Here Are All The Winners From The 2021 Golden Joystick Awards

Capcom’s been on a roll lately. Nothing but bangers these past few years.

"Ultimate Game of All Time" has to be the most redundant category I've seen.

I mean I don't care for the new Metroid game but what else did Nintendo even do this year? The Pokemon remakes?

I'm really drawing a blank here.

I'm so happy to see a Nintendo game win the Nintendo category. Was expecting Atari to pull through and win that category

@Expa0 mario golf! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Best Audio going to Resi VIllage instead of Returnal shows this whole thing up as nonsense and voted on by people who don't their arses from their elbows.

Also, how can Resi Village be overall best game of the year and not the best Xbox game with Psychonaughts 2 winning there? Pointless.

Don't forget another switch game now Death's Door! Winner of best indie game.

Deathloop (critically chosen) . Okay I can't take these awards seriously. Deathloop was a fun game. Let alone the nomination, it doesn't deserve any awards.

Like all awards shows it's just an excuse to print a list of things people may not have spent money on yet this year.

We don't really need validation to tell us what we liked was actually good.

Where’s the ‘ultra omega universal monstergame of the year’ though? I’m sure Metroid would win that one

PC winning best gaming hardware evar doesn't make much sense to me. What hardware spec does this represent? Sure a recent machine will be able to play most games (and be very expensive), but if I pull a 486 off a skip it's not going to be able to run anything much beyond 1995. Is an old Celeron still the best gaming hardware evar?

I'm increasingly seeing people building "retro" PCs with 3DFX cards and Windows 9x so they can use drivers that support texture formats that modern graphics cards drivers have dropped support for, so it's not as if backwards compatibility is perfect on PC either.

So the PS didn't even have an exclusive win? Nice to see Hitman 3 win something, it's such a good game. Metroid had an easy year to win the Nintendo category (but is also damn good).

@TMG44 Neither did Xbox.

Having your own category (i.e., Nintendo/PlayStation/Xbox GOTY) still doesn't make sense to me. Unless they're specifically going for exclusives, it still doesn't makes sense at least for me.

<insert obama awards obama meme>

@Zyph They release more than one game per year, unless you want an ultimate game-to-have-no-matter-what-console-you-have category, which is, according to this, Dark Souls.

@Expa0 Monster Hunter Rise and SMT 5 are both on the Switch and are probably the best games this year by far imo.

@Expa0
Warioware
Pokémon Snap
Mario Golf
Mario Party
Skyward Sword
Big Brain Academy
Metroid
Pokémon remakes
Famicom Detective Club remakes
Bowsers Fury
Almost forgot Game Builder Garage
I’m probably missing some stuff. That’s off the top of my head.

@WallyWest Microsoft own Double Fine, so Psychonauts 2 was a home win for Xbox. More surprising that something like Ratchet and Clank couldn’t beat a third-party title. Although, saying that, if something like MH Rise had beaten Metroid Dread for best Nintendo game, it wouldn’t have been a travesty.

What a year for Capcom. On Switch alone, MH Rise, MH Stories 2 and Great Ace Attorney are all up there with the best of the year.

@MrGawain tbh the main award that may be the most accurate isn't even directly related to the game(though it's increasingly kicking its rivals like WoW in the shins hard, even as games go) but rather it's players in regard to FF14 getting the "best community award".

I recall listening to a Monster Hunter players podcast where the folks behind the podcast, despite being monster hunter players and that game having a pretty decent community too, urging folks to go vote FF14 for the best community award due to the sheer quality and involvement of the FF14 community in making a strong experience even greater(ontop of how even top devs are involved close to the community and keeping tabs on it)

@Krull PN2 is a multiplatform game and was released on PS4 so it doesn't really count.

Aren't all awards just fake events to kiss each other's butts? Best gaming hardware: PS5? It's not even possible to get one anywhere, lol...

I even had to read a reminder that the PS5 is already out there for a year and none of my friends even bothered to buy one so far.

@faint Miitopia

Lol I'm not saying it ain't the best hardware the ps5 but didn't the switch sell more the 13.4 million this year?which according to sales that would make the switch that not ps5

Metroid Dread might not have won Ultimate game of the Year, but at least it still has 7 E.M.M.I’s!

I feel inclined to mention a typo, using fair instead of fare

Fair results, I think it's been a pretty dull year for games.

