Hello fellow Raptors, 2016 is over, and the time to hand out awards to various games has come. We've finally decided on our list of nominees for the 2016 TechRaptor Awards, and we want to share them with you. While we will be voting internally on the below nominees as well, we want to know what you think is the most deserving in each category. So, the TechRaptor Reader's Choice Awards are being brought back for the second year in a row!
When our primary job is to report information to you all, it gets difficult to involve our audience (you) in much beyond trying to find information we think you would be interested in. That's why we like the idea of having our Reader's Choice Awards to go along with what staff picks as well.
Once the voting is complete internally, and by you all of course, we'll be rolling out a series of articles for each category announcing the winner and writing up why we think it was deserving. We'll let you know when to expect them. Of course, this is where the Reader's Choice winners will be announced as well.
Here is the link to vote! (The link has been removed as voting is over. Winners will be announced starting 1/16!)
Here's how we came to our nominees:
- Round 1: Staff could nominate four games per category below. They were limited to two games released in the first half of the year Jan - Jun and limited to two for the second half as well, Jul - Dec.
- Round 2: After compiling that list, we voted to whittle it down to the nominees below. The top 5 of each category (10 for Indie Game of the Year and Pick of the Year) are what you see below. We also had some runoffs for some of the close nominee categories to firmly settle the top games for each category.
- Round 3: This is that round. The nominees are set, and now we'll be voting on the same list
Best Multiplayer Award - 2016
— For outstanding multiplayer gameplay and design
Best Writing Award - 2016
— For outstanding storytelling, worldbuilding, and character creation
Best Soundtrack/Sound Design Award - 2016
— Outstanding audio, from sound design to original scores
Best Visuals Award - 2016
— For outstanding cohesive aesthetic
Best Mobile/Handheld Game Award - 2016
— The best game you can play while on the go
Best Console Exclusive Award - 2016
— The best game exclusive to any one console
Best PC Exclusive Award - 2016
— The best game not on any console
Best Expansion/DLC Award - 2016
— The best piece of additional content to an existing game
- Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel
- Fallout 4: Nuka-World
- Tom Clancy's The Division - Survival
- The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
- World of Warcraft: Legion
Board Game of the Year Award - 2016
— For outstanding design in tabletop gaming
Indie Game of the Year Award - 2016
— Outstanding creative and technical design from outside a large studio
- Darkest Dungeon
- Enter the Gungeon
- Firewatch
- Hyper Light Drifter
- Inside
- Owlboy
- Stardew Valley
- SUPERHOT
- VA-11 HALL-A
- The Witness
Game of the Year Award - 2016
— The best game of the year, whose sum of its parts are greater than any other
- Dark Souls III
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- DOOM
- Final Fantasy XV
- Overwatch
- Pokémon Sun and Moon
- Stardew Valley
- SUPERHOT
- Titanfall 2
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
So there you have it, our nominees for what we think are the best games of 2016! Please go out, vote, and spread this around. We'd love for as much of the TechRaptor community as possible to get involved.
What did we miss? What sort of categories would you like to see?
Andrew is the Editor in Chief at TechRaptor. Conned into a love of gaming by Nintendo at a young age, Andrew has been chasing the dragon spawned by Super… More about Andrew
