Astro Bot and Final Fantasy lead nominations

This yr’s Sport Awards shortlist has been introduced, with Astro Bot and Last Fantasy VII Rebirth choosing up essentially the most nominations.

Dubbed “the Oscars of gaming” by some and written off as an promoting marathon by others, it is the most-watched ceremony celebrating the trade.

Host Geoff Keighley additionally revealed that the 3D platformer and the role-playing recreation had obtained seven nominations every, together with Sport of the Yr.

Card recreation Balatro, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Metaphor: Refantazio and Black Fable: Wukong are the opposite video games up for the highest prize.

Happening on 12 December this yr, the awards have grown into a significant occasion and organisers estimate that 118 million livestream viewers tuned in worldwide final yr.

A panel of 130 video games media retailers and content material creators votes for the winners, with a fan vote launched alongside additionally factored into the scores.

Final yr the good cash was all the time on RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 to be named Sport of the Yr, however 2024 hasn’t had the identical variety of top-tier releases.

This yr is doubtlessly more durable to name, however here is a rundown of the principle contenders.

A celebration of Ps’s 30-year historical past and a reminder of the enjoyment that gaming can carry, Astro Bot might be the sport to beat this yr.

Sony’s mascot character delighted followers and critics when it arrived on the again of a Twin Sense controller in September.

Its ingenious 3D platforming was additionally a refined technical showcase for the PlayStation 5, combining spectacular physics results with its upbeat, old-school vibe.

Additionally nominated for: Finest recreation path, finest artwork path, finest rating and music, finest audio design, finest motion/journey recreation, finest household recreation

Learn extra: Could an old-school hit reshape PS5’s future?

Created by a solo developer recognized solely as LocalThunk, card recreation Balatro – which takes its identify from the Latin for jester or buffoon – is without doubt one of the yr’s largest success tales.

Gamers create poker fingers to attain factors, however the magic comes from its 150 joker playing cards which modify the principles and multiply scores in numerous methods.

If Balatro does take the highest prize on the evening it will likely be the primary indie title within the Sport Awards’ 10-year historical past with out the backing of a significant writer to take action.

LocalThunk not often offers interviews and retains his actual id a secret – so there is a query mark over whether or not he’d attend on the evening.

Additionally nominated for: Finest recreation path, finest unbiased recreation, finest debut indie recreation.

The second a part of a trilogy remaking unique PlayStation recreation Last Fantasy VII, Rebirth turned every thing as much as 11 with lots of facet content material and mini-games to maintain followers busy.

The sport’s graphical efficiency on the PS5 drew some criticism and its tweaks to the unique’s story did not fulfill everybody, however they did not cease it being touted as a recreation of the yr contender when it got here out in February.

It was voted “most anticipated” recreation eventually yr’s Sport Awards, which may put it in place to win this yr, particularly as its prequel misplaced out to the Final of Us: Half II in 2020.

Briana White, who performed Aerith within the English-language model of the sport, can be nominated for finest efficiency.

Additionally nominated for: Finest recreation path, finest narrative, finest rating and music, finest RPG, finest audio design.

Learn extra: FFVII actress talks about recreating ‘iconic’ gaming moment

The long-awaited new one from the individuals behind Persona 5 – extensively thought-about one of many best role-playing video games to come back out of Japan.

Swapping the Persona sequence’ anime-inspired highschool setting for a Medieval fantasy world, Metaphor: ReFantazio was praised for its storytelling and its dealing with of weighty subjects equivalent to racism and politics.

It is also been a industrial success for writer Atlus, which reported 1 million gross sales on launch day – a file for the Japanese firm.

Additionally nominated for: Finest recreation path, finest narrative, finest artwork path, finest rating and music, finest RPG.

This action-adventure based mostly on Journey to the West – a basic novel from Chinese language Mythology – was an enormous come across its launch.

It offered enormous numbers in China, but additionally proved well-liked amongst Western followers too.

Its inclusion on the Sport of the Yr shortlist may shock some, as its crucial reception was a lot much less constructive than the titles it is up towards.

There was nonetheless loads of reward for its fight, and it is without doubt one of the extra visually beautiful video games launched this yr.

Additionally nominated for: Finest motion recreation, finest recreation path, finest artwork path, finest rating and music.

There isn’t any doubting the standard of Shadow of the Erdtree – a follow-up to motion RPG and 2022 Sport of the Yr winner Elden Ring.

The 2024 replace is presently the best-reviewed title this yr, bringing extra of the exploration and brutally exhausting fight encounters followers have come to count on from developer From Software program.

However there’s some disagreement over whether or not it counts as a real “Sport of the Yr”.

That is as a result of Shadow of the Erdtree is not a standalone recreation however downloadable content material (DLC) that provides dozens of hours of content material to the unique recreation.

The Sport Awards permits expansions like this to be nominated in any class, however some have argued they should not be eligible.

Additionally nominated for: Finest recreation path, finest artwork path, finest RPG.

Unbiased recreation Animal Nicely, the debut title from YouTuber videogamedunkey’s publishing label, didn’t get a recreation of the yr nomination regardless of being one of many best-reviewed video games this yr.

Nonetheless, it’s nominated for finest indie debut and finest unbiased recreation.

Xbox unique launch Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga, from British studio Ninja Concept, additionally obtained a number of nominations throughout the board.

It is up for finest audio design, finest narrative and best performance for lead actress Melina Juergens.

You possibly can learn a full checklist of the nominations on The Game Awards website.

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