Some very odd nominations in each of the best game categories - all the winners of best game on respective platforms (except Switch) were multi-platform, but none of them even nominated on other platforms.

Metroid Dread is great, but I think these results reflect Nintendo's lacklustre output for this year.

@Darkyoshi98 That's not how it works. BTS isn't the best group just because lots of teenage girls buy their music.

Ultimate Game of All Time: Dark Souls?
wtf? I mean, I love the game, it is bloody brilliant, but what does Ultimate Game of All Time even means? Tomorrow we all die or what?

"Best Nintendo Game" really feels like a participation trophy given the line up.

@Expa0 Monster Hunter Rise and Shin Megami Tensei V are some of the best games out there considering all platforms! Plus, they are exclusives to Switch too. These are lame categories- they did it so vaguely to have more boost from more sponsors. Switch still had the best exclusives so this rating is not made by a solid gaming entity, just an event that seeks attention and money.

@Old-Red just what I was thinking. By elimination it would mean that RE. Village was better than the PS4 version of Psychonauts 2, but not than the Xbox Series X version. Therefore the XSX version of Psychonauts 2 should have been game of the year. Haha such weird awards

@chardir Nintendo still has Shin Megami tensei V and Monster Hunter Rise ( beside Metroid Dread)?! Some of the best games this year!
Nintendo had better line up than Sony or Microsoft

@Darkyoshi98 these events are not made by gamers, just corporates that seek money and attention. These awards are so lame. Switch still had the best line up this year - Metroid, SMTV, Monster Hunter Rise!!!!! These are some of the best games this year, but it’s like they were not released at all.

@Pillowpants yeah, Switch is selling far better around the world than Xbox and PS, close to 100 Million in 4years- that’s a crazy accomplishment.plus Switch hasn’t even been selling in as many countries like PS ( Brazil and China) and still has almost the same sales as ps4 that’s been selling far longer and in more regions. Switch should be the best console if there was no ass kissing but plain figures.

@WallyWest Let’s agree to differ. Otherwise Horizon Zero Dawn wouldn’t count as a Sony game any more, even though it’s multiplat

Great to see Metroid get an award. All super happy to see Resident Evil 8 (Village) get a few awards, it's well deserved. Had a blast playing the campaign through and looking forward to returning to trophy hunt. Currently this is my game of 2021 across all formats I own.

How can PS5 be best hardware?

When XSX beats it in every single category in pure hardware specs alone. On top of things like game pass, expandable 1TB storage, backwards compatibility etc

@durrdevil I have both and love them both for different reasons, but I would say it's because of the dualsense (adds lots of immersion) that feels new. The 3d audio. The twice as fast ssd and IO throughout that we have yet to see really used. And though the series x has more horsepower, the PS5 has beat in in quite a few tests, there is hardly anything between them. Yes the extendable storage is easier to do, but I put a 1TB ssd in for £170, twice as fast as the xbox storage and cost less. Just took 5mins.
Yes xbox has better BC but the ps5 will still play 4000 ps4 games.
And yeah gamepass is the best value in gaming by far, but that's software.

@Expa0 not much. Metroid is a solid game for sure but not no way is it game of the year. I didn’t push any envelopes. It didn’t push 2D games at all. The game is very similar to past games. It’s short and some of that time is back tracking. If Nintendo had made it in house, it would have been game of the year talk.

Only started following the different game awards these past couple years and I think its safe to say that only BAFTA takes these things seriously. Every other major award body is just marketing and fan service.

@faint ports and lazy remakes shouldn’t be nominated for anything. Play something like Ghosts of Tsushima and name something Nintendo has done recently that matches that quality.

@WOLF13 bro, where did I say they should be nominated. A user was like, “Did Nintendo do anything else this year? I can’t think of anything.” and I reminded them. Chill out. You don’t need to be mean an edgy on the internet all the time.

Eh PS5 best hardware? That thing is massive & you have to take it apart to add storage, plus the console has terribke backwards compatibility compared to the XSX. Not trying to be a fanboy for Xbox here but think it's kinda crazy. The Steam Deck on the other hand.. ooo

@Kilamanjaro it plays 4000 ps4 games? Plus me personally I didn't buy either of them to play old games. And that's a software thing not hardware.
And the whole adding storage makes me laugh, took me 5mins and that included hoovering out the dust ports. Plus it's cheaper and twice as fast as the xbox storage.
Both are great machines, but the ps5 is the only one that feels next gen to me. The series x so far just feels like a faster xbox one x.

