It’s time again for ComicBook.com’s annual Golden Issue Awards event where we look at the best of the best that this year had to offer. For the second year in a row, we’ve included video games on our best-of lists to take a look at some of the best single-player and multiplayer games of the year. We’re considering games in a number of different categories this year with the greatest accolade of course being the Game of the Year Award where we vote on 2020’s standout game.
Just as it affected pretty much every other medium imaginable, 2020 was a notably different and unpredictable year for games. Updates, expansions, and entire games got pushed back to faraway months or out of the year entirely due to impromptu working conditions people were forced into as developers and others involved in shipping games shifted to at-home work schedules. Even still, we were able to see plenty of on-time releases or at least games that managed to launch some time in 2020 with many of those being ones that people have been waiting on for some time now.
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This year also featured a pair of events that doesn’t happen often at all: The next-gen console launches from Sony and Microsoft. The two respectively released the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition as well as the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S this year. Each console had a limited number of true console launch games to take advantage of the next-gen powers offered by the consoles, but the timing of the releases allowed those games to barely squeak into people’s considerations for best-of-2020 lists.
Because of the small number of true next-gen games released so far, the timing, and the limited availability of the consoles themselves, our Golden Issue nominees for 2020’s awards don’t feature as many PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X exclusives. What we do have though is a number of games that stood out throughout the year whether they capitalized on prior expectations or emerged as breakout hits with new life breathed into them.
ComicBook.com’s staff that’s been actively playing these sorts of games throughout the year have considered and compiled nominees for four different gaming categories. You can check out all the nominees for ComicBook.com’s 2020 Golden Issue Awards for gaming below to see who made the cut, and be sure to keep an eye out for the results later when we decide which games will win the awards.
Game of the Year
First up in our gaming categories for the 2020 Golden Issue Awards is the award that no other game can top: The Game of the Year. Every gaming awards list has to have one, and with all the titles releasing this year or continuing to deliver consistently engaging content, there were plenty of games to pick from.
The nominees are:
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
- Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions)
- Hades (Supergiant Games)
- The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog)
Best Single-Player Game
From console exclusives to surprise indie hits and continuations of storied franchises, 2020 thankfully had no shortage of single-player experiences. SIE Worldwide Studios continued its commitment to these sorts of games while classics like Final Fantasy VII were remade to allow people to experience older games in a new way.
The nominees are:
- Doom Eternal (id Software)
- Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions)
- Hades (Supergiant Games)
- The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix)
Best Multiplayer Game
Just as we had no shortage of single-player experience, multiplayer thrived as well. Infinity Ward and Raven Software brought the first persistent, standalone Call of Duty battle royale experience to life through Call of Duty: Warzone, and games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons helped get people through tough transitions early in the year. We also had two unique examples of games popularized largely through streaming attention alone. Though Among Us did not release this year, it’s revitalized existence and unprecedented arrival at the forefront of party games two years after release earned it a spot on our list of nominees.
The nominees are:
- Among Us (InnerSloth)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward, Raven Software)
- Fall Guys (Mediatonic)
- Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)
Best Ongoing Game
Whether they’re referred to as “Games as a Service” titles or something different, some games have managed to stick around and capture interest throughout months and years as ongoing but technically finished products. Frequent content drops compete with other live-action games and give players more to look forward to in coming weeks and months with a rise in battle pass services offering additional rewards for free or monetized games. The nature of these games means they don’t often fit neatly into different categories, so we’ve added the Best Ongoing Game Award to our accolades this year.
The nominees are:
- Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward, Raven Software)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- League of Legends (Riot Games)
- Mortal Kombat 11 (NetherRealm Studios)
