Another year is coming to an end, meaning the annual Game Awards ceremony is just around the corner. This is a video game award show that has been running for three years now, and this upcoming 3rd edition of the Game Awards promises to be as exciting as earlier events.
And while Blizzard’s colourful multiplayer shooter Overwatch took the Game of the Year award in 2016, another five top-notch games are vying for the top prize in 2017. These games are Horizon: Zero Dawn, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Persona 5 and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
Two of these are Nintendo games, while the other two are published by Sony (Horizon: Zero Dawn and Persona 5). Actually, Nintendo and Sony’s games have gotten the most nominations this year (23 and 15 respectively), with Nintendo leading the way in what undoubtedly has been a successful year for the Japanese company thanks to the launch of the Nintendo Switch and the success of its retro consoles like the SNES Classic.
But no matter how good the likes of Horizon: Zero Dawn and Persona 5 are, I recon it will be hard to top Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in this category, and not only because it’s the best-reviewed game of the year so far. This is a game which proved that Nintendo could do open-world gameplay as well as any other developer out there, and Breath of the Wild is certainly a solid candidate to take home the Game of the Year award this year.
Another plus of this year’s ceremony is that gamers will be able to vote in some categories including the Most Anticipated Game category, which includes heavyweights like Red Dead Redemption II and God of War. For this you can head over to the Game Awards site and have your say here. Also take a look at the full nominee list below as compiled by Den of Geek (via GameSpot).
All in all, it looks like this year’s Game Awards could be one of the most interesting video game events of the year, and something to look forward to come December no doubt.
Game Awards 2017 nominees
Game of the Year
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Persona 5 (Atlus)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corp.)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Game Direction
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games)
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda)
Best Narrative
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Tameem Antoniades, Elizabeth Ashman-Rowe / Ninja Theory)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (John Gonzalez / Ninja Theory)
- Nier: Automata (Yoko Taro, Hana Kikuchi, Yoshiho Akabane / Platinum Games)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (Ian Dallas / Giant Sparrow)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Jen Matthies, Tommy Tordsson Bjork / MachineGames)
Best Art Direction
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR Entertainment)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Persona 5 (Atlus)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Score / Music
- Cuphead (Kristofer Maddigan)
- Destiny 2 (Mike Salvatori, Skye Lewin, C Paul Johnson)
- NieR: Automata (Keiichi Okabe, Keigo Hoashi)
- Persona 5 (Shoji Meguro)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Naoto Kubo, Shiho Fujii, Koji Kondo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata)
Best Audio Design
- Destiny 2 (Bungie)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Best Performance
- Ashly Burch, Horizon: Zero Dawn (As Aloy)
- Brian Bloom, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (as BJ Blazkowicz)
- Claudia Black, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (as Chloe Frazer)
- Laura Bailey, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (as Nadine Ross)
- Melina Juergens, Hellblade (as Senua)
Games for Impact
- Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt / Figs / ARTE / Playdius)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
- Life is Strange: Before the Storm (Deck Nine / Square Enix)
- Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
- Please Knock on My Door (Levall Games AB)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)
Best Ongoing Game
- Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
- Grand Theft Auto Online (Rockstar Games)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG. Corp)
- Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
- Warframe (Digital Extremes)
Best Independent Game
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR Entertainment)
- Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
- Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
- Pyre (Supergiant Games)
- What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)
Best Mobile Game
- Fire Emblem Heroes (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
- Hidden Folks (Adriaan de Jongh / Sylvain Tegroeg)
