Some people have their own preferred genre, a type of game they like best. Today’s awards are for those people, who want the best games of their kind to grace that genre this year.

1. Best Platformer
2. Best Action Game
3. Best RPG / Action-RPG
4. Best Strategy Game
5. Best Graphic Adventure Game
6. Best Puzzle Game
7. Best Driving/Racing Game

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Best Platformer

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition – This game is, in my opinion, the absolute best 2D Metroidvania since Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This game has magnificent, fluid platforming, an inventive approach to difficulty and saving mechanics, beautiful music, absolutely gorgeous graphics that look best on the Nintendo Switch… despite that this year has seen some amazing platformers, this was a no-brainer for me.

Runners-Up:

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

Aggelos

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Valley

Octahedron: Transfixed Edition

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Best Action Game

My Friend Pedro – There are quite a few great action games on this list, but out of all of them, My Friend Pedro is the one I had the most fun playing. It’s an absurd ballet of death, with bullets flying everywhere, crazy acrobatics, and yet despite the absurdity the entire thing plays like being in one of the best action films you’ve ever seen. With a talking banana.

Runners-Up:

Ape Out

Assault Android Cactus+

Cuphead

Katana Zero

Inferno 2

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Best RPG / Action-RPG

Dragon Quest Builders 2 – I very nearly gave this one to Slay the Spire, which sucked me in more than just about any game released this year. However, Dragon Quest Builders 2 ticked just about every box with its compelling gameplay, amusing story, surprisingly good visuals, and being a game that actually manages to stand tall next to the likes of Minecraft and show a different way to do that sort of open-world crafting game that’s just as viable.

Runners-Up:

Slay the Spire

Dandy Dungeon – Legend of Brave Yamada –

Sparklite

Cadence of Hyrule: The Crypt of the Necrodancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition

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Best Strategy Game

Wargroove – There were some really good strategy games on the Nintendo Switch this year, but none delivered the whole package like Wargroove did. The gameplay is fantastic, the sound and visuals are great, but what really pushes this game over the top is the absolute wealth of content included along with it, including a world of user-made content thanks to the packed-in campaign creator. Add in multiplayer options, a cast of likeable characters… yeah, this game is absolutely brilliant and needs more love.

Runners-Up:

Slay the Spire

Hard West

X-Morph Defense

Pandemic

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Best Graphic Adventure Game

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who saw my massive review of the game, or the follow-up video review I did. Hellblade tells an amazing interactive story that gets into your head, literally. The use of sound and visuals here is superb, with some excellent visual-based puzzles. I count this game in this category instead of the Action category because this is where the game truly shines.

Runners-Up:

The Red Strings Club

Observer

Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise

Elevator… To the Moon! Turbo Champion’s Edition

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Best Puzzle Game

Baba Is You – While I thoroughly enjoyed some of the puzzles in the other nominees this year, Baba Is You consistently surprised me with new possible solutions that hadn’t occurred to me before. This is a game that not only made it easy to get a grasp of how it works, but actually made learning the intricacies of how it works a truly fun and rewarding experience.

Runners-Up:

Dandy Dungeon – The Legend of Brave Yamada –

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince

Gems of War

The House of Da Vinci

Untitled Goose Game

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Best Driving/Racing Game

Asphalt 9: Legends – There will undoubtedly be some people who are stunned by this choice, but I don’t care – I had more fun with this game than all of the other 2019 racing games combined. While the microtransactions here do mar the experience somewhat, it doesn’t bring down the experience enough to change that this is still a spectacular racing game that looks great, plays great, and is a high-speed thrill rush that will keep you coming back.

Runners-Up:

Sega Ages Virtua Racing

Team Sonic Racing

Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 2

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled

Trials Rising

That’s all for today! to keep up with all of the eShopperReviews 2019 Game Awards, be sure to check back at the Awards’ Start Page, which I’ll be updating throughout the week!

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