The Game Awards: These are the nominees for the best games of the year

Domagoj Belancic

15.11.2022

Translation: machine translated

The nominations for the Game Awards have been announced. "God of War: Ragnarok" and "Elden Ring" are the big favourites at the prestigious awards ceremony.

The Game Awards will take place for the ninth time on 8 December 2022. Geoff Keighley, host and co-founder of the show, has announced the nominated games in a live stream. "God of War: Ragnarok" and "Elden Ring" lead the field with ten and seven nominations, respectively.

The prestigious award show has roughly the same significance in the gaming universe as the Oscars do in the film industry. The nominations were determined by an international jury of over 100 media professionals and influencers. The votes of the jury count for 90 percent of the winners. However, the results of an open vote also count for 10 percent. If you want to tip the scales, you can vote here until 7 December 2022.

The winners will be announced at the Game Awards on 8 December. In addition to the award ceremonies, Geoff Keighley again promises many new announcements and surprises. You can follow the show live on Youtube and Twitch - unfortunately only from 01:30 on the night.

The nominees in the highlight categories

• "A Plague Tale Requiem"
• "Elden Ring"
• "God of War: Ragnarok"
• "Horizon: Forbidden West"
• "Stray"
• "Xenoblade Chronicles 3"

The big favourites in the race for the best game of the year are "Elden Ring" and "God of War: Ragnarok". Two excellent games that couldn't be more different. "Elden Ring" gives you complete freedom in exploring the expansive world as well as in shaping your character and subtly tells its story through clues in the game environment. "God of War: Ragnarok", on the other hand, leads you relatively strictly through a perfectly staged story and scores points with a satisfying battle system. My vote goes to the God of War.

Here you'll find our reviews of "A Plague Tale Requiem", "Elden Ring", "God of War: Ragnarok", "Horizon: Forbidden West" and "Stray".

In addition to the big favourites, two indie games have also secured nominations in this category. "Stray" in particular could cause a surprise. The unique, post-apocalyptic neon world creates a dense atmosphere that can rival the biggest AAA games.

My vote still goes to God of War: Ragnarok. All the elements of the game design are polished, well thought out and come together to create an epic package that will stay with me for a long time.

I find it surprising that "Elden Ring" is nominated here. The game does not tell a story, but offers a detailed lore - that is, lore or backstory - which can also be completely ignored. Once again, my vote goes to "God of War: Ragnarok". No game this year has moved me as emotionally as the epic conclusion to Kratos' Norse saga.

"Immortality" could provide a surprise in this category. In this found-footage game, you have to find and piece together film snippets to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of a movie star.

Here my vote goes to "Horizon: Forbidden West". Especially in the PS5 version, the post-apocalyptic landscapes look breathtakingly beautiful with the atmospheric lighting and dense vegetation. Combined with the impressive robot dinos, the game is a real feast for the senses.

For me, nothing can beat the "God of War: Ragnarok" soundtrack this year - even though the musical score in "Elden Ring" is pretty damn good too. I would also like to see "Metal Hellsinger" win the award in this category. In this first-person shooter, you have to shoot your way through hordes of demons to the beat of the music.

A broad field of nominees with very different roles. For me, however, the taciturn God of War clearly stands out. It's amazing how much emotion Chistopher Judge can convey with so few words and sounds.

A category with extremely different games. For me, "Stray" is the winner. The little cat has grown on me - and that despite the fact that I'm a dog person.

Phil also tested the devilishly good hack'n'slay game "Cult of the Lamb" and was thrilled. Here you can find his review.

Blind, deaf and motor-impaired people can often only play games with great difficulty or with the help of others. More and more publishers are therefore including accessible modes in their games. I have seen the extensive settings options in "God of War: Ragnarok" and was amazed at how sophisticated the software solutions are for physically impaired gamers. Kratos has my vote here too.

The new "Call of Duty" is the favourite here. I'd give it to "Bayonetta 3", though - I've never played such a crazy and chaotic game.

Once again, the usual suspects are nominated. Instead of "Elden Ring", the cute little fox from "Tunic" has earned a place in the category. The little Zelda-esque adventure game is bursting with retro charm and would have more than deserved the prize. But again - you already know - my vote goes to the Norse adventure of the Greek god of war.

This year, only Japanese role-playing games are competing. Elden Ring" has the best chance of winning. My vote goes to the addictive "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" - despite its many flaws and old-fashioned graphics.

A category I personally can't do much with. The crossover game "Multiversus" enjoyed great popularity at launch and probably has the highest chances of winning due to the myriad of characters from the Warner Bros universe.

Best Sim/Strategy - the best strategy game

• "Dune: Spice Wars"
• "Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope"
• "Total War: Warhammer III"
• "Two Point Campus"
• "Victoria 3"

Another category that is rather foreign to me. As a strategy noob, however, I've taken a great liking to "Mario + Rabbids" - the new battle system and wacky story are suitable even for genre newbies and are incredibly fun.

There should be a clear winner here with the uber-hit "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II". The game is currently breaking all kinds of records. Nevertheless, my vote goes to "Splatoon 3". The colourful game has provided me with countless hours of multiplayer gaming fun and rekindled my love for motion controls.

More and more games are being reinterpreted as series or movies. That's why the Game Awards are introducing a new category this year. My vote here goes to "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" - the series staged the dark cyberpunk world even better in parts than the game.

All other categories summarised

Games for Impact - Games that make you think

• "A Memoir Blue"
• "As Dusk Falls"
• "Citizen Sleeper"
• "Endling - Extinction is Forever"
• "Hindsight"
• "I was a Teenage Exocolonist"

Best Mobile Game - the best mobile games

• "Apex Legends Mobile"
• "Diablo Immortal"
• "Genshin Impact"
• "Marvel Snap"
• "Tower of Fantasy"

Most Anticipated Game

• "Final Fantasy XVI"
• "Hogwarts Legacy"
• "Resident Evil 4"
• "Starfield"
• "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom"

Best Esports Game - the best esports game

• "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive"
• "Dota 2"
• "League of Legends"
• "Rocket League"
• "Valorant"

Best Esports Athlete - the best esports players

• Chovy
• Faker
• Karrigan
• S1mple
• Yay

Best Esports Team - the best esports team

• Darkzero Esports
• Faze Clan
• Gen.G
• LA Thieves
• Loud

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.