Welcome to the Burning Barrel Awards for 2017!
This year, Hank and I decided to do something a bit collaborative for the site in which we came up with a list of categories, chose some personal winners for each category and then decided what compromises we could make to do an official site list up.
So below is the list of winners. Yes, some things are spoilers and yes, the VERY LAST CATEGORY is nothing but a spoiler category so beware.
I highly suggest listening to our deliberations here first:
Burning Barrel Awards 2017 Gaming Deliberations
So without further ado please enjoy our official list:
The “Irrationally Angry Because of Video Games” Award
Gaming has a certain culture about it. Sometimes it’s annoying. This is the award for the most annoying thing in gaming culture, not so much a “game”.
“Cuphead tutorial stage hijinx” – Paul
“Motherfuckers who knock away the ball in Destiny 2’s Tower” – Hank
Grossest Industry Practice
The “death of single-player”? Loot boxes? Konami? What was the worst instance of business getting in the way of hobby this year?
Loot boxes. Seriously, stop it.
SHOUT-OUTS:
- WB exploiting DLC sales over executive producer death
- EA (just in general)
Worst Level/Sequence
You know those awesome set-pieces that get you in the mood to never stop playing? Yeah, this is the opposite of that.
Resident Evil 7’s Tanker Level
SHOUT-OUTS:
- The Leviathan Raid’s Pleasure Gardens [Destiny 2]
- Darker Side of the Moon [Super Mario Odyssey]
- Flying Battery Zone [Sonic Mania]
- Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1 [Sonic Mania]
- Grey Prince Zote Boss Fight [Hollow Knight]
- 2B infected and trying to walk across the city ruins [NieR: Automata]
Worst Game
The game that not only didn’t meet expectations but is barely a product. The exact opposite of what we want. Fuck that thing.
Mass Effect: Andromeda
SHOUT-OUTS:
- RAID: World War II
- Friday the 13th
- Sundered
The Awards
The Glitchy Award
For excellence in being broken as fuck on a technical level.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
SHOUT-OUTS:
- PLAYERUNKNOWN’s BattleGrounds
- Destiny 2
The “Asura’s Wrath” Award
For excellence in spectacle action with emotional impact.
Tekken 7
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Persona 5
- NieR: Automata
The “Mass Effect” Award
For being the best Mass Effect in lieu of the trash-fire that was Andromeda.
Horizon: Zero Dawn
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Persona 5
- Night in the Woods
- Pyre
The “MetroidVania” Award
For excellence in backtracking and drip-feeding abilities.
Hollow Knight
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Metroid: Samus Returns
- SteamWorld Dig 2
- Mummy Demastered
Most Hateable Character Award
For perhaps single-handedly ruining any sort of good experience.
The Narrator from Tekken 7
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Rip Blazkowicz [Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus]
- Everyone in Ghost Recon Wildlands
Game You Would Hate to Play With Your Parents Award
For being “that” game…
NieR: Automata
SHOUT-OUTS:
- PLAYERUNKNOWN’s BattleGrounds
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Besties
Best Music
Best Transition to 8-Bit
You know that moment. It’s like waiting for the bass drop… only the exact opposite!
NieR: Automata
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Persona 5
Best Track
Single song/track.
- Paul: https://burningbarrel.co/year-in-gaming-2017-mixtape/
- Hank: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ5c76q9b0yHqFkshQhfMmSZLd8jd8TvR
Best Soundtrack
Full soundtrack from a video game.
Pyre
SHOUT-OUTS:
- NieR: Automata
- Persona 5
- Cuphead
- Shovel Knight: Spectre of Torment
Oldies But Besties
Best Game That Isn’t Actually New
(Best This Shit Again)
Remakes, remasters or a game finally getting an international releases, the best game that was released this year officially but isn’t actually new and people have been playing, possibly for years, before now.
StarCraft Remastered
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Puyo Puyo Tetris
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Parappa the Rapper Remastered
- Disney Afternoon Collection
Best Additional Content
(Best More Shit)
Best content that expanded on the original game.
Shovel Knight: Spectre of Torment
SHOUT-OUTS:
- XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
- Resident Evil 7
Best Updated/Supported Game
(Best Same Old Shit)
Best game that continues to hold an audience by updating consistently enough to remind people it exists.
Tabletop Simulator
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Warframe
- Killing Floor 2
- Battlerite
- 20XX
- Path of Exile
- Rainbow Six: Siege
- Heroes of the Storm
- DOTA 2
Player Experience
Best Girl
The most controversial debate on the internet!
