Mario Odyssey, Shadow of War, Assassin’s Creed Origins, and Mario+Rabbids Lead Game Critics Best Of E3 Awards Nominations

Who will take top honors this year?

Posted By | On 26th, Jun. 2017

The Games Critics Awards Best of E3 2017 nominations have been revealed, and it’s an interesting smattering of games all around. Assassin’s Creed Origins, Super Mario Odyssey, Shadow of War, and Mario+Rabbids all lead the number of nominations, with Bethesda’s Wolfenstein 2The New Colossus and Dragon Ball FighterZ putting up reasonably strong showings as well.

Of note here are the omissions- games such as Spider-Man and God of War have not been nominated. This is because only games that were playable to the jury for at least five minutes each were considered eligible for this award. This excluded a whole lot of games from consideration. The criteria makes sense- how can you judge a game you cannot play?- and it’s good on the jury for making it clear right upfront. It should stop a lot of whining.

You can see the full list of nominees for all the categories below. What game do you think will take the honors home this year? Let us know in the comments section.

Best of Show
– Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
– Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
– Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
– Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
– Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)

Best Original Game
– Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
– Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
– Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
– Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft)
– Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft)

Best Console Game
– Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
– Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)
– Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris/Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft)
– Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
– Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)

Best PC Game
– Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
– Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent)
– Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords (TaleWorlds Entertainment)
– Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly/Sega)
– Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)

Best VR Game
– Doom VFR (id Software/Bethesda)
– Fallout 4 VR (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
– Lone Echo (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studio)
– Moss (Polyarc)
– Transference (SpectreVision/Ubisoft)

Best Mobile/Handheld
– Durango (What Studio/Nexon)
– Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam/Nintendo)
– Hidden Agenda (Supermassive Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
– King’s Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon (Square Enix)
– Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (Atlus)

Best Hardware
– Astro A10 Gaming Headset (Astro)
– DisplayLink XR (DisplayLink)
– Razer Thresher Ultimate (Razer)
– Logitech PowerPlay Mat (Logitech)
– Xbox One X (Microsoft)

Best Action Game
– Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
– Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
– Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
– Star Wars Battlefront II (EA DICE/Motive/Criterion/Electronic Arts)
– Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Machine Games/Bethesda)

Best Action/Adventure Game
– Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
– Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
– Days Gone (SIE Bend Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
– Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Monolith/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent).
– Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo)

Best RPG
– Battle Chasers: Nightwar (Airship Syndicate/THQ Nordic)
– Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
– Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlords (TaleWorlds Entertainment)
– Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level 5/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
– Vampyr (Dotnod Entertainment/Focus Home Interactive)

Best Fighting Game
– ARMS (Nintendo)
– Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
– Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite (Capcom)
– Pokken Tournament DX (Bandai Namco Studios/The Pokemon Co.)

Best Racing Game
– Forza Motorsport 7 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Studios)
– Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital/Sony Interactive Ent)
– Need for Speed Payback (Ghost Games/Electronic Arts)
– Project CARS 2 (Slighty Mad Studios/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
– The Crew 2 (Ivory Tower/Ubisoft Reflections/Ubisoft)

Best Sports Game
– FIFA 18 (EA Canada/Electronic Arts)
– Madden NFL 18 (EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts)
– Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES Productions/Konami)

Best Strategy Game
– Battletech (Harebrained Schemes/Paradox Interactive)
– Frostpunk (11 bit Studios)
– Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft)
– Total War: Arena (Creative Assembly/Sega/Wargaming)
– Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly/Sega)

Best Family/Social Game
– DropMix (Harmonix/Hasbro)
– Just Dance 2018 (Ubisoft)
– LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (TT Games/Warner Bros Interactive Ent.)
– Hidden Agenda (Supermassive Games/Sony Interactive Ent.)
– That’s You (Wish Studios/Sony Interactive Ent.)

Best Online Multiplayer
– Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games/Activision)
– Destiny 2 (Bungie/Activision)
– Star Wars Battlefront II (EA DICE/Motive/Criterion/Electronic Arts)
– Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft)
– Skull & Bones (Ubisoft Singapore/Ubisoft)

Best Independent Game
– Ashen (Aurora 44/Annapurna Interactive)
– Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Inti Creates/505 Games)
– Donut County (Ben Esposito/Annapurna Interactive)
– Laser League (Roll7/505 Games)
– The Artful Escape of Francis Vendetti (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive)


Keep On Reading!

Stranger Than Heaven’s Story is “Very Extensive,” But Features Fewer Play Spots Than Yakuza

Stranger Than Heaven’s Story is “Very Extensive,” But Features Fewer Play Spots Than Yakuza

The maps are also "roughly the same scale" as the Yakuza series, though each has a distinct size, says RGG Stu...

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls Highlights Ms. Marvel’s Flexible Moves and Hard-Hitting Combos

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls Highlights Ms. Marvel’s Flexible Moves and Hard-Hitting Combos

With stunning elasticity and the ability to increase the size of her limbs, Kamala Khan can move fast and dish...

PS6’s Bill of Materials Increases by $200, $1000 Price Fears Could End Up Coming True – Rumor

PS6’s Bill of Materials Increases by $200, $1000 Price Fears Could End Up Coming True – Rumor

Leaker Kepler_L2 posits a grim update for the next-gen console while claiming that its specs have been "locked...

Virtua Fighter Crossroads is An “Open Sandbox RPG,” Says Producer, Where “Player Choice Matters”

Virtua Fighter Crossroads is An “Open Sandbox RPG,” Says Producer, Where “Player Choice Matters”

RGG Studio's Riichiro Yamada also promises a "lot of side content", including "side quests with the old cast" ...

Star Wars Eclipse “Simply Cannot Be Completed” if Quantic Dream Proceeds With Layoffs, Say Devs

Star Wars Eclipse “Simply Cannot Be Completed” if Quantic Dream Proceeds With Layoffs, Say Devs

After announcing layoffs for 115 employees following the failure of Spellcasters Chronicles, developers are st...

Dinoblade Launches on July 23rd, Prehistoric Souls-like Combat Showcased in New Trailer

Dinoblade Launches on July 23rd, Prehistoric Souls-like Combat Showcased in New Trailer

What began as a humble series of animations by Jean Nguyen back in 2022 has evolved into a full-fledged PC tit...