As 2023 comes to a close we look back on the year overall and the games that we all spent many hours on. With that comes the annual Game Awards, taking place on December 7th. Many awards will be up for grabs, but all eyes will be on the Game of the Year 2023 award. Six games are nominated, and only one will take home the award. Let’s look at the nominees and speculate on the potential winner.
There are minor spoilers for the below games and their prequels. Continue reading at your own risk
Game of the Year 2023 Nominees
Alan Wake 2
The long-awaited sequel to Alan Wake saw a change in direction for the game. Alan Wake 2 took on a more survival horror tone as opposed to the action-adventure tone set up by the original game. What didn’t change is gamers enjoying the adventure of novelist Alan Wake as he writes his way through an alternative dimension as he is joined by FBI Agent Saga Anderson.
Alan Wake is tied for the second most nominations for the night with 8.
Baluder’s Gate 3
The Dungeons and Dragons-based role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3 brings fantasy turn-based action combat to the Game of the Year conversation. The game had a partial release on early access in 2020 with the full version being released three years later on PC and PlayStation 5 while the Xbox Series S/X edition is planned to be released in December of 2023. Baulder’s Gate 3 already took home Game of the Year from Golden Joystick and is looking to add another on December 7th.
Baulder’s Gate 3 has the most nominations for the night at 9.
Marvel’s Spide-Man 2
Peter Parker and Miles Morales team up in the sequel to Spider-Man and Spider-Man Miles Morales. Gamers can play as both characters for the first time in the trilogy of games as the duo deals with a fresh set of threats in New York City.
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Spider-Man 2 is looking for some redemption at The Game Awards as both Spider-Man and Spider-Man Miles Morales received many nominations in 2017, 2018, and 2020 but left empty-handed every time. The game has 8 nominations, tied for second most at the show.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
The latest action-themed remake of a Resident Evil game came in the form of arguably the best Resident Evil game ever, Resident Evil 4. Gamers are put back into the boots of Leon Kennedy as he attempts to rescue Ashley Grahm, the President of the United States daughter. Along the way, he runs into heavy resistance and discovers the secrets of a remote village.
The original game saw many GOTY wins and nominations. The remake is looking to take home some awards this year and is up for three awards.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Everyone’s favorite plumber and the rest of his group return in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The side-scrolling adventure on the Nintendo Switch takes gamers to the Flower Kingdom where Bowser starts some trouble by stealing the Wonder Flower and starts to wreak havoc on the kingdom.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is up for a total of five awards.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The highly anticipated sequel to Legend of Zelda: Breathe of the Wild arrived in 2023 and welcomed gamers back to Hyrule in an open-world setting much like its predecessor did. Gamers take control of Link as he tries to rescue Princess Zelda and tries to stop the Demon King from destroying Hyrule. The open world is even more explorable than it was in Breathe of the Wild which gave gamers plenty to dig into.
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The predecessor, Breathe of the Wild took home awards for Most Anticipated Game in 2016 as well as Game of the Year. Best Direction, and Best Action/Adventure Game in 2017. Tears of the Kingdom took home Most Anticipated Game in 2022 and is looking to add to that legacy with 6 nominations, the third most for the night.
Game of the Year 2023 Winner Prediction
With a high amount of nominations and previous award-winning history, I predict that Tears of the Kingdom will bring home Game of the Year. There is an established pattern with the Breathe of the Wild Series winning the Most Anticipated Game the year before it wins Game of the Year.
Although I do believe Tears of the Kingdom will take home the biggest award on the night, Baluder’s Gate 3 could sneak in and steal the award. It has the most amount of nominations and has already won GOTY awards from other publishers.
Tune in to the Game Awards on December 7th to see who takes home the big prize. Start time and streaming information can be found here.
Who do you think takes home Game of the Year 2023? Sound off in the comments below.
Header photo credit – The Game Awards
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