It’s December! For us here at Twinfinite, that means us writers get to take a little break from the seemingly non-stop AAA holiday gaming season and use the free time to take a look back at the year that’s about to come to a close. Each year, we do a number of “Best Of” awards that honor the best of the best from gaming from that calendar year. This, of course, is capped off by announcing our formal Game of the Year. We’ve honored four games with our “Game of the Year” award since we started doing so in 2013 and they are: Uncharted 4 (2016), Bloodborne (2015), Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014), and The Last of Us (2013).
As such, over the next few weeks be on the lookout for a multitude of awards coming out from us ending on Dec. 18 with our Game of the Year reveal.
In the meantime, check out our most nominated games, and the full list of categories for this year below. There will be one winner in each category, two runner-ups, and honorable mentions for nominees that garner a significant amount of votes from our editorial team. We invite you to join in on the discussion, and let us know YOUR personal winners. Enjoy!
Our Most Nominated Games for 2017
Horizon Zero Dawn (10 nominations): Game of the Year, Best Console Exclusive, Best Third-Person Action Adventure, Best Open-World, Best DLC/Expansion (Frozen Wilds), Best Story/Narrative, Best PS4 Exclusive Game, Best Voice Acting (Ashly Burch), Best New IP, Best Character (Aloy)
Persona 5 (9 nominations): Game of the Year, Best Console Exclusive, Best RPG, Best Story/Narrative, Best PS4 Exclusive Game, Best Soundtrack, Best Character (Makoto), Best Character (Futaba), Best Voice Acting (Cherami Leigh)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (7 nominations): Game of the Year, Best Console Exclusive, Best Third-Person Action-Adventure Game, Best Open-World, Best Nintendo Exclusive, Best Soundtrack, Best Character (Prince Sidon)
NieR: Automata (6 nominations): Game of the Year, Best RPG, Best Story/Narrative, Best PS4 Exclusive, Best Soundtrack, Best Character (2B)
Assassin’s Creed Origins (5 nominations): Game of the Year, Best Third-Person Action Adventure, Best Open-World, Best Story/Narrative, Best Voice Acting (Abubakar Salim)
Super Mario Odyssey (5 nominations): Game of the Year, Best Console Exclusive, Best Open-World, Best Nintendo Exclusive, Best Soundtrack
All 2017 Award Categories and Nominees
Game of the Year
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Persona 5
- NieR: Automata
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Assassin’s Creed Origins
Best Console Exclusive
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Persona 5
- Forza Motorsport 7
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Best Handheld/Mobile Exclusive
- Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
- Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
- Ever Oasis
- Monster Hunter Stories
Best FPS
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Destiny 2
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Best Third-Person Action-Adventure
- Assassin’s Creed Origins
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Best Indie
- A Hat in Time
- Golf Story
- Night in the Woods
- Tacoma
- Last Day of June
- What Remains of Edith Finch
- Cuphead
- Thimbleweed Park
- Nex Machina
Best RPG
- South Park: the Fractured but Whole
- NieR: Automata
- Persona 5
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
- Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Nioh
Best Open-World
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Assassin’s Creed Origins
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War
- Horizon Zero Dawn
Best Strategy/Simulation
- Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole
- Halo Wars 2
- Tooth and Tail
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Best Sports/Racing Game
- Madden NFL 18
- MLB The Show 17
- Forza Motorsport 7
- FIFA 18
- Pro Evolution Soccer 18
- Dirt 4
Best Co-op Game
- Divinity Original Sin
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Destiny 2
- Snipperclips
- Cuphead
Best DLC/Expansion
- The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs
- Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood
- XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
- Horizon Zero Dawn: Frozen Wilds
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind
- Diablo 3: Rise of the Necromancer
Best Multiplayer Experience
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Destiny 2
- Splatoon 2
- Divinity Original Sin 2
- Tekken 7
Best Fighting Game
- Tekken 7
- Injustice 2
- ARMS
- Absolver
- For Honor
Best Story/Narrative
- Persona 5
- Assassin’s Creed Origins
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- What Remains of Edith Finch
- NieR: Automata
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Best PS4 Exclusive Game of the Year
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Persona 5
- NieR: Automata
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Nioh
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Best Xbox One Exclusive Game of the Year
- Cuphead
- Forza
- Halo Wars 2
- Tacoma
Best Nintendo Exclusive Game of the Year
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Fire Emblems Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Best Voice Acting of 2017
- Ashly Burch – Aloy
- Alastair Duncan – Celebrimbor
- Cherami Leigh – Makoto
- Josh Duhamel – Sgt. William Pierson
- Laura Bailey – Nadine Ross
- Claudia Black – Chloe Frazer
- Brian Bloom – B.J. Blazkowicz
- Abubakar Salim – Bayek
Best New Hardware of 2017
- Nintendo Switch
- Xbox One X
- Razer Kiyo
- Nintendo Super NES Classic Edition
Best Developer of 2017
- Christian Whitehead, PagodaWest Games and Headcannon Games (Sonic Mania)
- Ubisoft (Assassin’s Creed Origins, Mario + Rabbids, etc.)
- Nintendo (Breath of the Wild, SMO, etc.)
- Atlus (Persona 5)
- Larian Studios (Divinity Original Sin 2)
Best New IP
- Cuphead
- Night in the Woods
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
MMORPG of the Year
- Final Fantasy XIV
- World of Warcraft
- Black Desert Online
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Guild Wars 2
Best VR Game of the Year
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Lone Echo
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Farpoint
Best Soundtrack
- Persona 5
- Destiny 2
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Cuphead
- NieR: Automata
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Sonic Mania
Best Character
- Aloy – Horizon Zero Dawn
- Futaba – Persona 5
- Makoto – Persona 5
- 2B – NieR: Automata
- BJ Blazkowicz – Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
- Chloe Frazer – Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- Prince Sidon – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Kat – Gravity Rush 2
Best Remake/Remaster
- Crash Bandicoot NSane Trilogy
- StarCraft Remastered
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Pokken Tournament DX
- Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
- Yakuza Kiwami
- Metroid: Samus Returns
Best Tabletop Game of the Year
- Dropmix
- Arkham Horror the Card Game
- Secret Hitler
- Captain Sonar
- Terraforming Mars
