The Legend of Zelda and Horizon Zero Dawn Reign Supreme at the Golden Joystick Awards
The 35th annual Golden Joystick Awards took place today, and there were two games that stood high against their competition. Surely no surprise here, both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn took home the most awards of the year, with four each.
The Golden Joystick wards is the only gaming award ceremony in the UK where the public votes to crown the winners, so it’s always interesting to see who will win each category and of course who will take home the award of the night: Ultimate Game of the Year. Nintendo has had a stellar year so far, with the debut of their new Switch console, as well as more than one critically acclaimed game, and no they can add another feather to their cap. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home the Ultimate Game of the Year trophy, as well as an award for Best Audio, Best Nintendo Game and Critic’s Choice. Nintendo also took home the award for Best Studio.
Guerrilla Games has recently spoken about the creative process behind Horizon Zero Dawn and the unique possibilities they were able to take with it. Clearly it paid off because the studio walked away with two awards, one for Best Storytelling and the other for Best PlayStation Game. Ashly Burch, the voice behind Aloy, also took home the Best Gaming Performance Award and the Breakthrough Award.
The 2017 Golden Joystick Awards was also an opportunity for gamers to catch a sneak peek at two upcoming games: Code Vein and Ni No Kuni 2. If you want to check out the full show, you can find it here. You can find the full list of award winners below:
Winners
Best Storytelling – Horizon Zero Dawn
Best Visual Design – Cuphead
Best Audio – The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
Best Gaming Performance – Ashly Burch (Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn)
Best Indie Game – Friday the 13th The Game
Best Multiplayer Game – PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Studio of the Year – Nintendo EPD
Best VR Game – Resident Evil 7
Esports Play of the Year – Overwatch
Esports Team of the Year – Lunatic Hai
Esports Game of the Year – Overwatch
Best Streamer/Broadcaster – Markiplier
Handheld/Mobile Game of the Year – Pokemon Sun/Moon
Nintendo Game of the Year – The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
Playstation Game of the Year – Horizon Zero Dawn
Xbox Game of the Year – Cuphead
PC Game of the Year – PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
The Critics Choice Award – The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
Breakthrough Award – Ashly Burch (Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn)
Hall of Fame – Final Fantasy
Most Wanted Game – The Last of Us 2
Still Playing Award – World of Tanks
Outstanding Contribution to the UK Games Industry – Debbie Bestwick MBE (Founder of Team17 – Worms etc)
Lifetime Achievement Award – Sid Meier (Civilization etc)
Ultimate Game of the Year – The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
What are your thoughts? Are you surprised by any of the winners? Let us know in the comments below.