Summary
No awards show is perfect. The Oscars, Grammys, and Emmys leave out tons of great films, songs, and TV shows, respectively.The Game Awardsare no different. While players are happy to see all the revered titles from 2023 make it into various categories at a shot for the grand reward, there are plenty of great games that were left in the dust for this year’sGame Awards.
2023 has a lot of snubs because of the sheer amount of great titles that came out each month. Sometimes, the games are too unique to really fit into a category, which is perhaps a sign to expand the categories in the future. Hopefully, this list brings at least a little more attention to these games that truly deserve it.
Games based on movies have a better reputation than they used to. Still,no one expectedRobocop: Rogue Cityto be this good. It seemingly came out of nowhere and is by far the best game from the developer.Rogue City’sappeal to fans is how much players feel likeRoboCop.
Movement is deliberately slow and heavy, like a walking tank. Gunshots throw enemies back and the player can even grab baddies by the throat and lunge them at other adversaries. It is also a good showcase for Unreal Engine 5. The faithful recreation of the1980s Cyberpunk aestheticalso would have been a contender for Best Art Direction.
With the amount of quality triple-A titles that came out this year, it only makes sense that one of them was completely ignored.Hogwarts Legacydid not make the cut when it came to coming up against other heavy hitters.
It is hard for them to complain when it has already sold so well and is a dream come true for manyHarry Potterfans. The fact it could not squeeze into at least one category is surprising, though, but this has been a fierce year for the competition.
TheTheatrhythmseries only makes sense considering how celebrated the soundtrack forFinal Fantasyhas always been. With how comprehensive the package was this year withFinal Bar Line, it isn’t very pleasant to see it not get any attention from The Game Awards.
The series at least gets plenty of recognition this year withFinal Fantasy 16’shardest bossfight:four nominations. Older fans who were disappointed in the new numbered game’s formula shakeup might have preferred to seeFinal Bar Linereceive the nominations instead.
Fans of the genre were absolutely blown away byOctopath Traveler 2. It stays dedicated to thetraditional turn-based JRPG designbut manages to feel fresh with its structure and story.
The first game can also be seen as one of the titles to popularize the 2D/3D art style that modernizes the 8 and 16-bit aesthetic from the NES and SNES. There were a lot of stand-out RPGs this year with titles likeBaldur’s Gate 3andSea of Stars, but it definitely feels likeOctopath Traveler 2lives up to those games that did receive nominations.
3Talos Principle 2
Best Art Direction, Best Narrative
With some games, it almost feels like they did not get nominations because they were too difficult to categorize.Talos Principle 2is a puzzle game, but there is no specific award for a puzzle game set at The Game Awards.
It probably could have gotten a nod for its art and visuals though, or maybe it could have gotten the narrative nomination. If anything, snubs like this show that they need more categories that are not directed toward the Triple-A gaming space.
For fans who have been following theXenoblade Chroniclesgames since the beginning, this DLC expansion is where it all finally pays off. All the games are connected here and fan-favorite characters make a glorious return.
Considering each title in theXenobladeseries can take 80 to 100 hours to beat, this feels like the slow burn of the century. It is sadly one of the reasons it probably did not make the cut either. In such a crowded year for games, few of the voters likely put enough time into it.
While it is a DLC, expansions do receive nominations. Just this yearCyberpunk 2077got nominations specifically pointed towards the content in thePhantom Libertyexpansion.
1Trepang2
Best Action Game, Best Debut Indie
Anyone who longs for shooters from the early 2000s to the end of that decade would do themselves a great favor by playingTrepang2. The game perfectly captures the haphazard action of that era’s FPS games. The ability to slow down time also makes it feel a lot likeF.E.A.R.orMax Payne(though the latter is a third-person game). Despite having the2in its title, it is the first game from the studio.
It does not quite have the aesthetic one expects from an “indie” title but it is an indie game nonetheless. Hopefully, the game did well enough to keep the studio afloat so they can put out another title in a few years and have another chance at nabbing some awards.
