Here's what I picked: GOTY: Celeste, if anything can stand with the big boys as an indie title, it is Celeste. Controls are tight, and the narritive about anxiety, depression and making peace with...
Here's what I picked:
GOTY: Celeste, if anything can stand with the big boys as an indie title, it is Celeste. Controls are tight, and the narritive about anxiety, depression and making peace with yourself is powerful and intergrates amazingly well with the mechanics.
VR GOTY: Beat Saber, everything you love about Guitar Hero, and the VR format serves it well, making it so you can pick it up, and put it down really nicely. If this gets ported to something like the Quest, this could easily be what sells systems.
Labor of Love: So many roguelikes with content patches, but there is only one Binding of Isaac. With it's final for real DLC being made by the mod team behind the incredible Antibirth mod, it's difficult to give this to anyone else.
Best Devs: I was going to say Devolver, but I think it's going to change to Klei, because I am kind of a fan of their house style. Mega Crit Games, don't want to start awarding Slay the Spire until it's out of Early Access, but I can totally give a nod to the developer.
Environment: All my other picks didn't come out this year, so I'm going with The Messenger, since the 8bit to 16bit changing mechanic is pretty neat.
Better With Friends: One Hour, One Life for a certain definition of friends.
Best Alternate History: We Happy Few, kinda by Default. Not much Alt History this year , would give it to Wolfenstein if I could.
Most fun with a Machine: Bendy and the Ink Machine, for a flexible definition of fun. And machine.
As far as I know only GOTY needs to have come out this year? I'm not sure, but I don't see anybody strictly choosing 2018 games. Celeste is cool I guess but I'm sure there must be some other indie...
As far as I know only GOTY needs to have come out this year? I'm not sure, but I don't see anybody strictly choosing 2018 games. Celeste is cool I guess but I'm sure there must be some other indie masterpiece I'm forgetting. What you said about Labor of Love did suddenly make me realize I should change my pick to Gungeon, so thank you for that one. Still undecided on GoTY because I've mostly being going through older games that I missed lately...
Kind of a light year on the Indie Front? There's Donut Country, Pilliars of Eternity 2, Just Shapes and Beats, and the ever popular Beat Saber. PS4 stuff is obviously not on Steam, and I guess...
Kind of a light year on the Indie Front? There's Donut Country, Pilliars of Eternity 2, Just Shapes and Beats, and the ever popular Beat Saber. PS4 stuff is obviously not on Steam, and I guess that you could go with Life is Strange 2 if that is your jam.
The Return of Obra Dinn is not getting the attention it deserves, but I suppose it will be a slow burn to stardom, like its predecessor had. It's the newest game from Lucas Pope, the ex-Naughty...
The Return of Obra Dinn is not getting the attention it deserves, but I suppose it will be a slow burn to stardom, like its predecessor had. It's the newest game from Lucas Pope, the ex-Naughty Dog dev who was behind the amazing Papers, Please.
My nominations: GOTY: Kingdom Come: Deliverance Ironic I chose this considering I experience a game-breaking bug 40 hours in... but it was still the most thoroughly immersive and best RPG...
My nominations:
GOTY:Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Ironic I chose this considering I experience a game-breaking bug 40 hours in... but it was still the most thoroughly immersive and best RPG experience I had all year, and I definitely plan on going back to it once I forget what happened in the first 40 hours. ;)
VR GOTY:Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice VR Edition
I haven't actually played any new VR games released this year, and while I haven't actually played this yet either, it is the VR game I am most excited to play. Flimsy justification, I know... but it is what it is.
Labour of Love: RimWorld
Technically RimWorld was only "released" in Oct 2018 so hasn't "been out for years" but it has been in early access since 2015 and consistently been updated and improved all that time. The Mod community for the game is also fucking amazing so that was a major factor in my decision as well.
Best Environment: Monster Hunter: World
I thoroughly enjoyed exploring every facet of this game world. The environments were tight and limited in number, but they were incredibly well composed and each felt entirely unique. And if you consider the monsters to be part of the environment then it's especially deserved.
Better With Friends:Rocket League
I have never gotten so much time played out of a $20 game before (2790 hours played, none of that alone, always with friends). I even made a bunch of "new" friends playing RL as well... I say "new" because they have been my friends for close to two years now, and we play more than just RL together these days too. It's also crazy how populated the RL servers still are considering how old the game is. I love it so much.
Best Alternative History:Europa Universalis 4
The only game to get anywhere close to the same playtime as Rocket League out of me (2755 hours played). It's not just a game with alternative history aspects to it, it's a damn alternative history simulator! Want to play as the 15th Century Aztecs and conquer the world before the end of the 18th? Give it a try! It won't be easy but it's possible. Ever wonder what would have happened in Europe had the Iberian Wedding never occurred uniting Castile and Aragon into Spain, or had the Burgundian Succession crisis ended with another power within the Holy Roman Empire taking the Burgundian lands instead of France/Austria? Why don't we find out! EU4 is alternative history and grand strategy at its absolute best.
