessly before slamming it down after a four-tier charge is one of the most satisfying feelings I’ve had in games this year.

There’s no rolling around until you find an opening – The Destined One/Wukong can simply perfect-dodge his way out of a tight situation before unleashing a barrage of blows to a Yaoguai.

The sheer style and arrogance with which he dances around his opponents is a spectacle that cannot be compared to the hit-and-roll combat of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree or the turn-based nature of Metaphor: ReFantazio.

While a seasoned player will argue skill issue, the fact a mid-level player can look and feel just as cool while playing Wukong is what sets it apart. The game is in no way easy, but it does something that even greats like God of War: Ragnarok have failed to achieve – making you feel like you’re fighting a god, and not just some dude with powers. I don’t mean wearing a god down over time, I mean actually going toe-to-toe with them and winning.

The Myth

Black Myth: Wukong is the herald of China’s arrival to the triple-A video game space. It has created a fervent buzz, with players wondering what we’ll see next from both the studio and country it hails from. Game Science has brilliantly incorporated Chinese mythology into Wukong’s story, without giving us a ton of needless exposition.

The setting feels absolutely fresh, and you’ll never know what animal, monster, or god is around the next corner. While Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a whole new game, we still roughly knew what we were about to face, thanks to it following the original narrative with relative faithfulness.

Even half way through the game, Wukong has the ability to surprise you with fresh ideas, be it a boss or an entire biome, like the Pagoda Realm with its Mani Wheel. It doesn’t rest on its laurels or act like a nostalgia merchant like Astro Bot, but delivers something new and exciting without giving you any idea of where it will go next.

The Legend

If popularity is a criteria, then none of the other nominees come close. On the day it launched, Black Myth: Wukong topped Steam charts with 1.4 million players, beating the likes of Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG: Battlegrounds. It is currently the most played single-player game of all time on the platform. Its all-time peak concurrent players standing was second on the list, and as of today, over three months after launch, it sits at a comfy 26th in terms of concurrent players, according to SteamDB.

There’s no doubt that Balatro is really hard to put down once you get going, especially now that it’s on mobile. But despite its best efforts there’s no way that the card game can hope to reach these numbers any time soon.

I’m going to go full Phoenix Wright here for a minute and point out that my colleagues will mention that Black Myth: Wukong is the lowest reviewed TGA GOTY nominee ever. But I will remind you that 82 on Metacritic is not a bad score by any means. It’s the same score that Helldivers 2 received, which is arguably the biggest multiplayer game of 2024. A Plague Tale: Requiem and Control both were nominated for GOTY at TGA in their respective years and have the same score.

You may think I’m putting the other nominees down, but the only reason I’ve even mentioned them is to give you several criteria to judge why Wukong deserves the big prize. They are all great games in their own right and deserve their nominations, but when it comes down to which one is the best, Black Myth: Wukong holds the bigger stick.