Metroid Dread, Psychonauts 2, Resident Evil Village Nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2021

Deathloop leads the way with a total of nine nominations, while Ratchet and Clank follows with six of its own, and Psychonauts 2 and It Takes Two with five each.

The complete list of nominees for each of the thirty categories in this year’s The Game Awards has been revealed, and the main category – Game of the Year – features an interesting list of games. Deathloop, It Takes Two, Metroid Dread, Psychonauts 2, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Resident Evil Village have been nominated for the biggest honour of the year this year.

Of course, there can only be a total of six nominees in the category each year, but many have brought up several notable omissions. The most notable, of course, is Forza Horizon 5which, being the highest rated game of the year, seems like particularly significant one. Others that were rated highly by critics and audiences alike that didn’t get the nod include the likes of Returnal, Hitman 3, and Monster Hunter Rise. Interestingly, Cyberpunk 2077, which launched after the cutoff for last year’s event and is eligible this year, has been nominated in the Best Role Playing Game category.

Meanwhile, Deathloop has emerged as the most nominated game of the year, receiving a total of nine nominations. It is followed by Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, which has six nominations, and Psychonauts 2 and It Takes Two, which have five nominations each. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Resident Evil Village both have four nominations each, while number of games follow behind with three nominations each, namely Forza Horizon 3, Returnal, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, The Artful Escape, Life is Strange: True Colorsand Far Cry 6. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077, Monster Hunter Rise, and Back 4 Blood each have two nominations apiece.

In the Most Anticipated Game category, Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Starfield have been nominated.

You can check out the full list of categories and nominees below.

The Game Awards 2021 show is set for December 9. In addition to the awards, there will, of course, also be several new announcements and updates at the event, with the show’s creator and producer Geoff Keighley confirming that about 40-50 games will be featured.

THE GAME AWARDS 2021 CATEGORIES AND NOMINEES

GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Deathloop 
  • It Takes Two 
  • Metroid Dread 
  • Psychonauts 2 
  • Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
  • Resident Evil Village 

BEST GAME DIRECTION

  • Deathloop 
  • It Takes Two 
  • Returnal 
  • Psychonauts 2 
  • Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart 

BEST NARRATIVE

  • Deathloop 
  • It Takes Two
  • Life is Strange: True Colors 
  • Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 
  • Psychonauts 2 

BEST ART DIRECTION

  • Deathloop 
  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits 
  • Psychonauts 2 
  • Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
  • The Artful Escape 

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC

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

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

  • Deathloop 
  • Forza Horizon 5 
  • Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart 
  • Resident Evil Village 
  • Returnal

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 
  • Boyfriend Dungeon 
  • Chicory: A Colorful Tale 
  • Life is Strange: True Colors 
  • No Longer Home 

BEST ONGOING GAME

  • Apex Legends 
  • Call of Duty: Warzone 
  • Final Fantasy 14 Online 
  • Fortnite 
  • Genshin Impact 

BEST INDIE GAME

  • 12 Minutes 
  • Death’s Door 
  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits 
  • Inscryption 
  • Loop Hero 

BEST MOBILE GAME

  • Fantasian
  • Genshin Impact 
  • League of Legends: Wild Rift
  • Marvel’s Future Revolution
  • Pokemon Unite

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT

  • Apex Legends 
  • Destiny 2 
  • Final Fantasy 14 Online 
  • Fortnite 
  • No Man’s Sky 

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY

  • Far Cry 6 
  • Forza Horizon 5 
  • Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 
  • Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart 
  • The Vale: Shadow of the Crown 

BEST VR/AR GAME

  • Hitman 3 
  • I Expect You To Die 2 
  • Lone Echo 2
  • Resident Evil 4 
  • Sniper Elite VR 

BEST ACTION GAME

  • Back 4 Blood 
  • Chivalry 2
  • Deathloop 
  • Far Cry 6 
  • Returnal 

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME

  • Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy 
  • Metroid Dread 
  • Psychonauts 2 
  • Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart 
  • Resident Evil Village

BEST ROLE PLAYING GAME

  • Cyberpunk 2077 
  • Monster Hunter Rise 
  • Scarlet Nexus
  • Shin Megami Tensei 5
  • Tales of Arise 

BEST FIGHTING GAME

  • Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 
  • Guilty Gear Strive
  • Melty Blood: Type Lumina 
  • Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
  • Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown

BEST FAMILY GAME

  • It Takes Two 
  • Mario Party Superstars 
  • New Pokemon Snap 
  • Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
  • WarioWare: Get It Together! 

BEST SIM/STRATEGY GAME

  • Age of Empires 4
  • Evil Genius 2: World Domination
  • Humankind 
  • Inscryption 
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator

BEST SPORTS/RACING GAME

  • F1 2021 
  • FIFA 22 
  • Forza Horizon 5 
  • Hot Wheels Unleashed 
  • Riders Republic 

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME

  • Back 4 Blood 
  • It Takes Two 
  • Knockout City 
  • Monster Hunter Rise 
  • New World 
  • Valheim

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR

  • Dream
  • Fuslie
  • Gaules
  • Ibai
  • TheGrefg

BEST DEBUT INDIE GAME

  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits 
  • Sable 
  • The Artful Escape 
  • The Forgotten City 
  • Valheim 

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

  • Elden Ring 
  • God of War: Ragnarok
  • Horizon Forbidden West
  • Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Starfield

BEST ESPORTS GAME

  • Call of Duty
  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 
  • DOTA 2 
  • League of Legends
  • Valorant 

BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE

  • Chris “Simp” Lehr
  • Heo “ShowMaker” Su
  • Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
  • Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
  • Tyson “TenZ” Ngo

BEST ESPORTS TEAM

  • Atlanta FaZe
  • DWG KIA
  • Natus Vincere
  • Sentinels
  • Team Spirit

BEST ESPORTS COACH

  • Airat “Silent” Gaziev
  • Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov
  • Andrii “B1ad3” Horodenskyi
  • James “Crowder” Crowder
  • Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun

BEST ESPORTS EVENT

  • 2021 League of Legends World Championship
  • PGL Major Stockholm 2021
  • PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2020
  • The International 2021
  • Valorant Champions Tour: Stage 2 Masters
Arkane StudiosBethesdacapcomdeathloopdouble fine productionsEAHazelight StudiosInsomniac GamesIt Takes TwoMercurySteamMetroid DreadMicrosoftNintendops4ps5Psychonauts 2Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apartresident evil villagesonyThe Game Awards 2021Xbox OneXbox Series SXbox Series X