The Golden Joystick Awards 2021 happened last night, with some of this year's finest games being acknowledged in a variety of categories. As The Game Awards and other awards shows begin recognizing games, the Golden Joystick Awards 2021 gives fans a first look at what might be this year's biggest winners.
With 2021 coming to a close, this is the time of year that organziations and publications begin releasing their nominees for various game of the year categories. The Golden Joystick Awards are one of the industry's longest running video game awards ceremonies, 2021 marking the 39th time the event has been held. In October GamesRadar announced the Golden Joystick Awards 2021 nominees, including games like Resident Evil: Village, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Deathloop amongst many others. Fans were able to vote online in the litany of categories, and the event itself was streamed online on November 23.
The Golden Joystick Awards 2021 have ended, and some games got more recognized than others. Resident Evil: Village was the biggest winner this year, taking home awards in Best Audio, Best Performer for Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, PlayStation Game of the Year, and Ultimate Game of the Year categories, with Capcom receiving the award for Studio of the Year as well. Final Fantasy 14 was the only other game to receive more than one award, walking away with the Best Game Community and Sill Playing awards. In the only category not voted on by fans, the Critics Choice Award, Deathloop took home the prize.
Golden Joystick Awards 2021 Winner
- Best Storytelling - Life is Strange: True Colors
- Best Multiplayer Game - It Takes Two
- Best Audio - Resident Evil: Village
- Best Visual Design - Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- Best Game Expansion - Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Expansion
- Mobile Game of the Year - League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Best Gaming Hardware - PS5
- Best Indie Game - Death's Door
- Studio of the Year - Capcom
- Best Performer - Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu)
- Breakthrough Award - Housemarque
- Best Game Community - Final Fantasy 14
- Still Playing Award - Final Fantasy 14
- PC Game of the Year - Hitman 3
- Nintendo Game of the Year - Metroid Dread
- Xbox Game of the Year - Psychonauts 2
- PlayStation Game of the Year - Resident Evil Village
- Most Wanted Game - Elden Ring
- Critics Choice Award - Deathloop
- Ultimate Game of the Year - Resident Evil Village
- Ultimate Hardware of All Time - PC
- Ultimate Game of All Time - Dark Souls
In years past, the Golden Joystick Awards typically deliver its final game of the year pick through its Ultimate Game of the Year category, but this year, two more categories were included: Ultimate Hardware of All Time and Ultimate Game of All Time. These categories were added as this year's awards show was also a celebration of "50 Years of Games," going back to 1971's Computer Space as the first retailed video game. Fans selected the PC as the Ultimate Hardware of All Time, with industry icon Gabe Newell of Valve accepting the award, and the Ultimate Game of All Time as FromSoftware's Dark Souls.
Regarding the awards given to 2021's games, the Golden Joystick Awards seemed to honor a healthy variety of titles, especially those that have been snubbed elsewhere. For example, Returnal's developers Housemarque received the Breakthrough Award, despite not being nominated for Ultimate Game of the Year here, or as Game of the Year at The Game Awards. Naturally, the Ultimate Game of All Time is a contentious category that not everyone will be happy with, but crowning the "greatest game ever made" is no easy assignment. The Golden Joystick Awards certainly cut its work out for itself in 2021.
Source: GamesRadar