Sweet Sweet Vindication
The Last of Us: Part II has been considered by critics as one of the greatest games of the year – if not the generation, or even gaming history – but while it was a bestseller fan reaction was much more divisive. For every gamer who loved the video game there seems to have been a dozen people unhappy with the direction the game took – whether for the plot itself or for forcing players to put themselves in the shoes of Ellie, the first canonically LGBT+ lead in AAA Gaming History.
We're so incredibly honored to have The Last of Us Part II win Ultimate Game of the Year, @PlayStation Game of the Year, Best Visual Design, Best Storytelling, Best Audio, and to be named Best Studio at The @GoldenJoysticks. Congrats to the team and thanks to all that voted! pic.twitter.com/Cv4xo13sP0
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) November 24, 2020
That didn’t stop The Last of Us: Part II from being the big winner at this year’s Golden Joystick Awards, winning five awards – including the night’s biggest accolade, Ultimate Game of the Year – where it faced stiff competition from the likes of Ghost of Tsushima, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Demon’s Souls. The game also won the awards for Best Storytelling, Best Audio, Best PlayStation Game, and Best Visual Design.
Additionally, Naughty Dog won the award for Best Studio, making it a big night for the studio overall. Fall Guys, Minecraft, and Hades tie for second place, with two awards each.
The full list of winners are:
- Best Storytelling: The Last of Us Part II
- Best Multiplayer Game: Fall Guys
- Best Visual Design: The Last of Us Part II
- Best Game Expansion: No Man’s Sky: Origins
- Mobile Game of the Year: Lego Builder’s Journey
- Best Audio: The Last of Us Part II
- Best Indie Game: Hades
- Still Playing: Minecraft
- Studio of the Year: Naughty Dog
- Esports Game of the Year: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Best New Streamer / Broadcaster: iamBrandon
- Best Family Game: Fall Guys
- Best Gaming Community: Minecraft
- Best Performer: Sandra Saad (Critics Choice)
- Breakthrough Award: Among Us (Critics Choice)
- Hall of Fame: Team17 / Worms (Critics Choice)
- PC Game of the Year: Death Stranding
- Best Gaming Hardware: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
- PlayStation Game of the Year: The Last of Us Part II
- Xbox Game of the Year: Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Nintendo Game of the Year: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Most Wanted Game: The next God of War game
- Critics Choice Award: Hades (Critics Choice)
- Ultimate Game of the Year: The Last of Us Part II
The Last of Us: Part II’s massive success – critically, commercially, and at the awards – also says a lot about the future of gaming; unfortunately, diverse characters still have a long way to go when it comes to representation, with LGBT+ or POC characters often pushed to the sidelines of gaming – if they’re included at all – while pushing white/straight/cisgendered characters into the forefront. While we’re still a long way off from seeing anywhere near an equal representation in video games, the success of The Last of Us: Part II has proven that a game can succeed while still championing diversity.
What do you think of the awards? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook.
Source: Press Release