It was quite a year at E3 in 2016, and we got to see and experience tons of amazing games and virtual experiences during our time at the convention. What other trade shows are that much fun? But we weren’t just there for poops and smiles; we were there to bestow awards upon these games and developers along with about 40 other media outlets. Our own Dan Casey — who was a judge for the show — told you about which ones we loved the most with the Nerdist Best-Ofs, but now’s the time to tell you who and what won out of everybody with the Game Critics Awards.
It should come as no surprise to people who read our coverage—and the coverage of many others, it seems—that the Best of Show, Best Action/Adventure Game, and Best Console Game awards were given to Nintendo‘s hotly anticipated upcoming game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wind. It’s a return to Hyrule but in a way we haven’t seen before—allowing players to take Link in an essentially open-world exploration of the mythical realm while still being able to traverse dungeons, defeat monsters, and finally find Zelda. Dan mentioned that one can beat the game without ever doing the main story mission. Check out his thoughts below.
The Best VR Game award was given to Batman: Arkham VR, which allows players to take on the mantle of the Dark Knight himself and solve a murder using your detective skills, as well as being able to just explore the Batcave. Dan played a demo of this came and said the only thing to worry about is punching yourself in the face.
Several other games that we loved took home honors, including Horizon: Zero Dawn, the story of a young wildling woman who has to hunt down robotic dinosaurs in an open-world setting, which received the Best Original Game award; Injustice 2, the adventures of DC Superheroes who hate each other now, which got Best Fighting Game; and Civilization VI and its time-sucking turn-based strategy won Best PC Game.
The full list of winners is below:
Best of Show
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)
Best Original Game
Horizon: Zero Dawn
(Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4)
Best Console Game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)
Best VR Game
Batman: Arkham VR
(Rocksteady/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent for PlayStation 4)
Best PC Game
Civilization VI
(Firaxis/2K)
Best Hardware/Peripheral
PlayStation VR
(Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Action Game
Battlefield 1
(DICE/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Action/Adventure Game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)
Best Role Playing Game
Final Fantasy XV
(Square-Enix for PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Racing Game
Forza Horizon 3
(Playground Games/Turn 10/Microsoft Studios for PC, Xbox One)
Best Fighting Game
Injustice 2
(NetherRealm/WBIE for PS4, Xbox One)
Best Sports Game
Steep
(Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Family Game
Skylanders: Imaginators
(Toys for Bob/Activision for PC, PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, Wii-U)
Best Online Multiplayer
Titanfall 2
(Respawn/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Independent Game
Inside
(Playdead for PC, Xbox One)
Special Commendation for Graphics
God of War
(Sony Santa Monica/Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4)
It really was a great year for games, and we’re excited for you to be able to play these later on this fall and beyond. Let us know which was your favorite, or the one you’re most excited about, in the comments below!
And here were our big winners!
Image: Nintendo
