The Game Awards 2020 saw some surprising results, most notably the near clean sweep of The Last of Us II. Naughty Dog’s sequel to 2013’s masterpiece won in almost every important category, with one exception: Player’s Voice.
The Game Awards 2020
During yesterday’s Game Awards 2020, dubbed ‘the Oscars of gaming’, gamers from around the world saw The Last of Us II win by a landslide, seemingly one of the more shocking results in years. The game about Ellie’s survival in a post apocalyptic world won in almost every category it was nominated in, including Game of the Year.
This is at least a little surprising, given the fact that it was one of the most controversial games of this year. Mostly because of the plot and unsatisfactory ending. Still, on a technical level, no one can deny the game’s brilliance.
Player’s Voice
Yearly, a jury of international games journalists (90%) and the gamer (10%) decide what the best games of that year were. While The Last of Us II is by no means a bad game, it’s quite apparent why it won. The game holds a whopping 93 review score on Metacritic, but boasts a mere 5.7 user score. Because international media have the most say during the voting process, it’s likely TLOU2 was pushed through by journalists.
On the other hand, Ghost of Tsushima won the Player’s Voice Award, based purely on the opinion of the public. Sucker Punch’s samurai RPG boasts a 9.2 user score and a 83 critic review score. So we guess as a silver lining for the American studio, at least gamers found their game to be superior. It must however sting a bit that TLOU2 snatched every award Ghost of Tsushima was nominated in, excluding Art Direction and Player’s Voice.
Millions of you voted, and now, the results are official: GHOST OF TSUSHIMA from @SuckerPunchProd and @PlayStation is your choice for #TheGameAwards Player's Voice Award.https://t.co/Pret6Wkaxi
Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/aszm9klkUA
— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) December 8, 2020
Final results
So, without further ado, check out all the winners (and losers) below. Per category, all nominated games are shown, with the winner highlighted in bold. Also, let us know if you think The Last of Us II should’ve won as many awards as it did!
Game of the Year
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
- DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
- Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)
- Hades (Supergiant Games)
- The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)
Best Game Direction
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
- Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)
- Hades (Supergiant Games)
- Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
- The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)
Best Narrative
- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (George Kamitani)
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Kazushige Nojima, Motomu Toriyama, Hiroki Iwaki, Sachie Hirano)
- Ghost of Tsushima (Ian Ryan, Liz Albl, Patrick Downs, Jordan Lemos)
- Hades (Greg Kasavin)
- The Last of Us Part II (Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross)
Best Art Direction
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
- Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)
- Hades (Supergiant Games)
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
- The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)
Best Score and Music
- DOOM Eternal (Mick Gordon)
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Nobuo Uematsu, Masahi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki)
- Hades (Darren Korb)
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Gareth Coker)
- The Last of Us Part II (Gustavo Santaolala, Mac Quale)
Best Audio Design
- DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)
- Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
- Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)
- Resident Evil 3 (Capcom)
- The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog/SIE)
Best Performance
- Ashley Johnson as Ellie, The Last of Us Part II
- Laura Bailey as Abby, The Last of Us Part II
- Daisuke Tsuji as Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima
- Logan Cunningham as Hades, Hades
- Nadji Jeter as Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Games for Impact
- If Found … (DREAMFEEL/Annapurna Interactive)
- Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (Cardboard Computer/Annapurna Interactive)
- Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)
- Tell Me Why (Dontnod Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
- Through the Darkest of Times (Paintbucket Games)
Best Ongoing
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Call of Duty Warzone (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Indie
- Carrion (Phobia Game Studio)
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)
- Hades (Supergiant Games)
- Spelunky 2 (Mossmouth)
- Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games)
Best Mobile
- Among Us (InnerSloth)
- Call of Duty Mobile (TiMi Studios/Activision)
- Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
- Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)
- Pokémon Café Mix (Genius Sonority)
Best Community Support
- Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Fall Guys (Mediatonic/Devolver)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Innovation in Accessibility
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Grounded (Obsidian/Xbox Game Studios)
- HyperDot (Tribe Games)
- The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)
- Watch Dogs Legion (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
Best VR/AR
- Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE)
- Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
- MARVEL’s Iron Man VR (Camoflaj/SIE)
- STAR WARS: Squadrons (Motive Studios/EA)
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive)
Best Action
- DOOM Eternal (id Software/Bethesda)
- Hades (Supergiant Games)
- Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
- Nioh 2 (Team Ninja)
- Streets of Rage 4 (DotEmu)
Best Action/Adventure
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch/SIE)
- MARVEL’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games/SIE)
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn/EA)
- The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog/SIE)
Best Role-Playing
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
- Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
- Persona 5 Royal (Atlus, P Studios)
- Wasteland 3 (inXile Entertainment/Koch)
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Best Fighting
- Granblue Fantasy: Versus (Arc System Works/Cygames)
- Mortal Kombat 11/Ultimate (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games)
- Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (Dimps/Capcom)
- One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai-Namco)
- UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe: Late[cl-r] (French Bread/Arc System Works)
Best Family
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (Toys for Bob/Activision)
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)
- Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (Velan Studios/Nintendo)
- Minecraft Dungeons (Mojang/Double Eleven/Xbox Game Studios)
- Paper Mario: The Origami King (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
Best Sim/Strategy
- Crusader Kings III (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox)
- Desperados III (Mimimi Games/THQN)
- Gears Tactics (Splash Damage/The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios)
- Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo/Xbox Game Studios)
- XCOM: Chimera Squad (Firaxis/2K)
Best Sports/Racing
- Dirt 5 (Codemasters Cheshire/Codemasters)
- F1 2020 (Codemasters Birmingham /Codemasters)
- FIFA 21 (EA Vancouver/EA Sports)
- NBA 2K21 (Visual Concepts/2K)
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 (Vicarious Visions/Activision)
Best Multiplayer
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
- Among Us (InnerSloth)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic/Devolver)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Debut Game
- Carrion (Phobia Game Studio/Devolver)
- Mortal Shell (Cold Symmetry/Playstack)
- Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games)
- Röki (Polygon Treehouse/CI Games)
- Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)
Best Content Creator of the Year
- Alanah Pearce
- NickMercs
- TimtheTatman
- Jay Ann Lopez
- Valkyrae
Best Esports Game
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete
- Ian “Crimsix” Porter / Call of Duty
- Heo “Showmaker” Su / League of Legends
- Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu / League of Legends
- Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro / Call of Duty
- Matthieu “ZywOo” Herbaut / CS:GO
Best Esports Team
- DAMWON Gaming / League of Legends
- Dallas Empire / Call of Duty
- San Francisco Shock / Overwatch League
- G2 Esports / League of Legends
- Team Secret / DOTA2
Best Esports Event
- BLAST Premier: Spring E2020 European Finals (CS:GO)
- Call of Duty League Championship 2020
- IEM Katowice 2020 (CS:GO)
- League of Legends World Championship 2020
- Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020
Best Esports Coach
- Danny “Zonic” Sorensen
- Dae-Hee “Crusty” Park
- Fabian “Grabbz” Lohmann
- Lee “Zefa” Jae-Min
- Raymond “Rambo” Lussier
Best Esports Host
- Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
- Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez
- James “Dash” Patterson
- Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden