The nominees for the Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2017 have been announced, which means that it's time once again for major gaming publications—including this one!—to send their chosen tributes into a gladiatorial arena to do vicious, no-holds-barred combat to determine which games deserve best-of-show honors.
I'm not actually certain if that's how the system works, but I do know that we're involved ("submitted votes" is what I was told, but I like to think that's a euphemism for something more fisticuffs-oriented) and that some of those votes we cast will, as categories allow, be for the games to which we awarded our own "Best of E3 2017" honors.
Some interesting bits of trivia: The most-nominated games at this year's E3, with four each, are Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and Mario + Rabbids Battle Kingdom. The most-nominated publisher this year is Ubisoft, with 14 in total, up 11 from 2016, which was obviously not a great year for Ubi. And the most nominated platform—multiplatform games are counted in all appropriate platform tallies, information based on announced platforms for each game/product as of 6/26/17, hardware nominees excluded—is a two-way tie between the PS4 and PC.
The Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2017 nominees can be seen below. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, June 28, and a full list of judges and rules are up at gamecriticsawards.com.
Best of Show
- Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best Original Game
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
- Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft)
- Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft)
Best Console Game
- Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best PC Game
- Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent)
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords (TaleWorlds Entertainment)
- Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly/Sega)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best VR Game
- Doom VFR (id Software/Bethesda)
- Fallout 4 VR (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
- Lone Echo (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studio)
- Moss (Polyarc)
- Transference (SpectreVision/Ubisoft)
Best Mobile/Handheld
- Durango (What Studio/Nexon)
- Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam/Nintendo)
- Hidden Agenda (Supermassive Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- King's Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon (Square Enix)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (Atlus)
Best Hardware
- Astro A10 Gaming Headset (Astro)
- DisplayLink XR (DisplayLink)
- Razer Thresher Ultimate (Razer)
- Logitech PowerPlay Mat (Logitech)
- Xbox One X (Microsoft)
Best Action Game
- Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
- Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Star Wars Battlefront II (EA DICE/Motive/Criterion/Electronic Arts)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Days Gone (SIE Bend Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
Best RPG
- Battle Chasers: Nightwar (Airship Syndicate/THQ Nordic)
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
- Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlords (TaleWorlds Entertainment)
- Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level 5/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Ubisoft SF/South Park Digital Studios/Ubisoft)
- Vampyr (Dotnod Entertainment/Focus Home Interactive)
Best Fighting Game
- ARMS (Nintendo)
- Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite (Capcom)
- Pokken Tournament DX (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokemon Co.)
Best Racing Game
- Forza Motorsport 7 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft)
- Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital/Sony Interactive Ent)
- Need for Speed Payback (Ghost Games/Electronic Arts)
- Project CARS 2 (Slighty Mad Studios/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
- The Crew 2 (Ivory Tower/Ubisoft Reflections/Ubisoft)
Best Sports Game
- FIFA 18 (EA Canada/Electronic Arts)
- Madden NFL 18 (EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES Productions/Konami)
Best Strategy Game
- Battletech (Harebrained Schemes/Paradox Interactive)
- Frostpunk (11 bit Studios)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft)
- Total War: Arena (Creative Assembly/Sega/Wargaming)
- Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly/Sega)
Best Family/Social Game
- DropMix (Harmonix/Hasbro)
- Just Dance 2018 (Ubisoft)
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (TT Games/Warner Bros Interactive Ent)
- Hidden Agenda (Supermassive Games/Sony Interactive Ent)
- That’s You (Wish Studios/Sony Interactive Ent.)
Best Online Multiplayer
- Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
- Star Wars Battlefront II (EA DICE/Motive/Criterion/Electronic Arts)
- Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft)
- Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft)
Best Independent Game
- Ashen (Aurora 44/Annapurna Interactive)
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Inti Creates/505 Games)
- Donut County (Ben Esposito/Annapurna Interactive)
- Laser League (Roll7/505 Games)
- The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive)