Most Fun With A Machine:Factorio
I mean, come on... this category was practically made with Factorio in mind to win it!
Distance got several nominations from me across the categories. I haven't played many games this year so I didn't have a lot of options to consider, but even if I did I'd probably vote the same...
Distance got several nominations from me across the categories. I haven't played many games this year so I didn't have a lot of options to consider, but even if I did I'd probably vote the same way. It's a genuinely excellent game.
Distance is great. I've been meaning to check it out again since its 1.0 release. Redout is another fantastic speed-based racer. I think I'll use this sale to pickup my missing DLC....
Distance is great. I've been meaning to check it out again since its 1.0 release.
Redout is another fantastic speed-based racer. I think I'll use this sale to pickup my missing DLC.
I've been playing Redout recently, and really enjoyed it. A very different beast to Distance, though, or at least from the early-access version I played a fair while ago.
I've been playing Redout recently, and really enjoyed it. A very different beast to Distance, though, or at least from the early-access version I played a fair while ago.
If you didn't know, this is a sort of digital awards ceremony steam hosts, where the users can nominate games in several categories. I'm still undecided on GOTY and a few other categories, what...
If you didn't know, this is a sort of digital awards ceremony steam hosts, where the users can nominate games in several categories. I'm still undecided on GOTY and a few other categories, what are your thoughts?
Personally, here are my nominations:
Talos Principal for VR GOTY
Cities Skylines for Labor of Love
Aspyr_Media for Best Developer
Hollow Knight for Best Environment
Jackbox Party Pack 5 for Better With Friends
And those are all that I'm decided on. How are you voting this year?
Oh god, The Talos Principle is on VR as well? That's an awesome game to put on there. I hadn't heard but I can imagine why you'd put it on there. Let's see what I can do… 2018 was a weird year. A...
Talos Principal for VR GOTY
Oh god, The Talos Principle is on VR as well? That's an awesome game to put on there. I hadn't heard but I can imagine why you'd put it on there.
Let's see what I can do…
Game of the Year
2018 was a weird year. A lot of remasters of excellent games. I think for me the highlight of the year was the Nintendo Switch releases and I really want to give this to Super Mario Odyssey. But it's not on steam and it's actually end-of-2017 so it doesn't qualify.
Subnautica saw its full release in January. It is a fantastic game, but it doesn't deserve the title.
Frostpunk is also a very good game overall and a good contender for the title.
Ultimately, I think I would vote for Celeste. An all-around excellent experience available on every current platform. A long, solid game through and through with insane replayability and a touching storyline.
VR Game of the Year
Beat Saber gets this one. Sorrry Talos :)
Labor of Love
Okay, seriously, Two Point Hospital. It hasn't technically been "out for a while", but it's a frickin remix of Theme Hospital. And it absolutely is a labor of love.
Best Developer
Yeah… again, this one isn't for you Steam. Nintendo is probably the best developer of 2018, with the continuing support for the Switch and the overwhelming amount of incredible games they produce. I've put Digital Extremes on my nomination for its stunning work on Warframe.
Best Environment
Sorry Steam, that award goes to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I suspect it'll end up going to RDR2 or AC: Odyssey, though, which I could understand. I voted Odyssey on Steam.
Better with Friends
With no hesitation: Duck Game.
Best Alternate History
I appreciate that Steam made an award specifically for Civilization VI.
Ah, I don't have VR so I went with Talos Principle because I've played it and it's the only ""VR"" game I could even kind of say I have experience with. RDR2 is also a console exclusive, by the...
Ah, I don't have VR so I went with Talos Principle because I've played it and it's the only ""VR"" game I could even kind of say I have experience with. RDR2 is also a console exclusive, by the way. And although BOTW is probably my GOAT, the environment is very much earthly so it doesn't draw me in as much as something like Hollow Knight.
I'm still undecided on GOTY though, I really don't know. Lately I've just kind of been playing a lot of Switch exclusives or older games that I missed out on. I have no idea what to pick.
When I said insane I meant in a good way :) Talos Principle is an incredible game, and an incredible experience. In VR I can imagine it would be amazing. There's nothing specifically VR-friendly...
When I said insane I meant in a good way :)
Talos Principle is an incredible game, and an incredible experience. In VR I can imagine it would be amazing. There's nothing specifically VR-friendly in it I can think of, and the puzzle mechanics might be interesting but that's about it. The amazing part I can imagine is the immersion.
The Talos Principle is one of those games that redefined how I think about my own work.