Cala Maria
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Senua [Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice]
- Makoto [Persona 5]
- Tae Takemi [Persona 5]
- Sandra [Pyre]
- Aloy [Horizon: Zero Dawn]
- Kazumi Mishima [Tekken 7]
- Bea [Night in the Woods]
Best Mount
Because running on your own two legs is for chumps! Unless your legs are a mount?
The Moose [NieR: Automata]
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Link’s Motorcycle [Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]
- The T-Rex [Super Mario Odyssey]
- Bowser [Super Mario Odyssey]
- Broadhead [Horizon: Zero Dawn]
- Lord of the Mountain [Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]
- Jaxi [Super Mario Odyssey]
- Camels [Assassin’s Creed: Origins]
- Panzerhund [Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus]
- Mona [Persona 5]
- Goblin Throne [Battlerite]
- Golden Lunar Rooster [Heroes of the Storm]
Best Menu/UI
There’s nothing quite like a nice menu.
NieR: Automata
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Persona 5
- Destiny 2
Best Skybox
Sometimes you just stop and look at the sky… this is the prettiest one this year.
Star Wars: BattleFront II
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Destiny 2
Best Photo Mode
A picture is worth a thousand words. This was the best in-game way to take them!
Super Mario Odyssey
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Final Fantasy XV / No Man’s Sky
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
Best Level/Sequence Design
That part that was just so satisfying in how it was put together, it was a stand-out.
Ending E [NieR: Automata]
SHOUT-OUTS:
- The Gauntlet in the Leviathan Raid [Destiny 2]
- The White Palace [Hollow Knight]
- The Epilogue [Pyre]
- The first Chosen encounter [XCOM 2: War of the Chosen]
- The audition [Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus]
- Dr. Kahl’s Robot fight [Cuphead]
- King Dice encounter [Cuphead ]
- The cannery story [What Remains of Edith Finch]
Best Level/Sequence Aesthetic
That part that was just breathtakingly beautiful or cool looking.
The Almighty mission in Destiny 2
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Jacking into people’s brains in Observer
- Fenrir boss fight in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Cauldron Sigma from Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Cala Maria in Cuphead
Best Extra Shit to Read
Whether it be loose collectibles, an in-game book or weapon descriptions, the best supplemental reading material within a game.
Pyre
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus’ Alternate history
- NieR: Automata’s weapon stories and email messages
- Horizon: Zero Dawn logs
- Observer tenant notes and computer documents/emails
Best Use of a Slime as a Main Protagonist in a 2D Platformer
This whole category just exists to give Slime-San a platform for recognition. Because we can do that.
Slime-san
Social
Games I Didnt Play Myself
We all have that one or two games that we experienced solely through someone else. Whether it be watching a YouTube series or livestream, this is the best game you didn’t play yourself.
Nidhogg 2
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Night in the Woods (Paul)
- Little Nightmares (Hank)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (Hank)
- Get Even (Hank)
Better With Friends
Most things are better with friends, right? Well, this is the one game this year that was made better by being multiplayer.
Divinity Original Sin 2
SHOUT-OUTS:
- PLAYERUNKNOWN’s BattleGrounds
- Destiny 2
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Fan Art Community of the Year
All popular things received fan art. This is the game that inspired the most and best fan art of the year!
NieR: Automata
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Cuphead
- Hollow Knight
SPOILERS: The “I Probably Could Have Just Told You About This” Award
The best moment in gaming this year that would NOT have lost any impact hearing it from someone else first.
You fight Ganon [Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]
SHOUT-OUTS:
- Cappy controls Bowser [Super Mario Odyssey]
- Mario fights a dragon [Super Mario Odyssey]
- Mushroom Kingdom [Super Mario Odyssey]
- Peach w/ shotgun [Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle]
- Opera singer boss [Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle]
- The horror comic-book part [What Remains of Edith Finch]
- Chris Redfield is back [Resident Evil 7]
SPOILERS: The “I Can’t Tell You About This” Award
The best moment in gaming this year that would have legitimately been better if you didn’t read about it from some asshole on Twitter.
B.J. gets his head cut oFF [Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus]
SHOUT-OUTS:
- The audition with Hitler [Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus]
- 2B is actually 2E [NieR: Automata]
- Path C & D [NieR: Automata]
- What the Zero Dawn is [Horizon: Zero Dawn]
- The Narrator [Pyre]
- Who the Hollow Knight is [Hollow Knight]