Update 1/16/17: Reader's choice voting is over, thanks to all who participated! Now it's time to start announcing the winners. Every day this week we will be putting out a couple of articles on the winners for each of the 2016 TechRaptor Awards. We'll link to each article individually below next to the relevant category so you can find them in on place.
Hello fellow Raptors, 2016 is over (and what a great year it was for TechRaptor!), 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 (Winner Announced Here!)
— For outstanding multiplayer gameplay and design
- Battlefield 1 (Game Page)
- Dark Souls III (Game Page)
- Pokkén Tournament (Game Page)
- Overwatch (Game Page)
- Titanfall 2 (Game Page)
Best Writing (Winner Announced Here!)
— For outstanding storytelling, worldbuilding, and character creation
- Firewatch (Game Page)
- Stardew Valley (Game Page)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Game Page)
- VA-11 HALL-A (Game Page)
- Zero Time Dilemma (Game Page)
Best Soundtrack/Sound Design (Winner Announced Here!)
— Outstanding audio, from sound design to original scores
- Dark Souls III (Game Page)
- DOOM (Game Page)
- Final Fantasy XV (Game Page)
- No Man's Sky (Game Page)
- Stardew Valley (Game Page)
Best Visuals (Winner Announced Here!)
— For outstanding cohesive aesthetic
- DOOM (Game Page)
- Final Fantasy XV (Game Page)
- Overwatch (Game Page)
- Ratchet & Clank (Game Page)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Game Page)
Best Mobile/Handheld Game (Winner Announced Here!)
— The best game you can play while on the go
- Bravely Second (Game Page)
- Fire Emblem Fates (Game Page)
- Kirby: Planet Robobot (Game Page)
- Pokémon GO (Game Page)
- Pokémon Sun and Moon (Game Page)
Best Console Exclusive (Winner Announced Here!)
— The best game exclusive to any one console
- The Last Guardian (Game Page)
- Let it Die (Game Page)
- Pokkén Tournament (Game Page)
- Ratchet & Clank (Game Page)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Game Page)
Best PC Exclusive (Winner Announced Here!)
— The best game not on any console
- Civilization VI (Game Page)
- Stellaris (Game Page)
- Total War: Warhammer (Game Page)
- Tyranny (Game Page)
- VA-11 HALL-A (Game Page)
Best Expansion/DLC (Winner Announced Here!)
— The best piece of additional content to an existing game
- Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel (Dark Souls III Game Page)
- Fallout 4: Nuka-World (Fallout 4 Game Page)
- Tom Clancy's The Division - Survival (The Divsion Game Page)
- The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine (Witcher 3 Game Page)
- World of Warcraft: Legion (World of Warcraft Game Page)
Board Game of the Year (Winner Announced Here!)
— For outstanding design in tabletop gaming
- Mechs Vs Minions
- Millennium Blades
- Scythe
- Star Trek: Frontiers
- Talon
Indie Game of the Year (Winner Announced Here!)
— Outstanding creative and technical design from outside a large studio
- Darkest Dungeon (Game Page)
- Enter the Gungeon (Game Page)
- Firewatch (Game Page)
- Hyper Light Drifter (Game Page)
- Inside (Game Page)
- Owlboy (Game Page)
- Stardew Valley (Game Page)
- SUPERHOT (Game Page)
- VA-11 HALL-A (Game Page)
- The Witness (Game Page)
Pick of the Year (Winner Announced Here!)
— The best game of the year, whose sum of its parts are greater than any other
- Dark Souls III (Game Page)
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Game Page)
- DOOM (Game Page)
- Final Fantasy XV (Game Page)
- Overwatch (Game Page)
- Pokémon Sun and Moon (Game Page)
- Stardew Valley (Game Page)
- SUPERHOT (Game Page)
- Titanfall 2 (Game Page)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Game Page)
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?