Board 8 > The Game Awards nominees to be revealed today at 9am PT/12pm ET/5pm GMT. Predix?

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1590751728462606337

Im just rooting for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 to get a GOTY nomination.

Anyway, here are my GOTY nominee predictions:

-Elden Ring
-God of War Ragnarok
-Xenoblade Chronicles 3
-Horizon Forbidden West
-Bayonetta 3
-Neon White (Vampire Survivors and Immortality also have a decent shot)

Kind of a weird year in that there are two nailed down locks and then its a bit hazier.

How many nominees is it per category?

Guessing that the GOTY will be;
Elden Ring
God of War Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Neon White
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 /Bayonetta 3?

Elden Ring takes it.

Since God of War just came out, I was wondering if it made the cutoff date. It turns out the cutoff date is in 4 days and they are just assuming nothing worthwhile is going to show up in those 4 days.

Jury members already have access to everything before the cutoff unless something comes out of nowhere.

TeamRocketElite posted...

Since God of War just came out, I was wondering if it made the cutoff date. It turns out the cutoff date is in 4 days and they are just assuming nothing worthwhile is going to show up in those 4 days.

But but Pokemon

Reviewers have Pokmon. If its seen as good enough itll get nominations.

Also since it was asked its 5 for most categories and 6 for GOTY.

Game of the Year nominees:

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

Kirby got snubbed as expected >_> can't wait for it to lose Best Family Game to Splatoon

Stray was great but really surprised it's getting so many nominations, especially Game of the Year

Overwatch 2 getting nominated at all is funny

lol Elden Ring in best narrative. Pentiment must not be very good if it didn't get a nom in that category. Hopefully Immortality takes it...

Vampire Survivors got in Debut Indie rather than regular Indie. Wish there wasn't so much overlap between the two categories.

Wonder if XB3 can beat Elden Ring in best RPG.

Realistically, game of the Year is just between Elden Ring and God of War, right?

Wonder why As Dusk Falls is in Games for Impact. Doesn't feel like it had much of that in there. At least we got Citizen Sleeper...

Johnbobb posted...

Realistically, game of the Year is just between Elden Ring and God of War, right?

Yes. None of the others feel like strong contenders.

I'm sure Jim Ryan is out there somewhere saying wait why isn't The Last of Us Part 1 not nominated? It was GotY in 2013!

MacArrowny posted...

Pentiment must not be very good if it didn't get a nom in that category.

It's reviewing very well!

RPG:
Elden Ring
Live a Live
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Triangle Strategy
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

I guess Tactics Ogre isn't enough of a remake to get in here. Interesting to see Arceus and not S/V (not too surprising I guess)

Feel like this is basically guaranteed to be either Elden Ring or God of War with each one likely winning every category they dont share too, but well see.

Johnbobb posted...

Realistically, game of the Year is just between Elden Ring and God of War, right?

Pretty much

LightningStrikes posted...

Im just rooting for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 to get a GOTY nomination.

Well hey

No Frontiers for best music? Booo!

Johnbobb posted...

Realistically, game of the Year is just between Elden Ring and God of War, right?

Can't wait for Stray to WIN!

Genshin getting snubbed in some categories. Basically just gets mobile/ongoing game, but its got fantastic music too.

The big categories make this year look a lot more boring than it actually was.

Ok but where's Gura or Marine for best content creator.

Johnbobb posted...

Game of the Year nominees:
* A Plague Tale: Requiem
* Elden Ring
* God of War: Ragnarok
* Horizon Forbidden West
* Stray
* Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Im sorry but who the FUCK decided this list lmao, in a year of incredible games, 2 of these are genuinely bad games.

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Im sorry but who the FUCK decided this list lmao, in a year of incredible games, 2 of these are genuinely bad games.

Ragnarok is the only bad game on the list and there's no way they were leaving that off...

Forbidden West is bad

Anyway, Elden Ring should sweep in every single category it's nominated in.

MacArrowny posted...

Ragnarok is the only bad game on the list and there's no way they were leaving that off...

Everything Ive seen says Ragnarok is good as hell, but its inclusion IS kind of weird.

Twitter says noms ended mid-October, and Ragnaroks embargo was up November 3rd, so it was definitely nommed based on expectations/clout.

Stray and Horizon, on the other hand, are bad games.

Reviewers get games weeks in advance. Theyve had Ragnarok for about a month now if not longer. I also see no evidence of a cutoff in mid-October, most likely it was last week.

