Metroid Dread, Zelda, Pokémon And Mario All Nominated In Golden Joystick Awards 2021

And so they should be !

Let’s go Metroid Dread! Bring it home!

New Pokémon Snap definitely deserves to be on this list. I have put well over 150 hours into that game collecting every picture of every star level, and it has been a joy seeing all the different interactions that can happen. That one would definitely get my pick for Nintendo Game Of The Year. I haven't played anything but Nintendo games though from that list, so I can't comment on those. One of these days I will hopefully get back into PC gaming.

Death's Door, Metroid Dread, and Resident Evil Village are all some of the best stuff I've played this year.

Metroid Dread is definitely a worthy contender for GotY, but I think it might be a bit niche outside if the Nintendo diehards.

Dread is good.... but it ain't THAT good....

@dustinprewitt @Desrever Which game which came out this year is better in your opinion? Just curious

I agree that there's a lack of a clear winner this year. No God of War. Zelda Breath of the Wild. The Last of Us. etc.
But that makes the chance of Metroid winning the price actually go up.

Maggie Robertson for best performance. Even though, she wasn’t in the game for very long. She did great.

It's strange to me that Metroid isn't on the visual design shortlist. Not that it should win, but the visual design of the game is pretty great!

I hate hate hate Golden Joysticks for having their Game of the Years so early. Not only that, but there has definitely been a big issue with public voting since free games have a major advantage. Maybe there’s an argument to be had for Fortnite being 2018’s Ultimate Game of the Year (despite not releasing in 2018), but it still feels a bit dirty that it got far from being free.

come on metroid dread bring home the gold.

My physical copy sits still unopened as I play through the old games, finished zero mission and currently on super metroid

Still need to play through re village, love resi evil but there's just so many games and too little time

@Friendly Skyward Sword HD, Wario Ware get it together, bowers fury, axiom verge 2, castlevania advance collection,

Resident evil village should get game of the year & Maggie Robertson should get best performer also think insomniac should be a nominee for studio of the year

Man, Tales of Arise should definitely be up for GotY (and though I haven't played it, I'm surprised Monster Hunter Rise didn't make the shortlist either).

I'm not through with it yet, so I don't know how I'll feel about it overall, but I am enjoying Dread as well.

...you're suppose to award whats already out, not what isn't out yet.
Most Wanted is such a wasteful catagory for what might end up being disappointing.

Metroid Dread is my game of the year for sure
For Ps5 that'll be Ratchet and Clank and Resident evil village

Not the golden joysticks, but who comes up with the nominees for content creator of the year? i recognized none of them last year!

My votes:
Best storytelling: Chicory
Best multiplayer: It Takes Two
Best Visual Design: Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Best Indie: Chicory
Best Studio: Housemarque
Best Expansion: Bowser's Fury
Best Mobile Game: Alba
Best Audio: The Artful Escape
Best Performer: Jennifer Hale
Best Community: Dreams
Best Playstation: Ratchet and Clank
Best Nintendo: WarioWare: Get it Together
Best Hardware: PS5
Most Wanted: BOTW 2
Game of the Year: Ratchet and Clank

@OldManHermit I really am interested in Death's Door - would you say it has a lot of replay value?

@Sanjithechef I'd say so. I've played through it once, and I would definitely revisit. If you're into classic Zelda like Link to the Past, and Link's Awakening, it probably has the same level of replayability as those games.

I think the only one I'd give to Nintendo here is the most looking forward to section with BOTW2 or Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

I don't play a lot of games, though. So I can't vote on like 90% of these categories (even including Nintendo, I haven't been interested in anything released this year).

Barely any of those nominees excite me. Guess I'm getting old and just like older style games. I'd vote for Metroid, though I haven't played it yet.

Musous never seem to hit these lists. I wasn't expecting Age of Calamity to make it onto this list, but I'm definitely a little disappointed.

GOTY: 3rd Person Action Adventure with lite RPG mechanics and high budget cut-scenes.

Metroid Dread and It Takes Two were my favorite games this year. Hard to choose between them.

My favorite indie by far was Astalon:Tears of the Earth but that's not even an option 😱

Most anticipated is a toss up between BotW 2 and Horizon 2. I guess I'd have to give the edge to Forbidden West though...

I voted for mh rise instead of metroid , come at me

Gutted tales of Arise isn't on the ultimate game of the year nominees, resident evil village it is then.

@Roz1281

I made it through 12 categories, skipping each and every question because I've never played any of the games. I might also be old, though

Pyschonauts 2 baybey!!!!! GOTY!

