Scheduled for December 12 from 5:30pm to 9:00pm (PST), the Game Awards is an annual celebration of video game development. While the event mirrors the Oscars and other award shows in terms of categories, the featured event is the game of the year. In a recent tweet, Geoff Keighley from the Game Awards revealed the 2019 finalists.
The List
While there are glaring omissions that we will analyze shortly, the finalists for 2019 include the following:
- Control from Remedy/505 Games
- Death Stranding from Kojima Productions/SIE
- Resident Evil 2 from Capcom
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice from From Software/Activision
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from Bandai-Namco/Sora/Nintendo
- The Outer Worlds from Obsidian/Private Division
Although the finalists represent a wide range of genres, the list should raise a few eyebrows. The most debated titles include the following:
- While Control fixed many of Remedy’s mistakes with Quantum Break, critics and fans rated the game as mediocre. Not to mention, Epic subsidized the PC version of Control for $10.5 million, which likely helped to make up for a poor console release.
- Fans continue to give Death Stranding mixed reviews on Metacritic. Although the current score is 83 for the PlayStation version, the average user score is 5.8 as of November 19. While Death Stranding is a different type of game, Kojima did not push the envelope to the extent that he did with the Metal Gear Solid series.
- Resident Evil 2 is a remake of the 1998 hit from Capcom. Period. While there is no doubt that RE2 is an excellent game, this nomination raises the question as to whether the committee should consider remakes and remasters for game of the year nominations.
Glaring Omissions
Although the list of finalists cannot include all great games, there are a number of important exclusions that are worth mentioning.
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Much like Fire Emblem: Awakening, FE3H revived the series on the Nintendo Switch. The game continues to be one of the best selling titles of 2019 and should be on everyone’s short list of 2019 snubs.
- Gears 5. Like Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Gears 5 took the series in a fresh and new direction. From the progressive storytelling with a female protagonist to its beautiful graphics and gameplay, Gears 5 is a glaring omission.
- Borderlands 3. While the Game Awards is not know for celebrating looter-shooters, Borderlands 3 is a curious omission from the list. While the game did not build upon the foundation of Borderlands 2, the newest installment brought back many of the same concepts and gameplay that fans adore.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. First-person shooters are not popular in the Game Awards; however, there is no denying that Modern Warfare 2019 is special. In fact, the game is one of the fastest-selling Activision titles of all time. Fans love the game and cannot stop talking about it. For whatever reason, the Game Awards left this title off the GoTY list.
Conclusion
While we applaud the Game Awards for creating a unique list of GoTY finalists, the criteria used to create this finalized list is blurry at best. If history repeats itself, the Action genre has the best chance to win this coveted award. Perhaps this year will be different with the popularity of The Outer Worlds, but Sekiro, RE2, and Death Stranding have the best odds of winning game of the year.
But we want to know what you think. If you are excited about the game of the year nominations, then will you watch the show live on Twitch or other platforms? Let us know in the comments below or the social media links on the right. Be sure to check out our other news items on Modern Warfare, Capcom, Blizzard and more. Until next time, enjoy!