Surprise! Didn’t expect it to be this good now did we?
It’s fun to find games you have little to no expectations of it and then be pleasantly surprised at how good it is. Especially small, underrated games that may flew off the radar for most people.
This award celebrates the game that took us by surprise by being better than we ever expected it would be.
The panel was pretty split when it comes to surprising games, which almost lead to some vote switching shenanigans seen in the local Parliament. Into The Breach sneaked in again because the only promo thing we heard about it is that it’s a game from the FTL developers, and it was better than anyone would expect. Frostpunk, a really good city builder, also follows the same line of thought of being here, and the heartstrings pulling is also strong.
A Way Out got support as well, just for the fact that co-op only linear game is a rarity these days and the ability to play online without needing to buy an additional copy is cool to see.
But at the end, anime wins. But for good reason. No one expected a Japanese developer to portray a lesbian relationship and also the themes of self-harm, sprinkled with some lovely relationship banter among friends and acquaintances.
So congratulations, The Missing: J.J. MacField And The Island Of Memories. You won GM’s Most Surprising Game Award for 2018!
Most Surprising Game
Winner: The Missing: J.J. MacField And The Island Of Memories (White Owls, Arc System Works)
Honorable Mentions: A Way Out (Hazelight, EA), Into The Breach (Subset Games), Frostpunk (11bit Studios)
Choice quotes from the deliberations:
“A Way Out, did not expect EA to publish this game.” -Anan
“Frostpunk.. the ability to be worshipped as a deity is always a welcome.” -Wam, casting his first vote, before changing to The Missing later
“You don’t expect… a Japanese company to make this type of hard-hitting game… it talks about self-harm and very Twin Peaks-like storyline..” -Daniel
“The Missing… I saw anime girls.. Support!” -Irham
“I guess Swery has to retweet us again.” -Meck
We are in the home stretch now. But before we reveal the GOTY winner, we have to trudge the dumpster fire with the only negative award: The Most Disappointing Game Award. Check back here tomorrow for that.
Check here for the full results of the Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters Game Of The Year Awards 2018.