If you thought we were done awarding games that came out in 2018, you’ve got another thing coming as the Game Developers Choice Awards nominees were announced today.
Similar to the Oscars and various guild award ceremonies in the movie industry, the GDCA nominees are picked by the developers in the organization. As such, there has been some criticism in the past that the awards show neglects to bring to light to eastern-developed games, and if you were looking for an improvement on that trend, then you’re going to come away disappointed.
All of the big-hitting western games are here and in large numbers as well. Red Dead Redemption 2 leads the pack with seven nominations, with Spider-Man and Destructoid’s staff and community pick for game of the year God of War following close behind with six nominations each.
A surprise on my end is seeing just how many nominations Tetris Effect got. I mean yes, it’s Tetris and Tetris deserves to be praised every chance it gets because Tetris is Tetris and Tetris is perfect. But seeing it in both audio and innovation really shows how great of an adaptation Effect is. It’s also fun to see the indie darlings Celeste and Return of the Obra Dinn challenging AAA games for the grand prize. I don’t think either of them will win but there’s always hope for a 2010 Oscars moment.
Source: Destructoid Game Developers Choice Awards nominees announced ahead of March conference