Sale guidence forth coming, but as I ponder that, I'll throw down my picks for this years awards.
Game of the Year - PUBG?
This pick was stupid. Nothing in this category excited me. PUBG was a ton of fun tho. Of what's there, it's the top IMO. Odyssey was OK. Hitman 2 was excellent, but doesn't stand out from previous entries. I haven't taken the time to fall in love with Kingdom Come, despite it looking top notch.
VR Game of the Year - Beat Saber
This is VR's killer app IMO. I'm shocked RecRoom's not on this list tho. Skyrim is EXCELLENT in VR. Fallout is VERY GOOD in VR. Both really suffer from UI inventory management. Superhow was MADE for VR in play and in theme. Like... literally. Play the pancake version and you'll understand. VR Chat didn't deserve to be here. Seriously... where is RecRoom?
Labor of Love - Path of Exile
Year after year it's quality improvements. Grinding Gear IS the model for continuous game development. If you're going to do continuous dev, these guys have mastered it. NMS is better but still flat, Stardew is great, but... no where near the level of growth of the others on the list. GTA5 is fun but... also growth is there but not substatial. DOTA2 doesn't impress me growth wise... or even as a game.
Best Developer - Bethesda
Flame on brothers. Fallout 76 is fun. Skyrim VR and Fallout VR are both great additions. Straight up fun. Ubi flopped this year, CDPR is neat but nothing to show this year, Rockstar, SquareEnix, Capcom, Paradox, Bandai... all just *shrug* years from them. All expected progressions. Klei... for one game? DE... for one game? This was a meh category for me... no one really stood out, but... if I have to pick, it's bethesda... despite my launcher issues, and my nylon bag... they're still producing content I enjoy the most out of all these.
Best Environment - Can't Pick
I didn't spend significant time in ANY of these games. Fallout 76's environment is amazing. That might be the best part of the entire game... but it's not on the list.
Better With Friends - PayDay2
Another weak pick IMO. Given the choices I'll take PayDay. Why isn't PUBG here? PUBG is amazing with friends. So is RecRoom.
Best Alternate History - Look at my icon
Was there ever another choice? (how did a 3 year old game end up here?)
Most Fun With a Machine - Factorio
Really great game. Lots to do, and I love process management games. Rocket League is fun, Haven't played Nier... can't get past the SUPER weird ultra-weeb upskirt lover vibe this game has. Space Engineers is good but still pretty rough.
There's my 3 cents. What's yours?
