The DICE Awards were held yesterday in Las Vegas, with some of last year’s best games being honoured in a ceremony that’s the closest thing the video game industry has to Hollywood’s Academy Awards.
Five games were competing for the Game of the Year award in the evening, but it was Nintendo who took home the prestigious award, as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out the winner.
This is an epic role-playing game taking place in a fantasy world, and its been lauded by reviewers worldwide as the best open-world video game since Bethesda’s Skyrim came out in 2011. Breath of the Wild is the second Zelda game to win the top award at DICE, after Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which also won the award back in 1998.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild also won the Adventure Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Design and Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction awards.
Other games competing for the Game of the Year award were Horizon: Zero Dawn, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Super Mario Odyssey and Cuphead. The latter was the winner of three awards at DICE 2018, and so did Horizon: Zero Dawn, the most nominated game going into this year’s ceremony (Guerrilla Games’ title was competing for ten awards at DICE 2018).
Aside from picking up the Game of the Year award with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, two other Nintendo games were winners in the night: Mario Kart 8 won the Racing Game of the Year award as many expected, and Fire Emblem Heroes was honoured with the Mobile Game of the Year award.
And despite the fact that indie games such as Cuphead picked up their share of awards at DICE 2018, it was heavyweights like FIFA 18 (which won the Sports Game of the Year award) and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (which won the Strategy / Simulation Game of the Year award) which won the most awards at this year’s ceremony.
But still, it’s great to see 2017’s best games getting the recognition they deserve online and off, and here’s hoping that there are even better games in store for video game fans worldwide in 2018.
See below for a full list of nominees and winners from this year’s DICE ceremony.
DICE Awards 2018 nominees
Game of the Year
- Cuphead
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Super Mario Odyssey
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild * WINNER *
Action Game of the Year
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Cuphead
- Destiny 2
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds * WINNER *
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Adventure Game of the Year
- Assassin’s Creed Origins
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Super Mario Odyssey
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild * WINNER *
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Fighting Game of the Year
- ARMS
- Injustice 2 * WINNER *
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
- Nidhogg 2
- Tekken 7
Racing Game of the Year
- DiRT 4
- Forza Motorsport 7
- Gran Turismo Sport
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe * WINNER *
- Project CARS 2
Role-Playing Game of the Year
- Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War
- NieR:Automata * WINNER *
- Persona 5
- Torment: Tides of Numenera
Sports Game of the Year
- Everybody’s Golf
- FIFA 18 * WINNER *
- Golf Clash
- Madden NFL 18
- MLB The Show 17
Mobile Game of the Year
- Cat Quest
- Fire Emblem Heroes * WINNER *
- Gorogoa
- Monument Valley 2
- Splitter Critters
Family Game of the Year
- DropMix
- GNOG
- Just Dance 2018
- SingStar Celebration
- Snipperclips * WINNER *
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Cuphead * WINNER *
- For Honor
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Cuphead * WINNER *
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Little Nightmares
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Outstanding Achievement in Character
- Assassin’s Creed Origins – Bayek
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice – Senua * WINNER *
- Horizon Zero Dawn – Aloy
- Star Wars Battlefront II – Iden Versio
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy – Chloe Fraiser
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Cuphead * WINNER *
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- RiME
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
- Destiny 2
- Injustice 2
- Star Wars Battlefront II
- Super Mario Odyssey * WINNER *
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Horizon Zero Dawn * WINNER *
- Night in the Woods
- What Remains of Edith Finch
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Outstanding Technical Achievement
- Assassin’s Creed Origins
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
- Horizon Zero Dawn * WINNER *
- Lone Echo/Echo Arena
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- Endless Space 2
- Halo Wars 2
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle * WINNER *
- Total War: Warhammer II
- XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
- Lone Echo/Echo Arena * WINNER *
- Robo Recall
- Star Trek Bridge Crew
- The Invisible Hours
- Wilson’s Heart
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
- Lone Echo/Echo Arena * WINNER *
- Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin
- Robo Recall
- Space Pirate Trainer
- Wilson’s Heart
D.I.C.E. Sprite Award
- Everything
- Gorogoa
- Night in the Woods
- Pyre
- Snipperclips * WINNER *
Handheld Game of the Year
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
- Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
- Metroid: Samus Returns * WINNER *
- Monster Hunter Stories
Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Destiny 2
- Fortnite
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds * WINNER *
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
- Gorogoa
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Super Mario Odyssey
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild * WINNER *
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- Gorogoa
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild * WINNER *
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- What Remains of Edith Finch