Three big games tied for the lead in total nominations for the prestigious Game Critics Awards based on games shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the big game industry show in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago.
The top nominees, with four nominations each, were Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s Middle-earth: Shadow of War; Ubisoft’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle; and Bethesda’s Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Origins and Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey were close contenders with three nominations each.
I was one of the judges, and I marked my top vote in a category on the list below in red. Here’s what I thought were the best games of E3. The Game Critics Awards are run by game broadcaster Geoff Keighley, and the nominations are based on the votes of a few dozen journalists.
The only games that were eligible had to be playable at E3, so some aren’t on this list because of this sensible requirement. For instance, Electronic Arts’ A Way Out was not actually shown on site at the show, and Ubisoft did not have a playable version of Beyond Good & Evil 2. Others that were not playable included Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Anthem, The Amazing Spider-Man, and God of War.
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Above: Shadow of War is about taking over enemy fortresses.
Best of Show
- Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best Original Game
– Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
– Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
– Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
– Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft)
– Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft)
Best Console Game
– Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
– Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
– Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
– Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
– Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best PC Game
– Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
– Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent)
– Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords (TaleWorlds Entertainment)
– Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly/Sega)
– Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best VR Game
– Doom VFR (id Software/Bethesda)
– Fallout 4 VR (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
– Lone Echo (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studio)
– Moss (Polyarc)
– Transference (SpectreVision/Ubisoft)
Above: Super Mario Odyssey
Best Mobile/Handheld
– Durango (What Studio/Nexon)
– Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam/Nintendo)
– Hidden Agenda (Supermassive Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
– King’s Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon (Square Enix)
– Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (Atlus)
Best Hardware
– Astro A10 Gaming Headset (Astro)
– DisplayLink XR (DisplayLink)
– Razer Thresher Ultimate (Razer)
– Logitech PowerPlay Mat (Logitech)
– Xbox One X (Microsoft)
Best Action Game
– Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
– Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
– Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
– Star Wars Battlefront II (EA DICE/Motive/Criterion/Electronic Arts)
– Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best Action/Adventure Game
– Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
– Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
– Days Gone (SIE Bend Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
– Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent).
– Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
Above: Shield up in Assassin’s Creed Origins
Best RPG
– Battle Chasers: Nightwar (Airship Syndicate/THQ Nordic)
– Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
– Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlords (TaleWorlds Entertainment)
– Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level 5/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
– South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Ubisoft SF/South Park Digital Studios/Ubisoft)
– Vampyr (Dotnod Entertainment/Focus Home Interactive)
Best Fighting Game
– ARMS (Nintendo)
– Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
– Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite (Capcom)
– Pokken Tournament DX (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokemon Co.)
Best Racing Game
– Forza Motorsport 7 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft)
– Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital/Sony Interactive Ent)
– Need for Speed Payback (Ghost Games/Electronic Arts)
– Project CARS 2 (Slighty Mad Studios/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
– The Crew 2 (Ivory Tower/Ubisoft Reflections/Ubisoft)
Best Sports Game
– FIFA 18 (EA Canada/Electronic Arts)
– Madden NFL 18 (EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts)
– Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES Productions/Konami)
Best Strategy Game
– Battletech (Harebrained Schemes/Paradox Interactive)
– Frostpunk (11 bit Studios)
– Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft)
– Total War: Arena (Creative Assembly/Sega/Wargaming)
– Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Above: Star Wars Battlefront II lets everyone be a hero or a villain.
Best Family/Social Game
– DropMix (Harmonix/Hasbro)
– Just Dance 2018 (Ubisoft)
– LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (TT Games/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
– Hidden Agenda (Supermassive Games/Sony Interactive Ent.)
– That’s You (Wish Studios/Sony Interactive Ent.)
Best Online Multiplayer
– Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
– Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
– Star Wars Battlefront II (EA DICE/Motive/Criterion/Electronic Arts)
– Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft)
– Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft)
Best Independent Game
– Ashen (Aurora 44/Annapurna Interactive)
– Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Inti Creates/505 Games)
– Donut County (Ben Esposito/Annapurna Interactive)
– Laser League (Roll7/505 Games)
– The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive)
