Gamescom has just declared the winners for its Best of Gamescom 2014 Awards. These awards are decided by attendees, meaning they are more of a gauge of what games won the attention of people on the show floor than what’s particularly the best.
Nonetheless, you’ll notice that there were a lot of great games at the show. The event has had record attendance since it opened its doors on Wednesday, providing a fantastic opportunity for both press and consumers to check out the industry’s hottest upcoming titles.
A few of the winners are particularly surprising, to put it lightly. See for yourself:
Best of Gamescom Award
Evolve (Take-Two Interactive GmbH/2K)
Most Wanted Consumer Award:
Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo of Europe GmbH)
Best Console Game Sony PlayStation 4:
The Evil Within (Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Germany GmbH)
Other Nominees:
Dying Light (Techland sp. z o.o.)
Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft GmbH)
Mittelerde: Mordors Schatten (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Evolve (Take-Two Interactive GmbH/2K)
Best Console Game Microsoft Xbox One:
Evolve (Take-Two Interactive GmbH/2K)
Other Nominees:
The Evil Within (Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Germany GmbH)
Assassin’s Creed Rogue (Ubisoft GmbH)
Sunset Overdrive (Microsoft Corporation)
Ori and the Blind Forest (Microsoft Corporation)
Best Console Game Nintendo Wii U:
Splatoon (Nintendo of Europe GmbH)
Other Nominees:
LEGO Batman 3: Jenseits von Gotham (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Splatoon (Nintendo of Europe GmbH)
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U (Nintendo of Europe GmbH)
Best Role Playing Game:
Risen 3 (Deep Silver / Koch Media GmbH)
Other Nominees:
Skylanders Trap Team (Activision Blizzard Deutschland GmbH)
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (Square Enix GmbH)
Best Action Game:
Evolve (Take-Two Interactive GmbH/2K)
Other Nominees:
The Order: 1886 (Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland GmbH)
Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft GmbH)
Ori and the Blind Forest (Microsoft Corporation)
Super Smash Bros. For Wii U (Nintendo of Europe GmbH)
Best Simulation Game:
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call (Square Enix GmbH)
Other Nominees:
World of Warships (Wargaming Europe S.A.S.)
Best Sports Game:
PES 2015 (Konami Digital Entertainment B.V.)
Other Nominees:
FIFA 15 (Electronic Arts)
Forza Horizon 2 (Microsoft Corporation)
Best Family Game:
LittleBigPlanet 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland GmbH)
Other Nominees:
Skylanders Trap Team (Activision Blizzard Deutschland GmbH)
Silence (Daedalic Entertainment GmbH)
LEGO Batman 3: Jenseits von Gotham (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Yoshi’s Woolly World (Nintendo of Europe GmbH)
Best PC Game:
Evolve (Take-Two Interactive GmbH/2K)
Other Nominees:
Heroes of the Storm (Blizzard Entertainment)
The Evil Within (Bethesda Softworks/ZeniMax Germany GmbH)
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (Take-Two Interactive GmbH/2K)
Mittelerde: Mordors Schatten (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Best Mobile Game:
Super Smash Bros. für 3DS (Nintendo of Europe GmbH)
Other Nominees:
Darkblade (NetEase, Inc.)
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call (Square Enix GmbH)
Best Social / Casual / Online Game:
LittleBigPlanet 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland GmbH)
Other Nominees:
Orcs Must Die! Unchained (Gameforge)
Dance Central Spotlight (Microsoft Corporation)
SingStar (Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland GmbH)
LEGO Batman 3: Jenseits von Gotham (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
Best Online Multiplayer Game:
Evolve (Take-Two Interactive GmbH/2K)
Other Nominees:
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Activision Blizzard Deutschland GmbH)
Heroes of the Storm (Blizzard Entertainment)
FIFA 15 (Electronic Arts)
Forza Horizon 2 (Microsoft Corporation)
Best Hardware
Oculus Rift DK2 (Oculus VR)
Other Nominees:
Virtualizer (Cyberith)
Project Morpheus (Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland GmbH)
Amiibo (Nintendo of Europe GmbH)
SHIELD Tablet and SHIELD Wireless Controller (NVIDIA GmbH)
So there you have it. As with E3, Evolve appears to have won over the crowd. It’s a game that makes quite the spectacle with its intense 4v1 human vs monster design. While it was recently delayed to early 2015, it shows immense promise.
Also See: A Compilation of Everything Sony and Microsoft Announced and Showed
Two of the other items that caught my attention were Splatoon‘s award as the best game at Nintendo’s booth. Super Smash Bros. has routinely been the most hyped upcoming release for the system, but somehow Splatoon managed to outdo it at the event. That’s quite a feat.
Lastly, Bethesda’s The Evil Within created some very positive buzz at the event despite having some negative attention these past couple months. The new one hour gameplay demo showed plenty of promise, and according to attendees it’s one heck of a game to play.