I laughed way too hard at personal computer. I needed that

@Serialsid as someone who owns them both I disagree completely. From a specs point of view the XSX is far stronger than the ps5 and it does just about everything better. This is coming from a life long Sony fanboy. ( I literally own multiple copies of every iteration of every Sony console) Maybe its because this is only my 3rd xbox system but I really feel like its "next gen" when I play as apposed to feeling like a ratchet and clank machine.

@faint he (and the thread) was talking about games that should be nominated.

And you read that emotion into my post. I’m “chill”bro lol.

@Ratmasterd21 I'm not a fan boy of either, just like playing great games. And from a specs point of view there is hardly anything between them as has been shown by multiple DF tests, the ps5 has won more than its lost. Xbox has more grunt but the ps5 has a much faster IO through put. And when used well, the dualsense is light years ahead, the reason I buy all my 3rd party games on the ps5. But quick resume is great and smart delivery is certainly better than Sony's efforts.
Maybe it's just all the great games I've played on my ps5 this year like deathloop,kena,R&C and returnal whereas xbox have only just started to deliver. Loving Forza H5 now and looking forward to halo campaign. Both great machines, we're lucky we own both.

@WOLF13 You realize I can see your comment history, right?

Yeah and? I don’t hide my comments lol. Lots of them for you to add my made up anger.

@Serialsid

We actually own all three. I've been playing more switch then anything. Metroid, Pokemon, Monster hunter rise, Mario Golf, and smash DLC took most of my year up.

As for the games you mentioned. I'd put Psychonuats 2 over them all easy, but i guess that's a to each his own thing.

Interesting that PC is best hardware of all time when mine barely plays any modern games. I guess they really mean "Latest high spec $2000 PC that requires a $1000 upgrade after 2 years and then replaced 2 years after that". Sorry, that sounds like the worst hardware of all time if it becomes so easily obsolete.

Those last two really cheapen the awards tbh, feels like something you'd see if MTV had a game awards.

@Krull Is Horizon on Xbox? No it isn't, PN2 blesses Playstation, Xbox and PC so its in no way an exclusive.

@Znake Switch is on sale officially in China

@Serialsid compared to nearly all Xbox One titles, 630+ 360 titles and 69+ Xbox titles, I think PS is clearly not a better piece of hardware for backwards compatibility. Xbox even adds FPS boost to increase framerates & increases fidelity to 1080p or 4K. For the memory, that's 4:58 minutes longer than it takes to snap it in 2 seconds. The benefits of the storage speed could be argued as negligible as it varys on a per game basis & they're both lightning fast for load times. You do get less base storage for the same price on PS5. The size of the console is also a big reason I didn't get it for my entertainment setup, waiting for them to release a PS5 Slim before I pick one up. To the point about a stronger xbox one x, Microsoft has a totally different approach with their ecosystem vs devices, so it means more players online & more accessible games regardless of budget to buy a new console or stream through your old one.

All Internet vote awards are trash. It's just mindless Twitter voting campaigns with a small minority voting dozens or hundreds of times each. Same goes for books with the GoodReads Awards, music, movies & TV at the People's Choice Awards, etc.

@Kilamanjaro I agree that xbox does BC better than Sony, but for me personally I don't care. I didn't spend £900 on two consoles to play olds games, I have no interest in 360/ps2 games. I want new experiences.
Yes you get less storage space, but more and more games are smaller on ps5 because of kraken tech. Control UE 26gb vs 43gb, AC Valhalla 42gb vs 72gb, Marvel avengers 74gb vs 117gb, resident evil village 27gb vs 50gb. That's 112gb in 4 games. That makes the size difference negligible. Also its better for downloading these games, especially if you have slow Internet.
And with the ssd and io throughput im not talking about load times, I'm talking about the removal of all bottlenecks. Epic developer's had to rewrite the unreal engine 5 core io sub systems because of the extreme speeds it can stream in content. It can load in 2GB of compressed data into memory in 0.27 seconds. It doesn't have to render what's behind you until you turn the stick. I'm not saying that the series consoles aren't bloody quick because they are. But they went for brute power, Sony went for nearly instantaneous transfer speeds that even top gaming pcs can't match at the moment, because they still have bottlenecks in certain places. Whether this is actually taken real advantage of during this generation has yet to be seen, but I've read loads of developers saying how it frees them to make new types of games and level design. I think it's this and the dualsense that probably got it the vote over the series x.

