Inscryption Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2021-2022 GDC Awards

A new player got dealt into the game at this year’s Game Developers Conference. Just an hour after claiming the “Seumas McNally Grand Prize” at the Independent Games Festival, Daniel Mullins Games’s Inscrpytion also took home “Game of the Year” honors at the 2021-2022 Game Developers Choice Awards.

Even though we’re more than a decade removed from the rise of the indie movement, this is the first time a game has won both awards in the same year.

While Inscrpytion made history, Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart continued to do what it’s done at nearly every ceremony this year, collecting statuettes for “Best Visual Art” and “Best Technology.”

But the GDC Awards usually gives the spotlight over to a lot of unique games, and that certainly happened this year. Other winners from last night’s ceremony include Iron Gate’s Valheim (“Best Debut” and the “Audience Award”), Witch Beam’s Unpacking (“Best Audio” and the “Innovation Award”), Double Fine’s Psychonauts 2 (“Best Narrative”), Kitfox’s Boyfriend Dungeon (the “Social Impact Award”), and Hazelight’s It Takes Two (“Best Design”).

A full list of all the nominees at the 2021-2022 GDC Awards can be found after the break, along with a replay of the ceremony.

Game of the Year

  • WINNER: Inscryption
  • Deathloop
  • Forza Horizon 5
  • It Takes Two
  • Resident Evil Village

Honorable Mentions
Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Death’s Door, Guardians of the Galaxy, Halo Infinite, Psychonauts 2

Best Design

  • WINNER: It Takes Two
  • Deathloop
  • Halo Infinite
  • Inscryption
  • Psychonauts 2

Honorable Mentions
Death’s Door, Loop Hero, Resident Evil Village, Unpacking

Best Visual Art

  • WINNER: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
  • Deathloop
  • Forza Horizon 5
  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits
  • Psychonauts 2

Honorable Mentions
The Artful Escape, Genesis Noir, Resident Evil Village, Returnal, Sable

Best Narrative

  • WINNER: Psychonauts 2
  • Deathloop
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • It Takes Two
  • Unpacking

Honorable Mentions
The Forgotten City, Inscryption, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Life Is Strange: True Colors, Wildermyth

Best Audio

  • WINNER: Unpacking
  • Deathloop
  • Forza Horizon 5
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Returnal

Honorable Mentions
Genesis Noir, Halo Infinite, It Takes Two, Kid A Mnesia: Exhibition, Resident Evil Village

Best Technology

  • WINNER: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
  • Forza Horizon 5
  • Halo Infinite
  • Hitman 3
  • Returnal

Honorable Mentions
Battlefield 2042, Resident Evil Village

Innovation Award

  • WINNER: Unpacking
  • Deathloop
  • Inscryption
  • It Takes Two
  • Wildermyth

Honorable Mentions
Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Loop Hero, Returnal

Social Impact Award

  • WINNER: Boyfriend Dungeon
  • Before Your Eyes
  • Chicory: A Colorful Tale
  • It Takes Two
  • Life Is Strange: True Colors

Honorable Mentions
Forza Horizon 5

Best Debut

  • WINNER: Valheim
  • The Artful Escape
  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits
  • Sable
  • Wildermyth

Honorable Mentions
ElecHead, Genesis Noir, Unsighted

Audience Award

  • WINNER: Valheim

Ambassador Award

  • WINNER: Steven Spohn

Lifetime Achievement Award

  • WINNER: Yuji Horii

Author: VGC | John

John Scalzo has been writing about video games since 2001, and he co-founded Warp Zoned in 2011. Growing out of his interest in game history, the launch of Video Game Canon followed in 2017.