By Alec Meer on July 18th, 2012 at 10:00 am.

Rezzed the other week was lovely, wasn’t it? I know you think so, because I’ve seen the audience exit polls and almost everyone was happy. And the tiny few who weren’t are habitual miseries who will soon slump into an endless coma of gloom anyway, so let’s not worry about them.
Who cares about people, though? Let’s talk games. RPS has a Game Of The Show, and so does Rezzed’s audience. They are not one and the same, but you can find out what both were below.
In fact, let’s do the audience’s top 10 most favouritest games of Rezzed, according to a survey of attendees. In reverse order, because that’s the most confusing:
10. Far Cry 3
9. ShootMania
8. Strike Suit Zero
7. Gunpoint
6. Hotline Miami
5. Day Z
4. Aliens: Colonial Marines
3. Natural Selection 2
2. Prison Architect
1. Borderlands 2
So a big well done and Official Audience Game Of The Show medal to Gearbox for Borderlands 2, but a mighty proud honourable mention to Introversion’s Prison Architect for trumping so many of the big boys.
As for our personal game of the show, it turned out to be pretty clear cut. A game we hadn’t so much as heard of until days before it turned up in playable form at Rezzed, from a developer who previously had seemed to have the attention span of a highly creative gnat and thus unlikely to release something of such great substance.
It’s Jonatan ‘Cactus’ Soderstrom, teaming up with Dennis Wedin as Dennaton to make the incredible, brutal, incredibly brutal Hotline Miami. The unofficial videogame adaptation of Drive, this steely-eyed, hyper-speed, entirely unforgiving, GTA-as-puzzle/Hitman-as-suicidal-psychopath work of bloody art stood out a mile even at a show already full of wonders. Congratulations Dennaton, and thank you. You win this piece of truly appalling Photoshoppery to do with as you please. Probably seek to delete from the internet, I imagine.

I’m going to try to tell you why it impressed us so much very soon. I am genuinely concerned there is no way way to capture its masochistic majesty in words alone, but I shall try.




