The 2020 Game Awards

The Game Awards were held last week and there are a number of things to discuss.  Let's start with the most important part of any award show for video games: the new game announcements.

Now, why would I say that the game announcements have more relevance than the actual awards?  The reason is that they take up more prominence and time than the actual awards (though since Geoff Keighley began running things, the announcements and awards have been far more even).

Of course, due to Covid, this year has been different.  The awards were showcased across a few venues in order for all of the appearances  and award presentations to be special.  Keighley has done an excellent job pivoting his annual show for an entirely digital platform.  After all, he also did something similar in the wake of E3 earlier this year in the Summer Games Fest.

So, what exactly was announced?

Well, I’m actually going to discuss only a small handful of announcements that seem to be the major stand-outs.  As many of you know, I’m not at all into Multiplayer unless it’s Halo, so that means the announcements that are the most exciting for me are the story-focused experiences.

Mass Effect will continue according to the final reveal of the night.  In my estimation, there is only one way to read this announcement: the next game will be set after the events of Mass Effect 3.  It seems logical as there are many obvious nods in the trailer to the events from that entry.  Of course, there is no release date.

BioWare also made another reference to the incoming fourth Dragon Age game, teasing a new part of the world, new protagonist, and a returning villain.  It seems par for the course at this point and the years of teasing have definitely waned my interest as the previous game was released all the way back in 2014 and I have still yet to play the associated DLC for it.

The other two big announcements that stood out are the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox Series S | X this summer.  I love how that game is being brought to a console.  We’re also getting a Perfect Dark reboot from a new Microsoft Studio, The Initiative.

Now, let’s go over the awards.  The winner of the Innovation in Accessibility, Studio/Game Direction, Performance (for Laura Bailey), Action/Adventure, Audio Design, Narrative, and Game of the Year is The Last of Us: Part II.  I voted in the Game Awards (anyone can) and I put most of my votes in multiple categories on DOOM: Eternal because it’s actually the only game that I’ve played so far from 2020.  This is not to say that I don’t like The Last of Us.  I do, but I’ve only played the first one (and am currently re-playing it to re-acquaint myself with the story).  In fact, I even decided to stop playing the game as soon as the Winter chapter started so that I could re-play Left Behind for a little more chronology.  I’m halfway into Left Behind and it fits in there quite well.  I eagerly anticipate being able to enjoy Part II in time, but for now, the first game has my full gaming attention.

I feel like there aren’t too many other categories that need to be discussed...save for the following: Innovation in Accessibility, Games for Impact, and Anticipated Game.

Innovation in Accessibility is all about the strides made by games to be accessible for all: namely those with disabilities.  The Last of Us: Part II won for including nearly 200 accessibility options in the game.

If you’d like to learn more about what can make a game more accessible, I highly recommend checking out the Able Gamers charity at ablegamers.org and watching this video by The Game Maker’s Toolkit:

Games for Impact is all about awarding a game for essentially breaking down barriers or by bringing an important issue to light.  This year’s award went to Tell Me Why, which features a young transgender man as the playable character.  This game comes from Dontnod, the studio behind the acclaimed Life is Strange.

Finally, the Anticipated Game award is all about the game that is the most anticipated to be released in the year 2021.  FromSoftware’s Elden Ring was the winner for that award, although my personal choice from those nominated would definitely be Halo: Infinite (and the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition).

That’s all for now.

Have a great week!

SF