Let me start by saying we were robbed. We had the ultimate matchup for Game of the Year set between Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us Part 2 but no no no, coronafungus had to come in and ruin fucking everything.
Cyberpunk is getting released in December which means, just like Jedi: Fallen Order last year, it’s out of contention for any of The Game Awards this year. We’ve still had a year packed with great games even during a pandemic but I would have loved to see all the Twitter warriors duke it out over which game was superior.
Anyway, you know what we’re doing here. Yesterday the nominees for this year’s Game Awards were announced and we’re gonna predict (almost) all of the winners right now.
Note: as per usual, I will be live streaming my reaction to The Game Awards on December 10th at 7pm EST on my Twitch channel so mark ya calendars and come hang out.
I’ve played only 3 of these games this year (Carrion, Mortal Shell, & Phasmophobia) but I think it’s safe to say we already know what is going to take this award home. I’m sure Raji and Roki are great games and I’m adding them to my backlog as we speak but Phasmophobia just took the gaming world by storm the entire month of October. When you think about how a rookie studio took a great concept, paired it with very cool mechanics from the ghosts and devices, and made it all work in multiplayer? It’s gotta be the lock of this category.
This is always a hard category to predict because its so subjective. You can’t just judge them off one movie or scene like a Best Actor or Best Actress for the Oscars; you have to judge it based on their entire year’s worth of work. To me personally, I think the nod should go to Alanah Pearce. She balanced her own YouTube channel, streaming, a brand new podcast, and her work with Rooster Teeth at Funhaus and Inside Gaming. The sheer volume and variety of content that she did this year is inspirational. But…then you’ve got someone like Jay Ann Lopez who has been building a community for Black Girl Gamers around the world, which is arguably a more “important and positive impact on the community” considering the struggles that black content creators have in this space. It’s a tossup but I think I’ll predict the win for Jay Ann Lopez.
Ok so let’s just do this via process of elimination. Animal Crossing is a great game but I don’t think this is the category it excels in. Warzone is probably the best battle royale in the world right now but it’s so buggy and has horrible support from the devs so I think it’s out as well. Fall Guys is a ton of fun and very different than any other battle royale in the game but its popularity nosedived after that first month. I think it comes down to Valorant and Among Us, and I will give the nod to the latter for how easy it is to pick up and play. My mom could probably figure out Among Us in a few hours and she can’t even beat the first level in any Mario game.
I’m gonna be very short on this one because I’ve only played one of these games and I have zero interest in the others. From everything I’ve heard, FIFA and NBA 2K are supposed to be better on next-gen devices but it’s still more of the same stuff we’ve seen for the last decade. I’m sure F1 and Dirt 5 are fun for racing fans, but I’d give the nod to Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 Remake (the game I’ve played). It’s visually stunning, its mechanics are crisp and precise, and if you didn’t know it was a remake of an old PS2 game you would think it’s one of the coolest games ever made (which it is).
Again, not my category. In fact, playing any of these games for any longer than 5 minutes is like putting me in jail. I hate them. I think it’s weird that Microsoft Flight Simulator is in this category considering that it is nothing like any of the others. Idk guys, I’ll give my prediction to Crusader Kings 3 cause the trailer looked cool and I’ve heard good things. Just a shot in the dark.
All of these games are great but this is Animal Crossing‘s award to lose. No matter your age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or anything else people try to use to split the human race into subgroups, you like Animal Crossing. It transcends every stereotype. The only game that has the slightest chance at upsetting Animal Crossing is Fall Guys and most kids haven’t even won a game because of all the sweaty losers in that game. If there is anywhere taking bets on The Game Awards, bet the house on Animal Crossing winning this award. It’s my lock of the blog.
Apparently, the criteria for getting nominated for Best Fighting game at The Game Awards is just “release a fighting game…or even a DLC”, because 3 of these titles absolutely should not be in the running for any award in 2020. MK11 and Street Fighter 5 are just boosted versions of older games and anyone that’s played One Punch Man knows it’s not a good game, much less a good fighting game. So it’s down once again to two games that I do not play so I’ll go with Granblue Fantasy: Versus solely because it has a cooler picture. (god I feel like a girl picking sports teams.)
I’m throwing FF7 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon out immediately. They’re good but not in the same tier as the other three. Genshin Impact just saw a rise in popularity the last month or so, so I’d say it has a decent shot but the frontrunners are Persona 5 and Wasteland 3. I’d give the nod to Persona 5 but it’s technically just an upgrade to the 2016 release. So yea let’s ride with Wasteland 3 winning.
Fuck triple A’s, gimme Ori and the Will of the Wisps for the win. All the other games are great, but “combat with traversal and puzzle solving”? None of them do it better than Ori. None. You heard me. The favorite is probably The Last of Us Part 2 but ORI ORI ORI ORI ORI ORI ORI. I’m riding with my favorite game in the category and the dark horse of them all. Shoutout Jedi: Fallen Order tho for the obligatory nod after the shitshow of drama surrounding its lack of eligibility last year. No one is gonna vote for it but hey, it got the nom you all wanted.
I cannot tell you how happy it made me see Streets of Rage 4 get a nomination. It is such an underappreciated game this year and IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED IT DO IT TODAY.
But it’s not winning this award. I’m kinda surprised that Half-Life: Alyx is in this category and not Adventure because I think it fits better there. But to me, I think this is where Hades takes home its first award. Just like Dead Cells in 2018, while all the other games have flashy triple-A quality Hades is just more addictive and fun to play. I know that’s a subjective statement but I think many on the panel will agree. Doom Eternal is probably the other game I would say has a chance, but Hades is my prediction.
I’m not even gonna try to make an argument for any other game than Half-Life. I don’t own a VR headset so I haven’t played anything else on this list but Half-Life: Alyx is the first true triple-A title designed specifically for VR that actually feels like a triple-A VR game (if that makes sense). It reset the standard for VR titles, which is exactly what Valve does nowadays when they make a new game.
This is where Fall Guys takes home it’s only award. While Destiny 2 is probably still the best-supported game by devs, Fall Guys hype train was propelled even further by their Twitter presence. The timthetatman stuff, the way they threw all the hackers into lobbies with each other, the memes, the Ninja x MrBeast x G2 campaign, all the new skins that have come out, BIG YEETUS; these guys know what they’re doing and they’ve done the best job on social media with their community.
There are two ways to look at this category: the best game on mobile, which would be Among Us, or the best game specifically designed for mobile and unavailable on any other device, which would be CoD Mobile. I think the nod goes to Among Us.
Ok again, let’s do a process of elimination on this one: Carrion and Spiritfarer are good but they are longshots. Spelunky 2 is probably the dark horse here and is very good, but I think hype usually plays more into The Game Awards than other award shows and it received very little. So it’s a toss-up between Fall Guys and Hades. I’m gonna go with Hades. More replayability, more depth, and more hunks.
LOL Warzone should not be in this category. It’s not an ongoing game yet; it came out this year! This usually is awarded to games that have been released in previous years and are still, you know, ongoing. I think Fortnite is the safe bet so I’ll go with it as my prediction, but I could definitely see Destiny 2 getting the nod instead. No Man’s Sky could also come in and steal it with all they’ve done to that game to improve it over the years, but Fortnite‘s team is just so hard to compete against.
This is an extremely tough category for me because I’ve only played one of these games (Tell Me Why) and it’s probably the weakest of the 5 nominees. After looking through the other 4, Kentucky Route Zero seems like the one I would give the nod and so I’ll give it my prediction. Though I’m now very excited to go home and try If Found…looks right up my alley.
Ok, this seems like a two-dog race between Ellie and Abby’s actresses but I haven’t played the game yet (fucking PS5 preorders man…). I have literally no idea who’s better but I’ll take the safe route and say Ashley Johnson as Ellie is probably the winner.
Ah, one of my favorite categories. I am a slut for a good gaming soundtrack and the best one this year is ORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS BABY. I loved the heavy metal songs in DOOM Eternal, which is probably my 2nd pick, but Ori’s soundtrack will move you to tears WITHOUT the game so yea, lock it in.
ORI AND THE WILL OF THE-
Actually, while it’s got some of the most phenomenal art, I don’t think it will take this one home. I think the art of Hades and Ori is some of the best ever, but Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part 2 are so mindblowing from an animation standpoint that I think it’s actually between them. I’ll give it to Ghost of Tsushima for making their world feel alive with every step you take, every move you maaake….
First off, what the fuck is this 13 Sentinals game? I’ve literally never heard of it before and it took a nomination from Ori? FROM MY PRECIOUS ORI??? Fuck you, dude. (I’m actually gonna look it up tho I’m intrigued).
This is an easy pick for TLOU2 I think. Yea, not everyone loved the ending and some of the characterizations, but that’s how you know it’s good. It’s polarizing. It made you feel extremely emotional one way or the other. Again, I haven’t played it yet (so no fucking spoilers) but I feel like this is a lock for Ellie and co.
And now we’ve arrived at the big two. At the Oscars, these two awards are considered the most prestigious for all parties involved and it’s no different in gaming. While this may be the “MTV Music Awards for gaming”, I do feel like these final two awards always seem to end up spot on.
And for me, I don’t know how you don’t give it to Half-Life: Alyx. Yes, all the other games nominated are groundbreaking in their own way, but Valve did the impossible by making a VR game that I actually wanted to play. I thought were years away from reaching the levels of physics and immersion they created in that game and I cannot wait to throw on a headset and give it a try one day. It’s gonna take this award home because it didn’t get a GOTY nom and honestly, it would have been my prediction if it had.
Alright and here we are. Game of the Year 2020. What will it be?
I think it comes down to Animal Crossing and The Last of Us Part 2. I know, I know, “Animal Crossing nerd? ANIMAL CROSSING? Are you high?” And believe me, I never thought in January that I would be typing this either but it legitimately is one of the best games released this year. So many fucking people survived quarantine with that game and it’s astounding how much of an impact it had on the world. When I think about games released in 2020, Animal Crossing is always the first or second title I say.
But I think ultimately this is TLOU2’s award to lose. The animation and mechanics that I’ve seen in footage of the game are just mindblowing. Naughty Dog is an absolute force to be reckoned with in every aspect of game design and I cannot see them losing this award, despite all the negative flack they received post-launch.
So there you have it. There are my predictions. Honestly, I’m more excited for all the reveals and announcements that come with The Game Awards, which once again I will be live streaming my reaction to The Game Awards on December 10th at 7pm EST on my Twitch channel so mark ya calendars and come hang out. Maybe I’ll even fuck around and do a giveaway, idk.
