What is a “new idea?” All ideas stem from other ideas, evolutions of evolutions of thought and processes. Our current games, no matter how original they may seem, all come from the games that came before. And yet, somehow developers still manage to come up with new things that shock us, delight us, and surprise us. They introduce elements into games that are unexpected or twists on tired old ideas. We left the definition of this category pretty broad this year and allowed the staff to determine for themselves what constituted a “new idea.” Here are the PlayStation LifeStyle nominations for Best New Idea in 2019.
- All of Death Stranding
- Concrete Genie’s painting
- Control’s New Weird
- Crystar’s crying
- Team Sonic Racing’s team racing
Best New Idea in 2019 Winner
Concrete Genie’s Painting
Concrete Genie is something special, this being its third win already in our Game of the Year awards. It’s a magical adventure that’s made more incredible by watching your paintings on the walls of a dilapidated seaside town come to life and become your friends. While this year featured plenty of great new ideas in games, the absolute heart of Concrete Genie’s creative painting mechanic is what struck us the most. It’s a game unlike any other. Its central mechanic takes place on a two-dimensional surface while part of a larger 3D platforming adventure. It’s a metaphor, both figuratively and quite literally for the creative escapes that we have. Concrete Genie’s painting also extends into its VR mode, something well-worth checking out if you’ve got a headset for yourself.
Concrete Genie also won for Best Family Game and Best Art Style.
Reader’s Choice Winner
All of Death Stranding
PSLS readers were enraptured with what Death Stranding did, an unusual new take on some ideas that one wouldn’t traditionally think of as a great game. There’s a certain kind of zen to playing Death Stranding, its haunting open-world evoking a sense of threatening menace and heightened loneliness. As bizarre as Death Stranding was though, people have been loving it, something different from the usual gaming ideas that we see time and again. Even if you didn’t necessarily like Death Stranding, you have to appreciate it for how it opted to try something new.
Don’t miss our full lineup of nominees for the PlayStation LifeStyle Game of the Year awards. We’ll be revealing more winners all throughout the week, leading up to the Game of the Year on Friday December 20.
