Gaming

‘Deathloop’ Tops The Game Awards Nominees

November 16, 2021

The Game Awards officially announced the nominees for the award show’s 2021 edition through a live stream on Tuesday. Deathloop and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart lead the pack with nine and six nominations respectively.

#TheGameAwards – Watch the Nominees Announced Live by @geoffkeighley https://t.co/VzRZp5bAm0

— The Game Awards (@thegameawards) November 16, 2021

Among so many nominations, both video games are in the run for the top award of Game of the Year, alongside It Takes Two, Metroid Dread, Psychonauts 2 and Resident Evil Village.

On top of recognizing each year’s best games, The Game Awards also brings new announcements and trailers for upcoming titles, making the award show one of the biggest annual gaming events. The show will go live on Dec. 9, both in-person at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and online through a free global live stream.

Find the full list of nominees for each category below.

Game of the Year

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

Best Game Direction

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
Returnal (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Ongoing Game

Apex Legends (Respawn/Electronic Arts)
Call of Duty: Warzone (Infinity Ward/Raven/Activision)
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)

Best Indie Game

12 Minutes (Luis Antonio/Annapurna Interactive)
Death’s Door (Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital)
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital)
Loop Hero (Four Quarters/Devolver Digital)

Best Debut Indie Game

Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Sable (Shedworks/Raw Fury)
The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)
The Forgotten City (Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers)
Valheim (Iron Gate/Coffee Stain)

Best Narrative

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios/Electronic Arts)
Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)

Best Art Direction

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Artful Escape (Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna)

Best Score and Music

Cyberpunk 2077 (Marcin Przybylowicz, Piotr T. Adamczyk, Composers)
Deathloop (Tom Salta, Composer)
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 (Keiichi Okabe, Composer)
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Richard Jacques, Composer)
The Artful Escape (Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams, Composers)

Best Audio Design

Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Resident Evil Village (Capcom)
Returnal (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Performance

Erika Mori as Alex Chen, Life is Strange: True Colors
Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, Far Cry 6
Jason E. Kelley as Colt Vahn, Deathloop
Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake, Deathloop

Games for Impact

Before Your Eyes (GoodbyeWorld Games/Skybound Games)
Boyfriend Dungeon (Kitfox Games)
Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Greg Lobanow, Alexis dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit/Finji)
Life is Strange: True Colors (Deck Nine/SQUARE ENIX)
No Longer Home (Humble Grove, Hana Lee, Cel Davison, Adrienne Lombardo, Eli Rainsberry/Fellow Traveler)

Best Community Support

Apex Legends (Respawn/Electronic Arts)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)
FINAL FANTASY XIV Online (SQUARE ENIX)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Mobile Game

Fantasian (Mistwalker)
Genshin Impact (MiHoYo)
League of Legends: Wild Rift (Riot Games)
MARVEL Future Revolution (Netmarble)
Pokemon Unite (TiMi Studios/The Pokemon Company)

Best VR/AR Game

Hitman 3 (IO Interactive)
I Expect You To Die 2 (Schell Games)
Lone Echo II (Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios)
Resident Evil 4 (Armature Studio/Capcom/Oculus Studios)
Sniper Elite VR (Coatsink/Just Add Water/Rebellion Developments)

Best Action Game

Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock/WB Games)
Chivalry II (Torn Banner Studios/Tripwire Interactive)
Deathloop (Arkane Studios/Bethesda)
Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft)
Returnal (Housemarque/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Action/Adventure Game

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Eidos Montreal/SQUARE ENIX)
Metroid Dread (Mercury Steam/Nintendo)
Psychonauts 2 (Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Resident Evil Village (Capcom)

Best Role Playing Game

Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red)
Monster Hunter Rise (Capcom)
Scarlet Nexus (Bandai Namco)
Shin Megami Tensei V (Atlus/Sega)
Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco)

Best Fighting Game

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles (CyberConnect2/Sega)
Guilty Gear -Strive- (Arc System Works)
Melty Blood: Type Lumina (French-Bread/Delightworks)
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill)
Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (Sega)