With December basically at our doorstep, it’s time for the annual best of lists from various publications and award-giving bodies. Google Play has now announced their best apps and games for the year, choosing meditation app Balance as the Best App and multiplayer online battle arena game Pokémon Unite as the Best Game for 2021. For the first time they have also included awards for apps and games on other devices like tablets, Wear OS, and Google TV as well as some new categories.
If last year the theme was all about apps that helped us cope with the pandemic, this time around they were focused on helping people experience personal growth through creative and meditative ways. Balance was chosen as the App of the Year because of its personalized meditations. The developers said they made the app “with the individual in mind” and since no two people are the same, a personalized mental wellness program is needed. Pokémon Unite was chosen as the Best Game because of its “dynamic gameplay and cross-platform experience”.
For the Users’ Choice awards, which are obviously, chosen by the users, video streaming app Paramount+ and “battle royale” game Garena Free Fire MAX got the nods for app and game of the year respectively. For the apps awards, Canva, Concepts, and Houzz were chosen for Best for Tablets while for wearables, Calm, MyFitnessPal, and Sleep Cycle were chosen. The best Google TV apps chosen were Disney+, ESPN, and Tubi. For games, there were five Best for Tablets games:
– Chicken Police — Paint it RED!
– League of Legends: Wild Rift
– My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge
– Overboard!
– The Procession to Calvary
Winning awards like these are not just good for the apps’ names but more importantly, for their visibility. Since there are thousands of apps on the Google Play Store, it is not easy to get discovered. So having a category like Best Hidden Gems can be good for the winners like Laughscape, Moonbeam, and Moonly. For games, the Best Indies games will definitely benefit from being put on the spotlight, like the winners
– 7 Billion Humans
– Bird Alone
– Donut County
– My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge
– Puzzling Peaks EXE
You can check out Google Play’s Best of 2021 winners in app categories like Best Apps for Good, Best Everyday Essentials, Best for Fun, and Best for Personal Growth. For games, there are categories like Best Competitive, Best Game Changers, and Best Pick Up & Play.
