The Game Awards 2018 Winners – Predicted!
Top journalist predicts what games will take home the gold at the
prestigious Game Awards
Game of the Year:
Nominees: Assassin’sCreed Odyssey, Celeste, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Monster
Hunter World, Red Dead Redemption 2
Prediction: God of War
My choice between my personal favorite game that’s come out this year and the game that I think will win the
award for Game of the Year is very different, but out of the five nominations, God of War has been my clear
choice ever since I booted this game up for the first time. God of War delivers a fantastic reboot to the hit
action-adventure franchise, and the fact that it takes place in Norse Mythology (my personal favorite type of
mythology, closely followed by Greek) is another huge point in the game’s favor.
Best Game Direction:
Nominees: A Way Out, Detroit: Become Human, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Red Dead
Redemption 2
Prediction: God of War
Director Cory Barlog poured everything he had into this re-imagining of God of War, and it shows. From how
much detail there is in every part of the massive world this game takes place in, to the simple switch in camera
angle changing the gameplay almost entirely (despite it, in actuality, not changing all that much, but honestly,
did it need to?), it, alongside A Way Out, which almost snagged this spot, is an extremely award-worthy effort.
Best Ongoing Game:
Nominees: Destiny 2: Forsaken, Fortnite, No Man’s Sky, Overwatch, TomClancy’s Rainbow Six
Siege
Prediction: Fortnite
With Destiny 2 being hampered by the stigma that the first game left, Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege’s
decline in popularity since their respective releases, and the laughable state that No Man’s Sky was released
in, this is Fortnite’s category to lose.
Best Narrative:

Nominees: Detroit: Become Human, God of War, Life is Strange 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Red
Dead Redemption 2
Prediction: God of War
This was an incredibly close call between this game and Detroit: Become Human, the story of which is very
good, but slightly clichéd in spots. RDR2’s story falls apart in places closer to the end of the game and takes far
too long to get going, Marvel’s Spider-Man's story is rather too familiar to longtime fans of the series, and Life
is Strange 2 is only one episode out of five in. God of War’s story is also pretty drawn-out, but what puts it
over Detroit: Become Human is that it features some truly amazing moments (with Kratos’ Blades of Chaos,
my personal favorite video game weapons ever, coming back, taking the cake for me), as well as not a single
character that is entirely unlikeable throughout the whole game.
Best Art Direction:
Nominees: Assassin’sCreed Odyssey, God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, Return of the Obra
Dinn, Octopath Traveler
Prediction: Red Dead Redemption 2
Though my personal choice out of all games this year goes, without question, to the Shadow of the Colossus
remaster, Red Dead 2’s takes its first of two wins here. Some might argue that Octopath Traveler’s stunning
JRPG aesthetic deserves the win, and I wouldn’t entirely disagree with you, but Red Dead Redemption 2’s
beautiful Wild West look, complimented by the game’s nigh-real-life-levels of fidelity when upscaled to 4K,
personally takes it for me.
Best Score/Music:
Nominees: Celeste, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Ni no Kuni II: RevenantKingdom,
Octopath Traveler, Red Dead Redemption 2
Prediction: God of War
Bear McCreary continues to impress the world with arguably the most epic orchestral game soundtrack since
Super Mario Galaxy. And considering that that game is over 10 years old, that is saying one hell of a lot.
Best AudioDesign:
Nominees: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Forza Horizon 4, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Red
Dead Redemption 2
Prediction: Red Dead Redemption 2
This feels like Red Dead 2’s category to lose. Selling its magnificent Wild West-style open world with a variety
of complex sounds, it blows away the rather average competition. Clear winner.

Best Performance:
Nominees: Bryan Dechart as Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Christopher Judge as Kratos
(God of War), MelissanthiMahut as Kassandra (Assassin’sCreed Odyssey), Roger Clark as
Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption 2), Yuri Lowenthalas Peter Parker/Spider-Man
(Marvel’s Spider-Man)
Prediction: Christopher Judgeas Kratos (God of War)
Hearing Kratos’ nothing-but-angry voice changed to a gruff old man was as much a shock to the system for
players as the fact that he has a BOY to take care of now. Memes aside, Christopher Judge takes this over the
other obvious choice for this award (that being Lowenthal as Peter Parker) simply out of personal preference.
I’m among the few that prefer Tom Holland’s role as a more awkward yet endearing incarnation of the web-
slinging hero over Lowenthal's more experienced one here.
Games for Impact:
Nominees: 11-11 Memories Retold, Celeste, Florence, Life is Strange 2, The Missing: J.J.
Macfield and the Island of Memories
Prediction: Life is Strange2
Despite Celeste being the best game on this list of nominees, hands-down, Life is Strange 2, despite being only
one episode in, deserves to win this. As the most socially aggressive game on the list (taking place in a time
period with arguably the most political polarization that there has ever been), plus having the name value of it
being a Life is Strange game, I’d be surprised if this award went to anything but this game.
Best Independent Game:
Nominees: Celeste, Dead Cells, Into the Breach, Return of the Obra Dinn, The Messenger
Prediction: Celeste
This is easily the most stacked category here. Despite this category being full of fantastic games, Celeste is
almost guaranteed to win, given that it’s the second indie game to ever be nominated for Game of the Year
(since Inside in 2016)
Best Mobile Game:
Nominees: DonutCounty, Florence, Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, Reigns: Game of Thrones
Prediction: DonutCounty

I know Fortnite or PUBG Mobile would be the obvious choice here, but I believe Donut County, the fun,
imaginative and reasonably popular game that it is, has the biggest chance to be the game that robs Fortnite
of being the first game to win every category it’s nominated in. Florence has a good chance of winning, too,
but it doesn’t really have the fan support that a game like Donut County or Fortnite has.
Best VR/AR Game:
Nominees: Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Beat Saber, Firewall: Zero Hour, Moss, Tetris Effect
Prediction: Beat Saber
I always had a weakness for rhythm games. Games like Guitar Hero (the old Guitar Hero games, anyway), Rock
Band, Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure are all personal favorites on the consoles they’re out on. Beat
Saber continues this trend, with its rhythmic gameplay being downright hypnotic, also utilizing VR in a way
that’s both familiar yet unfamiliar. This game is a clear benchmark of the future of this medium of gaming.
Best ActionGame:
Nominees: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Dead Cells, Destiny 2: Forsaken, Far Cry 5, Mega Man 11
Prediction: Call of Duty, Black Ops 4
As a Mega Man fan, I would adore it if Mega Man 11 were to snag the award from a gaming titan like Call of
Duty, but even I can’t deny that Black Ops 4 probably has enough brand recognition on its own to win the
award, something that Mega Man 11 just doesn’t have, with there being nothing Blue Bomber-related (sans
his inclusion in the Super Smash Bros. Series) since 2010. Destiny 2 has too much controversy surrounding it,
not just on its own but with the series as a whole, and Far Cry 5 is also good, but not fantastic. Dead Cells is
also a fun game, with it only growing in popularity when it was released on Switch.
Best Action/Adventure Game:
Nominees: Assassin’sCreed Odyssey, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Red Dead
Redemption 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Prediction: God of War
Any category with the big three best games released this year (God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man and RDR2) is
going to be tough to make a final decision on. However, in the end, with God of War’s rather traditional take
on action-adventure, in comparison to RDR2’s very Rockstar-like feel, and Marvel’s Spider-Man seeming to be
an amalgamation of something like Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom and the Batman: Arkham games, this
award seems like God of War’s to lose.
Best Role-Playing Game:

Nominees: Dragon QuestXI, Monster Hunter: World, Ni no KuniII: RevenantKingdom,
Octopath Traveler, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
Prediction: Monster Hunter World
The RPG genre hasn’t exactly been strong in terms of Game Awards nominations in recent years. Then again, a
category that’s had games like The Witcher 3, Undertale and Dark Souls III is pretty hard to follow. However,
Monster Hunter World makes a damn good case for being the best RPG of this generation, with it being an
incredible continuation of the critically-acclaimed franchise that has attracted a metric ton of new fans (myself
included). It gets my personal nomination, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Octopath Traveler win this.
Best Fighting Game:
Nominees: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Soulcalibur VI, StreetFighter V:
ArcadeEdition
Prediction: Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle
Any of these nominated games, apart from Street Fighter V: Arcade edition, which is just a remake of the
‘meh’ Street Fighter V, released in 2016, could walk away with this award, as they’re all incredibly polished
and fun to play. However, I believe that Blazblue walks away with this award simply due to the diversity of its
roster. With characters coming from Blazblue itself, the Persona series, Under Night In-Birth and RWBY, you’ll
find at least one character that you really enjoy both listening to and playing as.
Best Family Game:
Nominees: Mario Tennis Aces, Nintendo Labo, Overcooked 2, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Super
Mario Party
Prediction: Mario Tennis Aces
I would’ve picked Super Mario Party for this award, since it’s a brilliant return to form for the series, but that’s
more of a game you want to pick if you fancy putting the idea of good ties with your family on a knife-edge
balanced on the head of pin while that pin is also balanced on the top of the head of a hippopotamus while
said hippopotamus is riding around on a unicycle blindfolded. Mario Tennis is far more of a friendly title, and
thus gets my prediction here.
Best Strategy Game:
Nominees: The Banner Saga 3, BattleTech, Frostpunk, Into theBreach, Valkyria Chronicles 4
Prediction: Into the Breach
Every other game on this list is very good, but it also has problems that could be seen as deal breakers by
potential buyers, with BattleTech pandering to the social justice warriors of the world being seen as one

example. Into the Breath doesn’t come with such a ‘but’ attached to it, and along with it being simply the best
strategy game that’s come out this year, it takes the award.
Best Sports/Racing Game:
Nominees: FIFA 19, Forza Horizon 4, Mario Tennis Aces, NBA 2K19, PES 2019
Prediction: Forza Horizon 4
With NBA 2K19 and FIFA 19 having the stigma of microtransactions (especially the latter, as it’s made by EA),
PES being made by Konami, and Mario Tennis Aces, while fun, not launching with many modes or options, it
leaves us, by process of elimination, with Forza Horizon 4. That aside, Forza 4 is just a fantastic games, coming
with amazing visuals, shipping packed with content on a level that could only be (and very likely WILL be)
surpassed by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and exceptionally solid racing gameplay makes it a title that no
sports/racing fan should miss.
Best Multiplayer Game:
Nominees: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Destiny 2: Forsaken, Fortnite, Monster Hunter: World
Predictions: Fortnite
I can’t deny that this game is a phenomenon unto itself, and for that alone, it’ll probably take the win. Even if
you don’t play it, or you do play it and downright despise it for all the kids you see who won’t stop doing those
stupid dances, the game has an immense amount of support and is constantly evolving. That notwithstanding,
what is Fortnite up against? Despite being good and polished, Black Ops 4 is rather more of the same when it
comes to Call of Duty, Destiny 2: Forsaken is the only thing that’s kept that game, along with the series as a
whole, relevant, and while Monster Hunter: World is phenomenal, and deserves the award more in my
opinion, it’s not a cultural phenomenon like Fortnite has quickly become.
Best Debut Indie Game:
Nominees: DonutCounty, Florence, Moss, The Messenger, Yoku’s Island Express
Prediction: Florence
This game is just so interesting to me. Depicting a real-life relationship that burns hot and eventually dies in a
realistic- almost too realistic –manner, the short minigames that make up the approximately-half an hour
you’ll be taking to play this game is a half-hour you won’t be forgetting anytime soon.