The 10th anniversary of the Game Awards offers more nominees for this year’s contest than ever before. Games are competing in categories like Game of the Year, Best Debut Indie Game and many more. Keep in mind that there are many other games nominated that are equally as good that were not included in this article, which will focus on the biggest categories. If you want to know more games that made the list and even more categories, go to thegameawards.com.
“Final Fantasy XII Rebirth” (Square Enix) was a long-anticipated game for many, and it made its way to the Game Of The Year list! The second installment of the three-part series of Final Fantasy XII’s remake, this game continues from the cliffhanger of the first installment and gives us backstories of beloved characters! This game holds a spot in many people’s hearts and many gamers agree this should be on this list of Game Of The Year.
Next up, “Balatro” (LocalThunk/ Playstack) is a rogue-like Texas Hold ‘Em-styled game that took many by surprise. The game itself is structured around playing cards to pass through rounds using what the game calls Jokers that make the game easier for the player, often giving the player more chips, multipliers or money. Game play goes from a small blind to a big blind and ends the ante, with a boss blind that has a certain type of challenge making the cards you play either restricted or just making the game harder for the player. Each blind has a higher amount of chips required to beat and failing to meet the chips will lead to a loss. Since you have limited hands and limited discards you have to use strategy to beat the blinds. With limitless possibilities and different decks featuring different cards, “Balatro” even got onto mobile devices after its console release. This game holds a special place to some and has made it onto the Game Awards’ elite competition!
The other four games up for Game of the Year are “Astro Bot” (Team Asobi/SE), “Black Myth: Wukong” (Game Science), “Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree” (FromSoftward/ Bandai Namco) and lastly “Metaphor: Refantazio” (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega). Ultimately, “Astro Bot” won the category during the December 2024 ceremony, which many gamers found surprising due to its low profile and more playful sensibility. Astro bot is a platformer game that involves a cute little robot named Astro. A platformer game that has mixed ratings on if it should’ve won or not but ultimately did, it is the sequel to “Astros Playroom”, a game exclusively given to people who own the PlayStation 5 and was free with the purchase of the console.
“I do think Astro Bot’s win wasn’t certainly out of nowhere,” Brook Aberra (class of 2024) said. “I personally haven’t played much of it, but it’s a really great platformer that’s very 3D Mario-esque. I feel like anybody at any age can pick up this game and have a blast. It completely deserves its win this year.”
Conversely, “Fortnite” (Epic Games) is currently one of the most popular games in the world even after coming out back in 2017, resulting in a nomination for Best Ongoing Game. A battle royale game where a player will fight for first place while scavenging for loot like heals, weapons and building materials, the game skyrocketed in popularity when some prominent YouTubers started playing it. Its gameplay attracts many ages, but it’s most popular among children and teens. Famous content creators like Ninja instantly went to make content when it got popular. But there are other mechanics and even game modes to “Fortnite”! You can choose if you want to play in a team or, of course, you can go alone. The edition of “Lego Fortnite”, a crossover using the Lego style has brought more people to the platform With not a battle royale format but rather a sandbox gameplay where you find materials for crafting instead of fighting. It’s more of a survival game than a battle royale. “Fortnite” adding more events and game modes is what keeps it popular, and is why it’s nominated for best ongoing game!
Also released originally in 2017, “Destiny 2” gets on this list too. The game keeps itself out with the downloadable content (DLC) it releases that keeps the players interested in the game. Though players have to pay for these additional features and updates, the majority of players seem to find enough entertainment in the game’s offerings. “Destiny 2” is a game where you play as a traveler who travels across many planets looking for loot. The game is also online and allows you to fight with other players in player vs. player (PVP) matches! Starting off the game, the player picks a class: Warlock, Titan or Hunter. What makes the game so playable is that there is always something new to do. Every class has subclasses and those subclasses have different varieties of abilities making it easier for players who did all they could to just start up a new save and play with another class. This allows replayable content while waiting for other updates to release. “Destiny 2” finds its way on this list due to its fun gameplay, replayability, and DLC that keep people playing the game.
Other nominees for this category include the following: “Final Fantasy XIV” (Square Enix), “Diablo IV” (Blizzard/Xbox) and “Helldivers 2” (Arrowhead Game Studios/SIE). All of these games were also nominated for best ongoing game. At the end of the day, the winner of this category was “Helldivers 2”, a game where the player explores a planet and kills creatures for democracy as the game calls it. Players can team up or play as a single player. The game requires teamwork and smart thinking to take down targets and complete missions. The game has many different features like injuries, and where they occur changes the gameplay. If you get shot in the leg, for instance, you’ll have a harder time moving, or if you get shot in the arm, you have a harder time aiming. This is a dynamic game and for good reason won one of the top awards.
With all of these games competing for nominations, naturally, everyone has a different opinion on them. The Game Awards aren’t supposed to be a deciding factor on what games a gamer can or can’t like. Rather, it’s a way to highlight new games and let people see some games you might have never seen before. Whichever game wins these categories at the end of the day this should be a fun competition where developers are put in the spotlight for the amazing game they developed!
“I think the game awards are good but the voting system could use some work,” Mohamed Jama (9) said. “Some people voted for games they played and haven’t considered other games yet. If people were less biased I think it’d be much more fun instead of just voting for the most popular games.”
Even though two of these games were voted best by gamers, gaming journalists and game company representatives alike, every game on this list is worth trying out! “Balatro” went home with a total of three awards and “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth” won the Best Score and Music award despite losing their bigger aforementioned categories, and both (in addition to countless others) remain beloved games that make gamers happy. Because that’s what video games are supposed to do. They’re supposed to make people happy, no matter if they win a special trophy or not.
