Predicting The Game Awards 2015 Winners

The Game Awards 2015 will be held in Los Angeles on Thursday, December 3. Let’s take a look at the nominees and predict some winners.

Game of the Year

Nominees:

• Bloodborne
• Fallout 4
• Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
• Super Mario Maker
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Most Likely to Win: Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

It’s no secret that 2015 saw its fair share of blockbuster games, and every one of these nominees is worthy of a second, third, and fourth consideration, but the nod has to go to the swan song of Hideo Kojima.

The Metal Gear franchise has been around since 1987 with Kojima-san at the helm since day one. After 28 years, the series has grown alongside its eccentric creator and his talented team at Kojima productions, and there is no more fitting a send off than a Game of the Year award.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is everything Hideo Kojima dreamed it could be; open world, incredible freedom, and a well-spring of options in terms of how to tackle various objectives. Kojima himself even said he wanted “to create a true open world experience…where the player has all these options available to them and really limitless gameplay.”

The release was a perfect bow on 28 years of gaming history receiving nearly perfect scores from the majority of gaming outlets. Kojima and Snake can ride off in the sunset on top.

Developer of the Year

Nominees

• Bethesda Game Studios
• CD Projekt Red
• From Software
• Kojima Productions
• Nintendo

Most Likely to Win: CD Projekt Red

Gaming in 2014 and early 2015 was defined by developers and publishers nickle-and-diming their customers through microtransactions and day-one DLC while releasing products that seemed incomplete at best. In the lead up to CD Projekt Red’s AAA release, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the developer understood the changing public perception of most companies in the industry after some massive bluster.

The Witcher 3 delivered on every expectation that was placed on it. Fans were treated to a deep and dense world that resulted in hundreds of hours of potential gameplay. Most importantly, however, was the open line of communication between CD Projekt Red and the customer. From very early on, the developer made it clear that it had no interest in small and unnecessary microtransactions. Instead, they chose to give 16 free pieces of DLC to everyone who purchased the game ranging from side quests to alternative character models to a new game plus mode and used their resources to develop two huge expansion packs that were sold together for $25.

CD Projekt Red showed gaming fans that there are companies that still care very deeply for their customers and set a precedent moving forward for how companies should handle customer relations.

Best Indie Game

Nominees:

• Axiom Verge
• Her Story
• Ori and the Blind Forest
• Rocket League
• Undertale

Most Likely to Win: Ori and the Blind Forest

After being announced at E3 2014, it was clear that Moon Studios’ Ori and the Blind Forest was going to be an emotional ride. When the game launched on March 11, it delivered fully on that expectation and far more. From the soundtrack to level design, Ori and the Blind Forest proved that a 10-hour 2D platformer has just as much potential to deliver a powerful experience as a 200-hour open world epic.

Ori and the Blind Forest was more than just a harkening back to the 2D platformers of old, it was a love letter to one of the oldest genres of video games in every respect. Its utilization of inviting color pallets alongside the serene music provided a stark contrast to exploring the world that was trying to kill you at every turn. The game captured the perfect balance of frustration when attempting a climactic moment — such as the Ginso Tree — while giving the player the “just one more try” feeling that hooks you for hours.

Overall, Ori and the Blind Forest was probably the most satisfying game to complete in 2015 because its design provided players with a great sense of accomplishment. No higher praise can be given to a game designed to pay such homage to a genre that encapsulated early video game lovers.

Best Shooter

Nominees:

• Call of Duty Black Ops III
• Destiny: The Taken King
• Halo 5 Guardians
• Splatoon
• Star Wars Battlefront

Most Likely to Win: Star Wars Battlefront

Nostalgia can be the difference in some of these decisions, and though Star Wars Battlefront may be lacking some features of its predecessors, the license itself carries a whole lot of weight. Star Wars Battlefront thrusts fans into picture-perfect replications of Hoth, Endor, and Tatooine to recreate many of the famous battles from the original trilogy.

Its implementation of the license in sound-design, the use of the actual props when creating weapons and characters, and the inclusion of the six most iconic heroes and villains all add up to an authentic-looking Star Wars game. With Star Wars hype at a fever-pitch ahead of Star Wars The Force Awakens, we won’t be surprised if this takes home the award.

Best Role Playing Game

Nominees:

• Bloodborne
• Fallout 4
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Pillars of Eternity
• Undertale

Most Likely to Win: Fallout 4

We would be remiss if Fallout didn’t get a nod in at least one of these categories, and this is the most fitting place (an argument can be made for Game of the Year, I understand). Fallout 4 is vast in scope, deep in features, and loved by a huge crowd of fans. Imagining life in a post-apocalyptic Boston, Fallout 4 drops the player into a world that is destitute while at the same time teeming with life and amazing characters.

The team at Bethesda also proved that there doesn’t have to be a 2 year hype train behind a game to drive sales. After being announced at E3 2015 — officially, since we all knew it was coming –the game launched in November and has already sold over 12 million copies! If that’s not the RPG of the year, I don’t now what is.

Best Multiplayer

Nominees:

• Call of Duty Black Ops III
• Rocket League
• Halo 5 Guardians
• Destiny The Taken King
• Splatoon

Most Likely to Win: Rocket League

Though this may seem like a strange pick among the giants of Call of Duty, Halo, and Destiny, the truth of the matter is there wasn’t a single game’s multiplayer that gained as much immediate traction after being relatively unknown as Rocket League from Psyonix.

As soon as gifs and videos began to pop up in gaming communities following Rocket League’s beta, intrigue for the upcoming release began to spike. In the midst of the hype, Psyonix dropped a bomb on those looking forward to the game with the news that the game would be included in the Playstation Plus Instant Collection.

After just 11 days of being available to play, over 3 million people had played the soccer/racing mash-up. Its highly addictive gameplay sunk its claws into its audience, and is fully-deserving of this accolade.

Most Anticipated Game (Fan Vote)

Nominees:

• Horizon Zero Dawn
• No Man’s Sky
• Quantum Break
• The Last Guardian
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Most Likely to Win: No Man’s Sky

It’s been well over a year since the procedurally generated exploration game, No Man’s Sky was revealed. The gaming world exploded in excitement as soon as they laid eyes on the vast universe created by Hello Games.

After a summer of marketing tours and an IGN First campaign, those looking forward to the release were left with no release date. Finally, at Paris Games Week in October, a trailer revealed that No Man’s Sky will launch in June 2016. This game will sell, and it will sell incredibly well. It will also take this award home.

Trending Gamer (Fan Vote)

Nominees:

• Total Biscuit
• Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles
• Greg Miller
• Markiplier
• PewDiePie

Most Likely to Win: Greg Miller

When Greg Miller and Colin Moriarty announced that they were leaving IGN to start their own company, support began to flood in from people who had fallen in love with their content, namely Podcast Beyond. Now, almost a year after launching Kinda Funny Games, the company has found its stride with daily Let’s Plays, a daily news show called Colin and Greg Live, and their very own recently launched Playstation podcast, PS I Love You XOXO.

Greg Miller — and the rest of the crew at Kinda Funny — are shaping a new way in which people can consume the gaming news! Team Fat for life!

Who do you think will take home these awards? Leave your predictions in the comments below and tune into The Game Awards on Thursday, December 3 from any device!

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