More Lists – Page 5 – Video Game Canon

“Game of the Year” at the 2021 Game Awards Goes to Hazelight’s It Take Two

The new release calendar was a bit thinner in 2021 for a variety of reasons, so this year’s slate at The Game Awards was truly a free-for-all. With no clear frontrunner, many people expected a big night for Arkane’s Deathloop, which received nine nominations across eight categories (including “Game of the Year”). But with more than 100 games receiving at least one nomination, there were bound to be some surprises.

And there were definitely some surprises… such as It Takes Two winning “Game of the Year.” Hazelight’s weird and wild multiplayer adventure also won “Best Multiplayer” and beat out four Nintendo-produced titles to triumph in the “Best Family Game” category.

In between a dizzying amount of trailers for upcoming games, musical performances, and a short scene from The Matrix Resurrections, host Geoff Keighley gave out a few other awards.

While it was denied the big prize, Deathloop collected two statuettes (for “Best Game Direction” and “Best Art Direction”). Other “Game of the Year” nominees had their moment in the sun, including Nintendo’s Metroid Dread, which won “Best Action/Adventure Game.” And Maggie Robertson’s appearance as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village won over the Internet earlier this year, which made her “Best Performance” win at The Game Awards rather fitting.

Other multi-award winners included Microsoft’s Forza Horizon 5 (“Best Audio Design,” “Best Sports/Racing Game,” and “Innovation in Accessibility”), Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV (“Best Ongoing Game” and “Best Community Support”), Ember Lab’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits (“Best Independent Game” and “Best Debut Indie”).

This year’s group of nominees also included Cyberpunk 2077, which was released in December 2020 and missed the cutoff for last year’s judging period. While it received a chilly reception at launch, after a year of updates and bug fixes, CD Projekt’s sprawling futuristic RPG received two nominations, but didn’t win in either category. This year’s cutoff (November 19th) was particularly early, so we’ll likely be talking about Halo Infinite at the 2022 Game Awards.

But that’s next year. Right now, you can find a video replay of the 2021 Game Awards after the break, as well as a complete list of winners, and all the nominees.

[Continue Reading…]

Shortlist (and Winner) Announced for “Ultimate Game of All Time” Vote at 2021 Golden Joystick Awards

By the estimation of the Golden Joystick Awards, more than 1.1 million video games have been released since Atari’s Computer Space ushered in the medium’s commercial era in 1971. But is it possible to sweep away all the chaff and crown one single title as the “Ultimate Game of All Time”?

I still don’t know the answer to that question. But that’s not going to stop the people behind the Golden Joystick Awards from trying. And they want your help.

[Continue Reading…]

The Guardian Ranks “The 15 Greatest Games of the 2010s”

Dozens of publications used the final weeks and months of 2019 to pick the Best Games of the 2010s, but Keza MacDonald and Keith Stuart stood apart from their peers.

Instead, the Guardian’s game journalists decided to poke convention in the eyeballs and reminisce about the 20 years since the turn of the millennium with a ranking of “The 50 Best Video Games of the 21st Century.”

But now here we are in 2021, a full two years later, and they’ve decided that the time is finally right to publish their ranking of “The 15 Greatest Games of the 2010s.” And even though they’re (technically) playing catchup with their colleagues, MacDonald and Stuart didn’t take the assignment lightly, crafting an epic-length blurb for From Software’s Dark Souls, which was selected as the best game of the decade…

[Continue Reading…]

See the Bracket (and Winner) for IGN’s “Best Video Game of All Time” Tournament

IGN’s editors and contributors have produced multiple Best Games lists over the last 20 years (the most recent, the “Top 100 Video Games of All Time,” was published in 2019), but they’re doing something a little different with their “Best Video Game of All Time Bracket.”

Beginning today, IGN’s readers will guide the process by voting in a March Madness-style tournament that features 64 of “the very best” games, as selected by IGN staff.

