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The Game Awards is an annual award ceremony held to showcase the year's best games. It is an event that gives recognition to the games that deserve it. Every year the gaming industry releases hundreds of games across all genres and platforms. Each game brings forth something unique, but some end up revolutionizing the gaming industry as a whole. The Game Awards is thus an event that serves to highlight the best of the best games every year and bestow one of them the title of Game of the Year.
The nominees for the Game Awards 2022, slated to be held on 8th December, have finally been announced. There are a total of 31 categories of awards and 108 games to choose from this year. The nominees are selected by a jury consisting of around 100 media outlets. Fans then get to cast their votes before the ceremony takes place to determine the winners. This year there are many noteworthy games that have been nominated for the Game Awards' Game of the Year Award; here is a summary of all the contenders.
6 Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the third entry of the Xenoblade Chronicles saga, released for the Nintendo Switch. Developed by Monolith Soft, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is an action-adventure and role-playing game that takes the players to the world of Aionios and depicts the aspects of war unfolding between two parties fighting for their survival. On one hand, is Colony 9 of Keves, and on the other side of the battlefield is the newly formed Colony Sigma of the nation Agnus.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 significantly improves upon its predecessors in terms of gameplay and visuals and brings forth a brilliant story. The game holds a score of 88 on Metacritic, While IGN gave it an 8/10. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has been nominated for three Game Awards categories, which include the awards for Game of the Year, Best Role-Playing Game, Best Score and Music.
5 A Plague Tale: Requiem
A Plague Tale: Requiem is an action-adventure survival horror game developed by Asobo Studios. This game is a direct sequel to the events of A Plague Tale: Innocence and follows Amicia and Hugo continuing their quest to find a cure for Hugo's worsening condition. A Plague Tale: Requiem was released in October 2022 and received widespread critical acclaim. The game holds a score of 85 on Metacritic (for Xbox Series X). Steam gave this game a 9/10 while IGN gave it an 8/10.
A Plague Tale: Requiem has received five nominations in the Game Awards 2022, including the nomination for Game of the Year. The other categories of nominations include The Game Award for Best Performance, Best Narrative, Best Score and Music, and lastly Best Action/Adventure.
4 Stray
Stray is a third-person adventure game developed by BlueTwelve studios and is set in a dystopian future where all humans have gone extinct. The game follows a stray cat that accidentally ends up falling into the remnants of an underground human society, now inhabited by androids. It was released in July 2022 and exceeded expectations in every way, resulting in an exponential rise in its popularity. Stray holds a score of 83 on Metacritic (for PlayStation 5), and a 10 on Steam. IGN gave Stray a rating of 8/10 while GameSpot gave it a 9/10.
Stray has received six nominations in the Game Awards 2022, making it the fourth-highest nominated game this year. The award categories that Stray has been nominated for include Game of the Year, Best Art Direction, Best Independent Game, Best Action Adventure, Best Debut Indie Game, and finally Best Game Direction.
3 Horizon Forbidden West
Building upon the success of their first Horizon game, Guerrilla Games have gone on to deliver one of the most highly anticipated games of last year, Horizon Forbidden West, and have exceeded expectations in every way. This game, like the original, is an open-world role-playing game with a heavy focus on action and exploration. The release of Horizon Forbidden West on the PlayStation 5 also showcased the console's graphical capabilities. Continue to embark on Alloy's journey to rid her world of a new catastrophic threat, whilst uncovering the mysteries surrounding the machines that roam the lands of Horizon.
Horizon Forbidden West has a score of 88 on Metacritic (for PlayStation 5), while IGN gave it a 9/10. This game has been nominated for a staggering seven award categories including the awards of Game of the Year, Best Performance, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Audio Design, Best Action Adventure, and lastly Best Game Direction.
2 Elden Ring
Elden Ring is an action role-playing game developed by From Software that has been topping the mainstream popularity charts ever since its release back in February 2022. Elden Ring is a spiritual successor to the infamously hard Dark Souls series, however, Elden Ring takes place in an entirely separate fantasy world. The game puts focus on a player's custom character as they embark on a quest to restore the lands of Elden Ring and become their new Elden Lord. The game has received exceptional reviews from both fans and critics alike.
Elden Ring has a score of 93 on Metacritic (for the PC). IGN gave the game a perfect 10/10 score while Steam gave it a score of 9/10. Elden Ring is tied with Horizon Forbidden West for having been nominated for seven Game Awards categories. These include the awards of Game of the Year, Best Narrative, Best Role-Playing Game, Best Art Direction, Best Soundtrack, Best Audio Design, and lastly Best Game Direction.
1 God of War: Ragnarok
Santa Monica Studio's highly anticipated sequel to 2018's God of War, God of War: Ragnarok is finally out for the PlayStation 4 and 5, reigning supreme over all other contenders for the Game of the Year Award. God of War: Ragnarok is an action-adventure and narrative-driven game that follows Kratos and his son, Atreus as they try to survive the dangers of the nine realms. This game has served as an excellent entry in the God of War franchise, pushing it forward in the best way possible.
Ragnarok received an exceptional reception on its release and has maintained a score of 94 on Metacritic for both the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5. IGN also gave the game a perfect 10/10 score, further solidifying its status. God of War: Ragnarok has received the highest number of nominations, that being ten, for the Game Awards 2022. This game has been nominated for the awards of Game of the Year, Best Performance, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Action/Adventure, and the award for Innovation and Accessibility among others.