GOTY - Had to choose Cities:Skylines, I couldn't think of any games that came out this year that I even thought about getting. VR GOTY - I chose Shower With Your Dad Simulator as a joke Labour of...
GOTY - Had to choose Cities:Skylines, I couldn't think of any games that came out this year that I even thought about getting.
VR GOTY - I chose Shower With Your Dad Simulator as a joke
Labour of Love - Rimworld
Best Devs - Couldn't choose Wube, so I chose Ludeon
Finalists have been announced! Nominees for Game of the Year: “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” “Monster Hunter: World” “Kingdom Come: Deliverance” “Hitman 2” “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” Nominees for...
Here's what I picked:
GOTY: Celeste, if anything can stand with the big boys as an indie title, it is Celeste. Controls are tight, and the narritive about anxiety, depression and making peace with yourself is powerful and intergrates amazingly well with the mechanics.
VR GOTY: Beat Saber, everything you love about Guitar Hero, and the VR format serves it well, making it so you can pick it up, and put it down really nicely. If this gets ported to something like the Quest, this could easily be what sells systems.
Labor of Love: So many roguelikes with content patches, but there is only one Binding of Isaac. With it's final for real DLC being made by the mod team behind the incredible Antibirth mod, it's difficult to give this to anyone else.
Best Devs:
I was going to say Devolver, but I think it's going to change to Klei, because I am kind of a fan of their house style.Mega Crit Games, don't want to start awarding Slay the Spire until it's out of Early Access, but I can totally give a nod to the developer.Environment: All my other picks didn't come out this year, so I'm going with The Messenger, since the 8bit to 16bit changing mechanic is pretty neat.
Better With Friends: One Hour, One Life for a certain definition of friends.
Best Alternate History: We Happy Few, kinda by Default. Not much Alt History this year , would give it to Wolfenstein if I could.
Most fun with a Machine: Bendy and the Ink Machine, for a flexible definition of fun. And machine.
As far as I know only GOTY needs to have come out this year? I'm not sure, but I don't see anybody strictly choosing 2018 games. Celeste is cool I guess but I'm sure there must be some other indie masterpiece I'm forgetting. What you said about Labor of Love did suddenly make me realize I should change my pick to Gungeon, so thank you for that one. Still undecided on GoTY because I've mostly being going through older games that I missed lately...
Kind of a light year on the Indie Front? There's Donut Country, Pilliars of Eternity 2, Just Shapes and Beats, and the ever popular Beat Saber. PS4 stuff is obviously not on Steam, and I guess that you could go with Life is Strange 2 if that is your jam.
The Return of Obra Dinn is not getting the attention it deserves, but I suppose it will be a slow burn to stardom, like its predecessor had. It's the newest game from Lucas Pope, the ex-Naughty Dog dev who was behind the amazing Papers, Please.
My nominations:
GOTY: Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Ironic I chose this considering I experience a game-breaking bug 40 hours in... but it was still the most thoroughly immersive and best RPG experience I had all year, and I definitely plan on going back to it once I forget what happened in the first 40 hours. ;)
VR GOTY: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice VR Edition
I haven't actually played any new VR games released this year, and while I haven't actually played this yet either, it is the VR game I am most excited to play. Flimsy justification, I know... but it is what it is.
Labour of Love: RimWorld
Technically RimWorld was only "released" in Oct 2018 so hasn't "been out for years" but it has been in early access since 2015 and consistently been updated and improved all that time. The Mod community for the game is also fucking amazing so that was a major factor in my decision as well.
Best Devs: Klei Entertainment
Shank, Shank 2, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Invisible Inc., Don't Starve, Don't Starve Together, Mark of the Ninja + Remastered (seriously underrated stealth game), and now the new super-fun Oxygen Not Included. Klei hasn't just knocked it out of the park in 2018, they have been consistently doing it for 8 years straight! Even their DLC has been fantastic. I can't wait for the upcoming Griftlands either, it looks amazing.
Best Environment: Monster Hunter: World
I thoroughly enjoyed exploring every facet of this game world. The environments were tight and limited in number, but they were incredibly well composed and each felt entirely unique. And if you consider the monsters to be part of the environment then it's especially deserved.
Better With Friends: Rocket League
I have never gotten so much time played out of a $20 game before (2790 hours played, none of that alone, always with friends). I even made a bunch of "new" friends playing RL as well... I say "new" because they have been my friends for close to two years now, and we play more than just RL together these days too. It's also crazy how populated the RL servers still are considering how old the game is. I love it so much.
