Last night was Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards 2018. In my opinion, it was the best Game Awards to date, and I actually found it more exciting than this year’s E3.

Prior to the show, my only wish was for the return (and greater presence) of the Game Awards Orchestra. Not only did I get my wish, but there is now an official theme song for the awards show! I found that to be a wonderful touch.

Before I get to all the things I enjoyed, I only had one real beef with the show: I wish they had presented every award on the stage, particularly the Games For Impact winner. Of all the things I’d like to see, I’d like to see a montage of the nominees in that category, and hear from the eventual winner.

Back to all the goodness. :)

It was rather moving to see Shawn Layden, Phil Spencer, and Reggie Fils-Aime take the stage together. Sure it was a little stilted, but I liked that the three heavy-hitters came out together to present a united front. I thought it was a lovely way to open the show.

The announcement of The Stanley Parable coming to consoles in 2019 with new content made me cheer out loud. My computer has never been able to run anything remotely as complicated as The Stanley Parable and I am so excited to finally play it for myself. Adventure line, here I come!

Among Trees looks beautiful.

I am cautiously optimistic of Far Cry: New Dawn.

I am weirdly excited for Rage 2.

Florence winning best mobile game made me throw my arms in the air in the victory pose and exclaim out loud and then immediately burst into tears because I was so happy for the team who made the game. Florence is a beautiful experience.

Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds looks incredibly interesting to me.

Hello Games’ The Last Campfire took my breath away. I hope so much this is a success for them out of the gate; I feel they could use that. The game was beautiful and made me think of a chibi version of Journey. When the little character dropped their paddle in the water, I actually gasped out loud and wished I could fish it out for them; the game already has me invested.

I was thrilled Celeste won for Best Independent Game and Games For Impact.

The Pathless by Giant Squid looks amazing. I can’t wait to play it whenever it releases.

Cory Barlog winning best director was a beautiful moment and I’m so glad he won.

When it came down to the announcement for Game of the Year, I held my breath and had a feeling God of War was going to win, even though Red Dead Redemption 2 has cast its spell on many. When God of War was read from the card, I shouted out loud “HOLY F*CK GOD OF WAR WON!!” It was such an exciting moment and I’m so happy for everyone involved in that game.

This year’s show was such an improvement over past years, and I hope Geoff Keighley feels proud of what he has created. I love that the show exists to celebrate games and all those involved.

Oh gosh, how could I forget?! I LOVED the acceptance speech by SonicFox for Best Eports Player! I was smiling like crazy and loved what he had to say, particularly towards the end. I wasn’t familiar with him before tonight, but I’m glad I know who he is now.

And there you have it! What were your favorite moments from the show?

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This weekend I am unsure how much gaming I will get to. I’m currently working on a fairly massive organizing project and I’d like to keep chipping away at it. If I can play anything, I wouldn’t mind playing through a couple of smaller games. Maybe this will be the magical weekend I finally play through Shape of the World.

I’d like that.

With that I ask: what will YOU be playing this weekend?

Whatever you do, please be safe out there, friends. Cheers.