2022 Game of the Year

The Game Awards announced a plethora of awards, including the Game of the Year at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday December 8th.

 

Game of the Year was awarded to FromSoftware’s Elden Ring, a team who sported some big names. The lead director was Hidetaka Miyazaki, who also directed the “Dark Souls” trilogy, “Demon’s Souls”, “Bloodborne”, and “Sekiro”. The lead writer was George R.R. Martin, author of the original source for the Game of Thrones series.

 

The other nominees for Game of the Year included PlayStation exclusives “God of War Ragnarok” and “Horizon Forbidden West”, the Nintendo exclusive “Xenoblade Chronicles 3” and multiplatform games, “Stray” and “A Plague Tale: Requiem”.

 

Freshman Brody Cain, described God of War Ragnarok as a “9.5 game,” but Elden Ring as “a 10/10 game. ” When asked what made the game so great, he elaborated with “you can do anything and go anywhere.” 

 

Freshman Quinmetris Cunningham, said that “I played Elden Ring a little bit but God of War should have beat it.”

 

Other major categories included Best Performance, which was given to Christopher Judge for his portrayal of Kratos in “God of War Ragnarok”. ‘Best Narrative’, ‘Best Score and Music’, and ‘Best Action/Adventure Game’ were all won by “God of War Ragnarok”. While ‘Best Art Direction’ and ‘Best Roleplaying Game’ were awarded to “Elden Ring”.

 

The winners were determined by two factors. The public voting on the website made up 10% of the vote, and the private voting jury made up of leading media, influencer and journalistic outlets, such as IGN and Gamespot, which contributed the remaining 90%. The Game Awards website FAQ explains such brutal margins stating: “Given the sheer number of games released each year, as well as the extended time required to fully evaluate products, a ‘voting outlet’ approach allows for the widest possible critical assessment.” 

 

A lot of new trailers were released during the event. Some of the largest reveals came from “Armored Core 4”, “Diablo 4”, “Blue Protocol”, “Dune Awakening”, “STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor”, “Death Stranding 2”, “Hades 2”, “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League”, “Street Fighter 6”, and “Hellboy Web of Wyrd”.

 

When given the list of games and asked which they were excited for, Quinmetris said “Street Fighter 6” and Brody said “Jedi:Survivor and the Suicide Squad game. ”

 

A lot of information dropped during the game awards, not only for new games, but a couple of expansions. New expansions to current games include “Horizon Forbidden West ‘Burning Shores’”, “Cyberpunk 2077 ‘Phantom Liberty’”, and the new “Among Us” ‘Hide and Seek’ gamemode.

 

Other Awards:

  • Player’s Voice: Genshin Impact
  • Best Audio Design: God of War Ragnarok
  • Games for Impact: As Dusk Falls
  • Best Ongoing Game: Final Fantasy XIV
  • Best Indie Game: Stray
  • Best Mobile Game: Marvel Snap
  • Best Community Support: Final Fantasy XIV
  • Innovation in Accessibility: God of War Ragnarok
  • Best VR/AR Game: Moss Book II
  • Best Action Game: Bayonetta 3
  • Best Fighting Game: Multiversus
  • Best Family Game: Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • Best Strategy/Sim Game: Mario & Rabbits Sparks of Hope
  • Best Sports/Racing Game: Gran Turismo 7
  • Best Multiplayer Game: Splatoon 3
  • Content Creator of the Year: Ludwig
  • Best Debut Indie Game: Stray
  • Best Adaptation: Arcane: League of Legends
  • Most Anticipated Game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  • Best eSports Game: Valorant
  • Best eSports Athlete: Yay
  • Best eSports Team: Loud
  • Best eSports Coach: BZKA
  • Best eSports Event: 2022 League of Legends World Championship