How The Link Stole E3 2016

  So the annual gameapalooza that is E3 is over and done with for another year. The guests in their nerdly t-shirts have dispersed, all the complimentary hand sanitizer (because no one wants PAX pox) has been given out, the show has closed its doors. As they say in Mean Girls, that was, like, so last month.   

But we’re not quite done with it yet. We’ve got ourselves some E3 2016 Game Critics Awards to bestow. Votes were taken from 40 media outlets around the world, and the winners in each category were:

Best of Show:

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)

Best Original Game:

Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4)

Best Console Game: 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)

Best VR Game:

Batman: Arkham VR (Rocksteady/Warner Bros. Interactive Ent for PlayStation 4)

Best PC Game: 

Civilization VI (Firaxis/2K)

Best Hardware/Peripheral:

PlayStation VR (Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Action Game:

Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Action/Adventure Game:

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii-U/NX)

Best Role Playing Game:

Final Fantasy XV (Square-Enix for PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Racing Game:

Forza Horizon 3 (Playground Games/Turn 10/Microsoft Studios for PC, Xbox One)

Best Fighting Game:

Injustice 2 (NetherRealm/WBIE for PS4, Xbox One)

Best Sports Game:

Steep (Ubisoft Annecy/Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Strategy Game:

Civilization VI (Firaxis/2K for PC)

Best Family Game:

Skylanders: Imaginators (Toys for Bob/Activision for PC, PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, Wii-U)

Best Online Multiplayer:

Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)

Best Independent Game:

Inside (Playdead for PC, Xbox One)

Special Commendation for Graphics:

God of War (Sony Santa Monica/Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4)

So there it is. The biggest story of the show is, deservedly, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which managed to blow the gonads off of many a gamer who laid eyes on it. Nintendo’s half-assed show-one-damn-game-and-only-one-damn-game strategy seems to have paid dividends after all. How often do they usually shake things up a little with their core franchises? Not very freaking often, that’s how often, but this one really is looking like something special. 

Elsewhere on the list, there’s not really much to fault. Worthy winners all. Good job, critics. For more details on the awards and where votes came from, hit the link above.