The winners of the 24th annual DICE Awards have been announced, and while many of 2020's best games were honored, it was a very successful night for one studio in particular. While The Game Awards tends to be the biggest awards show, often coming with new announcements and its own controversies, the DICE Awards are highly regarded by those within the games industry.
In 2020, at the 23rd annual DICE Awards, the Game of the Year award surprisingly went to Untitled Goose Game over other popular titles like Death Stranding and Disco Elysium, and a similar tale played out at this year's awards. Supergiant Games' Hades beat out AAA games like The Last Of Us Part 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake to claim the Game of the Year award. While all the previously mentioned AAA games did win some awards, Supergiant's indie darling was definitely the winner.
All in all, Supergiant's Hades received five awards, Action Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Design, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game, and, of course, Game of the Year. Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima also had a successful showing, winning four awards, including Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Outstanding Achievement in Audio Direction. The only other games to take home multiple awards were Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part 2, which claimed Outstanding Achievement in Animation and Outstanding Achievement in Story, and Half-Life: Alyx which won Immersive Reality Technical Achievement and Immersive Reality Game of the Year.
Here is the full list of winners at 2021' 24th annual DICE Awards:
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement - Half-Life: Alyx
Outstanding Achievement in Animation - The Last of Us Part 2
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction - Ghost of Tsushima
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design - Ghost of Tsushima
Outstanding Achievement in Character - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design - Hades
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction - Hades
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition - Ghost of Tsushima
Outstanding Achievement in Story - The Last of Us Part 2
Outstanding Technical Achievement - Dreams
Action Game of the Year - Hades
Adventure Game of the Year - Ghost of Tsushima
Family Game of the Year - Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Fighting Game of the Year - Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
Racing Game of the Year - Mario Kart Live
Role-Playing Game of the Year - Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Sports Game of the Year - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year - Microsoft Flight Simulator
Immersive Reality Game of the Year - Half-Life: Alyx
Mobile Game of the Year - Legends of Runeterra
Online Game of the Year - Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game - Hades
Game of the Year - Hades
2020 was one of the strangest years in gaming while also being one of the industry's most successful. It proved to be a very competitive year with great games like Doom Eternal, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Spritfarer all missing out on winning any awards.
It is hard to argue that this year's biggest winners don't deserve their awards. Hades showed that early access could lead to great games, and Ghost of Tsushima delivered a beautiful world and set a new standard for photo modes in video games. As always, it will be interesting to see what will win Game of the Year at next year's DICE Awards. Will a AAA game like Resident Evil Village or Halo Infinite win Game of the Year, or will a surprise indie hit claim the award for the third year in a row?
Source: Interactive.org