Home Gaming The Game Awards 2017 GOTY nominees include Destiny 2 and The Legend of Zelda

The Game Awards 2017 GOTY nominees include Destiny 2 and The Legend of Zelda

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27

Thank-a-you

When it comes to video game awards, only one outlet really has a voice that matters: Us. The Critical Hit trophy (which may or may not be half a 2L Coke bottle filled with Chappies) has long been the prize that most developers have had their eyes on ever since it was introduced a few weeks from today in December 2017.

It’s the Oscar of awards, the Pulitzer and the Nobel Peace Prize all rolled into one gloriously cheap and hastily-written line of kudos to the deserving winner. Then again, there’s also that up and coming new kid on the block, the Game Awards. A fresh face, the Game Awards do have one or two things that the Critical Hits don’t have: Celebrities, connections, a venue that isn’t Geoff’s kitchen and maybe an actual budget with which to host their humble event.

I think they might be popular with fans this year, so good luck to them. Anyway, while we’re still arguing over the best game of the year by forcing our interns to play a real-life version of PUBG (I duct-taped knives all over Johnny, he’s a shoe-in to win), the Game Awards have finalised their nominations. Not surprising anyone, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has six nominations, although it’s facing some stiff competition from Horizon: Zero Dawn, Super Mario Odyssey and Destiny 2 who all have an equal number of nominations.

Here’s the full list, via VG247:

Game Award Noms (1) (2)

Game of the Year

  • Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Persona 5 (Atlus)
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corp.)
  • Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

Best Game Direction

  • Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Capcom)
  • Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda)

Best Narrative

  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix)
  • What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)
  • Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda)

Best Art Direction

  • Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
  • Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Persona 5 (Atlus)

Best Score / Music

  • Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
  • Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix)
  • Persona 5 (Atlus)
  • Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

Best Audio Design

  • Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Capcom)
  • Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

Best Performance

  • Ashly Burch as Aloy in Horizon: Zero Dawn
  • Brian Bloom as BJ Blazkowicz in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
  • Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
  • Laura Bailey as Nadine Ross in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
  • Melina Juergens as Senua in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Game Award Noms (1)

Games for Impact Award

  • Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt / Figs, ARTE)
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
  • Life is Strange: Before the Storm (Deck Nine / Square Enix)
  • Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
  • Please Knock on my Door (Levall Games)
  • What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)

Best Ongoing Game

  • Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
  • GTA Online (Rockstar Games)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard)
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corp.)
  • Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
  • Warframe (Digital Extremes)

Best Mobile Game

  • Fire Emblem Heroes (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
  • Hidden Folks (Adriaan de Jongh / Sylvain Tegroeg)
  • Monument Valley 2 (Ustwo Games)
  • Old Man’s Journey (Broken Rules)
  • Super Mario Run (Nintendo)

Best Handheld Game

  • Ever Oasis (Grezzo / Nintendo)
  • Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
  • Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam / Nintendo)
  • Monster Hunter Stories (Capcom / Nintendo)
  • Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World (Good-Feel / Nintendo)

Best VR Game

  • Farpoint (Impulse Gear / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Lone Echo / Echo Arena (Ready at Dawn / Oculus Studios)
  • Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Capcom)
  • Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Red Storm Entertainment / Ubisoft)
  • Superhot VR (Superhot Team)

Best Action Game

  • Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
  • Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activison)
  • Nioh (Team Ninja / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Prey (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks)
  • Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda Softworks)

Best Action/Adventure Game

  • Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best RPG

  • Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Larian Studios)
  • Final Fantasy 15 (Square Enix Business Division 2 / Square Enix)
  • Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix)
  • Persona 5 (Atlus)
  • South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Ubisoft San Francisco / Ubisot)

Best Fighting Game

  • ARMS (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Injustice 2 (NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
  • Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite (Capcom)
  • Nidhogg 2 (Messhof Games)
  • Tekken 7 (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Best Family Game

  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris + Milan / Ubisoft)
  • Sonic Mania (PagodaWest Games + Headcannon / Sega)
  • Splatoon 2 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

Best Strategy Game

  • Halo Wars 2 (Creative Assembly + 343 Industries / Microsoft Studios)
  • Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris + Milan / Ubisoft)
  • Total War: Warhammer 2(Creative Assembly / Sega)
  • Tooth and Tail (Pocketwatch Games)
  • XCOM 2: War of the Chosen (Firaxis Games / 2K Games)

Best Sports / Racing Game

  • Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • FIFA 18 (EA Vancouver / EA)
  • Forza Motorsport 7 (Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
  • NBA 2K18 (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)
  • Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES Productions / Konami)
  • Project Cars 2 (Slightly Mad Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

Best Multiplayer Game

  • Call of Duty: WW2 (Sledgehammer Games / Activision)
  • Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
  • Fortnite (Epic Games)
  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
  • PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corp.)
  • Splatoon 2 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

Most Anticipated Game

  • God of War (SIE Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
  • Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
  • Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Independent Game

  • Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
  • Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
  • Pyre (Supergiant Games)
  • What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)

