Alex Salfiti 
It is that time of year again where a whole bunch of people who are obsessed with games descend upon the lovely city of Cologne for a little thing called Gamescom, and this year, yours truly is here, sat in a small hostel bunk-bed ready to bring you the latest news on this year’s antics.
And the first bit of news I can give you are the winners of the Gamescom awards 2019. So without further ado let’s look at this year’s winners…
Best Action Adventure Game
Blacksad: Under the Skin, astragon Entertainment –
An indie game based on the comics will surely be a fit for anyone looking for an intriguing mystery with anthropomorphic characters bringing in heavy political and racial themes which were prevalent in the 1950s, under a holistic well rounded action adventure.
Other nominees in the category were:
Concrete Genie, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Nintendo
Best Action Game
DOOM Eternal, ZeniMax Germany –
A slight surprise here as the ZeniMax dev team take the win from the heavily anticipated Marvel’s Avengers and the formidable titan Borderlands 3, as they carry on their successful rebrand of the DOOM series. Whether there are big changes or not is yet to be seen, but with DOOM, who needs them?
Other nominees in the category were:
Borderlands 3, 2K
Marvel’s Avengers, Square Enix
Best Family Game
Concrete genius, Sony Interactive Entertainment –
Happy to see this incredibly original and aesthetically pleasing indie PlayStation exclusive win this title. It certainly deserves a lot more hype than it is getting. Only time will tell if the gameplay packs the same punch the trailers for this game brought.
Other nominees in the category were:
Dreams, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Luigi’s Mansion 3, Nintendo
Best Racing Game
Grid, Codemasters –
With a reboot from the ground up, it is clear that Codemasters meant business snatching the accolade from the likes of the perpetually popular Need for Speed. One for the speed freaks.
Other nominees in the category were:
Hot Wheels Infinite Loop, Mattel
Need for Speed Heat, Electronic Arts
Best Role Playing Game
Wasteland 3, InXile Entertainment
InXile prove here that their series Wasteland is top tier role playing goodness. It beat the likes of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which if early reviews are correct, may not be as engaging as all the die hard fans want it to be.
Other nominees in the category were:
Final Fantasy VII Remake, Square Enix
Pokémon Schwert und Pokémon Schild, Nintendo
Best Simulation Game
Planet Zoo, Frontier
From my fondly remembered days on Zoo Tycoon, I am glad to see Planet Zoo bring this prize home. With incredible animal animation, complex enclosure requirements and an intrinsic bonding system with multi-animal enclosures showcases why Planet Zoo deserved to win!
Other nominees in the category were:
Barotrauma, Daedalic Entertainment
NBA 2K20, 2K
Best Sports Game
Roller Champions, Ubisoft
Roller Champions shows that bringing new innovation and great gameplay knocks the titans from the top. Keep an eye on this one – think rocket league, but on acid.
Other nominees in the category were:
EA SPORTS FIFA 20, Electronic Arts
eFootball PES 2020, Konami
Best Strategy Game
Desperados III, THQ Nordic
A classic top-down strategy game brings the style of the old Fallout titles with a wild west twist. For those who love the genre this is going to be as good as any!
Other nominees in the category were:
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Microsoft
Foundation, Polymorph Games
Most Original Game
Dreams, Sony Interactive Entertainment
It is no surprise that Sony powerhouse developers Media Molecule (the great minds behind LittleBigPlanet) prove that originality is their speciality. In VR or not, take full control of both move controllers and regular dualshocks to paint, draw, build and even audio editor, to create anything you want.
Other nominees in the category were:
Concrete Genie, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Felix The Reaper, Daedalic Entertainment
Next were the categories for platform, the winners were:
Best Microsoft Xbox One Game
Gears 5, Microsoft
Best Nintendo Game Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Nintendo
Best Sony PlayStation 4 Game
Dreams, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Best Mobile Game
Battle Chasers: Nightwar – Mobile Edition, mobile games
Best PC Game
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon breakpoint, Ubisoft
And remember folks to keep an eye on GameRVW throughout Gamescom as we attend the biggest video game convention in Europe.
