Before getting to the big winner, there are other awards that deserve recognition. For outstanding storytelling in a game, Best Narrative went to What Remains of Edith Finch. Best Art Direction went was unsurprisingly awarded to Cuphead, which also earned Best Independent Game. It also won Best Debut Indie Game for Studio MDHR.
Video games aren’t limited to a PC or console experience. Monument Valley 2 won Best Mobile Game while Metroid: Samus Returns earned Best Handheld Game.This was a bigger year for VR as well, with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard winning Best VR/AR Game.
Gameplay and visuals aren’t the only important parts of a video game. Best Audio Design went to Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, which also earned Games for Impact for its thought-provoking message. The game also earned rookie voice actress Melina Juergens the award for Best Performance. Best Score/Music went to Nier: Automata.
With so many great games this year, genre awards give games a second chance to earn the recognition they deserve. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus earned Best Action Game, Persona 5 won Best Role Playing Game, Injustice 2 was awarded Best Fighting Game, Super Mario Odyssey won Best Family Game, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle earned Best Strategy Game, and Forza Motorsport 7 walked away with Best Sports/Racing Game.
While there were many other awards to win last night, the one fans were waiting for was 2017’s Game of the Year. This award is for the game that delivers the greatest experience both creatively and technically. This year has been an amazing year full of amazing games, but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild stood out among the rest by reinventing the open-world structure. It also walked away with Best Game Direction and Best Action/Adventure Game.
Despite having different nominees, we agreed that Breath of the Wild was the best game of 2017. It brought back the feeling of exploration that has been missing since the first game in the series. It also came out on the innovative Nintendo Switch, a system that won our overall Product of the Year.
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