GOTY awards: winners, losers, and in between

By Brandon Smalley, Staff Writer

The Game of The Year awards 2020, an event where some of the most memorable video game releases of 2020 are judged by a mix of judges and players from around the world decide which nominees are the best of the best. 

This year there were 6 nominations, those being The Last of Us Part II (By Naughty Dog), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (By Nintendo), Doom: Eternal (By id Software), Final Fantasy VII Remake (By Square Enix), Ghost of Tsushima (By Sucker Punch), and finally Hades (By Supergiant Games) 

The “Player’s Choice” award was given to Ghost of Tsushima, a third person action adventure game made by Sucker Punch where the player controls a samurai during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. The player must fend off the Mongols who make landings on the Japanese island, Tsushima. 

The official “Game of The Year” award was given to The Last of Us Part II, a VERY controversial pick, due to some players not agreeing with the direction of the game’s plot direction, Naughty Dog abusing their employees with “Crunch Time” (Ludicrous unpaid overtime in the game industry), and that The Last of Us Part II pushes a political agenda instead of delivering the story on the level of the first The Last of Us game. Despite all these controversies, Naughty Dog’s The last of Us Part II still remains with the GOTY title in hand.

Other notable awards were Most Anticipated Game award (Given to Elden Ring made by From Software), Best Multiplayer Game award (Given to Among Us made by InnerSloth), and Best Role Playing Game award (Given to Final Fantasy VII Remake) 

2020 may have been tough, but luckily for those who enjoy playing video games it was a more than eventful year. Hopefully in the years to come players will receive much more from the gaming industry and continue this hobby of passion.