To build the bracket, games were sorted randomly into four different regions, and then seeded by IGN’s editors. Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, Valve’s Portal 2, Nintendo’s Super Mario World, and Nintendo’s Super Metroid were the #1 seeds in each region, but voters will have to make some hard choices in this first round.

I mean, how do you choose between The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim? Or Halo 2 and Mass Effect 2? Or Street Fighter II and Pokemon Yellow? Or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Final Fantasy VII?

Let’s take a look at the full seeding…

[Continue Reading…]

2020 GOTY Scoreboard: Hades, The Last of Us Part II, and More

Nintendo made last year’s pandemic-related lockdowns more bearable with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Naughty Dog ruled the Summer with The Last of Us Part II. CD Projekt finally showed us their vision of the future with Cyberpunk 2077. And Valve brought virtual reality to a new level with Half-Life: Alyx (the first expansion to the Half-Life franchise in over a decade).

Oh, and Sony and Microsoft each launched brand new consoles in November.

But it was Hades, developed by the small team at Supergiant Games, that walked out of Hell with the most “Game of the Year” accolades in 2020.

You can find the other four, as well as more of last year’s most-acclaimed titles, after the break in the 2020 GOTY Scoreboard.

[Continue Reading…]

Supergiant’s Hades Collects Another “Game of the Year” Statuette at the 2020-2021 GDC Awards

This year’s Game Developers Conference is operating slightly out of sync with its normal spot on the calendar, but it was still business as usual (in more ways than one) for the 2020-2021 Game Developers Choice (GDC) Awards.

Ghost of Tsushima, Hades, and The Last of Us Part II tied for the most nominations with six apiece, so competition was stiff for the night’s biggest prize, but it was Hades that took home “Game of the Year” (as well as “Best Audio” and “Best Design”) during last night’s virtual ceremony.

Supergiant’s roguelike just narrowly missed a clean sweep of all the major year-end awards, and the only statuette to elude the veteran developers was the “rising angel” from The Game Awards, which instead went to Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II.

As you may have guessed, Sony’s one-two punch from the PS4’s final Summer didn’t go home empty-handed. The Last of Us Part II was selected as the recipient of the “Best Narrative” award, while Ghost of Tsushima picked up “Best Visual Art” and the “Audience Award.”

Other games that expanded their trophy case last night included Genshin Impact (“Best Mobile Game”), Half-Life: Alyx (“Best VR/AR Game”), Microsoft Flight Simulator (“Best Technology”), Dreams (“Innovation Award”), and Phasmophobia (“Best Debut”)

You can find a full list of all the winners, nominees, and Honorable Mentions from the 2020-2021 Game Developers Choice Awards, as well as a video replay of the show (which was hosted by writer Sam Maggs), after the break.

[Continue Reading…]

Shigeru Miyamoto and Other Nintendo Executives Reveal Their Favorite Games

There’s usually not much entertainment value to be found in the dollars and cents of a corporate financial call, but the Q&A during Nintendo’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders is usually an exception.

The dialogue between the consolemaker’s executive team and shareholders is oftentimes bizarre, and the questions are never what you’d expect. In one infamous exchange from a few years ago, a shareholder used their time to say “I do not understand video games” and then scolded the executives for talking too much about “childish topics.”

This year’s Q&A (the company’s 81st overall) was no exception, but one shareholder was able to ask the executives, including legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto, about their favorite games.

[Continue Reading…]

Supergiant’s Hades Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2020-2021 DICE Awards

Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima, Supergiant’s Hades, and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II dominated the conversation among players in 2020, and all five were in competition for the big prize at this year’s DICE Awards.

The Last of Us Part II lead the way with 11 nominations, but it was Hades that won “Game of the Year” during last night’s ceremony. The well-reviewed roguelike also claimed four other trophies, including “Action Game of the Year,” “Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game,” “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction.”

Though Hades was the big winner, each of the games nominated for “Game of the Year” won something at this year’s DICE Awards.

