Did The Game Awards Get It Right With Game of the Year Nominees?

The Game Awards has announced its nominations for its various awards, but all eyes will be on the Game of the Year.

This year, Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom all garnered this year’s nominations.

Each game earned a spot on this list, but celebration isn’t what we do around here. Did The Game Awards get it right with its nominations for Game of the Year?

This year was stacked when it comes to games. So many could make this list, so narrowing it down to six games can be difficult.

If we go off of Metacritic scores, there are some games that have similar scores to some of the nominations. These include Street Fighter 6, Diablo IV, Sea of Stars, and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.

Many, however, don’t put a lot of stock in Metacritic and its ranking system, which is fair. There are plenty of other games that their respective fanbases may clamor for to make the list.

These games include Starfield, Final Fantasy XVI, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, Lies of P, Octopath Traveler II, and Hogwarts Legacy. Hogwarts Legacy is a tricky one given the controversy surrounding Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling so it’s understandable why The Game Awards may not want to invite that PR storm given how the game didn’t get a single nomination.

Personally, I think the nominations are solid. I do think you could make strong arguments for and against this list with either being valid. That’s the kind of year 2023 was in terms of releases.

I also think there is an argument to be made about whether remakes should make the list and I could go either way on it.

That said, a remake is different than a remaster as the name implies making a whole new game based on an original while a remaster implies touching up a previous game. This could explain why Metroid Prime Remastered didn’t make the cut.

At the end of the day, award shows don’t determine what makes a good game and if your personal game of the year isn’t on that list, that’s OK. I do think The Game Awards has tried to provide some sort of recognition for gaming while bringing attention to some of the best from the past year.

That alone makes these lists fun because they allow us all to come together and talk about the year that was in gaming.

What do you think? Did The Game Awards get it right with its Game of the Year nominations? Which game not on the list would you have liked to see get nominated? Who do you think wins it all? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.

Featured Image: Epic Games

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One thought on “Boss Rush Banter: Did The Game Awards Get It Right With Game of the Year Nominees?”

My rules for any Best Game/Movie/Book of the Year Award shortlist is that the nominees must either be a technical achievement or move the medium forward. Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Baldur’s Gate 3 are basically the poster children for each category, respectively. I’m not certain about Alan Wake 2’s place on the list, given how many of its stand-out aspects were also present in Control, but I’m willing to entertain it. Tears of the Kingdom’s construction is meaningful and will be much-copied, but I think the surrounding game is too similar to Breath of the Wild to belong on a Best of the Year shortlist. Even if someone considers them excellent, I don’t think the Resident Evil 4 remake or Sony’s Spider-Man 2 belong here.

I’m not opposed to remakes. I think Night Dive’s System Shock remake may be the actual objective game of the year (neck and neck with Baldur’s Gate 3). Pentiment should have been game of the year either last year or this year. It’s startling Amnesia: The Bunker wasn’t nominated.

It’s a far better than average list for the Game Awards.

James Bojaciuk says:

November 14, 2023 at 8:48 pm

My rules for any Best Game/Movie/Book of the Year Award shortlist is that the nominees must either be a technical achievement or move the medium forward. Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Baldur’s Gate 3 are basically the poster children for each category, respectively. I’m not certain about Alan Wake 2’s place on the list, given how many of its stand-out aspects were also present in Control, but I’m willing to entertain it. Tears of the Kingdom’s construction is meaningful and will be much-copied, but I think the surrounding game is too similar to Breath of the Wild to belong on a Best of the Year shortlist. Even if someone considers them excellent, I don’t think the Resident Evil 4 remake or Sony’s Spider-Man 2 belong here.

I’m not opposed to remakes. I think Night Dive’s System Shock remake may be the actual objective game of the year (neck and neck with Baldur’s Gate 3). Pentiment should have been game of the year either last year or this year. It’s startling Amnesia: The Bunker wasn’t nominated.

It’s a far better than average list for the Game Awards.

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