Drinkbox Studios’ Severed takes home best mobile game at Canadian Video Game Awards

The 7th annual Canadian Video Game Awards were held on Tuesday night in Montreal, with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, developed by Eidos Montreal, taking home both game of the year and the best console game.

Severed, developed by Toronto-based Drinkbox Studios, won the award for best mobile title, with Cloudhead Games’ The Gallery — Episode 1: Call of The Starseed, taking home top honours in the best virtual reality category.

Unlike most years where Canadian-developed Ubisoft titles dominate the show, the French company only claimed one award, despite the fact several of its titles were nominated in multiple categories.

See the full list of winners at the 7th annual Canadian Video Game Awards below:

Game of the Year

• Dead by Daylight (Behaviour Digital)
• Deus Ex GO (Square Enix Montreal)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• Eagle Flight (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Far Cry Primal (Ubisoft Montreal)
• NHL 17 (EA Canada)
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios)
• Stories: The Path of Destinies (Spearhead Games)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal)

Best Console Game

• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• Far Cry Primal (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Jotun: Valhalla Edition (Thunder Lotus Games)
• NHL 17 (EA Canada)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal)

Best Mobile/Handheld Game

• Alone With You (Benjamin Rivers Inc.)
• Deus Ex GO (Square Enix Montreal)
• Leap of Fate (Clever-Plays)
• LOUD on Planet X (Pop Sandbox Inc.)
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios)

Best PC Game

• Dead by Daylight (Behaviour Digital)
• Death Road to Canada (Madgarden)
• Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander (Massive Damage, Inc.)
• Moon Hunters (Kitfox Games)
• Stories: The Path of Destinies (Spearhead Games)

Best Virtual Reality Game

• Eagle Flight (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (Steel Crate Games)
• Modbox (Alientrap)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)
• Waddle Home (Archiact Interactive Ltd.)

Best Animation

• Deus Ex GO (Square Enix Montreal)
• Far Cry Primal (Ubisoft Montreal)
• NHL 17 (EA Canada)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal)
• UFC 2 (EA Canada)

Best Art Direction

• Deus Ex GO (Square Enix Montreal)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• Eagle Flight (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Jotun: Valhalla Edition (Thunder Lotus Games)
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios)

Best Audio

• Deus Ex GO (Square Enix Montreal)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• Far Cry Primal (Ubisoft Montreal)
• NHL 17 (EA Canada)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)

Best Debut Game

• Friday Night Bullet Arena (Red Nexus Games Inc.)
• Jotun: Valhalla Edition (Thunder Lotus Games)
• Leap of Fate (Clever-Plays)
• Oz: Broken Kingdom (This Game Studio)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)

Best Educational Game

• Modbox (Alientrap)
• Porta-Pilots: Plunging Through Time (Hibernum)
• Scattergories (Magmic)

Best Game Design

• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• Eagle Flight (Ubisoft Montreal)
• NHL 17 (EA Canada)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Ultimate Chicken Horse (Clever Endeavour Games)

Best Game Innovation

• Deus Ex GO (Square Enix Montreal)
• Eagle Flight (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Modbox (Alientrap)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)
• Ultimate Chicken Horse (Clever Endeavour Games)

Best Indie Game

• Alone With You (Benjamin Rivers Inc.)
• Jotun: Valhalla Edition (Thunder Lotus Games)
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios)
• Stories: The Path of Destinies (Spearhead Games)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)

Best Musical Score

• Alone With You (Benjamin Rivers Inc.)
• Dead by Daylight (Behaviour Digital)
• Deus Ex GO (Square Enix Montreal)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios)

Best Narrative

• Alone With You (Benjamin Rivers Inc.)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• FIFA 17 (EA Canada)
• Moon Hunters (Kitfox Games)
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios)

Best New Character

• Dead by Daylight (Behaviour Digital) – The Trapper
• Jotun: Valhalla Edition (Thunder Lotus Games) – Thora
• Leap of Fate (Clever-Plays) – Mukai
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios) – Sasha
• Stories: The Path of Destinies (Spearhead Games) – Reynardo

Best Performance

• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• OK K.O! Lakewood Plaza Turbo (Double Stallion Games)
• Porta-Pilots: Plunging Through Time (Hibernum)
• Tappy Toes (rikkir inc)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)

Best Technology

• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• Eagle Flight (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Modbox (Alientrap)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal)

Fans’ Choice Award: Best Canadian-Made Game

• Alone With You (Benjamin Rivers Inc.)
• Dead by Daylight (Behaviour Digital)
• Deus Ex GO (Square Enix Montreal)
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos-Montreal)
• FIFA 17 (EA Canada)
• Jotun: Valhalla Edition (Thunder Lotus Games)
• NHL 17 (EA Canada)
• Severed (Drinkbox Studios)
• Stories: The Path of Destinies (Spearhead Games)
• The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (Cloudhead Games)

Fans’ Choice Award: Best International Game

• Battlefield 1 (EA DICE)
• Dark Souls 3 (FromSoftware)
• Doom (id Software)
• Inside (Playdead)
• Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics)
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (Firaxis Games)
• The Witness (Thekla, Inc)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog)
• XCOM 2 (Firaxis Games)

The awards include games developed in Canada over the past year. Games are judged by a body of industry experts across the country.

Full disclosure: I was a judge for two Canadian Video Game Awards categories this year — Game innovation and virtual reality.