Ghost of Tsushima sliced its way to victory in four categories, including “Adventure Game of the Year,” “Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition,” “Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction.”

The Last of Us Part II picked up a pair of trophies, including “Outstanding Achievement in Story” and “Outstanding Achievement in Animation.”

And finally, Animal Crossing: New Horizons (“Family Game of the Year”) and Final Fantasy VII Remake (“Role-Playing Game of the Year”) each won a single prize.

A complete list of all winners and nominees from the 2020-2021 DICE Awards can be found after the break, along with a video replay of the ceremony, which was hosted by IGN.

[Continue Reading…]

“Best Game” Bestowed Upon Hades at the 2020-2021 BAFTA Games Awards

The critical community bestowed yet another boon on Hades at the 2020-2021 BAFTA Games Awards. The voters from the esteemed British Academy have awarded Supergiant’s roguelike adventure with “Best Game” (and a truckload of additional trophies).

After receiving eight nominations, the developers from Supergiant would ultimately climb the virtual stage five times throughout the night. In addition to the “Best Game” award, Hades was also selected as the winner in the “Artistic Achievement,” “Game Design,” and “Narrative” categories. Voice actor Logan Cunningham completed the hot streak by winning the “Performer in a Supporting Role” award for pulling sextuple duty as Hades, Achilles, Poseidon, Asterius, Charon, and The Storyteller.

Looking back, it’s astonishing that Hades wasn’t a heavy favorite heading into this year’s BAFTA Games Awards. And that’s because Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II received 13 total nominations before the ceremony, more than any other game in the nearly 20-year history of the BAFTAs. In the end, the game would emerge victorious in just two categories: “Animation” and “Performer in a Leading Role” (for Laura Bailey’s portrayal of Abby).

Other big winners at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards included Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons (“Game Beyond Entertainment” and “Multiplayer”) and Sumo Digital’s Sackboy: A Big Adventure (“Best British Game” and “Family”). Phobia’s Carrion (“Debut Game”), Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima (“Audio Achievement”), Insomniac’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (“Music”), Cardboard Computer’s Kentucky Route Zero (“Original Property”), and Rare’s Sea of Thieves (“Evolving Game”) all won a single award.

A complete list of the winners and nominees at the 2020-2021 BAFTA Games Awards, as well as an embedded replay of the ceremony, can be found after the break.

[Continue Reading…]

Hades is “Video Game of the Year” at the 2020-2021 SXSW Gaming Awards

The God of the Underworld has added South By Southwest to his expansive domain as Supergiant’s Hades was named “Video Game of the Year” during last night’s ceremony for the 2020-2021 SXSW Gaming Awards. The roguelike also collected a second trophy for “Excellence in Game Design.”

Festival organizers decided to drastically slim down the category slate, presenting just a dozen awards this year (down from 17 in 2019-2020), though 43 different games received at least one nomination. Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima and Moon Studios’s Ori and the Will of the Wisps led the way with four nominations apiece and both managed to score one win (“Excellence in Animation, Art, and Visual Achievement” for Sucker Punch and “Excellence in Score” for Moon Studios).

But it was another indie that managed to outshine the rest of the lineup at this year’s ceremony, as Ghost Ship Games’s Deep Rock Galactic was the only other two-time winner for “Indie Game of the Year” and “Excellence in Multiplayer.” Other winners at the 2020-2021 SXSW Gaming Awards included Half-Life: Alyx (“VR Game of the Year”), Dreams (“Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award”), The Last of Us Part II (“Excellence in Narrative”), Microsoft Flight Simulator (“Excellence in Technical Achievement”), and Doom Eternal (“Excellence in Audio Design”).

The SXSW Gaming Awards also selects a “Tabletop Game of the Year” every year as well, and this year the award went to The Search for Planet X.

A complete list of winners and nominees from the 2020-2021 SXSW Gaming Awards can be found after the break.

[Continue Reading…]