Summary
- Baldur's Gate 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Elden Ring changed gaming for the better.
- Player preference ultimately determines rankings for most nominated Game Awards games.
- Regardless of personal favorites, all nominated games are deserving of recognition and wins.
Ranking the games with the most Game Awards nominations is a tough task. At most, these games can be sorted according to their impact on their company, the industry, or fans of their genre. Even among the most divisive fans, it’s undeniable that games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Elden Ring changed gaming for the better.
Despite these qualifiers, ranking the most nominated Game Awards games boils down to player preference. The Game Awards includes most titles that a majority of gamers played and talked about throughout their year of nomination. Regardless of which title readers like the most, every game on the list is deserving of their nominations and wins.
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Number Of Nominations |
Game(s) Nominated |
Year Of Nomination |
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11 |
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10 |
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9 |
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8 |
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7 |
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17 Stray
Emotional 7+ Hours Pushes Limits For Narrative Game
Stray
- Released
- July 19, 2022
- Developer(s)
- BlueTwelve Studio
- How Long To Beat
- 5 Hours
From the jump, Stray promised a post-apocalyptic, half-cyberpunk world ripe for exploration. BlueTwelve Studio delivered that and more by populating the sealed world with stories about humanity, despite the lack of humans. Robots, records, and the environment are made for musings on loneliness, environmental destruction, and social stratification.
Being an Annapurna Interactive-published game, Stray is a story-first game. Difficulty is almost non-existent and gameplay serves to immerse players in a world where design follows plot rather than logic at times. Stray pushes what narrative games can do in terms of making a fully realized game rather than a story with extra steps.
16 Deathloop
Numerous Side-streets To One Critical Path In Timeloop Puzzle
Deathloop
- Released
- September 14, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Arkane Studios
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X|S
- How Long To Beat
- 17 Hours
Deathloop was lauded for the hundreds of different ways gamers can play around the perfect timeloop. Its critical path also makes it forgiving to players who may be lost if Deathloop allowed any divergent solutions to its puzzles to pan out.
Another unique, yet divisive, Deathloop element is its invasion system. Dark Souls and similar games allow gamers to invade others’ single-player campaigns, but Deathloop’s implementation supports its timeloop goals. Successful invasions force players to outsmart invaders and explore new ways of playing each loop.
15 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
2024 Golden Joystick Awards’ Storytelling Winner Balances Fidelity & Remake
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Released
- February 29, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues the new series’ compromise between remake and reimagining. Despite its alternative timeline, key events still progress as they did in the 1997 classic. The resulting game split opinions among fans, but Rebirth undeniably retained the themes and plot beats that made FF7 well-loved while modernizing the title.
Classic fans are given new ways to appreciate Cloud, Aerith, Zack, Sephiroth, and the crew. New fans, on the other hand, continue to enjoy the quality of life changes expected from modern titles, while enjoying refreshed takes on anti-capitalism, loss, life, and self-determination.
14 Horizon Forbidden West
An Open World That Makes Exploration Fun
Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition
- Released
- March 21, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Guerrilla Games, Nixxes
- How Long To Beat
- 30 Hours
A consistent perception about Horizon is how it’s released on the same day as other triple-A releases that overshadow it on mainstream channels. Despite that, Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West were received well. More than that, Horizon became synonymous with having a living world that was fun to explore.
Horizon Forbidden West’s traversal kit made exploration fun on land, air, and sea even outside its compelling, top-notch story. Yet, the enlivened world wouldn’t be as fun to explore if it weren’t for Guerilla Games’ dedication to crafting a visual feast worthy of its $212 million price tag.
13 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Playable Indiana Jones, A Cinematic Video Game GOAT
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
- Released
- May 10, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- How Long To Beat
- 15 Hours
It was a foregone conclusion that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End would receive a ton of nominations before release. By the end of Nathan Drake’s journey, it was clear that Uncharted was a direct product of Naughty Dog’s commitment to hyper-realistic graphics, maximizing the PlayStation’s capabilities, and their cinematic aspirations.
Uncharted’s big moments, gameplay, and massive set pieces were unapologetic attempts to make gamers feel like they were playing Indiana Jones or other action movies. This core mission made the game, and other Naughty Dog darling The Last of Us, perfect for Hollywood adaptations. These titles also ensured the developer’s continued dedication to cinematic, adaptable titles.
