Awards by Matt S.
It is safe to say that 2014 has been a good year for games. It’s not just that we’ve seen spectacular blockbusters released almost from the start of the year, across all game consoles; 2014 has been a spectacular year for game creativity as we’ve seen indies and arthouse titles find real success courtesy of download platforms.
Our awards this year have been the most popular that we’ve ever seen on the site, with well over 1,000 people voting for their favourite games across 16 categories. Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be listing the two highly commendeds (second and third place) and winner of each category, one per day.
Today’s award is for the best children’s game of 2014.
SteamWorld Dig is a simple, but incredibly addictive game which, as the name suggests, is all about digging down, ever deeper, in search of rare materials and hidden treasure. It’s a great game for the young ones to play because, as part Mr. Driller, it requires some light puzzle solving to get around the levels that won’t frustrate the kids too much, and the whole experience is bloodless and charming. They’ll love it too for its simple, colourful charm and the upgrades that come on thick and fast, giving them a constant sense of progression.
.jpg "SteamWorld Dig children's Game of the Year")
It wouldn’t be a “Best Children’s Game” list without some kind of representation from Nintendo. Ever the family friendly entertainment provider, Mario Kart 8 is the kind of game that a family can get together around and have a load of fun and laughs. Tracks are designed to suit people of all ages, and coming last isn’t such a problem in this game because the items that you’ll earn back there are, if anything, more fun. Pure fun for the whole family.
Winner
Minecraft’s been around for an age now, but it keeps getting released on new platforms, which qualifies it for the DDNet awards, and it really is the perfect game for children. Not only is it good fun, but it teaches children creativity and problem solving in the process. Just as LEGO blocks have been the best toys that parents could give kids for generations for their ability to stimulate the imagination while also entertaining them, so too is Minecraft the best game a parent could get a child playing.
– Matt S.
Editor-in-Chief
Find me on Twitter: @digitallydownld
