More like Breath of the Mild and Tears of the Mid. Games that appeal to children and severely lack depth.
These new Zelda games are nothing compared to any of the older Zelda games.
The only thing other games have to overcome are Nintendo's rabbid fanbase.
The award is Game Of The
Year not Game Of The Decade, Game Of The Quarter Century, Game Of The Past 12 Years, 5 Months and 13 Days ...
It doesn't have to be the best ever, it just needs to beat the other games published the
same calendar year. Just like the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, Pulitzers, et al.
When
Zelda TotK came out, it was heavily streamed on Twitch and I assure you most of those content creators were over 18.
And remember, not everyone playing video games today played all of those old NES/SNES/N64 titles (or PS1, PS2, PS3, Xbox, XboxOne, etc.).
Anyhow the same criticism of Nintendo's target audience has been around for decades. And why would Nintendo cut off younger players? They end up being grumpy old guys on tech websites complaining that today's games aren't as good as games from the ten, twenty, thirty forty years ago. And while doing so, they generate lots of revenue for Nintendo. How much money do G-rated and PG-rated movies make?
If
Zelda TotK wins, then other publishers and developers simply have to try harder, don't they?
Disclaimer #1: I am not a member of the group of people who votes on GOTY. Most likely no one here on TPU is.
Disclaimer #2: Say, I think I have my console pricing wrong. Isn't Switch OLED $50
more expensive than the $299 Xbox Series S?
Your most effective recourse is to vote with your wallet. If a game makes you happy, just play it. But awards are handed out regardless. Some title will be the 2023 GOTY and the odds on favorite is
Zelda TotK. I'm sorry it's not the one you would prefer but I'm not the decision maker anyhow.