@Old-Red I voted re village for best audio cope

@HalBailman a 1000 bucks upgrade every 2 years? wtf? it looks you have no idea about PC gaming

@HalBailman hahaha NO My PC won't need a 1000$ upgrade every 2 year and it will positively, surely, absolutely stomp ANY console out there and that means it will survive the current console gen without a sweat. Sure it's more expensive than the cereal boxes but it's leaps ahead too.

@BlackenedHalo Read properly. It's a new computer every 4 years, upgrade every 2, for the latest spec. While you might want to argue about cost and cycle time, the principle remains. PC gaming is a very expensive option compared to consoles, nor is it a single piece of hardware. It's a nonsense winner.

@spectraleggings Good for you. Perhaps the current generation of PCs might last much longer, then in that case you could nominate the current setup as best hardware. Otherwise, it's a rubbish nomination, much less a winner. It's like nominated Nintendo or Sony as best hardware. Give me a break.

@Serialsid well if you wanna play new games, Gamepass has a ton if them. I for one take advantage of the BC because I have games from 2001 and threw out my OG Xbox once I got this bad boy (disc drive was broken, 360 red ringed) and all my purchases from 2007s Xbox live arcade are still there. FPS Boost to 120 FPS and dynamic 4K scaling are also nice. You can even play a lot of those games on xCloud which is included in Gamepass Ultimate. I mean PS5 clearly won the vote, so no arguing there. I saw the video by their tech guy in why the SSD is so fast, etc. I guess if there was an option for best business model for consumers I'd have more points to argue. I plan on getting a Sony console again once it's smaller, for now though, my XSX and Switch are plenty. I can store about 70 games on my console, 13 are XSX, 5 XBO enhanced and the rest fall into all categories. Anyway, wouldn't underestimate the power of the BC, tons of gems we likely missed, couldn't afford or just didn't have access to back then are available now. As. Nintendo fan, I am constantly looking for ways to play their back catalogue legally (GBA, N64,SNES) and I think most gamerd would agree it's only a positive

@Kilamanjaro yeah gamepass does have tons of games, it's definitely the best value in gaming, no argument there. But that and BC are a business decision, nothing to do with new hardware and pushing gaming forward. MS does have the better business model, it will be interesting to see how that effects the gaming industry going into the future.

@Serialsid lets agree to disagree on whether it pushes people forward. Game developers today were, and are, clearly influenced by the past. If we can change licensing rights & move towards GamePass as a business model, this means more devs benefit and we get more games. Plus Xbox has a ton of exclusives & games in development so not worried there. Backlog on PS5 will be massive when I get one 😂😂

Better hardware for the SSD, yes, the rest of the kit is almost exactly identical, with the XSX having more raw power. Excited to see how Sony responds with their version of GamePass. Having accessibility to your purchases in 2022 across ecosystems seems like the right way to head so you can play PS5 games on a PS6 or whatever the successor becomes. You could stream XSX games on an Xbox One from 2014, which in my view, means that gamer can play future games without the hardware kit. That's pretty groundbreaking for a console manufacturer (obvs on PC already by default) & means game studios can get more revenue from an existing player base.

Separately, have you tried to stream GamePass on PS5s browser? I imagine you can get the best of both worlds.

