The Recreation Awards aren’t identified for a lot in the way in which of shock and shock, and so it proved with the 2024 nominees — a reasonably well-rounded listing by which many of the yr’s best-reviewed and best-loved video games bought some love.
The Recreation Awards’ voting jury snubbed BioWare’s newest recreation in a sequence of key classes the place it might have been anticipated to compete. It secured only one nomination, for Innovation in Accessibility, which is determined by a specialist jury.
Granted, the reception to The Veilguard has been combined — and with its Metacritic score settling at 82, a nomination for Recreation of the 12 months appeared past its attain (though that’s one level increased than Black Fantasy: Wukong, which did make the reduce).
Extra tellingly, although, The Veilguard didn’t rating nominations for Finest Narrative or Finest Efficiency, two areas the place BioWare video games are likely to excel, and that are much less review-dependent. It additionally missed out in Finest Function-Enjoying Recreation. This was an exceptionally robust class this yr: Three of the 5 nominees (Metaphor: ReFantazio, Last Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree) additionally secured nominations for Recreation of the 12 months, and the opposite two (Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth) are unconventionally wonderful. Even so, failing to hitch this firm is unquestionably not the outcome that BioWare or writer EA wished after a decade of improvement.
Had been there another snubs? Maybe a couple of minor ones. It was a shock to not see the much-loved EA Sports activities School Soccer 25 rating a nomination within the Sports activities/Racing Recreation class, though this is perhaps all the way down to the broad worldwide make-up of the jury. The Sim/Technique Recreation class is lacking two video games with passionate fan bases and excessive evaluate scores — Passable and Tactical Breach Wizards — both of which could have taken the slot of the Age of Mythology remake, for instance. However this was a robust class this yr. Personally, I might have liked to see The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Knowledge nominated for its fabulous music.
As ever, the intensely aggressive indie classes can’t please everybody. However with 15 video games nominated throughout Unbiased Recreation, Debut Indie Recreation, and Video games for Influence, you need to dig all the way down to some fairly deep cuts like Arco or 1000xResist earlier than you discover one thing to get upset about.
Different surprises? I don’t assume anyone noticed 4 nominations coming for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, a recreation that has all however disappeared from the discourse since its launch in Might. 4 nominations — together with Recreation of the 12 months — for DLC, within the type of Shadow of the Erdtree, is with out precedent. Black Fantasy: Wukong breaking via in Recreation of the 12 months regardless of its comparatively weak vital repute is certainly noteworthy, as are the 5 nominations for one-man-band card recreation Balatro.
In the long run, although, there’s not a lot on this set of nominees to ruffle any feathers — outdoors of BioWare’s places of work, that’s.