Dork Daily’s Game of the Year Predictions

The game awards are coming up on Thursday, December 11th. While the awards show is undoubtedly cheesy, they are a fun time for us to come together and celebrate all the great games we loved this year. So I decided to cast my lot in for what’s going to win in every category. 

Before we start two notes. One: I’m not going to give every single award to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It’s very likely to win everything but I’m going to make some fun arguments in favor of other games too. Two: I’m not going to cover the esports and content creator awards because I don’t think I’m qualified enough. I also don’t think I can guess Impact in Accessibility for the same reason. Anyways lets get started with…

Most anticipated game

I mean this award is basically government mandated to go to GTA VI. GTA V took the world by storm in *checks notes* 2013 and is still being played. GTA VI’s release date is practically a meme at this point so there is simply no way the award goes to any other game. The easy runner up will probably be The Witcher IV considering the ongoing cultural presence of the series between TV books and games.

Best Adaptation

This is a particularly weak year for gaming adaptations. This announcement is actually how I learned Devil May Cry and Splinter Cell got animated TV shows. While Devil May Cry was fairly well-received, it was clearly undermarketed and went unseen. The Last of Us’ second season was controversial but the series has always done well with critics and at the game awards. A Minecraft Movie would be a legendary meme win and is what I’m voting for so we’ll see. 

As a side note its weird not to see Sonic the Hedgehog 3 here. It technically qualifies in the same way Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny qualifies. I think that one would’ve easily won but here we are.

Best Multiplayer

Ever since Hazelight Studios released its previous game It Takes Two,I knew whatever they did next would be something special. While Split Fiction has a weaker plot and characters than the first game, the unique co-op mix of gameplay is still fresh as ever. It’s a favorite among casual players and journalists which definitely helps a lot. Not to mention that director Josef Fares is a bit of an icon for The Game Awards because of his… way with words. That being said it could be edged out by Arc Raiders which is having a moment right now.

Best Sports/ Racing

Nintendo’s newest installment in its longstanding racing franchise is controversial for many. Despite this, I can’t see any of these other titles edging it out for the win. Yearly sports titles are ignored by most journalists while Rematch and Sonic Racing: Crossworlds don’t have the same cultural presence that Mario does.

Best Sim/Strategy

This category is filled with remakes and sequels but The Alters stands out from the pack with a genuinely unique take on the management genre. It also stands out as its focus on character and narrative make it stand out in a genre that normally doesn’t care. Civilization VII is an easy runner up, but I think The Alters has a special appeal that will endear it to the jury. 11 Bit Studios’ game follows Jan Dolski, a stranded space miner who has to create clones of himself to survive on a hostile planet. The twist is that each clone is an alternate universe Jan who made different choices. This provides unique storytelling and development that I think gives The Alters the edge over the rest of this category.

Best Family

Nintendo EPD’s followup to Mario Odyssey simply has to take home something. Donkey Kong Bananza is easily some of the most pure fun I’ve had gaming this year and this category is basically meant for it. Everything from the simple but charming dynamic between DK and Pauline to the outrageous physics and gameplay show that it just deserves this award.

Best Fighting

I will admit I do not have the most experience with fighting games but I think this is an easy win for League of Legends spinoff title 2XKO. The reason why? Well number one, there are only two new games on this list: 2XKO and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. The rest are remasters and collection ports so I think it’s safe to assume that they won’t be winning. While Fatal Fury could take it, I do think the League of Legends IP is much more recognizable right now so I don’t think it’s likely to go to anything else.

Best RPG

I did promise not to give Clair Obscur everything but I do think that this game is the best to represent this year’s RPGs. No other game has captured the discourse as much as it has and this is one award I think it definitely deserves. A good runner-up would be Kingdom Come: Deliverance II since its commitment to realism definitely should be awarded somewhere.

Action adventure

Hollow Knight: Silksong definitely deserves awards after the long wait. While this is a stacked category between huge console exclusives I do think that this award is one that it can pull off. While everything in this category was popular, I don’t think any game captured the attention of the gaming community as much as Silksong did.

