An All Maverick Introspection of The Game Awards 2021

The Game Awards 2021 has concluded, rounding off this year of gaming. We saw the announcement of several exciting new titles in the works, cringed at questionable kpop and celebrities’ misguided attempts to act as “epic gamers”, and of course, crowned several games the monarchs of their respective fields. Earlier this week, we had several predictions about who we thought would win each category. Join us as we compare the results to our predictions, celebrating the categories our picks did win and coping with the ones they lost.

James’ Thoughts

What a ride it has been. I’m going to go ahead and admit my mistakes here; I clearly misjudged It Takes Two in how much the narrative resonated with players and how the gameplay captivated them. Whilst it is not my particular style of a game, I cannot deny its high quality and passion. That being said, its victory in the multiplayer category was surprising given that it only engages with the multiplayer genre on a surface level. Other games provide avenues for player expression and gameplay much better than It Takes Two; it felt like the game was nominated on the virtue of its forced co-op. Chances are your gameplay of It Takes Two didn’t differ that much from the other couple that played this game, which does make the game’s player agency weaker in comparison.

Whilst it’s a good narrative game, it certainly isn’t better than Monster Hunter in the multiplayer context. As an experience though, It Takes Two is certainly rife with imagination and whimsical gameplay, that stands out from the rest of industry with its unique approach to design, proving that creativity and heart isn’t dead in an industry that is plagued by commercialism.

Now, allow me to bask in glory as my personal picks and second picks saw great success! Returnal taking the win for Best Action Game was satisfying, and chats from across Youtube and Twitch all seemed to agree that on a technical and mechanical level, the game deserved to win. The fanbase clearly pulled through on this one as the majority of people who played this game have nothing but high praise.

Speaking of high praise from fans, the Final Fantasy XIV fanbase (myself included) rejoiced in elation as the game took home the awards for both Best Ongoing Game and Best Community Support, defeating their Free-to-Play competitors, proving that the gaming community still values quality over quantity, well written stories and tight gameplay balance.

They’ve also shown that of course, there must be a spectacle to match such gameplay. In this regard, Guilty Gear Strive’s victory was well deserved. Overall I was satisfied with the results which were an improvement over last year, which could have been renamed The Last of Us 2 Awards honestly.

For reveals, Forspoken saw a full gameplay reveal with breathtaking visuals and high velocity gameplay that takes advantage of PS5’s impressive hardware to deliver what could be a stunning experience. Meanwhile, hearkening back to ye olde days of the Xbox360 era of third person gritty action shooters, Warhammer Space Marine 2 shows off gloriously brutal gameplay, promising large hordes of enemies to bisect and blast.

I cannot wait to see what the next year brings. Here’s hoping 2022 is a good if not better year for gaming!

Daniel’s Thoughts

Personally, I was pleasantly surprised when my sleep deprived brain finally worked out that Forza Horizon 5 had won not one, not two but THREE awards! Watching the developer pick up the trophy made me feel like a proud fan, a racing game had come to the game awards and taken home all the gold that it was nominated for; an amazing feeling when people of today’s culture like to say that racing games have gone out of trend. Well, this shows them doesn’t it?!

One of my personal highlights of the whole show has to be the trailer for Star Wars Eclipse. The first thing to be set in the High Republic era that isn’t a book! The High Republic era is something that has been anticipated highly and I’ll be writing a future article that’s more in depth after the weekend! 

The second and last personal highlight of the night for me has to be Telltale’s Star Trek game! Telltale is a developer I trust wholeheartedly, especially after their amazing Walking Dead series which is their most notable work. The Trek license is in good hands and with the lack of Trek games, I’m sure this one is going to be nothing short of brilliant. Again, look out for an article from me on this after the weekend, because I’m keen to get in-depth with this one.

As far as my own predictions went, I managed to get a few right! Sadly Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t win a single award. (I know, Cyberpunk was robbed!) All jokes aside, I am counting ‘Innovation in Accessibility’ as a correct prediction because my first thought was to give that award to Forza Horizon 5! (Ok, cheating, I know.) But, with Life is Strange winning ‘Best Game For Impact’, Forza picking up all three awards it was nominated for brings my total up to a solid four.

Not bad for my first official predictions for The Game Awards, I must say. Although I do wish Ratchet and Clank saw some more love, and while I  questioned the reasoning behind some awards, at the very least I can accept the decisions and say that at the end of it, the best game won.

Eliott’s Thoughts

This one is pretty easy as you can see Eliott’s entire reaction to The Game Awards right here! The Stream Team of Alan, Tom and Eliott watched the entirety of the event, complete with commentary, cringing and cheering! If you didn’t catch it, be sure to follow us on twitch.tv/allmavericklive!

What did you think of the event? Did you agree with the winners? What announcements excite you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!