@Kilamanjaro I would think that developers would want to always try new things, always push what can be done in games and make new exciting experiences. I believe both next gen machines will allow this because of the massive jump in the tech. I appreciate your love of older games, I personally don't replay many. Half life 1+2 and GOW 2018 being the exceptions. Yes it's great that an xbox one will be able to stream series x quality graphics, it gives the player choice(as long as their Internet is decent). But MS are doing this because all they care about is subscription numbers, that's their bottom line not hardware sales.
You make some good points about gamepass and the business model, but it has yet to be proven to work. And I mean by that, to be sustainable. Most believe they are a long way from the numbers they need, and that it is bleeding money. That's OK because MS make billions, Sony couldn't afford that. Numbers are below their own forcast, though I think forza and halo launching will help that a great deal. Don't get me wrong I hope it succeeds, I want my series x to have loads to play for years to come. I only bought it for gamepass.
I only have two concerns with gamepass. One is if MS continue to spend big and aquire more studios. They've said they aren't finished after the 7.5 billion Bethesda deal. A monopoly is never good for any industry.
And the other is how it might be changing gamers. This year most multiplats (in the UK anyway) are selling 70-80% on Sony's platform in the first week. It doesn't look like xbox gamers are buying that many games, almost like they are being conditioned to wait for games to come to GP. Plus they have over a 100 games to always chose from. How will this effect studios/publishers in the future? How profitable is putting there game on GP? How many sales do they lose by doing this? The big games cost hundreds of millions to make.
And from a personal perspective, I've tried loads of games from GP, which has been great. But I've found myself trying and disposing of them if I'm not quickly hooked, and I move on to the next one. I have no investment in the game so they become disposable. I bought returnal for ps5, cost me £60. Kicked my arse and I really didn't enjoy it too start with. But because I paid my own money I persevered and I'm so glad I did. Its my goty, such an amazing experience. If I'd have played it in GP I might not have found that out. But maybe that's my own failing.

@Serialsid time will tell! Let's just enjoy the games for now, they'll both get my money. Regarding Gamepass even at 20 million subscribers at $15 a month, that's $300 million a month & many games are timed so they can sell normally as well. I wish Xbox had more physical games, I buy a bunch for the Switch. I also preordered Halo Infinite just for the steelbox & plan to get Elden Ring physical so they're still getting money both ways.

@Kilamanjaro I'm with you on enjoying the games, at the end of the day that's what matters. MS has 24 studios making games, Sony has said they have 25 unannounced games (nearly half being new IP) in production and Nintendo are just out there being Nintendo. Its going to be a great generation.
I think you'll find that few GP subscribers are paying full price. I know quite a few who did the live gold into GP. Apparently you can still buy 24 months live gold, buy 1 month GPU and its converted 1 to 1. Not tried it myself. Plus quite a few are on PC GP and that's lots cheaper. Like I said, it will be interesting to see how it plays out long term.

Excellent job and well earned. And whether Metroid Dread wins thee Game Award or not. Its pretty much won thee Nintendo game of the year award alongside Breath of the Wild, Smash Ultimate, Animal Crossing New Horrizons in the eyes of the public. And gave the brand a boost.

@spectraleggings

Quote: "HalBailman hahaha NO My PC won't need a 1000$ upgrade every 2 year and it will positively, surely, absolutely stomp ANY console out there and that means it will survive the current console gen without a sweat. Sure it's more expensive than the cereal boxes but it's leaps ahead too."

Like I said, it's the principle, not the specific costs. To stay up to date in the PC gaming world is a constant cycle and a very expensive proposition. That's a fact.

It's not a discussion about better or worse than consoles, it's about the ridiculous award. Obviously you're feeling sensitive if you have to dive into that argument. I understand. You pay so much for a gaming experience that most people can get on their $300 console. Even worse, games for that expensive hardware are often constrained so they can be played on current consoles. Ironically, you should thank the dominance of consoles for limiting the PC upgrade cycle.

@HalBailman

Thank God I haven't logged in for so long that I could postpone reading this brainfart. "It's not a discussion about better or worse than consoles, it's about the ridiculous award. Obviously you're feeling sensitive if you have to dive into that argument."
Your whole last paragraph is a gigantic rant about literally nothing It's not me who's sensitive, champ.
"You pay so much for a gaming experience that most people can get on their $300 console." SURE

@spectraleggings Next time stay logged out a bit longer because you've added nothing to the conversation other than prove every point I made. Good luck pretending you're superior! We both know if you truly did you wouldn't be wasting your time here.

@HalBailman I didn’t pretend to be anything, you’re the one with the weird minority complex. Never have I said that consoles aren’t good for what they were meant to do. You on the other hand stated factually false things about something you don’t know enough about. The only thing I proved was that you are dumb as a rock. I’ll head out and waste a thousand bucks on pc parts every year, because that’s how it’s done apparently, thank you master.

@spectraleggings Wrong again. You attacked my comment; now you won't go away. I never stated anything false, as you agreed PC gaming is expensive (the essence of my comment), and then went on your inferior complex rant as a digression. Digressing is first step of someone too bigoted and stubborn to exit a discussion with grace. Lying is the next step, which you just did. Then it's abuse. Yep, did that too. Stop wasting each other's time and please go away.