Although E3 2019 ended almost two weeks ago, the event is still fresh in the minds of many gamers who are eagerly anticipating the releases of fall 2019 and early 2020. Now the Game Critics Association has selected its best games of E3 2019 from among the playable games at the show.
It’s important to highlight that the Game Critics have specific criteria for game award selection at E3. Everything that is eligible for an award must be playable by the Game Critics judges for at least 5 minutes. So any hands-off demos from the E3 2019 event would not be eligible for the main awards, although these games can win special commendations. For example, Marvel’s Avengers is not eligible for any award because the demo was highly guided and not playable.
Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake took the overall Game of Show award for E3 2019, nearly 5 years after the game was first revealed. As we noted in our hands-on preview of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the demo Square Enix prepared gave a good feel for the gameplay and all of the clever changes the developers are making to modernize the original.
Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming RPG The Outer Worlds took home the title of Best Original Game from E3 2019. It may not have Fallout in its name, but The Outer Worlds demo seems like the type of game that Bethesda would have made in the earlier days of the series, before branching out with Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.
Best of Show
Final Fantasy VII Remake
(Square Enix for PS4)
Best Original Game
The Outer Worlds
(Obsidian/Private Division for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Best Console
Best VR/AR Game
Phantom: Covert Ops
(nDreams/Oculus Studios for Oculus Quest, PC)
Best PC Game
Doom Eternal
(id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox)
Best Hardware/Peripheral
Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2
(Microsoft)
Best Action Game
Best Action/Adventure
Watch Dogs: Legion
(Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
Best RPG
Best Racing Game
Crash Team Racing
(Beenox/Activision for PS4, Xbox)
Best Sports Game
EFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020
(Konami for PS4, Xbox)
Best Strategy Game
John Wick Hex
(Bithell Games/Good Sheperd for Mac, PC)
Best Family/Social Game
Luigi’s Mansion 3
(Next Level Games/Nintendo for Switch)
Best Online Multiplayer
Call of Duty Modern Warfare
(Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox)
Best Independent Game
12 Minutes
(Luis Antonio/Annapurna for PC, Xbox)
Best Ongoing Game
Destiny 2
(Bungie for PC, PS4, Stadia, Xbox)
In addition to the main awards, the Game Critics also awarded Cyberpunk 2077 a Special Commendation for Graphics. In past years, multiple games have won the commendation, but this year only Cyberpunk 2077 stood out above the rest. This is also the second year in a row that Cyberpunk has received this special commendation, and it will likely be the last since Cyberpunk 2077 is slated to release in April 2020.
With both Sony and Microsoft set to release new consoles next year, this E3 had a different feel to it. There were still plenty of exciting games, but there was a general sense that some of the bigger releases are being held for next year’s event, where developers can finally confirm that the next-gen is real and their projects are targeting those platforms. In other words, expect the competition for many of these E3 awards categories to be a bit more contentious next year.
