It’s that time of the year again, a whole new year has almost went by and a lot of new video games have emerged. There have been a lot of controversial topics regarding microtransactions, pay to win lately , but there have been a few games that really stood out and impressed us.
So let’s go to this year’s Ulvespill Awards!
Nominees were selected in a staff meeting and voted on by all staff members. Eventual ties were resolved through external consultation.(Secret Chest – YouTube Partner)
BEST SHOOTER GAME
Nominees:
– PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
– Destiny 2
– Call of Duty: WWII
– Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
Winner is…
Bluehole truly did something amazing here, a mainstream success (with a lot of help from Twitch streamers), and we feel they did Early Access right this time. The “Battle Royale” game genre has gotten its major breakthrough and there are sure to be other games that want a piece of the cake, but for now PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the king of the hill..
Check out our early review right here
BEST ADVENTURE GAME
Nominees:
– Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
– Horizon Zero Dawn
– Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
– Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy
Winner is…
Naughty Dog proves that they can manage to continue the Uncharted series without Nathan Drake as the main character.Solid character building and story is without doubt a strong element for Naughty Dog, and they proved that once again this year.
BEST SPORTS GAME
Nominees:
– Football Manager 2018
– F1 2017
– Gran Turismo Sport
– Dirt 4
– Forza 7
Winner is…
Sports Interactive gave us a good feeling regarding our ability to “couch-manage” our team, and not actually doing the hard physical work. It might be a few things that’s similar to the previous games, but they are not alone there. (Looking at you EA). It is by far the most complete managerial game out there.
Check out our review of Football Manager right here.
BEST INDIE GAME
Nominees:
– Heat Signature
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Cuphead
– Rain World
– Mushroom Wars 2
Winner is…
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is one of the few titles that we have given a score above eight this year, and for good reason.. Hellblade delivers a strong experience packed with beautiful graphics, story and sound design. Most importantly, Hellblade presents a view of mental illness that is informed by experts and personal experience, making the whole thing less taboo.
Check out our review of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice right here.
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Nominees:
– Injustice 2
– Tekken 7
– Arms
– Nidhogg 2
– Marvel vs Capcom Infinite
Winner is…
Again, Tekken is one of the few titles with a total score above eight. Tekken 7 delivers a true “Tekken” experience, as it has been since 2007. A true Tekken game at it’s core, that keeps up with today’s standards.
Check out our review of Tekken 7 right here.
BEST VR GAME
Nominees:
– Farpoint
– Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
– Theseus
Winner is…
This category could be named best PlayStation VR game, as we only have the PlayStation VR available. This year, though, the honor goes to Resident Evil 7: BioHazard. A Truly torturous and horrifying experience on the Playstation VR.
Check out our review of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard right here.
BEST MOBILE GAME
Nominees:
– Stranger Things: The Mobile Game
– Ufo Hunter
– South Park: Phone Destroyer
Winner is…
A simple but a fun game to play, either “on the go”, sitting on the toilet, waiting for the bus or wherever you may be.. Ufo Hunter brings back the joy of actually focusing on the gameplay part, and not fancy graphics or deep stories. We had the privilege to talk with the developers earlier this year, you can check out what they had to say and what our first impressions of their game was right here.
BEST STORY
Nominees:
– Night in the Woods
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice delivers on the story. Told through voices in your head and sold by the excellent performance of the game’s titular protagonist, this Norse mythology-inspired story is the best we have reviewed this year.
BEST GAMEPLAY
Nominees:
– Heat Signature
– Dirt 4
– Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Winner is…
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild delivers tons of hours of gameplay. Many have said that Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece of the open world genre, and we are inclined to agree. BOTW wins this award with its living open world, interlocking systems and enormous box of tools for the player.
BEST GRAPHICS
Nominees:
– Everspace
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Horizon Zero Dawn
– Gran Turismo Sport
Winner is…
Hellblade receives the third award from us this year, with the “Best Graphics”, “Best Story” and “Best Indie Game”. Ninja Theory deserves a lot of attention with their game, and not only from us.
Check out our review of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice right here.
FAVORITE CHARACTER
Nominees:
– Bea (Night in the Woods)
– Talion (Middle-Earth: Shadow of War)
– Ratbag (Middle-Earth: Shadow of War)
– Sgt. Pierson (Call of Duty: WWII)
– Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy)
– Senua (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice)
– Chloe (Life is Strange: Before the Storm)
Winner is…
Ratbag might have a few moments of cliche / bad joke moments, but those are great and make his personality his own. This traitorous orc makes us happy every time he shows up throughout Shadow of War, and deserves some recognition this year.
Check out our review of Middle-Earth: Shadow of War right here.
MOST DISAPPOINTING GAME
Nomiees:
– Troll and I
– For Honor
– Sonic Forces
– Mass Effect: Andromeda
Sadly the winner is…
This hasn’t been a good year for EA, with a bad reception of FIFA 18 on the switch, all the attention around microtransactions on Battlefront 2, and off course the failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda. Mass Effect was such a disappointing game that everyone almost immediately forgot about it. We may never know what could have been, had the game not been as rushed as it appears.
GAME OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
– Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
– PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
– Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
– Horizon Zero Dawn
Winner is…
The main award; Game of the Year (GOTY). Goes to Horizon Zero Dawn.
The story of Aloy in this world of mechanical creatures intrigues us. Stunning graphics and sound design gives it an extra boost as well. Guerilla Games has added a fresh game to the PlayStation family that delivers an incredible experience.
Check out our review of Horizon Zero Dawn right here.
OTHER SPECIAL MOMENTS
Favorite moments
* First death in Hellblade
* “Trolling” your teammates in Ghost Recon Wildlands
* Voice chat proximity in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Favorite mechanics
* Getting back lost characters in Heat Signature
* Senua’s psychosis acting up and changing the world around her
Do you agree on our nominees and winners?
What is your picks in these categories, let us know in the comments.
