A new year (and decade) has blown in, which means it’s time for some more ‘best of’ discussions, specifically from the Game Developer’s Choice Awards, whose 2020 nominees were recently unveiled. I also covered The Game Awards back in December, but for better or worse, I always put a bit more stock in the GDCs, and is why I do both predictions and a recap for them. As ever, the caveats still apply regarding which games I was able to play and which I’m familiar with but did not as of yet check out firsthand alongside the cherry-picked categories of particular interest to me. With that then, let’s go into my predictions, justifications, and cynical takes.

First up is Best Audio. Sayonara Wild Hearts as I understand is a rhythm based game centered on J-Pop characters and related story, so assuming the audio is set to match that particular tone/feel, although I wouldn’t know. What I do know is that Control has an appropriately mysterious/menacing soundscape to match the weird and shifting ‘Oldest House’ serving as its setting and would be my top pick here. Death Stranding also contains some lovely and melancholic tracks to accompany the player’s journey through the beautiful highs of picturesque vistas and lonely lows of shattered plains, but can at times get lost in the background and just isn’t as memorable in my mind.

Moving next to Best Debut, I will attempt to avoid further repetition here, but Disco Elysium has been firmly established as a must-play game. It took TGA and the general audience by storm, and at this point every time it comes up, I only want to play it more. Purportedly a refreshing mix of CRPG mechanics and the highest caliber writing, I am now merely anxiously awaiting the console port, thus giving it the spot here if only by default. Outer Wilds would be second choice for its quirky take on a Groundhound Day-like time loop in a whimsical sci-fi setting.

Best Design can often be a tricky one to parse out. Untitled Goose Game became an instant hilarious meme generator and is honestly enjoyable to play, but I don’t quite think that means it deserves to be called the best in design. Instead it’s Sekiro that stands out here, as FromSoftware always put a ton of care into the core design tenets of their works, both in terms of the world/levels and the intricacies of the combat mechanics. Sekiro is no exception and certainly hits all those bases, which makes it enough for me to award it here.

On the Innovation Award front, there’s solid work here all around, but if we take the spirit of the term innovation and run with it, in that case I may sway towards Death Stranding. The idea of unseen online players all contributing in a positive manner to each other and even future players via creating infrastructures and leaving behind supplies to ‘rebuild’ the game world really does feel unique in its implementation. It takes the backdrop of a splintered American landscape that the story sets up and effortlessly ties it into the core loop to create a truly ‘asymmetrical cooperative’ experience that hasn’t quite been attempted previously and can be incredibly satisfying when encountered within the game. With no disrespect meant to the other titles, aside from Disco, they mostly run on more particular (but well-realized) gimmicks than a fully-fledged and integrated system that Death Stranding does, and that is why I’ll argue for it deserving the win for this.

Best Narrative is usually the category I’m most invested in and possibly the one that is toughest overall to judge. One might assume I’d automatically again point to Disco, but the competition is stiff, and this is the only place where Outer Worlds appears, and Obsidian did a bang-up job on it, which tempts me to just hand narrative there and call it a day. Death Stranding as referenced in my Game Awards article certainly smacks of Hideo Kojima’s energetic vision and approach to storytelling, which mean it can also be a little too in love with its own convoluted lore. From among the nominees here though, Control is to me the most complete package; a tightly constructed and self-contained tale that also rewarded players who went in search of uncovering further details about the strange goings-on within it.

I’m adding Best Visual Art this year (and onwards) as I feel it is important to recognize the pure aesthetic/artistry side of games as well as the writing and other aspects I regularly focus more heavily on. The games here all have some great visual designs going on. From Sekiro with its sweeping feudal Japanese world peppered with mythological/fantastical enemies and beasts to Control’s brutalist but beautiful architecture and hidden/shifting office mazes. As mentioned above in audio, Death Stranding’s world is also wonderfully realized and presented. Still, I think Disco Elysium’s dreamlike, surrealist watercolor style depicting an anachronistic city and its citizens fading from glory and falling into decay and squalor is the standout.

And that brings us on home to Game of the Year. My choice everywhere else—spoiler—The Outer Worlds wasn’t even nominated here by the GDC, so I’m a little bummed about that. From what did make the cut then, Control again would be my personal pick. Remedy delivers on their trademark “new weird” style of storytelling, sprinkling in oddball characters and interesting enemies for player avatar Jesse Faden to interact with, all with exciting abilities/powers acquired throughout to utilize in combat and exploration of the excellently design levels. However, the seasoned curmudgeonly critic in me says it’ll be a slug fest between Sekiro and Death Stranding given the current gaming climate. Sekiro already grabbed the top spot at TGA, but with the nature of the GDC, they may elect to instead honor Kojima and his creation for the coveted top spot, which if so would be fine, I just maintain that it isn’t quite on par overall with the above mentioned titles.

Well, there you are my friends, thanks for joining me as always, and I’ll be back here in March to compare my picks with the winners. Around that time our official TLS episode where we discuss and highlight our own games of 2019 will also release. Until then, I’ll catch you in the Oceanview Motel.  

– Scott Thurlow