This year’s edition of the Golden Joystick Awards took place in London last week, the 36th edition of a video game event that’s been taking place since 1983. Unlike other awards ceremonies like The Game Awards, the Golden Joystick Awards are mostly voted for by the gamers themselves, letting the public have the final word about which games really were the year’s best.
As in previous years, voting for the 2018 awards took place across a series of categories. This year it was Sony’s God of War which bagged the most awards (a total of four), while the studio behind the game (Sony Santa Monica) also won the studio of the year award. God of War is a reboot of the long-running series, and this year’s entry had a more mature story, spectacular graphics and a sidekick – protagonist Kratos’ son Atreus was in for the ride.
Of course, it’s the Game of the Year award that matters, and Fortnite was the winner here, following in the footsteps of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which picked up the award last year. Epic’s game is too big a phenomenon to ignore, of course – but it’s likely some would have picked Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 for the top honour instead. Nonetheless, Rockstar’s cowboy Western was still handed the Critics Choice Award on the night.
As was to be expected, the Best Competitive Game award went to Fortnite too. Meanwhile, its competitor PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds won the Mobile Game of the Year award. Also interesting is the fact that little-known indie game Subnautica won the PC Game of the Year award this year – proof that small developers can make their mark in the industry when they set their heart on it.
Also, actor Bryan Dechart won an award for his performance in Detroit: Become Human (one of the best adventure games of the year as we pointed out in our review), while veteran Japanese designer Hidetaka Miyazaki was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award – a just reward for the man behind the Dark Souls games and the upcoming Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
As good as 2018 might have been for video games, though, there’s a possibility 2019 might turn out to be even better. With the likes of the aforementioned Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Resident Evil 2 and Metro Exodus in the pipeline, hopefully 2019 will turn out to be just as memorable as 2018.
Here follows the full list of winners from this year’s Golden Joystick Awards (via PC Gamer):
- Best Storytelling: God of War
- Studio of the Year: Sony Santa Monica
- Best New Streamer/Broadcaster: Amelia Rose Blaire and Bryan Dechart
- Mobile Game of the Year: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Best Competitive Game: Fortnite
- PC Game of the Year: Subnautica
- PlayStation Game of the Year: God of War
- Best Co-op Game: Monster Hunter World
- Xbox Game of the Year: Forza Horizon 4
- Best Visual Design: God of War
- Nintendo Game of the Year: Octopath Traveler
- Best Indie Game: Dead Cells
- Breakthrough Award: Unknown Worlds (Subnautica)
- Most Wanted Game: Cyberpunk 2077
- Critics Choice Award: Red Dead Redemption 2
- Best Audio: God of War
- Still Playing Award: World of Tanks
- Best Performer: Bryan Dechart (Detroit: Become Human)
- Outstanding Contribution: Microsoft (Xbox Adaptive Controller)
- Best VR Game: Skyrim VR
- Game of the Year: Fortnite