- Host: While other games floundered in a sea of hype they couldn't possibly live up to, The Walking Dead came out of nowhere to carve its own niche. Bolstered by word of mouth sales and some well timed steam sales, a zombie themed point and click adventure found itself the talking point of almost all gaming circles, each claiming to have been the ones who first discovered it. Taking a reasonably well known setting from The Walking Dead comic series, the game accomplished the rare task of implementing an existing IP inside a video game. Attempting something new with the tired zombie formula, Telltale created a story driven game with a purpose, and with characters that even the most cynical could find affection. Despite some bugs, we see a fresh update to adventure game user interface which works well. Closely beating its polar opposite runner up, Hotline Miami; The Walking Dead is awarded our Least Hated award for giving us an engaging, modest title among a year of disappointment.
- Self - Nature of a Man Award: Telltale have crafted a masterful narrative road, fueled by pressingly hard player choices, ultimately leaving each adventurer at more-or-less the same destination by design, yet compelling the player to work through the difficult choices they make. And it's a zombie game that's not in the least bit about the zombies. It's a firm, character driven tale where the player finds themselves juggling between characters and developing relationships with them until they ultimately come and go. The quality of dialogue and storytelling is such that players perceive their choices as important, and find themselves invested completely in the result. For showing us that adventure games with simple game mechanics can still be executed in a meaningful way with great narrative, Telltale achieves the Nature Of A Man Award.
- Self - IP Twist Award: To say this game came out of nowhere would be both right and horribly wrong. After almost 8 years in development, what was once a hotly talked about project was released to little fanfare. So what did we get? Surprisingly, everything that was promised. Black Mesa took the story of Half-Life, and re-imagined the earth sections in the updated Source engine. Clunky sections were cut down, weapons were enhanced, and jumps were crouched. Black Mesa's strength was that it wasn't a shot-for-shot remake made by fans with rose-tinted-glasses. It was made how a remake should be; by analysing the original, removing the bad, improving on the good, and making meaningful additions along the way. Black Mesa offers us a better way to experience the opening story of the Half-Life saga and wins our IP Twist Award.
- Self - Meat and Fish Award: The release of Polytron's debut title reminds us that even the small passionate team of artists can still give the AAA studios a run for their money... by ramping up the hype and shameless self promotion! In 2007, early praise for this game's then-novel, albeit unoriginal, perspective switching gimmick made Polytron a big name in the indie scene, and over the ensuing years Fez received a number of awards and accolades before it was even released. Director Phil Fish with his newfound clout began inflammatory comments on the web and in numerous interviews, and while this did reveal him to be every bit the pretentious snob, ultimately his reckless behavior only gave the game more press. Clocking in with a development time of five years, Fez simply couldn't live up to the hype. Congratulations Polytron, but this probably the last award you'll ever going to receive.