Tag: Best of 2022

2022 GOTY Scoreboard: Elden Ring, Vampire Survivors, God of War: Ragnarok, and More

After wandering in the wilderness during the early part of the PS4 era, the God of War franchise came back in a big way with God of War (2018). With a new pantheon to slay, Kratos slashed his way into our hearts, and he helped Sony Santa Monica collect a decent chunk of accolades from reviewers and players alike during the 2018-2019 “Game of the Year” season (including a sweep at all five of the major year-end awards shows).

But it’s been five long years since Kratos first brought his unique brand of godly violence to the Norse realm, what could the Ghost of Sparta do for an encore?

God of War: Ragnarok, which was released this past November, answered that question with spectacular battles against the one-eyed Allfather, Odin, and the Mighty Thor himself. But not even the end of the world could topple From Software’s Elden Ring, which has steamrolled the competition.

Elden Ring was named “Game of the Year” by dozens of publications and took home the statuette at three major awards show. Only one game managed to break through From Software’s stranglehold on voting bodies across the industry, with Poncle’s Vampire Survivors taking the last major year-end award.

You can see more of last year’s most-acclaimed titles in the 2022 GOTY Scoreboard after the break.

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Vampire Survivors Snaps Elden Ring’s Streak and Wins “Best Game” at the 2022-2023 BAFTA Games Awards

Sony Santa Monica’s God of War (2018) is the only game in history to win “Game of the Year” honors at all five major year-end shows.

With the SXSW Gaming Awards off the calendar, and after Elden Ring‘s victories at The Game Awards, the DICE Awards, and the GDC Awards, it was looking extremely likely that Kratos would soon have some company. But it was not to be… and God of War: Ragnarok wasn’t even the one to snap the streak.

Instead, “Best Game” at the 2022-2023 BAFTA Games Awards went to Poncle’s Vampire Survivors.

The retro-styled “bullet heaven” shooter has been steadily picking up steam since it was released in early access in December 2021, and won over even more converts after its official launch in October. I’m sure a lot of people will look at this as an unlikely victory, but the membership of the British Academy has always tended to go their own way (most famously in 2017-2018 when it chose What Remains of Edith Finch over The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild). To further push that point home, Vampire Survivors also won the “Game Design” statuette.

So what of Elden Ring? From Software’s dark fantasy also won two awards, “Original Property” and “Multiplayer.”

Believe it or not, the biggest winner of the night was actually Sony Santa Monica and God of War: Ragnarok. The conclusion to Kratos’s Norse adventures took home six total awards, including three for the developer (“Animation,” “Audio Achievement,” and “Music”), both performance awards (Christopher Judge for “Performer in a Leading Role” and Laya DeLeon Hayes for “Performer in a Supporting Role”), and the fan-voted “EE Game of the Year.”

The complete list of winners and nominees from the 2022-2023 BAFTA Games Awards, as well as a replay of the ceremony, can be found after the break.

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Elden Ring Wins “Game of the Year” at 2022-2023 GDC Awards

Hold on to your hats, but From Software’s Elden Ring is now three-for-three at the major year-end awards after it collected a total of three awards, including “Game of the Year,” at the 2022-2023 Game Developers Choice Awards. In addition to the top prize, the development team will need to find room in their trophy case for the “Best Design” and “Best Visual Arts” statuettes.

“Three” was the theme of the night as things definitely happened in threes during the ceremony, starting right at the top with the hosting duties of Leslee Sullivant, a triple threat Game Producer, Writer, and TikTok creator (you’ve absolutely seen at least one of her “stories from the games industry” videos).

The other big winner last night was Sony Santa Monica’s God of War: Ragnarok, which also won three awards. The godlike technical feats performed by Kratos netted “Best Audio” and “Best Technology” for the developer, while a public vote secured the “Audience Award.”

Finally, four other awards went to four very deserving games (the theme suffers when your program has ten awards). Obsidian’s tale of medieval murder, Pentiment, won “Best Narrative.” Immortality‘s innovative use of video was the snared an “Innovation Award” for Half Mermaid. BlueTwelve continued their streak with another “Best Debut” award for Stray. And Citizen Sleeper was given the “Social Impact Award.”

Congratulations also to John Romero, who was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for Doom, Quake, and a laundry list of other games; and to the family of Mabel Addis, who was posthumously awarded the Pioneer Award for her work on The Sumerian Game.

The full list of winners, nominees, and honorable mentions from the 2022-2023 GDC Awards can be found after the break.

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Elden Ring Wins “Game of the Year” at 2022-2023 DICE Awards

From Software’s Elden Ring has gone two-for-two during the 2022-2023 awards season after the RPG captured “Game of the Year” honors at the conclusion of last night’s DICE Awards ceremony. The RPG’s distinctive dark fantasy aesthetic was honored with four other awards, also winning for “Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction,” “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design,” “Outstanding Technical Achievement,” and, of course, “Role-Playing Game of the Year.”

It was a good night for From Software, though the mighty God of War was not always so easily toppled.

Before the show, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences bestowed a dozen nominations on God of War: Ragnarok. But while it might have missed the big prize, Kratos and company collected more statuettes than any other game at the DICE Awards. Developers from Sony Santa Monica would climb up on stage seven times, starting with the award for “Adventure Game of the Year.”

The team would also be honored for their narrative work (“Outstanding Achievement in Story” and “Outstanding Achievement in Character” for Kratos himself), graphical prowess (“Outstanding Achievement in Animation” and “Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction”), and audio work (“Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition” and “Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design”).

The only other game to win multiple awards at the 2022-2023 DICE Awards was Vertical Robot’s Red Matter 2, which was triumphant in both immersive reality categories (“Immersive Reality Technical Achievement” and “Immersive Reality Game of the Year”).

Many of the remaining awards were distributed amongst some of the biggest surprises from 2022. The vampire-less Vampire Survivors sunk its teeth into the “Action Game of the Year” award. The full-fledged Premium Edition of Dwarf Fortress paid off more than 15 years of anticipation with a win for “Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year.” And the addictive Marvel Snap was named “Mobile Game of the Year.”

You’ll find a replay of last night’s ceremony, which was hosted by Greg “GameOverGreggy” Miller and IGN’s Stella Chung, after the break, along with a full list of winners and nominees.

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Elden Ring Wins “Game of the Year” in Bizarre Finale to the 2022 Game Awards

Though it’s faced some stiff competition over the last year, Elden Ring‘s coronation as “Game of the Year” has sometimes felt like an inevitability ever since it was released all the way back in February.

That expectation became a reality during last night’s Game Awards ceremony, as From Software’s already stellar reputation was burnished with “Game of the Year” and three additional statuettes (“Best Game Direction,” “Best Art Direction,” and “Best Role Playing Game”). But what happened next threatened to overshadow the entire show, as a teenager bypassed security and walked on stage alongside the developers. After Game Director Hidetaka Miyazaki delivered his acceptance speech, the teenager addressed the audience, and dedicated the award to “my reformed Orthodox Rabbi Bill Clinton.”

It was certainly one of the oddest moments from the show’s history.

But before all that, the night certainly belonged to God of War: Ragnarok. Though it missed out on “Game of the Year,” Sony Santa Monica’s game took home a half-dozen statuettes, including for “Best Action/Adventure Game,” “Best Audio Design,” “Best Score and Music,” and “Best Narrative.” Ragnarok also won the “Innovation in Accessibility” award for its expansive accessibility options and Christopher Judge’s portrayal of Kratos won “Best Performance.”

Stray was also denied “Game of the Year” honors, but it did win a pair of prizes for “Best Independent Game” and (unsurprisingly) “Best Debut Indie.”

Finally, Nintendo had a good night with multiple wins spread across its impressive 2022 lineup. The consolemaker collected statuettes for “Best Family Game” (for Kirby and the Forgotten Land), “Best Sim/Strategy Game” (for Mario + Rabbids: Spark of Hope), and “Best Multiplayer” (for Splatoon 3). Things are also looking good for 2023 as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom won “Most Anticipated Game.”

A video replay of the 2022 Game Awards can be found after the break (skip to 3:53:00 if you’re solely interested in “my reformed Orthodox Rabbi Bill Clinton”), along with all the winners and nominees.

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