Best Student Game

  • Falling Sky (Jonathan Nielssen, Nikolay Savov, Mohsen Shah; National Film and Television School)
  • From Light (Alejandro Grossman, Steven Li, Sherveen Uduwana; University of Southern California)
  • Hollowed (Erin Marek, Jerrick Flores, Charley Choucard; University of Central Florida – Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy)
  • Impulsuon (Hugo Verger, Rémi Bertrand, Maxime Lupinski; IIM – Institut de l’Internet et du Multimédia)
  • Level Squared (Kip Brennan, Stephen Scoglio, Dane Perry Svendsen; Swinburne University of Technology)
  • Meaning (Hariz Yet; DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore)

Trending Gamer

  • Andrea Rene (What’s Good Games)
  • Clint Lexa (“Halfcoordinated”)
  • Guy Beahm (Dr. Disrespect)
  • Mike Grzesiek (Shroud)
  • Steve Spohn (AbleGamers)

Best eSports Game

  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
  • Dota 2 (Valve)
  • League of Legends (Riot)
  • Overwatch (Blizzard)
  • Rocket League (Psyonix)

Best eSports Player

  • Je-hong “ryujehong” Ryu (Seoul Dynasty, Overwatch)
  • Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi (Team Liquid, Dota 2)
  • Lee sang-hyeok “Faker” (SK Telecom 1, League of Legends)
  • Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David (SK Gaming, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
  • Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovac (FaZE Clan, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)

Best eSports Team

  • Cloud 9
  • FaZE Clan
  • Lunatic-Hai
  • SK Telecom 1
  • Team Liquid

Best Debut Indie Game

  • Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
  • Golf Story (Sidebar Games)
  • Hollow Knight (Team Cherry)
  • Mr. Shifty (Team Shifty)
  • Slime Rancher (Monomi Park)

Best Chinese Game

  • Gumballs (QcPlay Limited)
  • Icey (FantaBlade Network)
  • Jx3 HD (Kingsoft Corporation)
  • King of Glory (Timi Studio Group)
  • Monument Valley 2 (Ustwo)

The Game Awards take place sometime in December, and usually include a few sneak peeks at upcoming titles for the year ahead. Meanwhile, the prestigious Critical Hits will be held at the end of November, just as soon as we find a broom that’s big enough to kill the rat in our venue/kitchen, that may have eaten our host for the night. I tell you, it’s amazing how Christopher Walken will accept any gig.

Last Updated: November 15, 2017

27 Comments

  1. Best chinese game? why they so damn special?

    Reply

  2. Skittle

    November 15, 2017 at 08:33

    “Best Mobile Game” – this awards ceremony is obviously a sham

    Reply

    • Magoo

      November 15, 2017 at 09:39

      They could learn a thing or two from the Citical Hit Trophy Awards which we’ve all trusted diligently since a few weeks from today in December 2017.

      Reply

  3. Alien Emperor Trevor

    November 15, 2017 at 08:38

    Hellblade wins everything. Even best esports game.

    Reply

  4. Raidz19

    November 15, 2017 at 08:51

    I’m going to be upset if hellblade does bot win a couple of their nominations

    Reply

  5. Pieter Kruger

    November 15, 2017 at 09:06

    Easy, PUBG GOTY, it sold more than all other games combined…..but Destiny 2 nominated???SMH

    Reply

    • JacoZAB

      November 15, 2017 at 10:45

      Just because a game sells well does not mean it will be GOTY. Breath of the Wild deserves game of the year

      Reply

  6. Magoo

    November 15, 2017 at 09:37

    Rocket League and Warframe have nominations… Good stuff.

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      November 15, 2017 at 10:22

      Warframe… makes me sad. Everything from The Second Dream onwards has just made me enjoy it less & less.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        November 15, 2017 at 10:32

        I’m still happy, you grumpy old bastard

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          November 15, 2017 at 10:45

          Good for you. 😛

          I’m sick & tired of them “reducing the grind” by adding more grind.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            November 15, 2017 at 10:51

            LOL, yeah, the relics are more efficient for me now, but I have to grind for syn rep to buy random relics and then refine them and gaaaaaaaah.

            The Eidolon area has a metric ton of grinding involved……

            At least it is fun to fish!

      • Magoo

        November 15, 2017 at 10:35

        Shit.. That started for me with update 13.0

        Reply

  7. Admiral Chief

    November 15, 2017 at 10:31

  8. Admiral Chief

    November 15, 2017 at 10:33

    Always with the CoDpy and PASTE garbage on this list

    Reply

  9. Steffmeister

    November 15, 2017 at 10:48

    I’m hoping Horizon & Hellblade win something.
    HZD for my GOTY.

    Reply

  10. Tbone187

    November 15, 2017 at 10:49

    Ahhhh! Lazy Gamer crew…You okes still around I see. Just checking in, haven’t been gaming at all in recent years. The One X is looking cool tho, it might just rope me back in.

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      November 15, 2017 at 11:06

      Years? Damn that sucks, but I’m glad you’ve recovered from your coma. 😉

      Reply

      • Tbone187

        November 16, 2017 at 09:00

        Yeah..it took an excuse for beer n scafe with my mate in the guise of borrowing a game…Had to play it then. An oldie too, Force Unleashed 😉

        Reply

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