Google has announced the winners of the “Best of 2021” awards, which highlight last year’s best apps and games, determined by both the company and users. This year, Google is expanding its awards lineup to include apps and games on tablets, Wear OS, and Google TV. The winners included the meditation app Balance as the year’s app and Pokémon UNITE as the best game.
Also, Paramount+ and Garena Free Fire MAX won user choice awards.
The winners of 2020 were the relaxing sleep app Loóna and Genshin Impact, due to the pandemic period when stressed users turned to relaxing apps and games.
In addition to Balance, the personalized meditation app, other self-help style winners include Moonly, an app created to align your life with the lunar calendar; laughter therapy app, Laughscape; a hypnotherapy app for women, Clementine; better sleep app Sleep Cycle; mentoring community Mentor Spaces; habit tracker and planner Rabit.
Tools for reconnecting with nature, such as Clubhouse, where people chat about specific topics during the pandemic, Speechify, a tool for reducing screen time, or Blossom, showed how the pandemic has adapted to our lives.
Application categories
With the early days of the pandemic behind us, some of this year’s award winners are now apps that focus on personal growth and creativity rather than just relaxing or escaping. This seems to reflect what kind of a period we are going through as a society.
The category winners in the best practices of the year progress as follows;
Best app of the year
- Balance
The most useful apps of the year
- Empathy
- Mentor Spaces
- Speechify
The best daily essentials apps of the year
- Blossom
- PhotoRoom
- Rabit
The entertaining apps of the year
- Clubhouse
- Noobly
- Whatifi
Hidden gems of the year
- Laughscape
- Moonbeam
- Moonly
The best tablet apps of the year
- Concepts
- Canva
- Houzz
Self-improvement apps of the year
- Balance
- Clementine
- Uptime
The best Google TV apps of the year
- Disney+
- ESPN
- Tubi
Best Wear apps of the year
- Calm
- MyFitnessPal
- Sleep Cycle
Game categories
The winners of the game category of the year, chosen and voted by users and Google Play, are as follows;
Game of the year
- Pokémon UNITE
The best competitive games of the year
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- Marvel Future Revolution
- Pokémon UNITE
- Rogue Land
- Suspects: Mystery Mansion
Game changers of the year
- Inked
- JanKenUP!
- Knights of San Francisco
- Overboard!
- Tears of Themis
Best indie games of the year
- 7 Billion Humans
- Bird Alone
- Donut County
- My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge
- Puzzling Peaks EXE
Best Pick Up & Play games of the year
- Cats in Time
- Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!
- Disney POP TOWN
- Switchcraft
- Towers
The best tablet games of the year
- Chicken Police — Paint it RED!
- League of Legends: Wild Rift
- My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge
- Overboard!
- The Procession to Calvary
