Sandra Saad is the winner of this year's Golden Joystick for Best Performer.
The actor, who played Kamala Khan in this year's Marvel's Avengers, was presented the award by her co-stars, and the showcase's hosts, Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham, in a touching segment.
As a critic's choice award, this is one of the few Golden Joystick Awards that isn't voted for by the public. It was never going to be an easy choice in a year of stand-out performances, but in an adventure full of stars such as Nolan North, Troy Baker, Bailey, and Willingham, Saad stood out, giving Kamala Khan a delightful combination of enthusiasm, courage, and wit which helped make Marvel's Avengers campaign a memorable one.
In our Marvel's Avengers review, Alyssa Mercante argues that Khan and Saad's winning performance are at the heart of what the game does well. She writes: "If Marvel's Avengers is an Iron Man suit, Kamala Khan is its arc reactor, propelling the story forward and providing necessary emotional torque. She should have been featured in the marketing materials far more than she was, because she really is *the* Avenger in this game. Her story and the simultaneous story of the Avengers we know and love overcoming failure and crippling self-doubt in order to reassemble is a rock-solid one."
Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long for our next adventure with Kamala, as a new piece of Avengers DLC is coming soon, introducing Kate Bishop as a new playable character in the game.
Be sure to check out the rest of the award show by visiting our how to watch the Golden Joystick Awards page.
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Ben Tyrer is a freelance games journalist with over ten years experience of writing about games. After graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in multimedia journalism he's worked for Official PlayStation Magazine as a staff writer and games editor, as well as 12DOVE (hey, that's this website!) as a news editor. He's also contributed to Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, PC Games N, and more. His game of the year - no matter the year - is Rocket League.