Best Alternative History: Europa Universalis 4
The only game to get anywhere close to the same playtime as Rocket League out of me (2755 hours played). It's not just a game with alternative history aspects to it, it's a damn alternative history simulator! Want to play as the 15th Century Aztecs and conquer the world before the end of the 18th? Give it a try! It won't be easy but it's possible. Ever wonder what would have happened in Europe had the Iberian Wedding never occurred uniting Castile and Aragon into Spain, or had the Burgundian Succession crisis ended with another power within the Holy Roman Empire taking the Burgundian lands instead of France/Austria? Why don't we find out! EU4 is alternative history and grand strategy at its absolute best.
Most Fun With A Machine: Factorio
I mean, come on... this category was practically made with Factorio in mind to win it!
Distance got several nominations from me across the categories. I haven't played many games this year so I didn't have a lot of options to consider, but even if I did I'd probably vote the same way. It's a genuinely excellent game.
Distance is great. I've been meaning to check it out again since its 1.0 release.
Redout is another fantastic speed-based racer. I think I'll use this sale to pickup my missing DLC.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/517710/Redout_Enhanced_Edition/
I've been playing Redout recently, and really enjoyed it. A very different beast to Distance, though, or at least from the early-access version I played a fair while ago.
Oh I've never heard of this game, it looks cool though. I might just have to check it out.
If you didn't know, this is a sort of digital awards ceremony steam hosts, where the users can nominate games in several categories. I'm still undecided on GOTY and a few other categories, what are your thoughts?
Personally, here are my nominations:
Talos Principal for VR GOTY
Cities Skylines for Labor of Love
Aspyr_Media for Best Developer
Hollow Knight for Best Environment
Jackbox Party Pack 5 for Better With Friends
And those are all that I'm decided on. How are you voting this year?
Oh god, The Talos Principle is on VR as well? That's an awesome game to put on there. I hadn't heard but I can imagine why you'd put it on there.
Let's see what I can do…
2018 was a weird year. A lot of remasters of excellent games. I think for me the highlight of the year was the Nintendo Switch releases and I really want to give this to Super Mario Odyssey. But it's not on steam and it's actually end-of-2017 so it doesn't qualify.
Subnautica saw its full release in January. It is a fantastic game, but it doesn't deserve the title.
Frostpunk is also a very good game overall and a good contender for the title.
Ultimately, I think I would vote for Celeste. An all-around excellent experience available on every current platform. A long, solid game through and through with insane replayability and a touching storyline.
Beat Saber gets this one. Sorrry Talos :)
Okay, seriously, Two Point Hospital. It hasn't technically been "out for a while", but it's a frickin remix of Theme Hospital. And it absolutely is a labor of love.
Yeah… again, this one isn't for you Steam. Nintendo is probably the best developer of 2018, with the continuing support for the Switch and the overwhelming amount of incredible games they produce. I've put Digital Extremes on my nomination for its stunning work on Warframe.
Sorry Steam, that award goes to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I suspect it'll end up going to RDR2 or AC: Odyssey, though, which I could understand. I voted Odyssey on Steam.
With no hesitation: Duck Game.
I appreciate that Steam made an award specifically for Civilization VI.
And that award should absolutely go to Factorio.
Link to my nominations: https://store.steampowered.com/SteamAwardNominations/?u=76561197993245281&k=13380343037158908467
Ah, I don't have VR so I went with Talos Principle because I've played it and it's the only ""VR"" game I could even kind of say I have experience with. RDR2 is also a console exclusive, by the way. And although BOTW is probably my GOAT, the environment is very much earthly so it doesn't draw me in as much as something like Hollow Knight.
I'm still undecided on GOTY though, I really don't know. Lately I've just kind of been playing a lot of Switch exclusives or older games that I missed out on. I have no idea what to pick.
When I said insane I meant in a good way :)
Talos Principle is an incredible game, and an incredible experience. In VR I can imagine it would be amazing. There's nothing specifically VR-friendly in it I can think of, and the puzzle mechanics might be interesting but that's about it. The amazing part I can imagine is the immersion.
The Talos Principle is one of those games that redefined how I think about my own work.
Still. Beat Saber.
Fair enough, but I don't know anything about beat saber and haven't experienced it myself so shrug.
GOTY - Had to choose Cities:Skylines, I couldn't think of any games that came out this year that I even thought about getting.
VR GOTY - I chose Shower With Your Dad Simulator as a joke
Labour of Love - Rimworld
Best Devs - Couldn't choose Wube, so I chose Ludeon
*Environment - Divinity Original Sin 2
Better With Friends - Borderlands 2
Best Alternate History - Civ 6
Most Fun With a Machine - Factorio
Finalists have been announced!
Nominees for Game of the Year:
Nominees for VR Game of the Year:
Nominees for Labor of Love:
Nominees for Best Environment:
Nominees for Better with Friends:
Nominees for Best Alternate History:
Nominees for Most Fun with a Machine:
Nominees for Best Developer: