2020 Edition

You've already heard from the Destructoid staff regarding our favorite games that came out of the hellscape year 2020, but now it's time for your voice to be heard, Dtoid readers. That's right, it's time for the annual Com??munity Game of the Year vote, and this year we're ??switching things up a bit.

For 2020, we're implementing a preferential voting mechanic so that you can pick not just one but three nominees for the Game of the Year. The vote is simple: select your top three games in the ?form provided here, and then when all is said and done on January 4, I'll tally up the votes in a weigh??ted vote.

Your first pick will receive three points, second choice two points, and third choice one point. The game that receives the most cumulative points by the jbsgame.community will then be declared the winner. Because of this, any vote that has a single game listed more than once will be invalidated. It's a long list of eligible games in the dropdown menu so I've provided a cumulative list here.

?Additionally, for?? fun, you can tell us what your favorite game from a previous year that you played for the first time in 2020.

Voting will remain open until next Monday, January 4, 2021 at 18:00 Eastern time, with the results to follow ??sometime that week.

The post It’s time to vote for Destructoid’s 2020 Community Game of the Year appeared first on Destructoid.

Hear ye hear ye!

What a year 2019 was! It's been a while since I've seen so many diverse entries come up as real contenders for game of the year. From an Estonian police RPG, to a game about a mischievous goose, if you couldn't find something to love in 2019, then check your pulse – you might be dead.

With all of these great games out there, it's imperative that everyone got their voice heard, and hear you we did. The votes have been tallied and the results drawn up, and as per last year, I solicited the words of fellow jbsgame.community members and managers to write about the games that?? won.

So without further adieu??, I?? present the jbsgame.community Game of the Year selections!

In fifth place is Death Stranding, a game I am patiently waiting to release on PC so that I can feel the warmth of digital Mads Mik??kelsen on my face as I fall asleep on my monitor with his words whispering into my headphones. Don't judge me!

Community member FrostyFlakes spoke of how even a simple act su?ch as walking was enjoyable ?in Hideo Kojima's first game as a free man:

Few games in recent memory have made simple movement an exciting mechanic quite like Death Stranding. Ferrying packages from one beleaguered city to the next requires the player to be methodical and patient. Walking carries with it a ton of considerations: the amount of we?ight you're carrying, how it's stacked, how you shift your weight and how fast you're going, even the terrain you're walking on. It's an endurance test of sorts with each step being a thin line between handing that cargo to the recipient or watching it tumble down a mountain. Throw in Kojima's lovable sci-fi shlock (I mean there's a character literally named Die-Hardman) as well as the breathtaking vistas and I'v??e never been happier to call myself a delivery boy.

Barely edging out Death Stranding by one vote for fourth place is my personal second-place choice for GOTY, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. (It missed our 2018 Game of the Year voting cutoff dat?e.) The p??arty fighting game deserves all the praise it has gotten heaped on it for the past year and shows no sign of slowing do??wn or losing its popularity in the fighting game community scene.

I looked into a mirror and shoved a potato on a sti??ck in my own face as a microphone and had this to say about the game:

It's a testament to how good the Super Smash Bros. series is that whenever one is announced, I tell myself I'm not going to buy the system just for it. Then come release time I end up buying the game and losing hours upon hours of myself to it. Ultimate continues that trend with its expansive roster, tweaking of old?? characters, oddly addictive side games, and the same competitive couch fighting that I've been playing for over 20 years. I'll admit that I was scared to think about what having every character back would mean for b?alance, but then I saw that my boy Ganondorf finally ascended to the rank he deserved to be at, so who am I to complain?

Does the game reinvent the genre or even the series? No, not really, but Ultimate feels truly ultimate in that it's everything a longtime fan such as myself has wanted. In a way, I'd be happy if this was the last game because it's just so damn good. After a few missteps (looking at you Brawl), the series is exactly whe??re it needs to be. DORIYAH!

Third place goes to everyone's favorite waifu war simulator Fire Emblem: Three Houses. This too was incredibly close with Fire Emblem only receiving three more votes than Smash Bros.

Community manager, moderator, Sheetz supporter, an??d my arch-rival Kevin Mersereau lavished p??raise on the tactical RPG:

Fire Emblem: Three Houses became my comfort food of games late this year. There's something about diving into combat, weighing your options, and executing them that feels downright good when everything goes right. The community here has been yelling about it all year, and they're not wrong. It's a great fucking game that's more than worth your time. At least,?? as long as you chose Black Eagles because the other two houses are total scrubs. *dabs*

Second place goes to From Software's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a grueling game you either learn to adapt to or – in the case of TheLimoMaker – causes you to have a freakout on Twitch in front of all your internet friends. I've been holding off until I get a better PC, but I hate to admit that seeing so many people bounce off Sekiro's inte??nse gameplay only makes me want to play it more.

Resident sexy pants and community manager Nekro sp?oke on why they loved the samurai action game:

Despite what Kevin may claim, Golden Dee??r is clearly the superior house. Silly!

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a game that f??orced me to com??pletely reevaluate how I play Souls games.

As someone who has allowed the Souls series (alongside Bloodborne) to consume hundreds upon hundreds of hours of their lives, I've come to rely on a play style that hinges on quickly darting in and out of the action, and taking shots whenever I could before escaping to relative saf??ety. Within an hour of booting up Sekiro, I realised that my tried-and-true tactics would have ??to evolve and change. For the first time since I began playing this series, I'd have to try a completely different approach.

On paper, this may sound frustrati??ng. But after?? finding Dark Souls III to be a little o??n the easy side, I was starting to wonder if From Software could truly throw me off balance anymore. And because I was so quickly pushed out of my comfort zone, forced into a situation where I knew I was at a disadvantage, overcoming these odds once again felt just as satisfying as it did when I first picked up the original Dark Souls all these years ago.

A game that can make you feel so triumphant when you finally best a foe that's been kickin??g your ass for hours on end has to be doing something right, after all.

Finally, we come to the big reveal. Can you feel it creeping?? in the wings? It's alway??s there, lurking just around a corner, ready to pop out and deck you in the face while wearing a silly hat and trench coat.

The ??2019 jbsgame.community choice for Game of the Year goes t?o...

You guys loved the hell out of this game. It doubled the amount of votes Sekiro got for an absolute crushing victory. Being a weenie hut junior patron myself, I sta??y as far away from horror games as I can, but community manager StriderHoang praised the game up and down:

Everything about Resident Evil 2's design is tight when you get down to i?t. From managing ammunition, killing chunky zomb??ies, and having spatial awareness of what's around you, everything is involved in your relationship of survival in Racoon City.

As someone only recently getting into the Resident Evil series, it's no wonder longtime fans will reference specific places as if they were n??ative citizens of Racoon City itself, talking about locations like S.T.A.R.S. offic?e and the evidence lockers.

But probably my favorite thing about Resident Evil 2 is how timeless it feels no matter how often you play it. Your first time through will be an experienc??e in horror and tension, but repeat playthroughs are still fun long after you get familiar with zombie ?number four who appears at that one specific blind turn. Normal playthroughs eventually give way to speedruns and challenge runs, and the tension of it all remains despite acclimating to the horror.

There you have it, another year in the books. I'll be sorting through the second question – your favorite game you played for the first time in 2019 – over the next few weeks to see if any trends can be gleaned. In the meantime, peep the final results and punish yourself for letting Tetris 99 sink so low.

M?ad props to whoever voted for Wes's Pristine Anus for GOTY, ya got me good.

Thank you as always for voting, reading, and continuing to be the best community?? on the internet. May your 2020 be great and your frames per second always high.

_{[Photo credit: CNN]}

The post The 2019 jbsgame.community Game of the Year Award goes to… appeared first on Destructoid.

I still love democracy

Last year was my first year collating the community vote for game of the year, and ever since then, I've been looking forward to doing it again as it warms my heart to see all the passion and love this community has for games. That being said, I cannot stand idly by while Tetris 99 doesn't win. There is hope, though. Now it's time for your voice to be heard in the jbsgame.commu?nity GOTY vote!

Below you will find a? form with as many games as I could find that released from December 1, 2018 through November 30, 2019. If a game released durin??g that period that I missed is your true GOTY pick, then write in your choice in the provided space.

To bring something new to the party this year, I also included a second question asking? your favorite game tha??t you played this year for the first time that didn't release in the 2019 eligibility period.

With so many of us getting older and finding less time to play through the year, some games will inevitably fall through the cracks for a year or two. Considering it is a write-in, this may end in an utter and complete failure so no prom?ises on this one.

Voting will remain open ??until Saturday, January 4?? at 10:00 AM EST/7:00 AM PST.

The post It’s time to vote for the 2019 jbsgame.community Game of the Year appeared first on Destructoid.

What game kept you glued to the screens?

The Nintendo 3DS may no longer be the prince of portables, but its legacy will assuredly live on thanks to more than eight years of spectacular games from first-party and third-party developers alike. This week, we revealed the top 10 games for the 3DS as voted on by the Destructoid staff. Now, it's your turn to voice your opinion for the jbsgame.community Top 10 Nin??tendo 3DS Games list.

We're keepi?ng the vote simple this time. All you need to do list your two favorite games for the Nintendo 3DS in the boxes below and write your Destructoid or Disqus username. That's?? it. That's all you need to do. The 10 games with the most votes will make the list.

Voting is open from now through midnight PST on Sunday, September 22, 2019. And remember, if you just write Mario or Zelda or Monster Hunter, we're not going to know which game in?? the series you're talking about and your vote won't be counted. SO BE SPE?CIFIC!

The post Name your favor??ite 3DS games in the jbs??game.community poll appeared first on Destructoid.

This party is still crazy

It's a tale as old as time, eternally retold. Halfway through the year, it's easy to look back on what we've played to date and possibly use it as a measuring stick against what we expect from the rest of the year. There are still major releases on the horizon like Doom: Eternal, Astral Chain, and... wait Shenmue III? Ok, whatever you say. I can say I'm excited for most of these games. But after Capcom's huge success with Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry V, and even the taste of the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne expansion, it's hard? not to already give those titles an ea?rly spot on my personal Game of the Year list.

Although two of the aforementioned Capcom games are definitely going on my list. (DMC V may even be close to the top for me.) I think it'd be interesting to see what other people think at this early stage of consideration. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for example, didn't really do much for me. It scored well for critics but I'm not really considering it for my top 10 at this point. Mortal Kombat 11 has been easy to enjoy and can only improve over time with the addition of new characters. I'm also absolutely in love with Samurai Shodown, which is a huge breath of fresh air as a high damage, footsie-heavy fighting game with little reliance on combos when compared to other EVO headliners like Dragon Ball FighterZ.

Sometimes I think about how much I enjoyed the earlier games of this year that I forget what's still to come. Pokemon Sword and Shield are due out this fall although my interest playing it is in doubt. And last time I saw Shenmue III, I almost couldn't believe this was t??he same game that had garnered so much attention for its le??gacy.

So what are your early contenders for your game of the year? Leave a comment down below. I think an argument can definitely be made for Devil May Cry V. I mean seriously, what an incredible entry to Capcom's storied and l??egendary series.

The post Do you have a GOTY 2019 yet? and why is it Devil May Cry V? appeared first on Destructoid.

Just Dance 2020! (Wii)

It's a tough world out there. Most of our Community Choice award votes went to two games, because why not? E3 really needs to step it up if they're going to dethrone some? of these AAA titles that dominate the landscape. Give the little guys some love! Put Ubisoft and Square in the corner, and give folks like Mega Cat the main stage. What's the worst that could happen?

The worst has happened. Two of the biggest titles in the gaming landscape were not only a hit with the media and those in the know, but you as the gaming public have? validated the hype machine. You've really done i??t this time, guys.

We have a tie. God help us all.

Don't ever tell me that remakes are a bad idea. A good remake rekindles the feelings and emotions conjured up by the original and puts a modern spin on them. Some twenty years later, the world is ready for Final Fantasy VII to get updated. Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and others are back for this modern spin on the seminal PS1 RPG that we thought wouldn't ever actually release. Well, next year it is, and if you're anything like me you couldn't possibly be any more excited for it. Even if you're not thrilled to pay ?$60 four times for each disc to get remade, you're at least thrilled for the game?? to actually come out. God bless you.

I've never been huge on first-person shooters, but damn y'all are nuts for Cyberpunk 2077. Is it the aesthetic? The neon lights??? The futuristic violence and fancy suits? Whatever it is, it's doing a number on you guys. But that's cool. Being excited for a game should never prevent you from sharing that enthusiasm. And damn, with 20% of the votes going for it, you weren't shy.

I think this is the first year we've had a literal, legitimate tie for the jbsgame.community's E3 Best of Show award. That's exciting! I've tallied the results below for everyone to see how the games ranked. RIP Just Dance 2020.

• Cyberpunk 2077 - 85
• Final Fantasy VII Remake - 85
• Doom Eternal - 28
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - 24
• Astral Chain - 24
• Luigi's Mansion 3 - 18
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 18
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses - 11
• Borderlands 3 - 9
• Elden Ring - 9
• No More Heroes 3 - 9
• Ghostwire: Tokyo - 8
• The Outer Worlds - 8
• Microsoft Flight Simulator - 6
• Control - 5
• Star Wars: Fallen Order - 5
• Phantasy Star Online 2 - 5
• Tales of Arise - 4
• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne - 3
• Pokémon Sword/Shield - 3
• Watch Dogs: Legion - 3
• Psychonauts 2 - 3
• Battletoads - 2
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint - 2
• Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot - 2
• Gears of War 5 - 2
• Halo Infinite - 2
• Wolfenstein: Youngblood - 2
• The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - 1
• Deathloop - 1
• Heroland - 1
• Dying Light 2 - 0
• John Wick Hex - 0
• Marvel's Avengers - 0 (lol)
• Planet Zoo - 0
• Contra Rogue Corps - 0
• Destroy All Humans! - 0

Write-ins:

• Wes is a dork - 6 (y'all mean as hell I'm telling)
• Breath of the Wild sequel - 4
• Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (Banjo-Kazooie) - 3
• Trials of Mana Remake - 2
• Panzer Dragoon Remake - 2
• Age of Wonders: Planetfall - 1
• Pong - 1
• Des is a Spork - 1
• Daemon x Machina - 1
• Carrion - 1
• Pregame Discharge - 1
• Led Zeppelin - 1 (listen to "D'yer Maker" and tell me they're a good band)
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 - 1
• FUCK EPIC GAMES TIM SWEENEY - 1 (get a life)
• Ikumi Nakamura - 1
• Killing Edge - 1
• Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers - 1
• Romero's Mafia Game - 1
• Final Fantasy VIII Remaster - 1
• Crash Team Racing - 1
• Baldur's Gate 3 - 1
• Gus' Phenomenal Puns - 1
• Catherine: Full Body - 1

The post Destructoid’s E3 2019 Community Choice award goes to… appeared first on Destructoid.

The power is YOURS!

[We're declaring a winner tomorrow, so if you want to write in Just Dance 2020, now's your chance!]

Games journalists think they know everything. What do they know of the plight of the working-class gamer? Nothing, I say! They don't know what it's like watc??hing th??e show at home, fighting shitty Twitch streams and YouTube constantly farting out adverts for penis enlargement pills in the middle of the videos. Wait, those are targeted ads? I mean, uh, I keep getting penis reduction ads. Yeah, they're annoying!

While Jordan, Brett, and the rest of the Dtoid elite are sipping their mimosas while being courted on the newest games, the rest of us have to just imagine what playing them ?is like. Well, my friends and fello?w community members, this is our chance to fight back. Power to the people.

The crew just spoke, and Final Fantasy VII Remake is their official Game of Show winner for E3 2019. Are they wrong? Are they righ??t? There's only one way to settle the debate: Vote now for what you, the people,? think is this year's best offering from E3.

Normally we put rules stipulating that only games that showed actual gameplay are up for contention, but this is your award. So simply tell us what you think rocked the house. I'll end vo??ting on Tues?day, July 2 and reveal the winner the following day. So speak now, or forever hold your piece. Or is it peace?

Who cares, just vote already.

The post Vote now for the ?jbsgame.com??munity E3 2019 Game of Show Award appeared first on Destructoid.

Just hook it to my veins!

For a few years straight now, I've been going around, asking people around this time of year if they're excited for what will come out of E3. There are many ideas, a lot of predictions, and while there is also some apathy about the whole thing, I feel there's always some kind of silver lining, depending on where your interests lie with gaming. For me, there's a lot I absolutely need to hear announced from Nintendo, like Bayonetta 3, Animal Crossing for the Switch, and Astral Chain. Plus, there's sure to be more information about Monster Hunter: World Iceborne to sink my teeth into.

But what about everyone else? My eyes tend to gloss over during the developer-specific conferences like Ubisoft, but this might be the year we see some of our community members freak out, like Soulbow if there's new content announced for Rainbow Six: Siege. So let's discuss among ourselves what kind of wild things people are?? hoping to see at E3.

GoofierBrute is looking forward to Nintendo stuff:

The fact that Nintendo had a Direct for Super Mario Maker and will (at the time of this writing) have one soon for Pokemon Sword and Shield, that tells me one of two things: either they have nothing to show off besides a new Smash character, Animal Crossing, and Link's Awakening remake, or they have a bunch of stuff to show off and our bodies are not ready.

I like to think I'm somewhat optimistic, so I think it's the latter: while I'm sure we'll get the previously mentioned stuff plus ports of whatever Wii U games are still left (plus some more third party support), I'm really holding out hope for Bayo 3 info. It's been a couple years since we first heard about that, and while I don't expect to see a demo on the show floor, a gameplay trailer and some plot details would be nice.

TheLimoMaker threw in an awesome gif for a game called Inmost:

Dino Crisis Remake being a thing (it totally exists)
Hopefully having the new FromSoft game teased 
Afterparty getting a release date
Doom Eternal getting a release date 
Cyberpunk getting another trailer

Also Inmost getting a release date... God I need this game.

Fuzunga has a more passive approach to E3:

My answer is always really boring, because what I look forward to at E3 is stuff I don't already know about. Therefore, I can't really give a specific answer of an announced game because "surprises" are what I really want most.

But I guess there is one game I want to see that's technically announced but not officially announced, and that's whatever shooter is being developed by V1 Interactive. The studio is headed by Marcus Lehto, one of Bungie's old creative directors. It's being published by T2's new Private Division label, so it's going to be a "AA" game or whatever they call it, but that's kind of what I want, honestly. Really hoping to see it at E3 because they've been teasing the game a lot lately.

Oh, and of course Banjo & Kazooie for Smash Bros because that is definitely going to happen.

Gamemaniac3434?? is interested in one t?hing and one thing only:

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!*

*Eternal release date

Agent9 has some forbidden titles on their list:

I would like to see more footage of Streets of Rage 4, FF7 remake, Metroid Prime 4, and the new Pokemon games. It would be nice to see how well they're coming along.

I also hear whispers that REmake 3 might be one of the games of E3. While I'm not holding my breath I would be very happy to see it pop up this year.

Nior has a very concise answer:

Mecha. Nina.

Enough said.

CelicaCrazed has some interest in some hardware:

I'm excited to see how the Switch handles Halo Infinite. Yeah that's right. I'm hoofing up a deep three from the logo. Swish baby! I'm calling nothing but net!

Also I really want to know if there's going to be more Switch models. I need something, any type of acknowledgement one way or another.

Boxman214 wishes to feel something again:

This answer is a wee bit of a cop-out, but it's the truth.

What I really want, is to be surprised. I feel like I have a really good idea of what each major company is going to bring to the table. I want them to show that they still have cards up their sleeve. I want to experience wonder and awe at seeing something truly unexpected and unpredictable.

Batthink is crazy to mention Darkstalkers:

A new Dark Cloud game.
A new Darkstalkers game.
An HD collection of Front Mission RPG games (including Gun Hazard).
An HD remake of Grandia 3.

Shoggoth2588 remembers Space Quest like no one else would:

Surprise release of Beyond a Steel Sky on Steam and the announcement of a Space Quest revival similar to the Kings Quest revival from a couple of years ago. I'm also hoping to see the evolved forms of the Sword/Shield starters.

Mike Sounders has a very kayfabe response:

WHERE'S MY FUCKING DAEMON X MACHINA DATE NINTENDO

Retrofaction wants one game:

Samurai Gunn 2

Zalno mentioned Viewtiful Joe? Gasp!:

The only things I'm actually interested in this year are Astral Chain and that Town RPG from Game Freak. Barring any announcements regarding Mother 3 or anything Viewtiful Joe-related, I think I'm gonna snooze on this one.

Avoclefo ??;has some hope for a developer specific wish:

Whatever Retro Studios was working on between DKCTF and Prime 4!

And then there's Soulbow:

Siege on Switch!

What about you? Leave a comment down below with what unreasonable expectations you have before they are shattered by, oh I don't know, something Stadia rela??ted.

The post What are you guys looking forward to for E3? appeared first on Destructoid.

No one man should have all that power

E3 is that magical time of ye?ar where grown men and women shun life's normal responsibilities to watch a bunch of people, awkwardly talking about video games, on a stage fit for The Beatles' Resurrection from Death and Subsequent Reunion Tour.

Instead of rejoicing over the fact that a hobby, once derided as a mere children's distraction, now garners attention rivalling more resp?ected forms of entertainment, we instead war with one another in comment sections. So, I've got a fresh comments section, down below, ready for some more fighting!

The Dtoid staff have made their choice. Now it's your turn, community, to tell us which game is your Best of E3 2018 Community Choice winner!

If you're anything like me, you felt this year was a bit light on brand new announcements for major games (thanks in part to Wal-Mart Canada breakin' all the rules), and more of an expensive reassurance that all of our most anticipated games are still coming in a timely manner. Except Crackdown 3. I'm not convinced that even exists anymore.

So what'll it be, gang? Was Cyberpunk 2077's trailer, with no gameplay available to the general public, enough to sway your vote? Did Ghosts of Tsushima edge out Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for your samurai-even-though-it's-not-really-samurai-because-of-minute-details-the-layman-doesn't-care-about fix? Was showing 17 hours of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate something you actually enjoyed?

Vote now in the poll below (or here if your browser no-shows it), then shout at me in the comments!

The post Vote now for Destructoid’s E3 2018 Community Choice Award! appeared first on Destructoid.

Every day's a vote! Every vote's a win!

The results of the Destructoid staff GOTY picks on each p??latform have been revealed over the past few days. But who cares about these nerds anyway? Doesn't?? the community deserve a voice as well?

Why yes, it does.

So we're reaching to everyone with an online connection (unfortunately, we haven't figured out how to add an offline mode yet) to pick favorites in a selection of the most beloved games of the year. Will the communi??ty pick completely different games? Will our tastes align? I can't withstand this suspense!

What do I have to do to be part of this monumental leap in democracy, you ask? Just ??vote in the poll below. You can pick up to your five favorite games, though you can use as much or as little voting power as you want. The choice is yours. 

The poll will be open until Monday, January 1st at 11:59 PM PST. Results will be revealed in a separate post after they are tallied. The options you'll be able to pick from are based on our GOTY nominees, with some highly requested games from the comment section like Troll and I mixed in. If I missed your favorite, please ごめん. 

Beyond the poll, I'm interested to hear what you have to say about your favorite game of the year in the comment section below! Especially if they're games that aren't in the poll above... In GOTY ??season, the most popular games get all the attention, so having an o??pportunity to read about neat games we might have otherwise missed is always appreciated!

(UPDATE: ?Voting'??s over! The results will be uploaded soon.)

The post Vote now for Destructoid’s 2017 Community Choice Award! appeared first on Destructoid.