The Game Awards 2024

EoinMcLovin

Game of The Year
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Game Direction
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Narrative
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantanzio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Best Art Direction
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)

Best Score and Music
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)

Best Audio Design
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)

Best Performance
Briana White, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Hannah Telle, Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Humberly González, Star Wars Outlaws
Luke Roberts, Silent Hill 2
Melina Juergens, Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2

Innovation in Accessibility
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare/EA)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)

Games for Impact
Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)
Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)

Best Ongoing Game
Destiny 2 (Bungie/SIE)
Diablo IV (Blizzard/Xbox)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)

Best Community Support
Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian)
Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
No Man's Sky (Hello Games)

Best Independent Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Debut Indie Game
Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Mobile Game
AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)

Best VR/AR Game
Arizona Sunshine Remake (Vertigo Games)
Asgard's Wrath 2 (Sanzaru Games/Oculus Studios)
Batman: Arkham Shadow (Camouflaj/Oculus Studios)
Metal: Hellsinger VR (Lab 42/The Outsiders/Funcom)
Metro Awakening (Vertigo Games)

Best Action Game
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE)
Stellar Blade (Shift Up/SIE)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)

Best Action/Adventure Game
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Team/Konami)
Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)

Best RPG
Dragon's Dogma 2 (Capcom)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Fighting Game
Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO (Spike Chunsoft/Bandai Namco)
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Arc System Works/Cygames)
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics (Capcom)
MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)

Best Family Game
ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Sim/Strategy Game
Age of Mythology: Retold (World's Edge/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)
Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)

Best Sports/Racing Game
F1 24 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
EA Sports FC 25 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports)
NBA 2K25 (Visual Concepts/2K)
Top Spin 2K25 (Hangar 13/2K)
WWE 2K24 (Visual Concepts/2K)

Best Multiplayer Game
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Treyarch/Raven/Activision/Xbox)
Helldivers 2 (Arrow Game Studios/SIE)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Saber Interactive/Focus Entertainment)

Best Adaptation
Arcane (Riot/Fortiche/Netflix)
Fallout (Bethesda/Kilter Films/Amazon MGM Studios)
Knuckles (Sega/Paramount)
Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Sega/Amazon MGM Studios)
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Crystal Dynamics/Legendary/Netflix)

Most Anticipated Game
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/SIE)
Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/SIE)
Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Retro Studios/Nintendo)
Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

Content Creator of the Year
CaseOh
IlloJuan
Techno Gamerz
TypicalGamer
Usada Pekora

Best Esports Game
Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
DOTA 2 (Valve)
League of Legends (Riot Games)
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
Valorant (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete
33 – Neta Shapira
Aleksib – Aleksi Virolainen
Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon
Faker – Lee Sang-hyeok
ZyWoO – Mathieu Herbaut
ZmjjKk – Zheng Yongkang

Best Esports Team
Bilibili Gaming (League of Legends)
Gen.G (League of Legends)
NAVI (Counter-Strike)
T1 (League of Legends)
Team Liquid (DOTA 2)

https://www.thegameawards.com/

Retr0gamer

I wish these 'awards' didn't have so much mind share online as they mean absolutely nothing. It's a popularity contest so the best game won't win, the best game most journalists have played will win. This year at least a genuine game of the year contender will run away with it, or at least should. The snubbing of most indie games really shows how shallow it is, I mean Wu Kong over UFO 50 or other better Indies?

J. Marston

Nice to see Balatro got a nomination for GOTY. The time I've spent on the toilet has increased to dangerous levels because of that game.

johnny_ultimate

And [ad break] the [ad break] winner [ad break] is…

[cuts to ad while winners are giving their speech]

Spooch

Very weird for a DLC that's not even a standalone expansion to be nominated as GOTY.

Geoff Keighley rubs me the wrong way. There's something off about him I can't quite put my finger on

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122854598#Comment_122854598

The man is the epitome of blandness. He spends virtually his entire public life presenting video game ads at overproduced corporate showcases and having no interesting opinions about anything because he’s so devoted to securing more ads. Very easy to dislike him.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122854598#Comment_122854598

In fairness, it's a DLC that's probably longer than a lot of other games that get nominated. It's substantial enough to warrant it imo.

Spooch

You're probably right, but at the end of the day it's not a "game" as such. It's by very definition an extension of the base game, regardless of how big the content is.

I'm just a bit miffed that so many good games this year could have done with the spotlight. Elden Ring had its time. It's fantastic sure, but it's a shame another game had to miss out.

CastorTroy

Seems this year remakes and remasters were also eligible alongside DLC and expansions.

So in theory, the GotY contenders could've been Last of Us Part 2, Luigi's Mansion 2, Horizon Zero Dawn, Until Dawn, Dead Rising and Braid as the indie contender.

