Ah The Game Awards.
I gotta hand it to Geoff Keighley, while the show dragged on a little too long for my taste with a few too many ads, I really enjoyed this year’s awards ceremony. It’s like I was telling the rest of the Pixelrater crew—each year gets better and better, and while I wasn’t there in attendance like our friend Dan Butchko, you can tell the venue was packed with positive energy. One thing I loved more than the game reveals this year (of which there were many) was the heart and passion emanating from everyone who won with two standout moments for me in particular. The first was when Carol Shaw, the first ever credited female game designer, won this year’s Industry Icon award. The second was when Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi, two prolific members of the creative team for The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, accepted the award for Game of the Year. They were glowing!
And then there was the ‘raw passion’ of Josef Fares.
Wow.
Anyway, here is the full list of winners.
Game of the Year
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Best Game Direction
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Best Narrative
What Remains of Edith Finch
Best Art Direction
Cuphead
Best Score / Music
NieR: Automata
Best Audio Design
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Best Performance
Melina Juergens, Hellblade
Games for Impact
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Best Ongoing Game
Overwatch
Best Mobile Game
Monument Valley 2
Best Handheld Game
Metroid: Samus Returns
Best VR / AR Game
Resident Evil 7
Best Action Game
Wolfenstein II
Best Action / Adventure Game
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Best Role Playing Game
Persona 5
Best Fighting Game
Injustice 2
Best Family Game
Super Mario Odyssey
Best Strategy Game
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Best Sports / Racing Game
GT Sport
Best Anticipated Game
The Last of Us Part II
Best Independent Game
Cuphead
Best Student Game
Level Squared
Trending Gamer
Guy Beahm
Best eSports Game
Overwatch
Best eSports Player
Lee sang-hyeok “Faker”
Best eSports Team
Cloud 9
Best Debut Indie Game
Cuphead
Best Chinese Game
jx3 HD
Yeah, it’s a pretty big list. Okay, now on to the other cool announcements! You can also find the YouTube playlist with all the announcements broken down at the bottom.
• A World War Z game is coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One
• Job Simulator follow-up Vacation Simulator announced
• Accounting + is heading to PSVR very soon
• New From Software game teased at The Game Awards
• In the Valley of Gods is the next game from the Firewatch dev team
• The Champions’ Ballad DLC is out now for Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Soul Calibur VI will continue the tale of swords and souls next year
• Fortnite Battle Royale’s new game type is an ambitious 50v50 mode
• New Early Access survival game by THQ Nordic, Fade to Silence, leaked ahead of The Game Awards
• Bayonetta 1 and 2 are heading to the Switch
• Bayonetta 3 revealed exclusively for Switch
• Death Stranding is even weirder than we thought
• Witchfire got a crazy reveal trailer
• Japan is getting a Steelbook ‘Non-Stop Climax Edition’ of Bayonetta 1 and 2 for Switch
• Media Molecule’s Dreams is kinda nightmare-ish and I’m kind of into it
• Meet Vincent and Leo in this new trailer for A Way Out
• PUBG hits Xbox One on December 12, with PC 1.0 launch coming Dec. 20
• Wait, someone really named a game GTFO? Get the fuck out! (It also got it’s first gameplay trailer)
• Metro Exodus received a new trailer showcasing trains, mutants, and more frozen hellscape
• Sea of Thieves launches on March 20, 2018
What a show! See you all next year!
