Today is Scanline Media’s 11th birthday! Eleven years ago, Jen and I left the previous site we were writing for to forge out on our own. We went from articles only, to adding podcasts, videos, streams, and bringing a bunch more wonderful and talented people onboard. On Friday, we’ll be posting a recap of the last year of our site, and our thoughts on that time. Eleven years isn’t ten years, though, so I won’t go on too much- just a normal anniversary.
The real reason I’m here is because at long last, the Gimmick Awards 2023 are OVER! We even snuck in a guest list right before the end (thank you so much Dauragon!) as a treat. There are a bunch of posts… but boy, that’s not an ideal way to search through the awards, is it? So let’s go ahead and round up all of the Gimmick Awards in one post, for easier viewing and listening. We’ll back back Friday with a bigger post for Scanline’s 2023 in review.
End of Year Lists
Jennifer’s Top 5 Games of the Year
After a particularly trying year, Jen has a shorter list than usual, but a top 5 instead of top 10 allows for all killer, no filler.
Six takes a different approach this year, offering a top 6 games of 2023, top 3 anime, and then 3 games from years past that continued to hit in 2023.
Kyrie’s Things That Made 2023 Better Awards
Rather than a Top format, Kyrie wanted to focus on various spots of light in 2023’s media that helped them push through a difficult year.
Friend of the site Dauragon’s passion for music leads to a top 20 of releases spanning genres and borders (plus an honorable mention for good measure), and a positivity that I can but envy.
Award Categories
Community Effort
Podcast and Winners
The big publishers were worse than ever in 2023, and the gaming community wasn’t much better. But there were plenty of fan projects worth celebrating!
Nominees
Steam Deck users go above & beyond
Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 translation
Kurohyou translations
Palette Swap
The Off Season 2 – LEGALIZE MUTE CITY
Fan Wikis telling Fandom to shove it
PPSSPP making games better than the PSP
Boukenger perfectly preserved
Giant Bomb Premium: Now on Internet Archive
Pokeclicker
CoH Homecoming
Dustloop Site Overhaul
Best Surprise
Podcast and Winners
Sometimes a work comes from out of nowhere, or sometimes you expect it to suck and it’s great. Surprises are the fuel that gets you through a rough year.
Nominees
Street Fighter 6
The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog
Call of the Night
Hi-Fi Rush
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Disgaea 7
F1 23
Lies Of P
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Yggdra Union
Wild Hearts
Oshi no Ko
Suika Game
Worst Trend
Podcast and Winners
The two industries we primarily cover, anime and games, both have some terrible business practices. Even by those standards, 2023 was a dark year.
Nominees
Everybody getting fired
AI art/voices sneaking into video games
Price increases across the board
Gaming events dropping mask reqs
So Many Acquisitions
Embracer Group
Anime production pipeline on fire
Can the games industry name one (1) woman
Live service model cannibalizes franchises
Games Getting (Too) Big (for reasonable SSDs)
Games journalism being gutted
Costume Prices Ballooning
Full-priced games mimicking F2P business models
Triple A Budget Suicide
Best Moment
Podcast and Winners
A work is more than the sum of its parts, but sometimes it’s that one part that you are able to show to others to encapsulate what makes it so special.
Nominees
“We Sing” (Alan Wake II)
The volume slider/”Always remember me” (Paranormasight)
Battle an Unruly Princess (Void Stranger)
Drive Rush Countering (Street Fighter 6)
AngryBird Winning EVO (Street Fighter 6)
Drunk History (Like a Dragon: Ishin)
Yotan Yo (the movie) (Alan Wake II)
The Dam, Take 2 (Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon)
Being the Problem (STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator)
Aranea Drops In (Final Fantasy XV)
Sailing the Coast (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)
Proper Shield Surfing (Modded Breath of the Wild)
First Sortie (Gunbuster)
The Final Campsite (Final Fantasy XV)
Aqua Decides to Try (Oshi no Ko)
Karaoke Success (Disco Elysium)
Finding the Bullet (Disco Elysium)
Exploring the Depths (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)
Best Action Game Toolkit
Podcast and Winners
Moveset, movelist, toolkit, playstyle, call it what you will: the way these characters felt to play was exceptional.
Nominees
Peppino (Pizza Tower)
Chai (Hi-Fi Rush)
Kai (Gravity Circuit)
Spark (Spark the Electric Jester 3)
Blaster Stance (Star Wars: Jedi Survivor)
Wild Dancer (Like a Dragon: Ishin)
Sybil (Pseudoregalia)
Xeku Zwei (Gundam Battle Operation 2)
GM [Gatherroad Type] (Gundam Battle Operation 2)
Alex [CA] (Gundam Battle Operation 2)
Sisquiede (Gundam Battle Operation 2)
MSN-04FF Sazabi (Gundam Battle Operation 2)
Woundwort (Gundam Battle Operation 2)
Mega Mewtwo X (Pokemon Unite)
Mario Mario (Mario Wonder)
Best New Character
Podcast and Winners
What do people care about? Other people. And these fictional people fascinated us in 2023.