Didn't play Stray, for those played both is it that much better than Vampire Survivors?

LightningStrikes posted...

Reviewers get games weeks in advance. Theyve had Ragnarok for about a month now if not longer. I also see no evidence of a cutoff in mid-October, most likely it was last week.

For what its worth, Im friends with an editor at one of the biggest sites, and he hasnt had the game for a month.

Stray is fantastic. Can't speak for Horizon but the rest of the noms for GOTY are solid.

voltch posted...

Didn't play Stray, for those played both is it that much better than Vampire Survivors?

Pretty sure it isn't as good as Vampire Survivors

Yeah Stray is the only odd choice here. I dunno, good game, but it probably wouldn't scratch my top 10 this year.

MacArrowny posted...

Ragnarok is the only bad game on the list and there's no way they were leaving that off...

https://i.imgur.com/AjL87P1.gifv

The release date cutoff is actually this coming Friday.

https://www.thegameawards.com/faq

Neon White should've been the obligatory GOTY indie nom

colliding posted...

Neon White should've been the obligatory GOTY indie nom

Tbh, I would have replaced A Plague Tale with it, but I haven't played those games. I need to give them a go I guess. I will do it after Ragnarok I guess.

Sorozone posted...

probably wouldn't scratch

lol

Anyway, all nominees as they never actually got posted:

Game Of The Year
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnarok
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Direction
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnark
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality
- Stray

Best Narrative
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnark
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Immortality

Best Art Direction
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnark
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Scorn
- Stray

Best Score and Music
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnark
- Metal Hellsinger
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Audio Design
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Elden Ring
- God of War Ragnark
- Gran Turismo 7
- Horizon Forbidden West

Best Performance
- Ashly Burch as Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West
- Charlotte McBurney as Amicia in A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Christopher Judge as Kratos in God of War Ragnark
- Manon Gage as Marissa Marcel in Immortality
- Sunny Suljic as Atreus in God of War Ragnark

Games for Impact
- A Memoir Blue
- As Dusk Falls
- Citizen Sleeper
- Endling - Extinction is Forever
- Hindsight
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Best Ongoing
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- Genshin Impact

Best Indie
- Cult of the Lamb
- Neon White
- Sifu
- Stray
- Tunic

Best Debut Indie
- Neon White
- Norco
- Stray
- Tunic
- Vampire Survivors

Best Mobile Game
- Apex Legends
- Diablo Immortal
- Genshin Impact
- Marvel Snap
- Tower of Fantasy

Best Community Support
- Apex Legends
- Destiny 2
- Final Fantasy XIV
- Fortnite
- No Man's Sky

Innovation in Accessibility
- As Dusk Falls
- God of War Ragnark
- Return to Monkey Island
- The Last of Us Part I
- The Quarry

Best VR/AR
- After The Fall
- Among Us VR
- Bonelab
- Moss: Book II
- Red Matter 2

Best Action Game
- Bayonetta 3
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- Neon White
- Sifu
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Best Action/Adventure Game
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- God of War Ragnark
- Horizon Forbidden West
- Stray
- Tunic

Best Role Playing
- Elden Ring
- Live a Live
- Pokmon Legends: Arceus
- Triangle Strategy
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Fighting
- DNF Duel
- Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
- King of Fighters XV
- Multiversus
- Sifu

Best Family
- Kirby and The Forgotten Land
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Splatoon 3

Best Sim/Strategy
- Dune: Spice Wars
- Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope
- Total War Warhammer III
- Two Point Campus
- Victoria 3

Best Sports/Racing
- F1 2022
- FIFA 23
- NBA 2K23
- Gran Turismo 7
- OlliOlli World

Best Multiplayer
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare II
- Multiversus
- Overwatch 2
- Splatoon 3
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

Best Adaptation
- Arcane
- Cyberpunk Edgerunners
- Cuphead Show
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Uncharted

Most Anticipated Game
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Resident Evil 4
- Starfield
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

Content Creator of the Year
- Karl Jacobs
- Ludwig
- Nibellion
- Nobru
- QTCinderella

Best eSports Game
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Dota 2
- League of Legends
- Rocket League
- Valorant

Best eSports Athlete
- Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon
- Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok
- Finn "Karrigan" Andersen
- Oleksandr "S1mple" Kostyliev
- Jacob "Yay" Whiteaker

