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Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2018 Nominees Announced

It's that time where gaming critics unite to argue over which games did it for Shacknews at E3 2018. And the nominees are...

Asif Khan

June 28, 2018 9:15 AM

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We are only two weeks removed from the end of E3 2018, but that doesn't stop intrepid games journalists. Shacknews was invited to join the Game Critics Awards as a judge this year and we are excited for the opportunity to have our community and website's opinion heard in front of the whole universe. Sadly, there are only so many awards to give out. In order to properly honor the all of the games shown at E3 2018, the Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2018 has released a list of all of the nominees. Please take a look.

Before you get all hot and bothered over Cyberpunk 2077 not being on these lists, please understand that there are rules. 

To be eligible for nomination, games must be "hands-on playable" to voting publications for at least 5 minutes of gameplay during E3 2018. 

Due to this rule, the following games were disqualified: Battletoads (Xbox); Beyond Good and Evil 2 (Ubisoft); Control (505 Games); Crackdown 3 (Microsoft); Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red); Daemon x Machina (Nintendo); Death Stranding (PlayStation); Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom); DOOM Eternal (Bethesda); Dying Light 2 (Techland); Fallout 76 (Bethesda); Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Nintendo); Gears 5 (Xbox); Gears POP! (Xbox); Gears Tactics (Xbox); Ghost of Tsushima (PlayStation); Halo Infinite (Xbox); Just Cause 4 (Square Enix); Madden NFL 19 (EA); NBA Live 19 (EA); Nioh 2 (PlayStation); Super Mario Party (Nintendo); Stormland (Insomniac Games); The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (Square Enix); The Last of Us Part II (PlayStation); Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Bethesda).

These games are still eligible for Special Commendations that will be announced at a later date. Without further ado, here are the nominees for the Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2018.

Best of Show

Anthem (BioWare/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games/SIE for PlayStation 4)

Resident Evil 2 (Capcom for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios/Sora Ltd./Nintendo for Switch)

Best Original Game

Anthem (BioWare/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Days Gone (SIE Bend Studio/SIE for PlayStation 4)

Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE for PlayStation 4)

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Best Console Game

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft for PS4, Xbox One)

Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE for PlayStation 4)

Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games/SIE for PlayStation 4)

Resident Evil 2 (Capcom for PS4, Xbox One)

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision for PS4, Xbox One)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios/Sorta Ltd./Nintendo for Switch)

Best VR/AR Game

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio/SIE for PSVR)

Déraciné (FromSoftware/SIE Japan Studio/SIE for PSVR)

Echo Combat (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios for PC)

Tetris Effect (Resonair/Enhance Inc for PSVR)

Trover Saves the Universe (Squanch Games for PlayStation 4/PSVR)

Best PC Game

Anthem (BioWare/EA)

Battlefield V (EA DICE/EA)

Metro: Exodus (4A Games/Deep Silver)

Rage 2 (Avalanche/id/Bethesda)

Total War: Three Kingdoms (Creative Assembly/Sega)

Best Hardware/Peripheral

NEOGEO Mini (SNK)

Poké Ball Plus (Nintendo for Switch)

Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft for PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

Vantage Controller for PS4 (SCUF Gaming)

Xbox Adaptive Controller (Microsoft)

Best Action Game

Anthem (BioWare/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Battlefield V (EA DICE/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Metro: Exodus (4A Games/Deep Silver for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Rage 2 (Avalanche/id/Bethesda for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Best Action/Adventure

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games/SIE for PlayStation 4)

Resident Evil 2 (Capcom for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (FromSoftware/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Massive Entetainment/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Best RPG

Divinity: Original Sin II (Larian Studios/Bandai Namco for PS4, Xbox One)

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Square Enix for PC, PS4, Switch)

Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix for PS4, Xbox One)

Octopath Traveler (Square Enix/Acquire/Nintendo for Switch)

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! (Game Freak/Nintendo for Switch)

Best Fighting Game

Dead or Alive 6 (Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Jump Force (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

