As has been the case since 1997, the DICE Awards will be held this year, although due to the COVID-19 crisis the people behind the awards (the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences) are planning a virtual event for 2021. But still, this is the closest thing barring the Game Awards that the video game industry has to Hollywood’s Academy Awards, so it’s clear millions of people worldwide will be eager to find out which games get to pick up awards when the winners are announced on April 8 this year.
As always, it’s the big prize that’s important here, and five top games will be in contention for the highly coveted Game of the Year award this April, including last year’s zombie adventure The Last of Us Part II. Developer Naughty Dog’s survival horror post-apocalyptic game definitely caused the most impact last year. And it definitely was a controversial game due to it subverting fans’ expectations in how it told its revenge story and its handling of certain characters, and is surely a game that those who have played it won’t soon forget.
It remains to be seen, though, whether The Last of Us 2 can repeat its success at the Game Awards last year, where it won a total of 7 awards, including Game of the Year. Naughty Dog’s game is nominated for a total of 11 awards at DICE 2021.
Apart from The Last of Us Part II, another Game of the Year nominee at this year’s DICE Awards is Ghost of Tsushima. This open-world samurai game by Sucker Punch was one of the top PS4 exclusives released last year, boasting beautiful visuals and gameplay similar to Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series.
It surely must have been some people’s favorite to win the Game of the Year award at the Game Awards last year, but it will have a chance to do so at DICE 2021 this April. Sucker’s Punch game is the second most nominated game at this year’s DICE Awards, and is vying for an award in a total of 10 categories.
Will The Last of Us 2 pick up another Game of the Year award at DICE 2021?
Aside from Ghost of Tsushima and Last of Us 2, the other three games in contention for the Game of the Year Award at DICE 2021 are Nintendo’s hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons, indie sensation Hades and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Remake. The latter brought the iconic 1997 game back to life with a fresh coat of paint and gameplay refinements, even if it was only part of the original game that was remade (more instalments are to follow according to Square Enix).
Outside of the Game of the Year nominees, the most-nominated games include Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Half-Life: Alyx, all garnering 5 nominations each. Half-Life: Alyx in particular must have been a breath of fresh air for many people last year: its creators Valve might have been putting off releasing Half-Life 3 for eons now, but with Alyx they proved that virtual reality games can be as involving and fun as the rest.
This looks certainly to be another exciting edition of the DICE Awards then (even if its only in virtual format this year) and one that video game fans will be looking forward to no doubt, so stay tuned for a run-down of the winners when this year’s DICE Awards take place this April.
Here follows a list of the nominees for the 2021 DICE Awards (via VG247).
Note: The DICE Awards took place on April 22, 2021. The list has been updated to highlight the winner in each category (via GameSpot).
DICE Awards 2021 nominees
Game of the Year
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- The Last of Us Part 2
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake
- The Last of Us Part 2
- Marvel’s Spider-Man:Miles Morales
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Spiritfarer
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- The Last of Us Part II
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Outstanding Achievement in Character
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Eivor Varinsdottir
- Hades – Zagreus
- The Last of Us Part 2 – Abby
- The Last of Us Part 2 – Ellie
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Miles Morales
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
- Carrion
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Little Orpheus
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- The Pathless
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
- Dreams
- Ghost of Tsushima
- The Last of Us Part 2
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Outstanding Achievement in Story
- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
- The Last of Us Part 2
Outstanding Technical Achievement
- Dreams
- Ghost of Tsushima
- The Last of Us Part 2
- Mario Kart Live
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
Action Game of the Year
- Doom Eternal
- Hades
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Nioh 2
Adventure Game of the Year
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
- The Last of Us Part 2
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Family Game of the Year
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Astro’s Playroom
- Dreams
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Fighting Game of the Year
- EA Sports UFC 4
- Granblue Fantasy Versus
- Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
- Them’s Fightin’ Herds
Racing Game of the Year
- DIRT 5
- F1 2020
- Mario Kart Live
Role-Playing Game of the Year
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake
- Persona 5 Royal
- Wasteland 3
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Sports Game of the Year
- FIFA 21
- MLB The Show 20
- NBA 2K21
- PGA TOUR 2K21
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
- Crusader Kings 3
- Desperadoes 3
- Microsoft Flight Simulator
- Monster Train
- Per Aspera
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
- Down the Rabbit Hole
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Paper Beast
- The Room VR: Dark Matter
- The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Mario Kart Live
- Museum of Other Realities
- Paper Beast
- Tempest
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
- Coffee Talk
- Hades
- If Found…
- Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
- Noita
Mobile Game of the Year
- HoloVista
- Legends of Runeterra
- Little Orpheus
- Song of Bloom
- South of the Circle
Online Game of the Year
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Tetris Effect: Connected
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- Half-Life: Alyx
- The Last of Us Part 2
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Hades
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
- The Last of Us Part 2