PC, Final Fantasy 14 and Resi Village win big at Golden Joystick Awards 2021

The annual gaming jamboree that is The Golden Joysticks was held last night, the longstanding awards show that is decided by public votes and hands out gongs to the best of our industry. This year's spectacle also tied-into the 50th anniversary of Computer Space, the first commercial video game, and added two categories for the occasion: Best Gaming Hardware of All Time and Ultimate Game of All Time.

Naturally, we all know what won the former. You know, right? It's PC. PC is best. And to prove it the Joysticks rolled out none other than Gabe Newell himself.

The big winner of the Ultimate Game of All Time was Fromsoft's Dark Souls. These categories are obviously always pure argument-fodder, and the idea of one game to rule them all is a bit like declaring a best book of all time, but it's fun to make those arguments anyway. What I especially respect about Dark Souls is its refusal to condescend to the player, how it expects us to and rewards us for adapting, how it presents a world that unfurls so gradually and holds such revelations. And building glass cannon mages to take out gank squads in PvP. Here's the award clip:

The awards received millions of votes, so these are pretty much as good a snapshot of public opinion on this year's offerings as you'll get. Happy on the night were Capcom, who picked up 4 Golden Joysticks for the excellent Resident Evil: Village and another for Best Studio. Best PC Game was Hitman 3 (good choice!) and Final Fantasy 14 picked up two awards for its community and longevity. The full list is below (thanks, GamesRadar+), and the show itself at the top of the article.

Golden Joystick Award Winners 2021

Best Storytelling - Life is Strange: True Colors
Best Multiplayer Game - It Takes Two
Best Audio - Resident Evil: Village
Best Visual Design - Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Best Game Expansion - Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island Expansion
Mobile Game of the Year - League of Legends: Wild Rift
Best Gaming Hardware - PS5
Best Indie Game - Death's Door
Studio of the Year - Capcom
Best Performer - Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu)
Breakthrough Award - Housemarque
Best Game Community - Final Fantasy 14
Still Playing Award - Final Fantasy 14
PC Game of the Year - Hitman 3
Nintendo Game of the Year - Metroid Dread
Xbox Game of the Year - Psychonauts 2
PlayStation Game of the Year - Resident Evil Village
Most Wanted Game - Elden Ring
Critics Choice Award - Deathloop
Ultimate Game of the Year - Resident Evil Village
Ultimate Hardware of All Time - PC
Ultimate Game of All Time - Dark Souls

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."