2019 Game Awards Predictions Scored
Well, as usual, I didn’t watch the darn thing. Last night, the 6th annual (the 17th such show under host/producer Geoff Keighley’s wings) Game Awards were held to honor the best in gaming from the past year. And although I don’t keep up very well with playing the games from the industry, I do keep my ears open for how things are going in the video game world (and play a lot of old games). In any event, maybe I should have watched the broadcast; I heard there were Muppets there. And maybe it would have alleviated just how off base I was, once again, with my predictions. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, independent RPG DISCO ELYSIUM took home the most wins with four. Didn’t guess that one. I’ll bold the actual winner and mark with a * my pick, and tally my results at the end.
Game of the Year
- CONTROL
- DEATH STRANDING*
- SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE
- RESIDENT EVIL 2
- SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE
- THE OUTER WORLDS
Best Game Direction
- CONTROL
- DEATH STRANDING*
- RESIDENT EVIL 2
- SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE
- OUTER WILDS
Best Narrative
- A PLAGUE TALE: INNOCENCE
- CONTROL
- DEATH STRANDING
- DISCO ELYSIUM
- THE OUTER WORLDS*
Best Art Direction
- CONTROL*
- DEATH STRANDING
- GRIS
- SAYONARA WILD HEARTS
- SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE
- THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK’S AWAKENING
Best Score/Music
- CADENCE OF HYRULE*
- DEATH STRANDING
- DEVIL MAY CRY 5
- KINGDOM HEARTS III
- SAYONARA WILD HEARTS
Best Audio Design
- CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE
- CONTROL
- DEATH STRANDING
- GEARS 5
- RESIDENT EVIL 2*
- SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE
Best Performance
- Ashly Burch — THE OUTER WORLDS
- Courtney Hope — CONTROL
- Laura Bailey — GEARS 5
- Mads Mikkelsen — DEATH STRANDING
- Matthew Porretta — CONTROL
- Norman Reedus — DEATH STRANDING*
Games for Impact
- CONCRETE GENIE
- GRIS
- KIND WORDS
- LIFE IS STRANGE 2*
- SEA OF SOLITUDE
Best Ongoing Game
- APEX LEGENDS
- DESTINY 2
- FINAL FANTASY XIV
- FORTNITE*
- TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE
Best Independent Game
- BABA IS YOU
- DISCO ELYSIUM
- KATANA ZERO
- OUTER WILDS*
- UNTITLED GOOSE GAME
Best Mobile Game
- CALL OF DUTY: MOBILE
- GRINDSTONE
- SAYONARA WILD HEARTS*
- SKY: CHILDREN OF LIGHT
- WHAT THE GOLF?
Best Community Support
- APEX LEGENDS
- DESTINY 2
- FINAL FANTASY XIV*
- FORTNITE
- TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE
Best VR/AR Game
- ASGARD’S WRATH
- BLOOD & TRUTH
- BEAT SABER
- NO MAN’S SKY
- TROVER SAVES THE UNIVERSE*
Best Action Game
- APEX LEGENDS
- ASTRAL CHAIN
- CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE
- DEVIL MAY CRY 5*
- GEARS 5
- METRO: EXODUS
Best Action/Adventure Game
- BORDERLANDS 3
- CONTROL
- DEATH STRANDING
- RESIDENT EVIL 2*
- THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK’S AWAKENING
- SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE
Best RPG
- DISCO ELYSIUM
- FINAL FANTASY XIV
- KINGDOM HEARTS III
- MONSTER HUNTER WORLD: ICEBORNE
- THE OUTER WORLDS*
Best Fighting Game
- DEAD OR ALIVE 6
- JUMP FORCE
- MORTAL KOMBAT 11
- SAMURAI SHOWDOWN
- SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE*
Best Family Game
- LUIGI’S MANSON 3
- RING FIT ADVENTURE
- SUPER MARIO MAKER 2
- SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE*
- YOSHI’S CRAFTED WORLD
Best Strategy Game
- AGE OF WONDERS: PLANETFALL
- ANNO 1800
- FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES*
- TOTAL WAR: THREE KINGDOMS
- TROPICO 6
- WARGROOVE
Best Sports/Racing Game
- CRASH TEAM RACING NITRO-FUELED*
- DIRT RALLY 2.0
- EFOOTBALL PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2020
- F1 2019
- FIFA 20
Best Multiplayer Game
- APEX LEGENDS*
- BORDERLANDS 3
- CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE
- TETRIS 99
- TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2
Fresh Indie Game Presented by Subway
- DISCO ELYSIUM
- GRIS
- MY FRIEND PEDRO
- OUTER WILDS*
- SLAY THE SPIRE
- UNTITLED GOOSE GAME
Best Esports Game
- COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE
- DOTA2
- FORTNITE
- LEAGUE OF LEGENDS
- OVERWATCH*
As I mentioned in my predictions piece, I only made guesses for 23 of the 29 categories; besides best overall game, I just totally avoided the esports categories that bear no meaning for me. That being said, I still received the totally abysmal grade of 8 correct predictions out of 23; that’s a 35 percent. That’s even lower than last year’s 57 percent. Oh well. There’s always next year.
