The Game Awards, one of the biggest nights in gaming, returns Dec. 9.
Like the Academy Awards does for movies and the Grammys do for music, The Game Awards celebrates the best of gaming from the past year. Unlike other awards shows, though, The Game Awards are equally famous because they’re used to reveal or give new looks at upcoming games.
“Deathloop,” the first-person shooter from Arkane Studios about an assassin stuck in a time loop, leads all games with nine nominations this year. Other games scoring multiple nominations are “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart,” “It Takes Two” and “Metroid Dread.”
With 30 categories, I can’t go through all of them, but here’s who I voted for in some of the bigger categories and who I think will win.
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For game of the year, I voted for “Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.” This action platformer is the most fun I had this year playing a game, and it’s the best showcase we’ve gotten so far of what the PlayStation 5 is capable of, with its beautiful graphics and virtually non-existent loading times thanks to the SSD.
However, I do think “Deathloop” will win this award. The game has received universal praise since its release and it seems like it has the momentum going for it.
For best narrative, I voted for “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.” I just finished the game earlier this week and its story was the best part of the experience. It presents an alternative take on the Guardians than we’ve seen in the comics or the movies. Depending on how you play, the game can last up to 20 hours, so each character is given time to grow.
While I would like to see the Guardians win this one, I think “Deathloop” or “It Takes Two,” a unique co-op game that tells the story of a daughter trying to repair her parents’ relationship and keep them from divorcing, probably will win.
For most anticipated game, I went with “God of War Ragnarok,” next year’s sequel to the incredible 2018 “God of War” game. Although there are a lot of games to be excited about, I think this one will also win.
But my predictions aren’t just about who’s going to win what. The Game Awards always has plenty of reveals, and producer Geoff Keighley has promised a lot for this year.
With HBO expected to debut its new series based on developer Naughty Dog’s “The Last of Us” game, I’m hoping we get our first look at the upcoming multiplayer-focused “The Last of Us” game that was revealed during the development of “The Last of Us Part II.”
Lucasfilm announced a few months ago that it plans to reveal a new Star Wars game in December, and The Game Awards would be the perfect place to do that. My guess is we get our first look at the “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” sequel that Respawn Entertainment has been working on since the first game’s release in 2019.
The Game Awards will air live at 7 p.m. central Dec. 9 on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook Live, IGN and more.
Dusty Ricketts can be reached at dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. He is currently playing “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.” You can find him through his PlayStation Network ID: DustRAG316.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Video game nominees for the 2021 Game Awards