The Brizzy Awards 2019
Welcome... to the 2019 BRIZZY AWARDS! [CROWD CHEERING] I’m your host, HokieBriz, and we’ve got a killer show for you this year, complete with musical guests BRIZ & DIDDLES! [CROWD COLLECTIVELY ORGASMING]
I created the Brizzy Awards way back in 2017 when I felt the need to do some end-of-year superlatives, but realized I didn’t have the time or journalistic integrity to accurately weigh the pros and cons of every game that came out. Therefore, here at the Brizzy Awards (or #TBAs), the categories are made up specifically to highlight things I liked about the games I actually did have time to play. Now, on to the awards!
Our first award is all about atmosphere and immersion - art and technology. Of course we’re talking about the award for BEST FOREST IN A VIDEO GAME! Have you ever been in a forest in real life? Have you ever noticed how a forest is made up of more than 2 types of trees, and that the trees are not actually all spread out by 20 feet or more? These things might surprise you if you grew up playing in virtual forests rather than real ones, but there’s one game that has finally nailed a realistic forest.
The award for Best Forest goes to…
Seriously, the forest in this game is mindblowing. Every tree looks unique, and various types of trees are represented. This includes trees that are leaning or fallen over. Additionally, the trees are densely packed together, and the ground is filled with underbrush. This gives you a feeling of being surrounded and cut off from the rest of the world. This is the new benchmark for forests going forward. I hope Bethesda is paying attention.
Our next award is all about tone and resonance - feeling and flow. Of course we’re talking about the award for BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A VIDEO GAME! Have you ever been going about your day, when suddenly some high-octane song starts playing seemingly out of nowhere, making your normal routine somehow seem action-packed and intense? Of course not, because that doesn’t happen in real life. But if it did, you might realize how the right song at the right moment can elevate a moment from good to amazing.
The award for Best Use of Music goes to…
Outside the sounds of combat, The Oldest House is mostly a quiet place. The most common sound you’ll hear is the droning chants of those infected by the Hiss. But the Ashtray Maze is different. I don’t want to spoil the moment for people who haven’t played the game, but suffice to say that this particular cranked it up to 11. After beating Control, I’ve been on a bit of a Remedy kick, and played through Alan Wake, & Alan Wake’s American Nightmare. In playing these games so close together, I’ve noticed that pairing awesome music with big action sequences is something Remedy loves to do. The Ashtray Maze takes things to another level thanks to its mind-bending setting.
And speaking of music…. Everyone welcome BRIZ & DIDDLES!
https://soundcloud.com/briz-and-diddles/dat-herb
Our next award is all about grinding and leveling - lootin’ and tootin’. Of course we’re talking about the award for BIGGEST TIME SUCKING VIDEO GAME! Have you ever played a game that seems to take up all your free time? Other games you might be in the middle of playing that are arguably better games kind of fall to the wayside ‘cause you gotta get that next level, or that next item upgrade? Well I have, and I want to take this moment to apologize to Control for leaving her hanging for so long.
The award for Biggest Time Suck goes to...
I am no stranger to WoW. I have played the game off-and-on for… *does math* FIFTEEN YEARS?!? I… um…uh sorry. I suddenly felt the weight of my WoW playtime crashing down on my apparently aged and withered soul. Like someone who’s been sober since they quit playing WoW the last time, but slipped up and started drinking again, I fell headfirst back into WoW addiction when they released the Classic version this year. WoW Classic takes the game back to its 2004 roots, when things were harder, and grindier, but also more fulfilling. I have finally started coming back to my senses, though, and have been off the WoW-sauce for a few weeks now. During which time I’ve beat like 4 games. Feels good man.
Our next award is all about adversity and odds - technology and numbers. Of course we’re talking about the award for BEST ENEMY HORDES IN A VIDEO GAME! If you’re like me, you remember when the ORIGINAL Resident Evil 2 came out, and one of the main selling points was that technology had advanced enough that they could now show TWO zombies on screen at the same time! TWO WHOLE ZOMBIES in addition to your character! Fucking MAGIC, I tell you! Well the winner of this award is about to knock your socks off as you’re trampled under innumerable numbers of enemy numbers!
The award for Best Enemy Hordes goes to…
World War Z was facing down a seemingly unwinnable battle. It was yet another zombie game in an already crowded market. It was a movie tie-in game. The movie itself was just alright. Other zombie games with seemingly better IP (Walking Dead) had come out and bombed hard. What chance did this game have? But like a few random survivors facing down a rushing horde of zombies, they managed to blow the brains out of all the haters, and come out on top.
World War Z is a solid coop zombie shooter that not only fills the gap left by Left 4 Dead, but even improves upon the formula in many ways. One of the standout features is the staggering number of zombies you’ll face. Like in the movie, zombies sometimes attack in massive hordes, almost flowing like water over the landscape, and climbing over each other to breach walls and defenses. Even though I’ve seen it happen numerous times, every single time I still say “Damn, that’s a lot of zombies.” And they even manage to randomize how the zombies look just enough to prevent them from looking like clones. Impressive.
Our final award is all about time and place - specifically the wrong time and place. Of course we’re talking about the award for BEST 2017 GAME I PLAYED IN 2019! Have you ever come to a game late because it just flew under your radar for a long time, and end up loving that game, and then you wanted to put it in your current-year superlatives list, but you couldn’t because it didn’t come out that year, so you decided to make your own shitty fake awards show (aka blog) so you could make up your own categories so that you COULD add it to the list? ME TOO!
The award for Best 2017 Game I Played in 2019 goes to…
Earlier this year, I was in one of those moods where none of the award-winning games in my backlog were looking appetizing, so I was browsing Steam and the recently-opened Epic Games Store for something else to toss in my backlog of shame, and I came across Stories Untold. The game looked intriguing, and it was on sale for $10, so I pulled the trigger. Boy am I glad I did! The game is episodic in nature, but each episode is its own unique thing. It’s hard to describe, but it’s sort of a text-based adventure game within a 3D game. I can’t say much more without spoiling anything, but each episode was unique and surprising in a “not only have I never played a game like this, but neither have I even imagined a game like this” sort of way. I encourage everyone to check it out. As of this post, it's currently on sale for $2.50 on the Epic Games Store, so you have no excuse.
Well that’s the show, everyone! I can’t believe we’ve been doing this for 3 years now. Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you next year!