Best eSports Team
- Darkzero eSports
- Faze Clan
- Gen.G
- LA Thieves
- Loud

Best eSports Coach
- Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi
- Matheus "BZKA" Tarasconi
- Erik "d00mbr0s" Sandgren
- Robert "Robban" Dahlstrm
- Go "Score" Dong-bin

Best eSports Event
- EVO 2022
- League of Legends Worlds 2022
- PGL Major Antwerp 2022
- The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
- Valorant Champions 2022

Have basically no interest in this other than trailers and such

Tunic or Neon White would have been better indie picks, but I still enjoyed Stray

Or Immortality. Stray is just an odd pick. You could argue that instead of the indie game slot Stray is taking up the populist game that was not quite as critically well received as the other nominees slot that Assassins Creed Odyssey, The Outer Worlds, Ghost of Tsushima, and Resident Evil Village availed of. With A Plague Tale being in the small game slot.

Anyway here are collected thoughts:

-ya go my Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

-With that said it was definitely a huge snub in Best Performance (Harry McEntire).

-Speaking of which, Best Performance would be a more interesting category if it only allowed one nominee per game. Does God of War really need two nominees?

-I am going to defend Elden Ring for Narrative. Lore is a huge part of Narrative and Elden Ring has some of the most extensive and interesting lore around. GRRMs presence was definitely felt there. I have a bigger issue with Horizon being there really, though I am largely done with that kind of AAA storytelling in general.

-Dang NORCO and Tunic had a load of hype at the start of the year and just vanished as it went on.

-Horizon feels like the game that gets a load of nominations and wins none of them.

-Feels like a poor showing for Bayonetta 3, only getting Action Game.

-Do we actually need so many esports categories? Best esports game in particular feels odd because it is just going to be mostly the same games every year.

-The people hyping up Vampire Survivors as a hard lock now look very silly.

-And again, Stray, really?

Kirby's the one that probably got the biggest shaft

The best reviewed (new) game to receive zero noms is Freshly Frosted. Then there's Not for Broadcast, HYPER DEMON, The Case of the Golden Idol, and Rogue Legacy 2. I'm not surprised by the PC-only snubs but Rogue Legacy 2 not getting a nod somewhere is odd.

As always, the Keighleys are basically the Golden Globes of the VG world and shouldn't be taken seriously. Though they have successfully emulated the Oscars in repeating the same 3/4 games across the board!

LightningStrikes posted...

-With that said it was definitely a huge snub in Best Performance (Harry McEntire).

-Speaking of which, Best Performance would be a more interesting category if it only allowed one nominee per game. Does God of War really need two nominees?

Best Performance seems to typically ignore non-Western games for whatever reason.

Well with Rogue Legacy 2 it was in Early Access for two years. It has largely not been seen as a 2022 game. It is a similar situation for Not For Broadcast.

The rest all have very few reviews. HYPER DEMON (amazing name btw) only has eight for instance. If you set a 25 review threshold and exclude early access (and remasters/expansions) the top six is:

Elden Ring
God of War Ragnark
Neon White
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Immortality
Horizon Forbidden West

Okay that is actually a better list for GOTY than the nominees are.

I think the TGAs are okay as awards though. The closest to a critics consensus there is. As a show its silly and just marketing but as a tool for seeing how critics are feeling its decent. BAFTA is more the real awards though do have a significant bias towards British productions as you would expect.

Disco Elysium winning as much as it did in its year makes TGAs alright with me. They do some bad choices just like other Award shows and can be cringey at times but it's not completely awful

Ah I didn't know RL2 had been in early access, that explains that (poor Pentiment though!). And obviously this kind of show is going to favour AAA games of a certain genre, it's just a shame they didn't spread the love more throughout the categories (like 4/5 of the Best Score lineup being from the GotY group is underwhelming). I don't rate these particular awards at all but the one consistent positive that can come from awards shows is getting more eyes on a lesser known piece of art that would otherwise be ignored, so this year's token indie being the already widely memed CatGame is a bit of a letdown.

...All that being said, I can't speak to the quality of any of these games so uh maybe it's all fine >_> The only game here I've played is Tunic, which I love but is definitely not for everyone.

I'm a little jaded at seeing so much God of War Ragnarok but no Sonic Frontiers despite their releases being 1 day apart.

And I really don't think Genshin Impact should be on there again for Best Mobile Game when it won it last year. miHoYo must have given Geoff a lot of money to have it as a nominee it again.