What Got A Game Awards 2024 Game Of The Year Nomination, And What Didn’t

The Game Awards nominees for 2024 have just been announced with much fanfare by Geoff Keighley, and while there is plenty of debate over whether these awards “matter,” it is in fact the highest profile award show the industry has, along with being its biggest preview showcase now that E3 is dead.

There is a very long list of nominees in a bunch of different categories, but I wanted to focus on the nominations for Game of the Year 2024, what was nominated, and what wasn’t, whether you want to consider that a “snub” or not.

Game of the Year 2024 Nominees

Astro Bot – The platforming love letter to PlayStation is one of the best entries in that genre in years, and it’s no surprise that its celebration of not just PlayStation IP, but what feels like gaming in general, is nominated here. I would personally consider this the frontrunner.

Metaphor: ReFantazio – A stunning new RPG entry from ATLUS of Persona fame, this late-comer immediately captivated audiences and launched it into surprise GOTY contention, which has been realized with a nomination here. It could definitely win.

Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth – This was effectively a sure thing in terms of landing a nomination, beloved by critics and most fans. A win? Less of a guarantee, but it feels like it’s dueling in the top 2 or 3 for sure.

Black Myth Wukong – It has both a whole lot of fans and set explosive sales records thanks to its popularity globally, but especially in China. It’s an extremely competitive year and the game reviewed well, albeit not spectacularly, and I wasn’t expecting it to make the cut. I was wrong, here it is on the list, selected by the jury, landing a top spot. A win does feel difficult, given its competition, but we’ll see.

Balatro – Unlike anything else on this list, the brilliant card game has been a sleeper megahit all year, and I thought it might slide into a nomination here. You love to see it.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree – In the last few days there has been a flurry of drama over the fact that The Game Awards confirmed that yes, DLC or expansions could be nominated for game of the year. While the immediate aftermath of this discussion was about a likely nomination or even win for Shadow of the Erdtree, it was still up to voters whether they considered whether or not they thought it counted. Enough did, it seems. Could it win now? That would spark some…opinions

No Nomination

Helldivers 2 – An explosively popular game that shattered perceptions of whether Sony could produce a live service hit. It has certainly had its up and downs since it’s release, but it’s hard to forget that stellar initial launch period, and it’s a multiplayer entry that…failed to get a nomination. This may be the biggest “snub,” if we are playing that game.

Silent Hill 2 – This one was bound to be controversial as a remake, but Silent Hill 2 put up a large amount of nominations overall before the GOTY slate was even announced. It did not, however land an actual GOTY nomination itself, which was a bit of a surprise.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard – There was some theorizing that game journalists would rally behind this game enough to get it nominated, but despite solid enough reviews and many Dragon Age fans enjoying it, it’s not exactly a product similar to the full-on glory days of BioWare, and as such it did not land a nomination.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Certainly a departure from a traditional Zelda game, but it’s still a bit surprising that it did not represent Nintendo on the GOTY list. I suppose it’s not a mainstream entry, but you don’t often find Nintendo missing out on having a best game contender during a given year.

Tekken 8 – A 90 metascore might normally guarantee a placement on a list like this in most years, but Tekken suffers from being in the (relatively) niche fighting game genre where it will unfortunately be overlooked by most voters. It is a likely favorite for Best Fighting Game obviously.

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