SOUL CALIBUR VI (Bandi Namco for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Bandai Namco Studios/Sorta Ltd./Nintendo for Switch)

Best Racing Game

F1 2018 (Codemasters for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games/Turn 10/Microsoft Studios for PC, Xbox One)

Team Sonic Racing (Sumo Digital/Sega for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

The Crew 2 (Ivory Tower/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Trials Rising (Red Lynx/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

Best Sports Game

FIFA 19 (EA Vancouver/EA for PS4, Xbox One)

Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning/Nintendo for Switch)

Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (PES Productions/Konami for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Best Strategy Game

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden (The Bearded Ladies/Funcom for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Total War: Three Kingdoms (Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)

Two Point Hospital (Two Point Studios/Sega for PC)

Wargroove (Chuckle Fish for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

Best Family/Social Game

Dreams (Media Molecule/SIE for PlayStation 4)

LEGO DC Super-Villains (Traveler’s Tales/WBIE for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! (Game Freak/Nintendo for Switch)

Overcooked 2 (Ghost Town Games/Team 17 for PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning/Nintendo for Switch)

Best Online Mulitplayer

Anthem (BioWare/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Battlefield V (EA DICE/EA for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Best Independent Game

Ori and the Will of Wisps (Moon Studios/Microsoft for PC, Xbox One)

Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital/Annapurna Interactive for PC, Xbox One)

Overcooked 2 (Ghost Town Games/Team 17 for PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury for PC)

Tunic (Andrew Shouldice/Finji for PC, Xbox One)

Best Ongoing Game

Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie/Activision for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

For Honor (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

Fortnite (Epic for iOS, Mac, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)

PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG Corp for iOS, PC, Xbox One)

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS4, Xbox One)

In case you are wondering who these judges are, here is a list of the outlets who have come together in true Voltron form to become the Game Critics.

Judges

The following global media and influencer outlets submitted ballots for The Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2018.

NORTH AMERICA:

• ArsTechnica
• CGMagazine
• Easy Allies
• Electric Playground
• Entertainment Weekly
• Forbes
• Game Informer
• GameSpot
• Gannett
• Giant Bomb
• Hollywood Reporter
• IGN
• Kinda Funny
• LA Times
• Mashable
• Newsweek
• PC Gamer
• Polygon
• Shacknews
• The Verge
• US Gamer
• Variety
• VentureBeat
• Waypoint
• WIRED

INTERNATIONAL:

• Atomix (Mexico)
• AusGamers  (Australia)
• Cultura Geek (Argentina)
• EDGE (UK)
• EuroGamer (UK)
• Everyeye.it (Italy) 
• Famitsu (Japan)
• GamePro (Germany)
• GameReactor  (Nordic)
• Gamesky (China)
• GamesRadar (UK)
• GameStar (Germany)
• Hobbyconsolas (Spain)
• Igromania (Russia)
• Jeux Video Magazine (France)
• Level Up (Mexico)
• Malditos Nerds (Argentina)
• Meristation (Spain)
• Multiplayer.It (Italy)
• PC Games N (UK)
• Press Start (Australia)
• Saudi Gamer (Middle East)
• Stevivor (Australia)
• Tec.Com.Pe (Peru)
• The Enemy (Brazil)
• True Gaming (Middle East)
• Valdal.net (Spain)
• Voxel (Brazil)

Be sure to stop by Shacknews next week to find out the winners and catch up on all of our E3 2018 coverage while you wait to hear these results.

Asif Khan

CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Asif Khan is the CEO, EIC, and majority shareholder of Shacknews. He began his career in video game journalism as a freelancer in 2001 for Tendobox.com. Asif is a CPA and was formerly an investment adviser representative. After much success in his own personal investments, he retired from his day job in financial services and is currently focused on new private investments. His favorite PC game of all time is Duke Nukem 3D, and he is an unapologetic fan of most things Nintendo. Asif first frequented the Shack when it was sCary's Shugashack to find all things Quake. When he is not immersed in investments or gaming he is a purveyor of fine electronic music. Asif also has an irrational love of Cleveland sports.