The Game Critics have banded together for the annual best of E3 awards and have today announced the nominees. As you can see from the lengthy list below there’s a plethora of categories and a number of Nintendo titles up for awards. This year there are 64 publications judging and you’ll be able to find out which game received an award from each category on Thursday 27th June.
BEST OF SHOW
Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
Doom Eternal (id/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox)
Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix/Square Enix for PS4)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox)
The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
BEST ORIGINAL GAME
12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna for PC, Xbox)
Bleeding Edge (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios for PC, Xbox)
Control (Remedy/505 Games for PC, PS4, Xbox)
John Wick Hex (Bithell Games/Good Shepherd for Mac, PC)
The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division for PC, PS4, Xbox)
BEST CONSOLE GAME
Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix/Square Enix for PS4)
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo for Switch)
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo EPD/Nintendo for Switch)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn/EA for PS4, Xbox)
Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft for PS4, Xbox)
BEST PC GAME
Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
Control (Remedy/505 Games for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Doom Eternal (id/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox)
The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Wolfenstein: Youngblood(MachineGames/Arkane/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox)
BEST VR/AR GAME
Asgard’s Wrath (Sanzaru/Oculus Studios for PC)
Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios for PC)
Minecraft Earth (Mojang/Xbox Game Studios for Android, iOS)
Phantom: Covert Ops (nDreams/Oculus Studios for Oculus Quest, PC)
Sniper Elite VR (Just Add Water/Rebellion for PC, PS4)
BEST HARDWARE/PERIPHERAL
Sega Genesis Mini (Sega)
Smach Z (Smach)
Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 (Microsoft)
BEST ACTION GAME
Borderlands 3 (Gearbox/2K for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Doom Eternal (id/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox)
Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios for PC, Xbox)
Wolfenstein: Youngblood(MachineGames/Arkane/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox)
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME
Control (Remedy/505 Games for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo for Switch)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox)
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Grezzo/Nintendo EPD/Nintendo for Switch)
Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
BEST ROLE PLAYING GAME
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (CyberConnect2/Bandai Namco for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix/Square Enix for PS4)
Monster Hunter: World Iceborne (Capcom for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Pok�mon Sword and Shield (Game Freak/The Pokemon Co. for Switch)
The Outer Worlds (Obsidian/Private Division for PC, PS4, Xbox)
BEST RACING GAME
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (Beenox/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox)
F1 2019 (Codemasters for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Forza Horizon 4: LEGO Speed Champions (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios for PC, Xbox)
GRID (Codemasters for PC, PS4, Xbox)
BEST SPORTS GAME
EFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 (Konami for PS4, Xbox)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Sega for Switch)
Madden NFL 20 (EA Tiburon/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Roller Champions (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC)
BEST STRATEGY GAME
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (Wicked Witch/Forgotten Empires/Tantalus/Xbox Game Studios for PC)
Desperados III (Mimimi Games/THQN for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems/Koei Tecmo/Nintendo for Switch)
John Wick Hex (Bithell Games/Good Shepherd for Mac, PC)
Phoenix Point (Snapshot Games for Mac, PC, Xbox)
BEST FAMILY/SOCIAL GAME
Fall Guys (Mediatonic/Devolver for PC, PS4)
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level Games/Nintendo for Switch)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Sega for Switch)
Minecraft Dungeons (Mojang/Xbox Game Studios for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox)
Pok�mon Sword and Shield (Game Freak/The Pokemon Co. for Switch)
BEST ONLINE MULTIPLAYER
Bleeding Edge (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios for PC, Xbox)
Call of Duty Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Gears 5 (The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios for PC, Xbox)
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
Wolfenstein: Youngblood(MachineGames/Arkane/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch Xbox)
BEST INDEPENDENT GAME
12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna for PC, Xbox)
Carrion (Phobia Game Studio/Devolver for Linux, Mac, PC)
FALL GUYS(Mediatonic/Devolver for PC, PS4)
John Wick Hex (Bithell Games/Good Shepherd for Mac, PC)
Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo/Annapurna for Switch)
BEST ONGOING GAME
Destiny 2 (Bungie for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix for Mac, PC, PS4)
Fortnite (Epic for Android, iOS, Mac, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox)
Monster Hunter: World (Capcom for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
Special Commendation for Graphics
1 Award Winner, To Be Announced Thursday, June 27
Note on Game Eligibility
To be eligible for nomination, games must be “hands-on playable” to voting publications for at least 5 minutes of gameplay at E3 2019.
Due to this rule, the following projects were ineligible for nomination by the jury: Cyberpunk 2077 (CD PROJEKT RED), Dying Light 2 (Techland), Marvel’s Avengers (Square Enix), Ghostwire: Tokyo (Bethesda), Deathloop (Bethesda), Elden Ring (Bandai Namco), Halo Infinite (Xbox), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo), FIFA 20 (EA), Sea of Solitude (EA), The Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo), Gods & Monsters (Ubisoft), Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Quarantine (Ubisoft), LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (WBIE), Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco), Google Stadia, Outriders (Square Enix).
The above non-playable titles remain eligible for Special Commendations.
Meh
Dark Moon and LM3 don’t really capture the same aesthetic as the original with the overly goofy ghosts, many rooms are lit up too much, and lack of portrait ghosts. The puzzle mechanics from Dark Moon were good, but I don’t think the general gameplay of LM holds up for a game that long (LM was much shorter). LM3’s slamming mechanic looks like an easy mode version of the normal gameplay we’re used to (mash A to kill everything).
The mansion from the first game was also nice cause it felt like it was all connected and had a decent amount of backtracking to get more collectables later on.
Dark Moon had the levels feel more disconnected in completely different areas. It would’ve benefited greatly from a bunch of portrait ghosts and an overworld that connected everything.
Also I need to see more of FF7 Remake to get excited. The last few things from Square Enix have been a huge letdown, and most of what we saw for FF7 was a grindy “mash x for 10 minutes to win” looking boss. Granted it was the first boss, but it didn’t succeed in making me believe the combat in this game is gunna be a load of fun or that the move to real-time combat from turn-based was an improvement.
If it ends up like FFXV’s “battle” system, people are gonna be pissed. I hope they won’t make that mistake again.
Hopefully Nintendo could change some things before release, unless the rooms are bright to show it better in the showcase