The wait is finally over! The prestigious BAFTA Games Awards are back, and the UK is all ready to welcome the top releases of the year with open arms. This year’s award ceremony promises to be bigger and better than ever, with a lineup of incredible titles that have taken the gaming world by storm. At the forefront of the nominees this year is God of War Ragnarok, with gamers and critics alike eagerly anticipating the announcement of the winners. So, let’s take a closer look at the most anticipated event in the gaming industry and see what’s in store for us this year.
The BAFTA Game Awards 2023 are set to honour the video game industry’s best of the best for the year. Scheduled in central London, the awards night is said to celebrate the biggest blockbusters and the most celebrated indie darlings of 2022. The nominees are a mix of some highly expected games such as God Of War Ragnarok and Elden Ring, while smaller titles such as Vampire Survivors, Cult Of The Lamb, and Stray make the cut. The PlayStation action epic God Of War Ragnarok gained 14 nominations, but Stray has proved to be a close competitor for the title, especially since it is an inspiring debut from a French studio called BlueTwelve that lets the players experience a glimpse of the perspective of a cute, brave cat.
The nominees for Animation include Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II, God Of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Sifu, and Stray. Did you know that the animating of Stray’s protagonist was done with the help of three real-life felines invited to the studio? The team closely observed and studied Oscar, Jun, and Murtaugh for inspiration throughout the development of the game.
The next category is Artistic Achievement, and the nominees include A Plague Tale: Requiem, Elden Ring, God Of War Ragnarok, Immortality, Pentiment, and Tunic. The eye-catching feature of Tunic included an in-game instruction manual reminiscent of retro guide books packed with video games. The in-game pages are rendered with detail, even appearing smudged and creased like the actual physical guidebooks.
Audio achievement nominees are A Plague Tale: Requiem, God Of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Metal: Hellsinger, Stray, and Tunic. A Plague Tale: Requiem’s sound includes a “tsunami of rats,” a disease-carrying group of animals that interfere with the player’s journey. The sound’s creation was achieved by the studio Asobo’s sound engineers tasked to create what it might sound like with thousands of rats scurrying around.
The Best Game nominees are Cult Of The Lamb, Elden Ring, God Of War Ragnarok, Marvel Snap, Stray, and Vampire Survivors. Elden Ring, an open-world RPG from Japanese developer FromSoftware, gained unanimous critical acclaim for its huge scope and challenge and is considered one of the best games of all time.
British Game nominees are Citizen Sleeper, OlliOlli World, Rollerdrome, Total War: Warhammer III, Two Point Campus, and Vampire Survivors. The charming Vampire Survivors, one of the most popular video games of 2022, was created by Luca Galante, a solo developer who quit his full-time job to make the game. Vampire Survivors is up for five awards at the BAFTAs.
Debut Game nominees are As Dusk Falls, The Case Of The Golden Idol, Stray, Trombone Champ, Tunic, and Vampire Survivors. Trombone Champ went viral upon its release as players enjoyed making ridiculous videos of themselves playing along with famous songs.
Evolving Game nominees are Apex Legends, Dreams, The Elder Scrolls Online, Final Fantasy XIV, Forza Horizon 5, and No Man’s Sky. No Man’s Sky, first released in 2016, became one of PlayStation VR2’s standout launch titles last month, allowing players to freely explore the huge galaxy fully.
Family nominees are Disney Dreamlight Valley, Kirby And The Forgotten Land, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope, Nintendo Switch Sports, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga took six years of development to complete and encompasses all nine core films in the franchise.
Game Beyond Entertainment nominees are Citizen Sleeper, Endling: Extinction Is Forever, Gibbon: Beyond The Trees, I Was A Teenage Exocolonist, Not For Broadcast, and We’ll Always Have Paris. Gibbon: Beyond The Trees puts players in the shoes of a family of endangered apes facing deforestation, poaching, and climate change.
Game Design nominations are Cult Of The Lamb, Elden Ring, God Of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Tunic, and Vampire Survivors. Cult Of The Lamb cleaned up at the Australian Game Developer Awards, winning for best game, music, art, and gameplay. The game’s story casts players in the role of a lamb saved from death, who works to form a loyal cult in the deity’s name that spared them.
Multiplayer nominees are Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II, FIFA 23, Elden Ring, Overwatch 2, Splatoon 3, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. FIFA 23’s nomination is special since it is the last FIFA game before the launch of the new franchise called EA Sports FC, which debuts later this year after a licensing agreement with football’s governing body comes to an end.
Music nominees are A Plague Tale: Requiem, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, Elden Ring, God Of War Ragnarok, Stray, and Tunic. Blood Upon The Snow, an original song from Irish artist Hozier, graces God Of War Ragnarok down to its final score.
Narrative nominees are A Plague Tale: Requiem, Citizen Sleeper, God Of War Ragnarok, Immortality, Pentiment, and Stray. Immortality bills itself as an interactive film more than a game and initially premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and is available on Netflix.
Original Property nominees are Citizen Sleeper, Cult Of The Lamb, Elden Ring, Sifu, Stray, and Vampire Survivors. There is already a film adaptation of kung-fu game Sifu in the works, announced in December to be written by the creator of John Wick.
Lastly, Performer in a Leading Role nominees are Alain Mesa in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Charlotte McBurney in A Plague Tale: Requiem, Christopher Judge in God Of War Ragnarok, Manon Gage in Immortality, Siobhan Williams in The Quarry, and Sunny Suljic in God Of War Ragnarok. Christopher Judge broke a record for his acceptance speech at December’s The Game Awards by speaking for seven minutes and 59 seconds. He will have more thanks to dish out if he wins a BAFTA.
Performer in a Supporting Role nominees are Adam J Harrington in God Of War Ragnarok, Alison Jaye in Horizon Forbidden West, Charlotta Mohlin in Immortality, Danielle Bisutti in God Of War Ragnarok, Laya Deleon Hayes in God Of War Ragnarok, and Ryan Hurst in God Of War Ragnarok.
As the curtains finally draw on the highly anticipated BAFTA Games Awards, one thing is for sure – the UK gaming scene is brimming with creativity and ingenuity. From the blockbuster titles to the indie gems, this year’s nominees and winners have showcased the diverse range of talent and craftsmanship that the industry has to offer. And as we eagerly await the release of God of War Ragnarok, which won the coveted Game of the Year award, we can’t help but look forward to what lies ahead for gaming in the UK. With more exciting releases on the horizon, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for this dynamic and ever-evolving industry.