12 The Last Of Us Part 2
Bridging Gameplay And Story Violence Coherently
The Last of Us Part 2
- Released
- June 19, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
- How Long To Beat
- 24 Hours
The term “ludonarrative dissonance” was coined in response to conflicting story and gameplay incentives and elements in video games. Uncharted 4 used the term as a trophy name for killing 1,000 enemies 9 years later, in acknowledgment of criticism about lead Nathan Drake’s glib gameplay violence versus his story characterization.
Ludonarrative dissonance would once again be used in reviews of another Naughty Dog game, The Last of Us 2. Except TLOU 2 seemingly overcame this gaming theory by making the story demand merciless bloodshed. Ellie and Abby’s grief- and trauma-fueled rampages complement TLOU 2’s brutal death animations for the goons players mow down.
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It’s partly their complex, emotional, and messy journeys that made TLOU 2 highly nominated. TLOU 2 may feel bloated at times, but it shows what a triple-A game can do with complex characters, themes, and plots.
11 Hades
Art, Gameplay, And Music With Mass Appeal
Hades
- Released
- September 17, 2020
- How Long To Beat
- 23 Hours
Hades is a perfect storm of excellent art, music, gameplay, and player support. Excellent plot and characters had players run the underworld hundreds of times to get the full story behind Zagreus’ family and Greek gods and heroes. A blood-pumping soundtrack and fantastic art direction also made repeated runs a treat.
Its gameplay in particular especially stands out, as gamers of all skill levels are encouraged to put their rounds in the roguelite. Supergiant Games gave players God Mode from the start to toggle on if the action gets too tough. Gameplay equity allowed fans to explore every combination of weapon, keepsake, and boon available and learn the game inside-out.
10 Control
Refreshing World & Storytelling Backed By Fantastic Direction
Control: Ultimate Edition
- Released
- February 2, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Remedy Entertainment
- How Long To Beat
- 13 Hours
Acting and cinematic-style storytelling go hand-in-hand with certain gaming genres by now. But Remedy reminded gamers of their mastery of cinematic games with Control. Facial animations jank aside, Control’s careful direction and atmospheric scene setting fully immersed players in a world of paranormal intrigue and existential horror.
Control also featured phenomenal ray-tracing application and destructible environments. Reflective surfaces and contrasting textures appear deliciously realistic with the game’s lighting engine and upscales its look even on low settings. Combined with a highly interactive environment, exploring the Federal Bureau of Control to see all it has to offer feels as mandatory as unraveling the excellent main plot.
9 Ghost of Tsushima
Love Letter To Akira Kurosawa With Good Research
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut
- Released
- August 20, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Sucker Punch
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- How Long To Beat
- 30 Hours
Akira Kurosawa’s oeuvre inspired countless movies, shows, games, and outright remakes. Ghost of Tsushima wears Kurosawa’s mark proudly, even working with the director’s estate to craft a cinematic mode named after him. Beyond the look, Tsushima’s cinematic set pieces, particularly its stand-offs, and themes of revenge and tradition find roots in Kurosawa’s work.
Tsushima is also, plainly, a fun game to play rather than just philosophize about. Nailing stances and stance-switching transform combat from button-mashing to timed, movie-like combat sequences. Luckily for fans of either Tsushima’s writing or combat, they have Ghost of Yotei to look forward to.
8 Alan Wake 2
Survival Horror Confident In Its Influences
Alan Wake 2
- Released
- October 27, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Remedy Entertainment
- How Long To Beat
- 17 Hours
Alan Wake 2 built on Control’s achievements by creating a darkly beautiful world preoccupied with telling a story. Remedy and Sam Lake’s confidence in their narrative and the influences they proudly display, from Twin Peaks, True Detective, Silent Hill, and Resident Evil in its main plot and characters, to Se7en and the Coen brothers for its visuals, and so much more.
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The game never strays from what it wants the players to feel. Hand-holding might be a stretch, but Alan Wake 2 expertly guides players beat-to-beat to keep interest always pitched high. Even without familiarity with the massive library of mythological and pop cultural influences that form the game, players get the sense of a fully realized world that’s a blast to play through.