Game Awards 2019 predictions

I love those yearly retrospective. Well, I personally love taking the time to do a little recap on all the experiences we (gamers) have lived through during the previous year. Geoff Keighley’s show just got better and better with every passing year, and I’m sure this year won’t be any different. I try and play a lot of games, allowing me to have my take on most categories. Here are my predictions about what will happen this time around, on December 12th. I won’t have any input on categories I feel I am unable to do a proper judgment. I will list them in the same order they are on the official website of the show.

This year’s selection of title for the ultimate award is very impressive. We have everything, from a pretty niche game (Sekiro), to family fun (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), to triple-A remake (Resident Evil 2) to a brand new triple-A IP (Death Stranding). The creativity and technical prowess of the 2 games I mentioned were a constant talk since their release. For its originality and weirdness, I want Death Stranding to win. I’m sure though that Resident Evil 2 will win, which is definitely a major component of the Capcom revival trend (combined with Monster Hunter World and Devil May Cry 5, 2 other games that are nominated in other categories).

With a criteria restricted on combat, the Devil May Cry franchise has always been recognized as a force. The over-the-top action, flashy moves and smooth animation are factors that defined this franchise, and had many influences on other games (like Bayonetta and the pre-PS4 God of War games). They struck again this year with the fifth game. It is the action game that I enjoyed the most. I think though that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will win: this franchise is always one of the top sellers of the year, and the return of this story has a lot of fans clamoring about its quality. I am sure the amount of vote for this game will crush its competitors.

This category is very precise. A lot of those titles are awesome in some aspects, but not as good for the 3 aspects. As a dark horse in this year’s ceremony, I really hope that Control wins this one. I’m pretty sure though that Sekiro will be the winner, a game that had people talk for a long time after its release.

The level of artistry that can be seen in those games are incredible. I especially appreciate the fact that both indie and triple-A developers are nominated. I am really torn between 2 of the games, from both levels of developers. Even though Gris is mind-blowing (and I would have loved to see it wins this category), in terms of arts and animation, it is close to impossible to counter Death Stranding.

For atmospheric reason (and sometimes for realism), audio design must be at the same pristine level as anything else. Some types of games need this, especially 1st-person shooters and horrors. It is one of the things in Resident Evil 2 that made me love it so much, where the audio really emphasized the horror and the creepiness. I think that Call of Duty will win though, with its amazing work in terms of gunplay and realism from the audio department.

Wow, a Nintendo category for family games, what a surprise ! Jokes aside, there are great games in here. Even though Luigi’s Mansion 3 is definitely having success since its release, it cannot compare to the juggernaut that is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This game has been in conversations non-stop for almost a year now, and there are no signs of it stopping any time soon. It needs to win this award.

The creativity and originality in indie games are always very interesting, and this year’s lineup is not different. The resurgence of cRPG with a twist (with Disco Elysium) is a factor that affected me a lot. In terms of the overall videogame market though, the game that I think affected the most people to the point of making them vote for it is the quirky Untitled Goose Game. With the number of jokes and memes, to even game mods (the Resident Evil 2 mod replacing Mr. X by the goose is epic!), I am convinced this is the game that will win.

A game direction is going to be strong if the director is hands-on and absolute in his vision and determination to make it alive. For the last couple of years, we all know how Hideo Kojima is. You can love or hate his choices, but in terms of having a creative vision that is really out there, I don’t think the competitors are as strong. It is absolutely not because they are bad, it’s just that Kojima Productions created something that is so unique that it overshadows the others.

2019 was a great year for indie games. This lineup is crazy good, and a lot of the games were talked about positively for a long time after their release. If I go for the definition of the category though (outstanding creative and technical achievement), the 2 that stands out to me are Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds. I would really want for the former to win, but having only been released on PC impacted a lot the number of people who played it, compared to the latter who was released on every platform except Switch. Because of that, I think they will get the most votes.

I play videogames mostly for escapism and narration. The narrative is so important for most of my games that it even sometimes makes me love a game when it is outstanding, but the gameplay is weaker. The games in this list of nominees are all outstanding. By its concept, originality and the fact that it is not too long or convoluted, I want A Plague Tale: Innocence to win (also supporting a medium-sized development team fighting against juggernauts). I think though that The Outer Worlds will win: it is such a great return to form for the studio, and it deserves a narrative nod for its fun, quirkiness and well-told story. 

This is, for me, THE toughest category. In a year where narrative-driven games were phenomenal and great actors implicated in those projects, crowning only one winner is quite a challenge. The one that really stuck with me, by just being the embodiment of the essence of the game, is Courtney Hope, playing Jesse Faden in Control. I think that Mads Mikkelsen will win though: the image (seen above) is something that became even bigger than the role itself, and a Hollywood actor being implicated successfully in a game like that is not common. He is just…so charismatic (even in its digital form) that it’s hard not to be hypnotized by his portrayal of Hideo Kojima’s character.

It’s really hard to fight against Capcom since the release of the Monster Hunter World base game. So many people bought the game (MHW is now Capcom’s best-selling game ever), and in terms of RPG, it is a really huge game. The deepness of the gameplay combined with so many ways of character progression that it deserves this award. I still have to give a shout out to all the nominees in this category for all being games that I really appreciated.

The relevance of the score & music category is not to be diminished. With developers pushing more and more their creativity, it has become an integral part of the artistry of games. This year’s list of nominees are all using music in a great way. The one that stuck with me the most is the soundtrack of Cadence of Hyrule: the remixes of classic Zelda music with Crypt of the NecroDancer made quite a unique ensemble that I was still thinking about after I finished playing the game. I think Sayonara Wild Hearts will win this award though: if someone had told me at the beginning of 2019 that a mobile music game would be a must-play, I would not have believed you. I am a huge appreciator of musical games, and this one is something that must be absolutely experienced.

Since the day that VR is now an accessible technology for gaming in public homes, it is almost impossible not to hear about Beat Saber. This rhythm musical games had people slashing blocks for more than a year now, and is still considered the one that non-gamers can actually look at and try to see what the technology is all about. It is now available on every VR platforms, and the company still continues with its post-launch content, having many additional songs to play with. Its importance cannot be understated. Kudos to the other nominees with its great use of VR (especially No Man’s Sky, having Hello Games continue its great comeback story), but I haven’t seen yet a title that can rival the juggernaut that is Beat Saber (which is great for a small company that has now just been bought by Facebook).

So here are my takes on the categories I was confident I have an informed opinion on. I’ll see on December 12th if I’m totally wrong on not. It starts at 8:30 PM Eastern Time. To get a list of all the ways you can watch the show, you have an exhaustive list here. In the meantime, reach me and tell me what you think.