2013 was a banner year for video game hardware, but there were plenty of games worth highlighting from the year as well. To that point, we bring word from the Game Developers Choice Awards, who have today revealed their nominations for their 14th annual ceremony. Many of the usual suspects are peppered throughout the 10 categories, but read on to see if your favorite made the cut.
There’s no denying that 2013 was an eclectic year for video game releases, as the triple-A stood shoulder to shoulder with some standout indies. Games like Gone Home and Brothers received almost as much recognition from the voters as titles like The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto 5. To be fair, Grand Theft Auto 5 and The Last of Us pulled in the most nominations, and are likely favorites for Game of the Year.
Also in contention for Game of the Year alongside GTA, Last of Us, and Gone Home are Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo’s first 3D Mario title for the Wii U, and the stellar reboot of Tomb Raider. Crystal Dynamics’ reinvention of Lara Croft was a huge surprise for us, especially after its poor showings at demo events, and it ending up being one of our 10 favorite games of the year.
Other categories of note include Best Downloadable Game, which is a venerable who’s who of the indie development scene, and Best Narrative, which recognizes a wide variety of storytelling approaches, from the unconventional (The Stanley Parable) to the harrowing (The Last of Us).
Check out the full list of nominees (and honorable mentions) below:
While there aren’t any glaring omissions from our perspective, it is interesting to see that the Advisory Committee wasn’t so keen on BioShock Infinite making any of the major categories. Irrational Games’ latest has been a source for endless debate as far as end-of-year awards are concerned, and it appears the Advisory Committee were impressed by the game’s technical prowess, but were left disappointed by its story and gameplay.
Other titles worth highlighting include Device 6, a fantastic mobile experience that is part novel and part puzzle game; the endlessly creative and playful Tearaway, which uses the Vita handheld to stunning effect; and Fire Emblem: Awakening, a 3DS title that got overlooked this year.
The winners in each category will be announced on March 19th at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Although it might seem like the awards are already pretty cut and dry as far as potential winners go, that is usually not the case with the Game Developers Choice Awards. Last year, for example, thatgamecompany’s Journey practically swept the show, beating out high profile titles like Mass Effect 3, XCOM, and Far Cry 3. We’ll see how this year’s votes come down in March.
Which games/developers do you think will win in each category? Are there any glaring omissions from the nominations?
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Source: Game Choice Awards
