LOS ANGELES: Nominations for various categories of The Game Awards were announced on Monday, including six nominees for the prestigious Game of the Year award.
ASTRO BOT
Fans predicted that Sony’s Astro Bot would make the list as they did. The game is Sony’s latest attempt to compete with Nintendo’s Mario, creating a mascot who goes on an adventure through which he meets PlayStation stars of the past. The platform developed by Team Asobi has received critical acclaim, with a score of 94 on Metacritic.
FINAL FANTASY 7: REBIRTH
Next to Sony’s Goldenbot is Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Released earlier this year, Rebirth is the sequel to 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 remake. This latest game is the second in a trilogy that reimagines the original Final Fantasy 7, released in 1997. and changed the gaming landscape forever. The original is considered one of the most influential games of all time. Rebirth was released earlier this year and was praised for its massive open areas that made the world of FF7 feel more alive than ever. The 2020 Remake sequel also expands on the already incredible combat system, making it a strong contender for Game of the Year.
Black Legend: Wukong
Another action RPG on the list is Black Myth: Wukong, developed by Game Science. This game is one of the first major forays into tripe A gaming by a Chinese developer. It received an 81 score on Metacritic, delivering some of the most exciting combat of the year, with systems inspired by the Soulslike genre as well as the God of War series.
metaphor: REFANTAZIO
Metaphor: Refantazi is the second Japanese role-playing game on the list. Released in October, the game immediately received rave reviews, receiving a score of 94 on Metacritic. The game took developer Atlus’ near-perfect formula of turn-based combat adventure combined with social simulation to a new level. Instead of being set in high school like Atlus’s Persona series, Metaphor is set in a fantasy world. After the King of that world is murdered, the protagonist and his companions are sent on an adventure around the world to gain favor from the people in order to claim the throne, while at the same time hoping to save the Kingdom’s cursed prince.
ELDEN RING: SHADOW OF ERDTREE
The remaining two entries for Game of the Year are even more surprising. Elden Ring, which won Game of the Year in 2022, had DLC released this year. Many fans wondered whether a mere expansion would qualify for the award. The Game Awards made that clear with a statement released on their website earlier in the week.
“Expansion packs, new game seasons, DLC, remakes and remasters are eligible in all categories, if the jury deems the new creative and technical work worthy,” the statement reads. nominated”.
This announcement was met with mixed reactions from the gaming community, with some claiming that expansions that cannot be played without the base game do not qualify, while others believe that The expansion offers enough new content to be considered a completely new experience. However, this raises the question of why other highly regarded expansions, such as Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, which was praised for revitalizing a flawed experience, did not receive any recognition. any nominations last year.
BALATRO
The last game on the list is an indie title, Balatro. Poker-themed deck-building cheat game published by a single developer, LocalThunk. Players are challenged to overcome a score total of increasing difficulty. After progressing through a round, players can upgrade their deck with various options such as joker cards or tarot cards.
Speaking to Polygon, LocalThunk talked about how strange this nomination was for him. “The more time passes, the more I feel like I just won the game developer lottery. I’d like to think the game has appeal but I feel like that appeal pales in comparison to the other incredible contenders,” said developer Balatro.
Indie games have been nominated before, with BlueTwelve Studio’s Stray nominated in 2022 and Supergiant Hades nominated in 2020. However, this is the first time a game developed by an individual is awarded.