The Game Awardshas become one of the biggest annual shows to celebrate video games, with awards for the best, and new reveals. With the show lined up for next month,The Game Awards2021’s nomination list has been officially announced.
2021 has been a very interesting year for the video game industry. From the ongoing pandemic delaying multiple titles, tochip shortages making console acqusition much more difficult, both developers and players have had a hard time in 2021. Despite the hardships, video games have remained a unifying presence for many people, allowing people to still engage with one another, or escape from reality into worlds of their choosing. The Game Awards have been formally running since 2014, with host Geoff Keighley presenting the awards to a live audience, while also premiering a plethora of new games.
RELATED:The Game Awards New Game Announcements to Be in the Double Digits
Geoff Keighley has officially revealed The Game Awards 2021 nominees, with fans available to vote now. The game with the largest presence is the Arkane Studios’Deathloop, receiving nominations for Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, Best Narrative, Best Action Game, and two nominations for Best Performance. Rounding out theGame of the Year nomineesareIt Takes Two,Metroid Dread,Psychonauts 2,Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, andResident Evil: Village.
PlayStation’s presence in the nominations is generally pretty strong, withDeathloop,Kena: Bridge of Spirits,Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, andReturnalall having strong showings. Xbox, while not as dominant, makes up a solid portion of the nominations here too, with Double Fine’sPsychonauts 2receiving a handful of nominations,Forza Horizon 5receiving a Best Racing Game nomination, andMicrosoft Flight Simulatorreceiving a Best Sim/Strategy Game nomination.
The Game Awards 2021 has nominated this year’s finest games across the board, and it will be interesting to see which ones take home the awards. What is perhaps, most jarring about this list though, is seeingCyberpunk 2077as a candidate for the Best Role Playing Game award. None can forget therough launchCyberpunk 2077had at the end of 2020, but CD Projekt Red has worked hard since to improve the game, and its immersion and detail cannot be overlooked.
