2024 BAFTA Game Awards: Baldur’s Gate, Spider-Man, Alan Wake lead major nominations

The British Academy has announced the nominations for the 20th BAFTA Game Awards, to be held in London on April 11th.

Topping this year’s list is Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3, which earned 10 nominations. Spider-Man 2 has 9 nominations. Alan Wake 2 has 8 nominations. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Star Wars Jedi Survivor each have six nominations. Hi-Fi Rush, a colorful music-based action game from Japan’s Tango Gameworks, earned five nominations, as did Mintrocket’s blockbuster Dave the Diver.

Since 1998, Bafta has celebrated the creative achievements of video games alongside those of the film and television industries. Formerly known as the Bafta Interactive Entertainment Awards, the Bafta Games Awards were launched as a separate event in 2004. The awards are decided by a combination of Bafta’s professional members and selected expert judges, with the EE Player’s Choice award determined by public vote.

At last year’s awards, retro-style indie monster shooter Vampire Survivors surprised everyone by beating blockbuster contenders Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok to win the award for best game. This year’s nominees include the blockbuster RPG Baldur’s Gate, the horror thriller Alan Wake 2, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, PlayStation’s Insomniac Games Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Dave the Diver, a humorous game where a sushi chef hunts his own fish.

Changes to this year’s awards process include giving members an additional three months to vote and publishing a shortlist of 60 games. Bafta’s Director of Awards and Content Executive Emma Baehr emphasized the diversity of the nominations, which also featured several first-time developers. “We’ve seen some big-budget games, with Baldur’s Gate leading with 10 nominations, but we’ve also seen British indie game Viewfinder with four nominations,” she noted. She added, “Eleven of the 12 performers in the performance categories are first-time nominees, and we look forward to welcoming them to the British Academy.”

The complete list of nominations is displayed below.

animation

alan wake 2
hi-fi rush
hogwarts legacy
marvel’s spiderman 2
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
super mario bros wonder

artistic achievement

alan wake 2
baldur’s gate 3
cocoon
Diablo IV
Final Fantasy XVI
hi-fi rush

audio achievements

alan wake 2
Call of Duty Modern Warfare III
hi-fi rush
The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears
marvel’s spiderman 2
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor

Alan Wake 2 has been nominated for eight awards due to its thrilling storyline. Photo courtesy of Remedy Entertainment

best games

alan wake 2
baldur’s gate 3
dave the diver
The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears
marvel’s spiderman 2
super mario bros wonder

british games

cassette beast
dead island 2
disney illusion island
football manager 2024
finder
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin

Debut match

cocoon
dave the diver
dredging
Stray Gods: Role-playing musical
Bemba
finder

Finder. Photo: Thunderful

evolving game

cyberpunk 2077
Final Fantasy XVI Online
fortnite
Forza Horizon 5
Genshin
no man’s sky

family

cocoon
dave the diver
disney illusion island
hi-fi rush
hogwarts legacy
super mario bros wonder

A game that goes beyond entertainment

Sennar’s chant
Goodbye Volcano High
Chia
Terra Nil
thirsty suitors
Bemba

game design

cocoon
dave the diver
dredging
The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears
marvel’s spiderman 2
finder

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multiplayer

baldur’s gate 3
Call of Duty Modern Warfare III
Diablo IV
forza motorsport
party animal
super mario bros wonder

music

alan wake 2
Assassin’s Creed Mirage
baldur’s gate 3
The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears
marvel’s spiderman 2

Impa appears in “The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears”. Photo: Nintendo

interactive entertainment

Star Wars: Jedi Survivor

story

alan wake 2
baldur’s gate 3
dredging
Final Fantasy XVI
The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor

new intellectual property

Sennar’s chant
dave the diver
dredging
hi-fi rush
Jusant
finder

main character performer

Amelia Tyler as narrator in Baldur’s Gate 3
Cameron Monaghan as Cal Kestis in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Nadji Jeter plays Miles Morales in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Neil Newbon as Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3
Samantha Béhar as Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3
Yuri Ronenthal as Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Cameron Monaghan in Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. Photo: John Kopaloff/Getty Images

supporting cast

Andrew Wincott as Raphael in Baldur’s Gate 3
Debra Wilson as Cele Junda in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Ralph Ineson as Sidolphus “Cid” Telamon in “Final Fantasy XVI”
Sam Lake as Alex Casey in Alan Wake 2
Tony Todd plays Venom in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Tracy Wilds as Jaheira in Baldur’s Gate 3

technical achievements

alan wake 2
Final Fantasy XVI
mountain horizon call

entertainment

The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears
marvel’s spiderman 2
star field

EE Player Selection (Public Vote)

baldur’s gate 3
cyberpunk 2077
fortnite
The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears
Lethal Company
marvel’s spiderman 2

Source: www.theguardian.com

Baldur’s Gate 3 wins top award at The Game Awards 2023, but show faces criticism for short speech and dismissal

RPG game Baldur’s Gate 3 has been honored as Game of the Year at the largest awards ceremony in the industry. This game, which was released earlier this year for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox, surprised reviewers with its expansive world and story that allows players to influence the game through their choices. Inspired by the classic Dungeons and Dragons tabletop game, it is one of the most acclaimed titles of the year, beating out other popular games like Alan Wake 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Resident Evil 4, and Super Mario Bros.

Belgian developer Larian won six awards at the event, including Best Multiplayer and Role-Playing Game, for Baldur’s Gate 3. Alan Wake 2, created by Finnish studio Remedy, won Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, and Best Art Direction. Other winners included Nintendo’s latest Zelda and Mario titles, Xbox’s Forza Horizon racing series, and the long-running Final Fantasy series. However, Spider-Man 2, one of the most nominated games, did not receive any awards.

The Game Awards are known for showcasing trailers and advertisements for new games, and this year was no different. It included a collaboration between game creator Hideo Kojima and Hollywood director Jordan Peele, as well as the announcement that Matthew McConaughey will play the lead role in the upcoming sci-fi action game “Exodus.” Additionally, a new Jurassic Park game, Survival, was announced, and trailers for new releases from popular game series like Prince of Persia and Monster Hunter were shown.

While the awards show attracted over 103 million viewers last year, the host, Geoff Keighley, was criticized for spending too much time on trailers during this year’s event and failing to acknowledge industry layoffs. Some awards were announced without the winners being invited on stage, and the winners had little time to give their acceptance speeches.

The complete list of game winners included Baldur’s Gate 3 for Game of the Year, Alan Wake 2 for Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Art Direction, and several other games in various categories such as Best Multiplayer, Best Family Game, Best RPG, and Most Anticipated Game.

Source: news.sky.com