UPDATE: It Takes Two won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2021!
The end of the year is near, meaning that it is time to look back on the year and celebrate all of the great releases. Every year there are multiple award shows and ceremonies that highlight their favorite releases, but one of the biggest is The Game Awards. Hosted and organized by Geoff Keighley, The Game Awards in recent years have grown to become a big industry event filled with live musical performances, trailers, and announcements for upcoming games, and, of course, awards that are voted on by the community.
This year's nominees were recently announced, sparking discussions, predictions, and debate over what games were snubbed from The Game Awards this year. Each of the many categories is full of titles that more than deserve to win, making this year's show just as difficult to predict. One of the particularly stacked categories this year is Best Multiplayer Game: A wide variety of standout multiplayer games were released this year, narrowed down to six great releases that are all battling it out for the title.
Back 4 Blood
Turtlerock Studios' Back 4 Blood saw the studio returning to the formula that made the studio so successful with the Left 4 Dead series, with a number of improvements. With a day-one launch on Xbox Game Pass, Back 4 Blood was released to plenty of hungry players, despite its server and technical issues at launch that made finding and staying in matches difficult.
However, the developers have been diligent in addressing the game's issues, including implementing the changes that Back 4 Blood's community has asked for. The game has managed to maintain a healthy base of players in the months following its release, and it will be great to see where the developers take it in 2022.
It Takes Two
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It Takes Two from Hazelight Studios was another fantastic co-op offering from the studio dedicated to showing that couch co-op is alive and well. A follow-up to 2018's A Way Out, the game follows Cody and May, a married couple that are planning on getting a divorce. The two are magically transported into the bodies of their daughters' dolls that look like them, where they're forced to work together to return to normal, strengthening their relationship along the way.
It Takes Two has been praised for its co-op gameplay, split-screen support, and innovative gameplay. Many have labeled as It Takes Two as one of the best split-screen games available, and it is definitely a strong enough title to deserve its place among the other nominees.
Knockout City
The second EA-published title to be nominated for the best multiplayer game award, Knockout City is a multiplayer dodgeball title developed by Velan Studios. The game has been lauded for its interesting spin on the multiplayer action genre that includes deep mechanics, tons of variety, and an emphasis on teamwork and playing with friends.
Knockout City also launched day one on Xbox Game Pass, while eventually offering players the option to play for free until rank 25 to try it out and decide whether or not they want to pick it up. Following its release, Knockout City has also received a lot of support from its developers with new customization options, maps, seasons, and dodgeballs with unique abilities for players to utilize during matches.
Monster Hunter Rise
Capcom's Monster Hunter Rise launched in a very difficult position. Its predecessor Monster Hunter World was beloved for its scale and visual fidelity that was made possible by it being available on PC, PlayStation 4, and the Xbox One. This set a very high standard for Monster Hunter Rise to meet, while only being released on the Nintendo Switch, with a PC port coming soon.
However, the developers were able to continue improving and refining the experience of the Monster Hunter series by introducing new weapon arts to add yet more depth to the combat, creating unique new monsters to hunt, and impressive presentation to boot. The game also continued the series' tradition of being a fantastic multiplayer game to experience with friends, and would have been more than deserving of a nomination for 2021's game of the year as well. It will be great to see what else comes to Monster Hunter Rise in its Sunbreak expansion that arrives next year.
New World
New World was a brand-new MMO from Amazon Game Studios and Double Helix Games. The game was first announced in 2016 and kept interested fans waiting for five years before it was fully launched. The game's launch was plagued by bugs and server issues, but players still found a lot to love in the game's unique combat, mechanics, world, and PvP offerings. Players who have stuck with the MMO have still had complaints regarding some of the updates New World has received, but the developers have stood by the game and have continued to try and honor what fans love about the game, while improving the aspects that are less popular.
Prediction for Best Multiplayer Game Winner: Valheim
When Valheim was released this year, it was inescapable. The small indie survival title from Iron Gate AB exploded into early access on Steam and quickly took the world by storm as players were more than eager to jump into the Viking-themed survival experience.
Valheim puts a unique spin on the survival genre with an intricate physics-based building system, a multitude of world bosses to hunt and kill, and a deep progression system. The developers eventually released Valheim's massive Hearth and Home expansion, which introduced new features, building options, and a number of small additions as well. WithValheim being best experienced with friends, it is a great candidate for the best multiplayer game of 2021. The developers have been great about steadily releasing updates despite their small size, and it will be very interesting to see where the team takes the game in the future as it gets closer to its full 1.0 release.
The Game Awards air on December 9 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.