It’s time for BAFTA’s video game awards and this year the nominations are far more varied than usual. As well as the expected big hitters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Death Stranding, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the nominations also include Untitled Goose Game, which has gained itself a nod in the prestigious Game of the Year award.
Death Stranding and Control have both received 11 nominations, while Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Life Is Strange 2 are up for five awards each. There are also nominations for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Fortnite, Borderlands 3, Luigi’s Mansion 3, and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2.
What makes this year so interesting are the titles alongside them. Indie hit Disco Elysium has already picked up a number of unexpected awards and this looks likely to continue. The astonishingly in-depth RPG has been praised by critics and players alike and is nominated for 7 categories. Alongside it, further making a case for the small studio, are Outer Wilds with 5 nominations and Untitled Goose Game with 4.
Out of these, it is House House’s Untitled Goose Game that is the most surprising. The simple game sees players take control of a goose who must complete a range of puzzles that require it to cause chaos in a local town. It’s very simple, very funny and very enjoyable to play, striking a chord with audiences that has seen it get a nod for audio, family and best game categories.
This year’s line up contains a wide range of other smaller games as well including Baba Is You, Vacation Simulator, Wattam, and No Man’s Sky: Beyond, a game which proves even a truly terrible start can be turned around with hard work and the desire to grow.
The nomination list should serve as a wakeup call to bigger studios who are resting on their laurels, serving up microtransactions and broken titles. Indie studios are on the rise and they are doing an amazing job. Small teams of less than 20 people have produced some of the most immersive, engaging and enjoyable games of the last few months. The future is changing, and some wins for these indie titles could really shake up the industry moving forward.
You can view all the categories and nominations in full on the BAFTA website, and the ceremony is set to take place on Thursday, April 2, 2020.
Source: Pushsquare
