Earlier this week, five jolly good gamers from TheGamer got together to tell you who should win big atThe Game Awardsthis year. Those gamers were myself, Eric Switzer, George Foster, and Kings Andrew and Jade (no relation). Our main takeaway was thatMarvel’s Midnight Sunsshould have been nominated for most of them - as a December ‘22 game, it was eligible but overlooked for the ‘23 TGAs - but we found time to make up some categories of our own too. Check out the video above for a full breakdown of the winners (plus a breakdown from Andrew screaming “PIKMIN” over and over), and check out the writing below for which made up categories we picked and why.
I’ll also be threading our picks for every real category below, if you hate watching movies and love reading, you nerd.
Best DLC/Expansion
George kicked off our made up categories with a fan favourite. Always playing to the gallery that lad. Or maybe not, because rather than the obvious vote ofCyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, so popular it madethe final five for Player’s Voice, George rebelled with Eric and went forResident Evil 4: Separate Ways. A great DLC, but ultimately and predictably beaten by the rest of us voting for Cyberpunk.
Best Developer
My category is a callback to the early awards of 2014 and 2015, when this category existed. Best Direction often gets confused by voters and audiences alike - it’s for specific in-game directorial choices, not for leadership and management. To make that distinction clearer, I proposed we bring this back. ThoughInsomniacis an example to triple-A studios with consistent release rhythms and digestible gameplay, we elected to celebrate panstasz, the solo developer of World of Horror, instead.
Best Horror
Gaming rapscallion that I am, I came armed with two categories. Horror is traditionally overlooked by award shows, and gaming feels like the perfect medium in which to fix that. World of Horror was probably hurt by having just won Best Developer, whileAlan Wake 2and Resident Evil 4 (despite being huge fan favourites), didn’t quite explore the outer reaches of horror the way the more experimental titles here did.ParanormasightandSlay the Princessboth had passionate rallying cries/explanations of what the game is for the jury members who had not played them, but Slay the Princess came out on top.
Game I Most Forgot Came Out This Year
This was Jade’s category, and despite bringing two of my own, this is by far my favourite of the bunch. Most befitting the spirit of our own private ceremony and least likely to ever make it to the real TGA pantheon, we deemedBayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demonthe best game we forgot existed until right now.
Best Game Not Nominated For Any Other Award
Eric’s category is a curious one, because it feels like the sort of thing fans would like to see to ensure their favourites aren’t left out, but at the same time, it feels a bit like a pity category. We elected to take pity equally on Paranormasight andAmnesia: The Bunker, with two votes each, Eric opting not to tie break and instead sticking to his Metroid Prime guns. In the end, we gave it to Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Act
This was a strange one, on the basis that only two out of five members of the panel (myself and Andrew, who selected the category) had reached Act 3. But seeing as we are expert negotiators, Act 3 still won through sheer force of will. Unsure how this reward can sustain itself into next year however.