18/07/2012 at 10:11 lordcooper says:
It’s good to see Prison Architect so high up (low down?) in that list. Viva la Incarceration!
18/07/2012 at 10:12 Lewie Procter says:
HOTLINE MIAMI.
18/07/2012 at 11:38 Godwhacker says:
Has this decision been made simply because the picture next to your name is larger than anyone else’s?
18/07/2012 at 12:02 Meat Circus says:
Do not taunt the megaprocter.
18/07/2012 at 14:59 Lord Custard Smingleigh says:
I tried to think of something harmless… Something that could never, ever, possibly destroy us…
18/07/2012 at 16:21 The Random One says:
HOT… HOTFACE WARIAMI?
I think I don’t understand this meme any more
18/07/2012 at 10:14 JohnArr says:
Hotline Miami really was great, especially for just appearing out of the blue. It also generated an amazing atmosphere around the station, there was always an audience cheering and groaning along with the player.
18/07/2012 at 10:18 Tracer-Bullet says:
Having Borderlands 2 only playable with Xbox controllers at a PC game event was enormously annoying though. I drop about 50 IQ points when trying to play any FPS without mouse and keyboard so ended up mostly just watching other people play what was admittedly an amazing looking game. I’m still super excited for it but it definitely felt like a bit of a cop out.
Also, the fact that McPixel isn’t in the top 10 is an outcry. An outcry I say! Every time I wandered by there was someone different laughing manically at the absurdity on screen.
18/07/2012 at 12:13 Mouse says:
I agree 100% with the xbox controller issue. When I asked for a keyboard and mouse to play with, I was laughed at – and that hurt my feelings.
18/07/2012 at 15:40 TheAngryMongoose says:
True about McPixel. Best part of the show was the group effort desperately trying to click the things into the things in such a way that the things didn’t explode while a cheering and laughing audience slowly massed. Then I stepped up and… failed every single time >.>
18/07/2012 at 10:29 Kdansky says:
You have chosen… wisely.
18/07/2012 at 11:03 Toxic Tiger says:
I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed where the cup was from!
18/07/2012 at 11:39 AmateurScience says:
That’s the cup of a carpenter…or so I hear.
18/07/2012 at 14:53 Skabooga says:
We should all be fine as long as Dennaton and Cactus don’t try and take it past the seal.
18/07/2012 at 10:34 Crimsoneer says:
Seeing Borderlands 2 had half the show floor, this isn’t entirely surprising! Nice to see NS2 and Prison Architect being recognised.
18/07/2012 at 11:57 Meat Circus says:
Slightly disappointed in the attendee top 10. Borderlands 2 at #1, eh? I mean, it was AAA fun, but nothing super-special. And it showed a 360 HUD. At a PC game show. I choose to believe we were corrupted by all the Eurogamer attendees.
My faves:
5. Xenonauts
4. Antechamber
3. Gunpoint
2. Prison Architect
1. Hotline Miami
THE HIVE MIND CHOSE CORRECTLY.
Given careful marketing, suspect Hotline Miami will be huge. Next great Indie breakout hit.
18/07/2012 at 16:39 The Random One says:
I’d say its bizarre aesthetic and apparent metacommentary will limit its success to the indie megafans, but I’d probably have said the same about The Binding of Isaac before it was released.
18/07/2012 at 10:38 MadMatty says:
Hotline Miami it is!
I have to say some of the crowd favourites seemed a bit stale, tho im ok with Borderlands.
I´d like to see some more Originators and Innovators.
18/07/2012 at 10:40 Petethegoat says:
I’m glad to see NS2 and Prison Architect so high up, and I’m also glad that RPS picked the correct best game of the show.
18/07/2012 at 10:46 RogB says:
The lack of curvature on the text…. the LENS FLARE… AAAAAAGGGHHHHH
Only comic sans could have made this any more offensive to the eyes
18/07/2012 at 14:48 deadly.by.design says:
You too, eh? My designer side is in agreement.
My cheesy side is not. :)
18/07/2012 at 10:53 grundus says:
Upon first glance the lady and the dog in the header photo merged together into some sort of weird dog version of a Centaur or something. Come to think of it I believe they’re known as Mogs, half man half dog, they’re their own best friend or so I hear.
18/07/2012 at 11:40 AmateurScience says:
Not in here mister, this is a mercedes.
18/07/2012 at 13:50 grundus says:
You went over my helmet?
18/07/2012 at 10:53 MadJax says:
Thank god for that, Prison Architect getting nice and high on the list. Really thought DayZ was gonna grab it seeing as its stand was swarming all weekend (mostly pre-pubescent teens admittedly..)
18/07/2012 at 11:00 Jimbo says:
Grand Theft Kingpin? Yes please.
18/07/2012 at 11:16 Didero says:
Prison Architect!
Really looking forward to that game.
18/07/2012 at 11:33 FlammableD says:
I’m glad both that Borderlands 2 was high, along with Natural Selection, and that Far Cry 3 nudged it’s way on the bottom. That demo was exactly the kind of batshit insane I like, Darkness II/Shadows of the Damned vibes.
18/07/2012 at 11:58 mondomau says:
Not surprising, at least two people from our group came along *purely* to have a go on borderlands. I didn’t manage to get a go on Hotline Miami, since it was ‘pretty’ much occupied all day. Colonial marines was awesome and my personal second pick.
18/07/2012 at 12:15 BooleanBob says:
Goodness, that trailer certainly sold me on Hotline Miami.
18/07/2012 at 12:33 Lambchops says:
Gooness, that trailer certainly didn’t sell me on Hotline Miami.
I’m sure it’ll be grand though.
18/07/2012 at 14:03 CmdrCrunchy says:
Wow, Antichamber didn’t even make it into the top ten.
Very surprised about this, not that the other games weren’t great, I felt there was a great showing on the floor all round, but Antichamber just blew me away, was my favourite thing at the show without a doubt.
Then again, I guess it takes a special kind of person (masochist?) to love the mind bendy brain breaky wtfamisupposed to do here puzzly stuff.
18/07/2012 at 14:05 Unaco says:
A manshoot sequel, with release day DLC announced. Great choice people… slowclap
18/07/2012 at 16:21 sinister agent says:
PC audience favours cynical grindmobile. Shock.
18/07/2012 at 14:58 aliksy says:
Does prison architect depress anyone else because of politics? I don’t know much about the game, so maybe it’s really making a statement about how fucked up prisons are.
18/07/2012 at 15:29 SeriousGenius says:
Random aside here: That is a picture of a deerhound! Seems like a random dog breed to use!
18/07/2012 at 16:30 The Random One says:
Good call, RPS. My thought looking at that list was that Hotline Miami should be way higher, so it’s good to see you took it upon yourselves to correct that injustice. It’s my most expected game of 2012.
Too bad you decided to make their trophy out of a Google search for ‘clearly haunted and cursed artifacts’.
I also find the mix of AAA and independent titles in the list to be heartwarming.
18/07/2012 at 19:25 niuqqdd says:
http://is.gd/PFQQs4