Nominees
Xiao (Library of Ruina)
Luke (Street Fighter 6)
Halara Nightmare (Rain Code)
Temenos Mistral (Octopath Traveler 2)
Ayre (Armored Core 6)
V.IV Rusty (Armored Core 6)
Karlach (Baldur’s Gate 3)
James Savage (El Paso, Elsewhere)
Noriko Takaya (Gunbuster)
Jung Freud (Gunbuster)
Jeramie Brasieri (Ohsama Sentai KingOhger)
Rita Kaniska (Ohsama Sentai KingOhger)
Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
Saga Anderson (Alan Wake II)
The Koskela Brothers (Alan Wake II)
Alex Casey (Alan Wake II)
Askeladd (Vinland Saga)
Saber (Fate/Samurai Remnant)
Peche Montagne (Mobile Suit Gundam UC Engage)
Female Fanatic Zealot (Warhammer 40,000: Darktide)
Best Fighting Game Toolkit
Podcast and Winners
Fighting games are all about individual movesets, and the creativity and polish that goes into building them can turn out something really special.
Nominees
Suisei Hoshimachi (Idol Showdown)
Juri (Street Fighter 6)
Jamie (Street Fighter 6)
Marisa (Street Fighter 6)
Ryu (Street Fighter 6)
Brawler (DNF Duel)
Spectre (DNF Duel)
Hinako Shijo (KoF XV)
Anila (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising)
Siegfried (Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising)
Asuka R# (Guilty Gear Strive)
Bedman? (Guilty Gear Strive)
Johnny (Guilty Gear Strive)
Kimberly (Street Fighter 6)
Best Instrument Song
Podcast and Winners
You don’t need a singer to make wonderful music. I know, this is a claim you’ve never seen anyone make before.
Nominees
H.T. (Trigun)
It’s Pizza Time! (Pizza Tower)
Theme of Kai (Gravity Circuit)
Mystery Labyrinth (Master Detective Archives: Rain Code)
The Storyteller (Paranormasight)
Stand Your Ground (Final Fantasy XV)
Hammerhead Theme (Final Fantasy XV)
And My Name’s Booster (Super Mario RPG)
Fight Against Culex (Super Mario RPG)
Yet Another Winter Again (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off)
God Only Knows (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off)
Rocky Planet Descent (Kerbal Space Program 2)
Jool Atmosphere (Kerbal Space Program 2)
Best Vocal Song
Podcast and Winners
Sometimes you do have a singer though, and the human voice can make some truly incredible sounds.
Nominees
Iron Lotus (Library of Ruina)
Anger’s Remorse (Alan Wake II)
Yoton Yo (Alan Wake II)
Dark Ocean Summoning (Alan Wake II)
This Road (Alan Wake II)
Herald of Darkness (Alan Wake II)
Togenkyo Alien (Gintama)
Mukanjyo (Vinland Saga)
Paradox (Vinland Saga)
Idol (Oshi no Ko)
Mephisto (Oshi no Ko)
You Won’t See Me Coming (Gankutsuou)
Active Heart (Gunbuster)
Toppo wo nerae! ~FLY HIGH~ (Gunbuster)
Zenryoku King (Ohsama Sentai KingOhger)
Try and Fight! (Ohsama Sentai KingOhger)
The Circle [Bedman? Theme] (Guilty Gear Strive)
Just Lean [Johnny Theme] (Guilty Gear Strive)
RAIN CODE (Master Detective Archives: Rain Code)
I Will Remember You (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off)
bloom (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off)
Best Anime or Manga
Podcast and Winners
For as game-brained as we are, what we cover the most are anime and manga. Who will take the crown this year?
Nominees
Gunbuster
Tenchi Universe
Trigun
Record of Lodoss War
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (manga)
Teppu
Vinland Saga
Oshi no Ko
Space Adventure Cobra
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Pluto
Hikaru no Go
Our original love, that we built the site around. The most prestigious award. Who can call themselves Scanline Media’s 2023 Game of the Year?
Nominees
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Street Fighter 6
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
Pizza Tower
Lunacid
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code
Wildfrost
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
The Making of Karateka
El Paso, Elsewhere
Alan Wake II
Void Stranger
Pokemon Unite
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Gravity Circuit
