The Game Awards was founded by Geoff Keighley who is a prominent figure in the world of gaming as he brings together both game developers, celebrities, and as well as gamers to honor the games that have provided excellent stories, gameplay, and design.
This year, it was held last December 9, 2021, and it proved to be one of their stronger showings. You can definitely tell the improvement from last year. Last year’s awards was a slog and felt like it was biased towards one game. It didn’t feel like a celebration of gaming but more of a celebration of just one game. But for this year we got games that surprisingly won the category they are in and also games that deserved to win.
For example, I did not expect Metroid Dread to win the Best Action Adventure game award as it had fierce competition. I feel that it was really deserving of the award because it really brought that action and adventure genre in full display. Another surprise was that Guardians of the Galaxy won “Best Narrative” and that game also had fierce competition. This one actually surprised me as competitors like Psychonauts 2 had a better story to tell but based on what was mentioned, it was the performance of the actors in Guardians of the Galaxy that drove the narrative of the game. I have to agree that their performance was top notch. If I were to choose which one should have won the “Best Narrative” though, it would be Psychonauts 2 as it tackled a more adult story line but in a light hearted way.
The true surprise for me was the Game of the Year award winner. The 2021 Game of the Year Award went to “It Takes Two”. This was a game that I have not tried out, but would like to since it won the award. Looking into it through various media, they completely agree with the choice as the game expertly blended story, game design and creativity into a neat package that made it feel like a very unique and creative experience that every game should play. I bought the game the next day after the show and I also had one of my friends buy the game so we can play it and actually experience why the game won Game of the Year.
But among the other nominees: Deathloop, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Resident Evil: VIllage, Psychonauts 2 and Metroid Dread, I personally would have picked Psychonauts 2 as the Game of the Year. This game provided a perfect blend of creativity, story telling, game design and fun. Also, it was a game that I have wanted to happen since I was a kid. I guess nostalgia was also a factor into why I chose it as my Game of the Year.
The Game Awards is also not just about celebrating game achievements. It is also a place to announce new game titles that are coming in the future and also anything gaming related were featured in the show. Here are some of the highlights from the Game Awards:
1. Alan Wake 2 was announced and will be releasing in 2023. Now this has been a game that is a long time coming and I am pretty excited about it as this is Remedy’s first ever survival horror game. Remedy has been on a role with their games and I am excited to see their take on the survival horror genre. The first Alan Wake game was already creepy but Alan Wake 2 feels like it is taking it a step beyond creepy.
2. Cuphead: Delicious Last Course having a concrete release date of June 30,2022. Cuphead is one of those special indie games that got a really large following due to its unique graphical style. For those not familiar with Cuphead, it is a run and gun game that has a graphical style similar to the 1930’s cartoons. Each of the graphical frames were hand drawn exactly like how they did it back in the 1930s which is pretty cool and sounds quite extreme considering it is going to be used for a game. Cuphead: Delicious Last Course was announced years back and was originally going to release in 2020 but we haven’t heard back about it since then but through the Game Awards, we finally got a concrete release date.
3. Sonic Frontier for Holiday 2022. Now this game, I hope turns out really well as Sonic games quality had been mediocre, but this one sounds like they want to take their time with it and hope they can get it right as Sonic Frontier is the very first Open World game that Sonic will be in. I like the idea of an open world Sonic game. The mechanics of Sonic the hedgehog games will work pretty well in an Open World game once they determine what aspects to focus on. Not much is known about the game except for little bits of rumors and hearsay on the Internet that may or may not be true. The most famous rumor is that there was a focus group that got a chance to play the game and what they mentioned lines up with what was shown in the traile. The worrying part though is that they mentioned the game wasn’t exactly good. This is disappointing to hear but then again it is a rumor.
4. A Wonder Woman game being made by Monolith, the team behind the Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor/War games. This one excites me a bit as I actually enjoy the Shadow of Mordor games. They bring something really creative and fun into the open world type of games. They are mostly known for creating the Nemesis system. The Nemesis system is this gameplay mechanic where if you kill specific enemies, they can come back and remember what you did to them. This can range from cowering in fear from your presence or they can be filled with spite and want to get revenge on you for whatever you did to them. It’s a pretty complex system but one that works pretty well. Now seeing that implemented into a Wonder Woman game will be very interesting and I would like to see what they can do with Wonder Woman’s move set as well.
5. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie gets a trailer with a premiere date of April 8,2022. This is a movie sequel that shouldn’t have happened. The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie was a miracle as it involved the studio, Paramount pictures actually listened to feedback and completely rehauled the design of Sonic from scratch. This is unheard of and is actually pretty cool of them to do that too. Instead of the abomination we were supposed to get from the first movie, we got a radically different design that closely resembles the actual character they are adapting. That movie did so well that I am glad it got a sequel and is proof that listening to feedback does help improve the final product.
Now for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie, the trailer was actually pretty good. It involved several aspects of the Sonic games now like the Master Emerald being shown off, Dr. Robotnik’s robot minions look like something from the games, Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik closely resembles the mad doctor from the games and the introduction of Tails and Knuckles into the movie. From what I can see, the plot is loosely based off the Sonic & Knuckles game which is considered to be one of the best Sonic games of all time. I look forward to watching this movie when it releases.
It is worth noting that Nintendo did not announce anything this year. They usually have at least one announcement, but it looks like they decided to skip this year. One suggestion I would like to see them do is that when they announce the Best Music Award, that they invite the actual orchestra that played the music to perform during the show.
This year’s Best Music Award winner NieR: Replicant. This game had a stellar soundtrack and deserved to be heard by all the viewers and attendees of the award. It is a shame that people didn’t get to see them perform.
The Game Award did end on a very bright and funny note with Josef Fares accepting the award for “It Takes Two’s” Game of the Year award. Josef Fares is also known as the “F*** the Oscars” guy meme and has a very unique way of explaining things he is working on. It is always a highlight of the Game Awards to see him on stage. But so glad this time it was for him to accept an award.
Gabriel Craig Hernal Rivera
Gabriel Craig Hernal Rivera is an Engineer. A graduate of De LaSalle University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Engineering. He currently works at Accenture U.S. in Metro San Francisco as a Training and Development Specialist. Outside of work, Gabriel enjoys exercising, watching various TV series programs, and especially video games. He also enjoys watching videos regarding Game Design, Game Theories, and in-depth reviews on video games to get a better understanding of the current trends in gaming.
