Ultimate Game of the Year: 2016

Well, it's that time of year again. Welcome to the Ultimate Game of the Year Awards, 2016 edition!

We've done this twice already in the past. The first year, 2014, was done in a series of blog posts, whereas 2015 had its own two-part video. This time, however, I have a lost less time to spare than I have in the past, and I'm also all on my own.

So instead of making this time a super big deal, I just decided to list off who I thought was the winners and losers this year and leave it at that. If I feel like something needs to be elaborated on, I'll add a small extra piece -- but for the most part, it will just be a brief listing.

Best Story
Nominees:
Final Fantasy XV
Uncharted 4
Oxenfree
Firewatch
Dark Souls III
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Winner:
Uncharted 4

Best Soundtrack
Nominees:
Pokemon: Sun and Moon
Final Fantasy XV
Uncharted 4
Overwatch
DOOM
Rez Infinite 

Winner:
Final Fantasy XV

Best Visuals
Nominees:
Final Fantasy XV
Uncharted 4
DOOM
Battlefield 1
Dark Souls III
Hitman
INSIDE

Winner:
Uncharted 4

Best Remaster
Nominees:
Valkyria Chronicles
Day of the Tentacle
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Gravity Rush

Winner:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Best Party Game
Nominees:
Pokemon GO
Pokken Tournament
Dragon Quest Builders

Winner:
Pokemon GO

This award universally seems to be fading in relevance as time goes on. After all, what is a party game? I don't even know. Anyway, I decided to choose Pokemon GO as the winner of this award simply because it really is a game that you go out with a party and play.

Most Anticipated Game
Nominees:
FF7 Remake
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Kingdom Hearts III
The Last of Us: Part II
Death Stranding
Nioh
Persona 5

Winner:
Nioh  

Best Online
Nominees:
Overwatch
Battlefield 1
Titanfall 2
Street Fighter V
World of Warcraft: Legion

Winner:
Overwatch

Hall of Fame Entry:
Akira Yamaoka, best known for his work as composer for the Silent Hill franchise

Best Action/Adventure Game
Nominees:
Hitman
Dishonored 2
Firewatch
Uncharted 4

Winner:
Uncharted 4

Best Shooter Game
Nominees:
Titanfall 2
Rainbow Six Siege
Gears of War 4
Battlefield 1
DOOM
Overwatch

Winner:
DOOM

Best RPG
Nominees:
Monster Hunter Generations
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Dark Souls III
The Banner Saga 2
Fire Emblem Fates
Pokemon: Sun and Moon
Final Fantasy XV

Winner:
Final Fantasy XV

Best Indie Game
Nominees:
The Witness
Stardew Valley
INSIDE
Hyper Light Drifter
Firewatch
Oxenfree

Winner:
Stardew Valley

Best Mobile/Handheld
Nominees:
Monster Hunter Generations
Clash Royale
Fire Emblem Fates
Pokemon: Sun and Moon

Winner:
Pokemon: Sun and Moon




The Best Mobile/Handheld category is another one that has gotten a lot of flak in recent years. In order to surpass some of the complaints people have given it, I decided to give it only to the games I felt were the most deserving -- games that were discussed a lot as real games this year rather than generic mobile trash.

Most Disappointing Game
Nominees:
No Mans Sky
Street Fighter V
Pokemon GO
Mighty No. 9

Winner:
No Mans Sky

The second year running for this award, it was much harder this time to find nominees but not hard at all to pick a winner. Still, I guess its good that not as many games that were released this year were disappointing.

Worst Company
Nominees:
Nintendo
Hello Games
EA
Ubisoft
Konami

Winner:
Nintendo

My rationale for picking Nintendo this year mostly centered around their poor business practices and choices to shut down numerous fan projects over the year. The usual baddies -- EA, Ubisoft, and Konami -- were moreso mediocre this year. And Hello Games is mostly just dull.

Best Company
Nominees:
Square Enix
Blizzard
Naughty Dog
Capcom
IO Interactive
From Software

Winner:
Square Enix

Winner for the second consecutive year in a row, Square Enix has been showing booming success all around. While in previous years it was mostly centered around  theoretical decisions like announcing long awaited titles, they proved themselves this year by making up on those promises -- from games like Final Fantasy XV, World of Final Fantasy, and I Am Setsuna being released by their eastern studios, and their western counterpart Eidos Interactive releasing Hitman and Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Square Enix continues to be on the rise.

Worst Game
Nominees:
No Mans Sky
Pokemon GO
Mighty No. 9
Umbrella Corps

Winner:
No Mans Sky  

And now, as always...

Previous Games of the Year
2010 - Mass Effect 2/Red Dead Redemption
2011 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2012 - Dishonored
2013 - The Last of Us/Grand Theft Auto V
2014 - Bayonetta 2
2015 - Bloodborne

And what you've all been waiting for...


Ultimate Game of the Year
Nominees:
Final Fantasy XV
Uncharted 4
Pokemon: Sun and Moon
Overwatch
Doom
Titanfall 2
Civilization VI
Fire Emblem Fates
XCOM 2
Dark Souls III
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Dishonored 2
Hitman
Stardew Valley

Winner:
Final Fantasy XV/Uncharted 4

And, for the first year since 2013, two games have tied for game of the year. Uncharted 4 was a really solid game that came in much earlier, but I had been waiting for Final Fantasy XV for years and it held my eye for the remainder of 2016. The game turned out to be one of the most enjoyable experiences I had this year... much like I had felt with Uncharted 4. As it came down to me choosing the various winners of each award, it became more and more clear to me that the winner had to be both.

Bonus: Most Nominated Games
1.  Final Fantasy XV - 5 nominations
2. Uncharted 4 - 5 nominations

3. Overwatch - 4 nominations
4. DOOM - 4 nominations
5. Dark Souls III - 4 nominations