But out of all the games nominated in all the categories, I've only played Animal Well. So safe to say I won't be voting for any in the Boards awards. 😀

I could nearly vote in the Adaptation category though since I've seen all but Like a Dragon.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122854669#Comment_122854669

And frustrating because before he decided to run his videogame advert show he was one of the better videogame journalists that wrote some really great long form essays.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122855321#Comment_122855321

He still occasionally shows up with his ‘final hours’ documentaries which seem well made and researched, but alas he also seems to be trying to fill the yearly calendar with as many ad-fests as possible

nix

ads? are they not reveals mostly? I've watched them for the last few years and what i can recall of them is its cringe awards ceremonies weaved around first look/reveal trailers for new games or a new trailer for an upcoming already revealed game. I hate traditional ads myself and would never sit through them so i dont know what you guys are talking about 😄

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122855874#Comment_122855874

The ads are less "commercial break" and more "this company paid us money to integrate their sh*t into the event". So while there might be a few movie/tv trailer spots, a good bit of it will be presenters or guests who are there to promote things.

Like The Rock with his "Enjoy your gaming!" a few years ago at Summer Games Fest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8w7nfpswBA

johnny_ultimate

Also: the ‘reveals’ and trailers are very much ads that companies are paying Keighley an awful lot of money to show :)

It’s a marketing reel with a half-assed awards show tacked on.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122855088#Comment_122855088

Yeah I would have loved it if Animal Well had gotten a GOTY nomination, but ultimately I think "Game of the Year" is more about what got the most people talking about it, enthused about it, took over the gaming landscape for a few weeks, showcased excellent design and craft etc. In that regard I do think its fair that (substantial) DLCs and remakes can and should be in the discussion for GOTY.

Retr0gamer

Animal Well deserves to be there more than FFVII and Wu Kong. Both decent games but hardly goty material.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122856239#Comment_122856239

BM Wukong definitely feels like the outlier. I know it had a lot of buzz on release, but it was only generally well-received and felt like a bit of a flash in the pan, and a lot of that felt like it was down to how heavily it was being pushed in terms of marketing rather than actual love for the game.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122856270#Comment_122856270

If I was being cynical I'd say it's being included to appeal to the Chinese audience and get them interested in the event.

SomeSayKos

I had to google 'Metaphor ReFantazio' as I had not heard of it, and I just copped it's directed by Katsura Hashino?!

I loved Persona 5, so I'm tempted to give it a go, but also kinda wary of the time commitment.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862127#Comment_122862127

Yes, it’s basically Persona 6, in almost every sense other than setting.

But yes, do put time aside: I’m 30 hours in and a lot more to go.

Also: the demo is very expansive and the data carries over, so would certainly recommend giving it a go.

Cordell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122856270#Comment_122856270

Actually the outlier is that feking poker-with-a-twist card game, I know it's addictive (I mean, it is gambling) but that doesn't make it GoTY material. There, rant over. Black Myth: Wukong is a great game, better than a lot of AAA slop we got this year, hugely popular and 100% deserving the nomination.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122869229#Comment_122869229

Balatro is absolutely GOTY material. One of the most ingeniously designed video games I've played in a minute. Much more to love rather than it just being addictive. Of the four games I've played on the GOTY list, it'd be my winner.

I wouldn't trust any GOTY 2024 list that only contains one small-scale indie game, as it's been a year of endlessly excellent indie bangers. But of course The Game Awards has a heavy AAA and popularity bias.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122869229#Comment_122869229

To everyone saying Balatro isn't GotY material I just say play it. It really is that good.

Wu Kong doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the best 5 games in any year let alone a year stacked with incredible games. It's decent enough but hardly the top of the pile. I suspect it's there to get more Chinese people watching.

Retr0gamer

Based

https://bsky.app/profile/schaffrillas.bsky.social/post/3lbgq5htrqk2l

Cordell

No matter how good or addictive a card playing game is it's still a card playing game and honestly the praise I'm hearing makes me reluctant to even try it, simply because I can't see anyone saying what exactly is good about it other than it being addictive. I have enough vices as it is, I don't need a new one…

As for Black Myth:Wukong in my opinion is the second best game of 2024 after Shadow of the Erdtree so I'm delighted to see it getting the recognition it deserves, even if it is for the, let's say, wrong reasons.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122869469#Comment_122869469

So in other words you're insistent that Balatro is absolutely not GOTY material, despite not having even played it?

The game takes familiar game concepts and completely upends them. The language of poker makes the game accessible, but Localthunk has no interest in making a faithful adaptation of the game. Instead, it's a game that gives you an overwhelming amount of delightful tools to completely break apart the basics of card games and create absurd decks, builds and combos. It's a game of constant meaningful decision making, where every upgrade or purchase with your limited currency could be the difference between early failure or statrospheric success. It is a game loaded with pure, brilliant game design, but also iconic art and a wonderfully atmospheric, hynotic score.

McFly85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122869469#Comment_122869469

It’s genius because it’s poker but it isn’t, so everyone has a good starting point and can basically jump right in. It’s not gambling because you’re not trying to win money as you are trying to complete a run. Each completed hand gives the opportunity for you to buy special cards, level up hands or get multipliers by buying certain jokers. The fun is in experimenting with what bonuses work best with each other to see how effective a run you can put together.

I’ve been travelling recently and it’s the perfect mobile game imo. Easy to get into, endlessly replayable and no microtransactions. Makes plane journeys literally fly by!

Cordell

I hear ya, I mean I won't play it but I hear ya. It's a good game. Fine.

I still hope the award will go to either Shadow of the Erdtree or Black Myth:Wukong and I still maintain my opinion that a card game can't be GoTY no matter how good it is.