Oprainfall Awards

This is it! We are going to reveal our Game of the Year. All winners of our Console, PC, and Download awards are eligible for Game of the Year. In order of earlier victories, the nominees are…

  • Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 – Winner of Best DS Game

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 | oprainfall Awards

The sequel to the original Devil Survivor is just as good as the original. The game expands on several fronts, including setting – now you can travel all over Japan – and mechanics. Definitely worth your time.

  • Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time – Winner of Best PSP Game

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time | oprainfall Awards

A Fire Emblem-like story in a tactical RPG that features up to 40 different endings. A worthy game to mark the potential end of the PSP.

  • The Walking Dead – Winner of Best Downloadable Game

The Walking Dead | oprainfall Awards

Great story, remarkable characters, and incredibly tough timed decisions. Who knows what will be in store for the next season.

  • Xenoblade Chronicles – Winner of Best Wii Game

Xenoblade Chronicles | oprainfall Awards

Best Music, Best Gameplay, great story… Is it any wonder why we wanted this game to come over so bad?

  • ZombiU – Winner of Best Wii U Game

ZombiU | oprainfall Awards

A unique control scheme as you fight off hordes of zombies, perhaps one of them being zombie-you.

  • Journey – Winner of Best PS3 Game

Journey | oprainfall Awards

Remarkable how something so simple could tell such a grand story.

  • Dust: An Elysian Tail – Winner of Best Xbox 360 Game

Dust: An Elysian Tail | oprainfall Awards

Behind all the bright colors lays a dark, mature, and compelling story that deserves a spot on your hard drive.

  • FTL: Faster Than Light – Winner of Best PC Game

FTL: Faster Than Light | oprainfall Awards

A minimalistic game that is absolutely addictive and forces you to come up with entirely new strategies.

  • Kid Icarus: Uprising – Winner of Best 3DS Game

Kid Icarus: Uprising | oprainfall Awards

A bit odd to control but still a very fun game. Well worth the wait.

  • Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 – Golden – Winner of Best PS Vita Game

Persona 4: Golden | oprainfall Awards

A remake that almost puts the original to shame. If this game isn’t reason enough for you to buy a Vita, then nothing is.

  • Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward – Winner of Best Multiplatform Game

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward | oprainfall Awards

A near perfect masterpiece for the horror genre. A definite must own if you have a Vita or 3DS.

The winner, and oprainfall’s Game of the Year for 2012, is…

Game of the Year - Xenoblade Chronicles | oprainfall Awards
Glad they dressed up for the occasion.

Xenoblade Chronicles

Sure, you probably could have predicted this easier than a certain GameSpot writer could’ve predicted this past Nintendo Direct. But let me ask you this: Which game is by far the most epic game of the year? Which game has done more for its genre that any other game this year? Which game left you thinking long after the end credits about what it all meant? Which game left nearly everyone that played it with satisfaction, and didn’t need any DLC to complete it?

We’re not homers here. We didn’t just vote for this because it was a campaign game. We voted for Xenoblade because it was absolutely, without hesistation, 100%, mind-blowingly incredible. Case closed.


And with that, we close the oprainfall Awards. What’s to come for next year? Who knows? But I can guarantee that this next year will be incredible. Here’s to an amazing 2012 and an even better 2013.

Jeff Neuenschwander
Jeff has been a supporter of the website and campaign since the beginning. Joining in for E3 2012, he worked his way up the ranks quickly, making it to the Editing Manager post at the beginning of 2013. Jeff has a wide variety of tastes when it comes to gaming and pretty much likes anything that is quirky, although his favorite genres are Action, Platforming, and RPG. Outside of gaming, Jeff is a musician, being trained as a trombonist for Jazz and Classical music, and holds a degree in Sound Recording.