Nintendo wise BOTW 2 is the most wanted game

As much as I'd like Dread to win Ultimate Game of the Year, realistically I think the lack of so called "accessibility" is going to put these voters off, stupid as that may seem.

I'm surprised Monster Hunter Rise isn't on the overall GotY lists. Certainly both it and Dread could be solid contenders.

We've reached a pretty grim hour in gaming journalism where another in a long line of retreads, a pretty mediocre sequel, and a game which doesn't even technically exist yet, getting nominated for an award is somehow an article.

@solarhorse Dread just isn't a great game. It's just enjoying the Nintendo Effect; every time Nintendo releases something, everyone falls all over themselves to meow and slobber about how it's GeNiUs and A mAsTeRpIeCe.

Then, only four months later, the ACTUAL reviews start coming out, ones that focus a thoughtful, critical eye on the product. Dread isn't a great game. It's okay. It definitely doesn't live up to its pedigree. It's got pacing issues, yeah, but far worse, swaths of it are plain not fun. The art style is super generic. The control is okay, but iffy on some moves you use frequently. Those Emmi zones zap my interest in continuing the game.

The ONLY reasons this game is getting press is because it's riding the coattails of its pedigree, and Nintendo has a cultish fanbase who doesn't understand that criticism is NECESSARY for greatness.

I've never had such a miserable experience trying to vote for something on my phone.

It'll randomly decide you've voted for something when just trying to scroll the screen down (no other mobile interface I've used has been that sensetive), and although there is a button to go back to the previous category it reloaded the current question the first 3 or so times before it did what it was supposed to, after the first few questions it slowed to a crawl (trying to load, or reload, the next question was taking over a minute each time), and I finally gave up after it said I voted for a choice that was at least an inch or two below the part of the screen my finger was touching.

Maybe I'll try later on my computer.

@JaiGuru
"I deliberately visited NintendoLife and now I'm upset that people are saying good things about Nintendo games how could this be happening!?"

@JaiGuru I appreciate your opinion on Dread, but I greatly disagree. The first Metroid is what convinced me to save up my money and beg my parents to help me get an NES, and I have been in love with the franchise since, and man, I love this game. Actually it might be in my top 10 games of all time. I loved Samus Returns, since it made me excited about Metroid again, and this just surpasses all of my expectations.

I will say I am disappointed in the music for sure.
I would love to hear why it didn't click with you as well.

Also, I would like to point out I am not just a Nintendo fan boy. Plenty of other games on other systems I love, like Horizon Zero Dawn, Mass Effect, etc

I don't particularly pay much attention to this award show, so fill me in because I'm a little bit confused. "Still Playing Award"? What exactly is the criteria here?

Because if it's ongoing online community, then shouldn't it go to, like, World of Warcraft or Runescape or something like that? Because they have Counter-Strike up on there, that's not at all a new game if that's the criteria.

@JaiGuru It doesn't go like that.

Golden Joystick Awards? I don't think I've heard of that before.

That Ultimate Game of the Year list... no particularly impressive game there. I would say Resident Evil Village is the better out of the bunch.

This is a lot of wasted effort because WarioWare: Get It Together isn't just GOTY. It's the greatest game of all time. All human endeavors were merely a prelude to WarioWare: Get It Together.

So happy for Metroid . Great work by the devs even if some don't get credit we still love you🥰.

those who vote GTA V: Enhanced Edition as their Most Wanted need help, and a better game library

I don't know about you but Dread should be nominated for Best Audio as well!

Best Storytelling:
Tales of Arise

Best Visual Design
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Studio of the Year:
Capcom

Best Game Expansion:
Super Mario: Bowser's Fury

Mobile Game of the Year:
Fantasian

Best Audio:
Resident Evil Village

Best Performer:
Jennifer Hale - Rivet, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

Best Game Community:
Monster Hunter Rise

PC Game of the Year:
Hitman 3

PlayStation Game of the Year:
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Nintendo Game of the Year:
Metroid Dread

Xbox Game of the Year:
Lost Judgment

Best Gaming Hardware:
PS5

Still Playing Award:
Rocket League

Most Wanted Game:
God of War: Ragnarok

Ultimate Game of the Year:
Metroid Dread

Monkey Ball got snubbed, damn shame that is.

Not convinced a 2D game like Metroid can win GOTY when that award has always been biased toward cinematic story-driven 3D single player adventure games.

My heart says Metroid Dread for GOTY but my head says Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

Dread should win but lovely to see New Pokemon Snap get some lovin too.

No Eastward for best indie? Or did it not make the cutoff?

Looks like Dread is the only interesting game in that ultimate game of the year category.