Many celebrations of the “best-of” in a given year have become staples over time, the Emmys, the Grammy’s, and within the last decade, the Game Awards for video games. 

Every year since 2013, developers, creators, and fans all have come together to celebrate the best games and experiences of a given year and 2023 is no exception. On Nov. 13, The Game Awards announced the nominees for the various award categories that would be presented at the show on Dec. 7. Most notably people were focused on the “game of the year” category. 

2023 has been quite an impressive year for gaming in general, with Sony continuing to push the PlayStation 5 and their new tech ventures. Microsoft, continuing its strategy of buying out smaller companies to make projects for their ecosystem. Nintendo is still firing on all cylinders both with new media ventures such as Theme Parks and Films, and the continued strong support of the uber-successful Nintendo Switch as it enters its 8th year on the market.

“There were a lot of fun and interesting games that came out this year. Me and my brother sat in front of the Xbox going through the new games released there,” said senior Mallory Sciaraffa.

 This year’s nominees:

• Alan Wake II (Remedy Entertainment)
• Baulder’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games)
• Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo)

This group of games was chosen for their excellence in gameplay, aesthetics, and overall stellar quality, with each being a distinct choice that sheds light on a different kind of experience. From the web-slinging spectacle and high-octane movement of Spider-Man 2 to the robust platforming and whimsical imagination of Super Mario Bros Wonder, there’s at least one game anyone can root for on this list. However, opinions have been polarized both online, and in person.

“I think there should be a category for remakes honestly. Resident Evil 4 is pretty old; new stuff deserves a shot,” said Trevor Timko. 

Besides the “Game of the Year” category, there were many others for things such as “Best Multiplayer Game”, “Best Indie Debut”, “Best Strategy Game”, and more. As a part of this, a lot of other popular or notable games from across 2023 got nominations in these categories, some of which were happy to see.

 Other nominees:

• High-Fi Rush (Nominated for 3 Awards, including best “Art Direction”)
• Pizza Tower (Nominated for “Best Indie Debut”)
• Fortnite (Nominated for “Best Ongoing Game”)
• Street Fighter 6: (Nominated for “Best Fighting Game”)
• Pikmin 4 (Nominated for “Best Strategy Game” and “Best Family Game”)
• Sea of Stars (Nominated for “Best Roleplaying Game”)

“Having Fortnite there is awesome to see. You know what I’m voting for,” said senior Dylan Duda.

Furthermore, A newer category called “Best Adaptation” was introduced at the 2022 awards to celebrate the best TV or Film adaptation of Video Games. This category gave out nominations to projects such as “The Last of Us” series on Netflix, and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” from Illumination and Nintendo.

Beyond just video games and their adaptations into Cinemas, there are also all the important moments from this year. Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, SegaSammy Enterprises, the owners of Sonic The Hedgehog, bought out Rovio Entertainment, the creators of the Angry Birds series for a comparatively smaller 775 million dollars, Apple unveiled the Apple Vision Pro, an AR headset planned for release in early 2024, and Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and other famous Nintendo characters for the last 30 years has retired from voicing the iconic plumber and his friends, becoming an ambassador for the Mario series voice direction going forward.

Lastly, there is the “Players’ Voice” award, an accolade given to the game in which the most people voted out of a group of 30 games, usually based on popularity or current cultural buzz. This award includes games from all categories, even games that weren’t nominated for awards in any other category like Minecraft.

In the end, the Game Awards are simply subjective picks by a committee of people based on certain criteria. If a game you enjoyed didn’t get nominated, that’s fine. Everyone is free to voice their own opinion on the media, just as with any other awards show like this.