It’s wild to think that the year is almost over, but looking back, many have realized how great 2023 has been for gaming. A multitude of people around the world were waiting with baited breath for Geoff Keighley’s pre-recorded message announcing the nominees for the over thirty categories at the 2023 Game Awards set to go down on December 7th.
It wouldn’t be an award show without some type of controversy, and that is exactly what we saw. Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software) was completely snubbed from every category. Bethesda’s space epic RPG, Starfield, received only one nomination and that was for Best RPG. Starfield is a game that had all the hype rolling into its 2023 launch, but the strong lore and storytelling were not enough to carry the game to a TGA 2023 Game of the Year nomination. Instead, many see Starfield falling short due to numerous bugs, a confusing UI system, and a hyperspace traveling system that most players have to figure out for themselves. As for Hogwarts Legacy, what was once a powerful franchise with a ton of media for fans to consume, has been smeared by controversy from its original creator.
The Best Independent Game category is filled with great indie games that show the power and ability of smaller studios and their ability to make meaningful and unique games. Cocoon (Geometric Interactive), Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17), Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio), and Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing) highlighted a very impressive category. But there was one game stealing the spotlight, and it was for all the wrong reasons. Dave the Diver is an action adventure game where players control a man named “Dave” as he oversees a restaurant, collects fish, and solves quests. The issue with Dave the Driver is that the studio that created it, Mintrocket, is a sub-branch of gaming publishing giant Nexon of South Korea. Nexon has created mega titles like Dungeon & Fighter with over 850 million players and MapleStory with over 180 million players. Many people took to social media to express their displeasure with Dave the Driver taking a nomination spot away from other actual ‘independent’ titles.
Game of the Year is always a tough category, but 2023 made it even harder with all the amazing games that came out. Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios), Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo), The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo), Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment), and Resident Evil 4 (Capcom) rounded out the nominees. While most gamers will agree the nominations are well deserved, one can’t help but ask if remakes should have a place in this, or any category for The Game Awards. Resident Evil 4 is a true remake of the 2005 classic, with a focus on modernization of the graphics and controls. But does remaking an 18-year old game put it on the same level as an Alan Wake 2, a game that was built from the ground up with a story that wasn’t written 18 years ago, music not made 18 years ago, but truly a from-the-ground-up brand new creation of a game? Geoff Keighley and his “Jury” of over 120 media and influencers said yes, but the gaming community seems to believe otherwise.
The Game Awards will air December 7th at 7:30pm ET. Catch OTN’s co-stream of the prestigious night with a pre-show, live reactions to the award winners, and a wrap up show recapping the night live on Twitch at Twitch.tv/OTNMedia. Additionally, make sure to catch OTN’s LvLUp Live this Thursday as Jon and Joey break down the nominees and give their hot takes.
Image: The Game Awards