- Monument Valley 2 (ustwo games)
- Old Man’s Journey (Broken Rules)
- Super Mario Run (Nintendo)
Best Handheld Game
- Ever Oasis (Grezzo / Nintendo)
- Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
- Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam / Nintendo)
- Monster Hunter Stories (Marvelous / Capcom / Nintendo)
- Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World (Good-Feel / Nintendo)
Best VR / AR Game
- Farpoint (Impulse Gear / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Lone Echo (Ready at Dawn / Oculus Studios)
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Capcom)
- Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Red Storm Entertainment / Ubisoft)
- Superhot VR (Superhot Team)
Best Action Game
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR Entertainment)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
- Nioh (Team Ninja / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Prey (Arkane Studios / Bethesda)
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda)
Best Action / Adventure Game
- Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Role-Playing Game
- Divinity: Original Sin II (Larian Studios)
- Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix Business Division 2 / Square Enix)
- NieR: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix)
- Persona 5 (Atlus)
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Ubisoft San Francisco / Ubisoft)
Best Fighting Game
- Arms (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Injustice 2 (NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Ent)
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (Capcom)
- Nidhogg 2 (Messhof Games)
- Tekken 7 (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Best Family Game
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo EAD / Nintendo)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris + Milan / Ubisoft)
- Sonic Mania (PagodaWest Games, Headcannon / Sega)
- Splatoon 2 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EAD / Nintendo)
Best Strategy Game
- Halo Wars 2 (Creative Assembly, 343 Industries / Microsoft Studios)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris + Milan / Ubisoft)
- Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly / Sega)
- Tooth and Tail (Pocketwatch Games)
- XCOM 2: War of the Chosen (Firaxis Games / 2K)
Best Sports / Racing Game
- FIFA 18 (EA Vancouver / EA)
- Forza Motorsport 7 (Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
- Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- NBA 2K18 (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES Productions / Konami)
- Project Cars 2 (Slightly Mad Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)
Best Multiplayer
- Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games / Activision)
- Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
- Fortnite (Epic Games)
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo EAD / Nintendo)
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corp.)
- Splatoon 2 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
Most Anticipated Game
- God of War (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Monster Hunter World (Capcom)
- Red Dead Redemption II (Rockstar Games)
- The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Trending Gamer
- Andrea Rene (What’s Good Games)
- Clint Lexa (“Halfcoordinated”)
- Guy Beahm (“Dr. Disrespect”)
- Mike Grzesiek (“Shroud”)
- Steven Spohn (AbleGamers)
Best eSports Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
- Dota 2 (Valve)
- League of Legends (Riot)
- Overwatch (Blizzard)
- Rocket League (Psyonix)
Best eSports Player
- Lee Sang-hyeok “Faker” (SK Telecom 1, League of Legends)
- Marcelo “coldzera” David (SK Gaming, Counter-Strike: GO)
- Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovac (FaZe Clan, Counter-Strike: GO)
- Je-hong “ryujehong” Ryu (Seoul Dynasty, Overwatch)
- Kuro “KuroK”” Salehi Takhasomi (Team Liquid, Dota 2)
Best eSports Team
- Cloud 9
- FaZe Clan
- Lunatic-Hai
- SK Telecom T1
- Team Liquid
Student Game Award
- Falling Sky (Jonathan Nielssen, Nikolay Savoy, Mohsen Shah / National Film & TV School)
- From Light (Alejandro Grossman, Steven Li, Sherveen Uduwana / USC)
- Hollowed (Erin Marek, Jerrick Flores, Charley Choucard / University of Central Florida)
- Impulsion (Hugo Verger, Remi Bertrand, Maxime Lupinski / IIM)
- Level Squared (Kip Brennan, Stephen Scoglio, Dane Perry Svendsen / Swinburne University)
- Meaning (Hariz Yet / DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore)
Best Debut Indie Game
- Cuphead (Studio MDHR Entertainment)
- Golf Story (Sidebar Games)
- Hollow Knight (Team Cherry)
- Mr. Shifty (Team Shifty)
- Slime Rancher (Monomi Park)
Chinese Fan Game Award
- Honor of Kings (Timi Studio Group)
- ICEY (FantaBlade Network)
- Gumballs & Dungeons (QcPlay Limited)
- jx3 HD (Kingsoft Corporation)
- Monument Valley 2 (ustwo games)