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The Game Awards 2022: All the big winners, from instant hits to indie favourites
The annual awards show featured some stiff competition this year
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The Game Awards is one of the biggest events in the gaming calendar – celebrating the year’s most acclaimed releases, as well as being an opportunity to watch trailers for upcoming titles.
This year was no different, with some memorable games having been released over the past 12 months. Of course, there were some obvious winners but it was also a chance to shine a light on some other areas of the games industry.
Award categories ranged from the best game overall, to best family game, best accessibility, audio and even awards for content creators and the esports community.
While the night ended in a bizarre disruption, it shouldn’t overshadow some of those titles.
For the full list of winners, keep reading below.
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‘Elden Ring’: £49.89, Amazon.co.uk
Should we be at all surprised that Elden Ring took home the prestigious ‘game of the year’ top prize as well as awards for best game and art direction. Hidetaka Miyazaki’s latest open-world RPG was an instant hit when it was released in February this year and still continues to amaze players with its breathtaking world and carefully constructed boss battles. In our own review of the game, we described it as “one of the best games FromSoftware has ever made”.
‘God of War Ragnarok’: £61.95, Amazon.co.uk
The next big winner of the night was none other than God of War Ragnarok, the other strong contender for 2022’s biggest release having picked up the most gongs for the evening with five in total. It was the much anticipated follow-up to 2018’s God of War reboot that served as a fitting conclusion to Kratos’s Norse saga.
In our review, we said: “On its own merits, it’s difficult to fault but on the foundations of 2018’s God of War, it’s nothing short of a masterpiece.”
‘Stray’: £29.95, Amazon.co.uk
Indie hit Stray took home two awards last night, both for best indie title and best debut indie game. In Stray players control a cat in a futuristic city inhabited by robots as it tries to make its way home. In our review of the game, we said: “BlueTwelve Studios and Annapurna Interactive have crafted a memorable experience that finishes just as it gets comfortable with its footing.”
‘Final Fantasy XIV online’: Finalfantasyxiv.com
Final Fantasy XIV Online first had a rocky launch back in 2010 but, by all accounts, it’s reboot and subsequent adoption by the MMORPG community has given it a new breath of life. To reflect that, FFXIV Online took home the awards for best ongoing game and best community support. The game takes players to the fictional setting of Eorzea, with customisable characters in a large open world, and was most recently updated with the expansion pack “Endwalker”.
‘Marvel Snap’: Marvelsnap.com
Having only released in October 2022, Marvel Snap quickly made a name for itself as a collectible card game worth your time, having picked up the award for best mobile game. Its short six-round matches and double down rules not only make for a decently addictive and digestible mobile game but its extensive list of Marvel characters – well known or otherwise – make it a worthy commute time-killer.
‘Bayonetta 3’: £39.99, Very.co.uk
Bayonetta 3 took home the award for best action game. It is not only a world-class game within its own right, it’s also the strongest showcase for the series to date, with meaningful improvements made to its core combat mechanics.
In our review of the game, we said: “It’s an outrageous and fitting return to form for the umbra witch and her posse of occultish heavy hitters. Substantial improvements and additions to combat mean there are seemingly endless options for different styles of play, as well as making the prospect of revisiting each stage, verse and hidden objective more compelling than it ever has been.”
‘Kirby and the Forgotten Land’: £36.99, Very.co.uk
Taking home the award for best family game was Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Transported from Planet Popstar, Kirby is transported into a post-apocalyptic world along with his Waddle Dee friends. Each level sees Kirby rescuing each one, by inhaling enemies to inherit their powers, as well as using a new “mouthful mode” which sees him engulf large objects – such as cars and vending machines – to take on their forms.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is an great platforming adventure enjoyed alone but it also has an excellent two-player mode with the second player taking control of “Bandana Waddle Dee”. He isn’t able to transform like Kirby but his mobility and spear attacks more than make up for it.
‘Gran Turismo 7’: £39, Amazon.co.uk
The most recent entry into the Gran Turismo series is a celebration of the game’s 25-year history, with hundreds of cars to choose from over some of the most iconic locations featured in the series, and now it’s picked up the award for best racing/sports title.
From its opening all the way to the granular detail of its descriptions of cars throughout automotive history, a clear love and expertise can be felt throughout. It may not play like an arcade racer such as Forza Horizon 5 but the sheer reverance for accuracy is well demonstrated.
‘Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’: £46.99, Amazon.co.uk
Picking up the award for best sim/strategy game was Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, the recently released sequel to Kingdom Battle that takes Mario, his Mushroom Kingdom comrades and an army of quirky “rabbids” into a tactical turn-based, role-playing adventure. It’s a surprisingly deep strategy game that builds on an already unique system found in Kingdom Battle.
We had a chance to play it for ourselves (and speak with the game’s director, Davide Soliani) and were thoroughly impressed in our playthrough, praising it for its “meaningful changes to entice Super Mario fans that fall outside the tactical genre, while also staying true to its core appeal”.
If you’re not overly familiar with tactical games of the XCOM variety, Sparks of Hope is a great place to start – being accessible for ages seven and up, it pushes the boundaries of the established Mario universe for a fun and engaging time.
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