The Game Awards Nominees Have Been Announced
Ahead of its live show on December 7th, the yearly Game Awards has published its list of games that it considers to be the best in each genre. This spans from best RPG to best debut indie and, of course, includes the sought-after Game of the Year award. This year has 31 different categories- just shy of last year’s 32 but, despite that, there are a lot of games to look at in the voting process- some that you may expect more than others. Considering how huge 2023 has been for gaming, this year’s awards look to be the best yet. To vote, make sure you sign in and access the website here to have your say.
Looking at the most represented games, we can see some obvious favorites. Baldur’s Gate 3 has a presence in almost every category you could imagine- with it being nominated for eight different awards- ranging from Best Community Support to Game of the Year. Resident Evil 4 also had a very strong showing- with three different nominations. What may be more of a surprise, however, is how much of an impact the recently released Alan Wake II has had on the awards. Tied with Baldur’s Gate 3, the game is up for eight different categories- which is impressive considering the more niche psychological horror elements in its story and setting. If nothing else, this will certainly put the game on more people’s radar and backlog.
As for the individual company with the most nominations, it may not come as a shock to you to find out that Nintendo has dominated this year- with 14 showing up in eight different categories. Of course, much of this comes from the latest Zelda and Mario entries- with the former receiving five and the latter receiving six different nominations- both being put up for Game of the Year. They even got a nomination for best adaptation with the massively successful Mario Bros. Movie, which was released earlier this year.
As for Xbox, the disappointing release of Starfield means it was only nominated for one award: best RPG. Considering that it’s been put up against amazing souls like Lies of P, indie gem Sea of Stars, the emotionally gripping Final Fantasy XVI, and, of course, Baldur’s Gate 3, it seems that Bethesda’s latest offering isn’t going to receive much love this awards season. That doesn’t mean that Microsoft has been left high and dry, however, as another Bethesda-published game has matched Zelda with five nominations of its own: Hi-Fi Rush. The incredible rhythm/platformer/action hybrid was shadow-dropped at the start of this year, and its impact clearly hasn’t waned since then. With rightful nominations like best art design and best score, hopefully, Tango Gameworks’ passion project will receive some love.
With such a stellar year for video games, it may be difficult to decide which of your favorites are amongst the best of the best. With Game of the Year including Spider-Man 2, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Alan Wake 2, Resident Evil 4, and Baldur’s Gate 3, players are spoiled for choice in what may be one of the tightest award seasons yet. Voting has already started and ends on December 7th at 2 a.m. GMT, just before the live show. Make sure you cast your vote to determine which game will make the 2023 gaming hall of fame. In case you missed it, you can access this through the following link: https://thegameawards.com/nominees/game-of-the-year
