Cyberpunk 2077 is somehow nominated for two Game Awards
Deathloop leads the pack with nine nominations, followed by It Takes Two and Psychonauts 2. And, somehow, Cyberpunk.
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Deathloopleads this year’s slate of nominees for the upcoming Game Awards with a total of nine nominations in categories including best game direction, best narrative, two in best performance, and—of course—the coveted Game of the Year trophy. Other big contenders this year include Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, with six nominations, andIt Takes TwoandPsychonauts 2, who are each up for five awards.
Along with Deathloop, 2021 Game of the Year nominees are It Takes Two, Metroid Dread, Psychonauts 2, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Resident Evil Village. It’s an interesting mix, with no obvious front-runner: We ratedDeathloop,It Takes Two,Psychonauts 2, andResident Evil Villagequite highly in our reviews (Metroid Dread and Ratchet and Clank are console exclusives) but none of them really stand out as a pop-culture phenom compared to previous GOTY winners at The Game Awards, at list that includes The Last of Us Part 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, God of War, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Overwatch, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
One of our favorites of 2021, the Early Access survival gameValheim, isn’t up for a GOTY but is in the running for a couple other awards: Best Debut Indie, and Best Multiplayer.
A bigger surprise, from the other end of the spectrum, is that Cyberpunk 2077 is up for two awards: Best Score and Music, and Best Role Playing. I can understand the nomination in the music category, but a best-of nomination in a gameplay-related category is remarkable. Cyberpunk 2077 was in a better state on PC than it was on console when it launched, but that’s not saying much: We said in our78% reviewthat it suffers from “a relentless onslaught of bugs,” and because of that people should wait to play it until it’s fixed—an effort that’sstill ongoing.
Fan voting across all 30 categories is open now atthegameawards.com. The show itself will take place on December 9, and will be livestreamed pretty much everywhere: A full list of streaming platforms will be announced later, and the full list of nominees is below.
Game of the Year
Best Game Direction
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Best Ongoing
Best Indie
Best Debut Indie
Best Narrative
Best Art Direction
Best Score and Music
Best Audio Design
Best Performance
Games for Impact
Best Community Support
Best Mobile Game, Presented by Verizon
Best VR/AR
Best Action
Best Action/Adventure
Best Role Playing
Best Fighting
Best Family
Best Sports/Racing
Best Sim/Strategy
Best Multiplayer
Most Anticipated, Presented by Prime Gaming
Innovation in Accessibility, Presented by Chevrolet
Content Creator of the Year
Best Esports Game, Presented by Grubhub
Best Esports Athlete
Best Esports Team
Best Esports Coach
Best Esports Event
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill.Lotsof Henry Cavill.
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