Action

The action category is another easy win since I think Hades II stands out from the pack both in terms of quality and cultural appeal. It’s only competitor is maybe Doom but even then the Hades series has always done well at awards shows and has some recency bias so I think it can cinch the win.

Best VR/AR

I will admit I have been slacking on picking up new VR titles but, judging by the discourse, The Midnight Walk deserves it for its creative, Burtonesque, artstyle. The vibes are something like a dark fantasy Nightmare Before Christmas and that’s fantastic. Unrelated but Marvel’s Deadpool shouldn’t be eligible, the nominations were out before the public could play the game. This category is really anyone’s game though.

Best Mobile game

I’m mostly indifferent to mobile gaming, but I do think out of all these games Umamusume is popular enough to get this award. The game’s concept is absurd and I think that got it a lot of attention. I mean when you hear about the anime horse girl racing gacha it is attention grabbing. Not to mention that all the characters are based off of real Japanese racing horses. That being said Persona 5 is ridiculously popular so despite the game’s mediocrity The Phantom X could definitely take the award.

Best Debut Indie game

While there’s a very good chance Clair Obscur snatches this award up I do think if any game this year deserves it it’s Blue Prince. The indie puzzler made by a small design team over eight years is a true labor of love that definitely lives up to the spirit of what an indie game is. While Clair Obscur is definitely made by an independent studio, in budget and scope it feels like a triple A title. Blue Prince keeps the spirit of indie gaming alive and I want it to get all the success it can.

Best Independent Game

A sequel to a true indie classic coming back and winning the award its predecessor lost (Cuphead took the award in 2017) out on would be a great underdog story. Silksong also taking best indie would be fitting and the game is definitely good enough to take the victory. It does have stiff competition between the ever present Clair Obscur as well as some other great games but overall this would be my pick.

Best Community Support

All of these games have excellent community support so it’s hard to pick a favorite. That being said, the semi player-driven story in Helldivers 2 is something I’ve never seen before so I have to give it its flowers. Watching the game evolve around the actions of the players since it was released has been one of the coolest things an online game has done. All these games have been recognized for their community but let’s see Helldivers 2 get its flowers here.

Best Ongoing

It’s remarkable how long people have been playing Final Fantasy XIV. The popular MMO has been going in some form since 2010 and it still is attracting new and old players alike. Because of that it definitely feels worthy of the best ongoing title. However, Final Fantasy XIV has been in this category for years. Maybe Marvel Rivals as an underdog title could take it.

Games for Impact

This is a collection of very sweet games that I love to see get recognized in some way. If I had to pick one I would say Despelote. I love games that feel personal to their creators or are inspired by a life experience. It’s why games like Venba are some of my favorite indies. Despelote definitely is a game like that and it provides a great snapshot into a singular setting. I do think it will likely go to a bigger game like Lost Records but it would be lovely if a small game was recognized so they can get some more publicity

Best Performance

Clair Obscur dominating the performance category is really no surprise. The game’s A-list cast is phenomenal, delivering excellent performances (although Charlie Cox doesn’t even understand his own performance, which is hilarious). As much as I would want Erika Ishii to win since I am a huge fan of her comedy work, I can’t deny that the Clair Obscur cast deserves it and Ben Starr is the most likely candidate.

Best Audio Design

This award could go to many of the bigger budget games but I think it will end up going to Ghost of Yotei. All of these games have excellent sound design but the densely layered soundscape of Japan depicted in Ghost of Yotei is definitely something special. On top of that, I can’t see it standing up for many of the other awards so I could definitely see the jury wanting to make sure the Sony AAA title walks away with something.

Best Score

I am a huge fan of Hollow Knight: Silksong’s hauntingly beautiful score. It perfectly follows up on the brilliant soundtrack to the first game and perfectly adds to the lonely world of the game. That being said, Clair Obscur’s soundtrack is probably just one of the greatest scores in recent memory. Not just game scores, it holds up to movie scores as well. The genre hopping blend goes from haunting orchestral melodies to screeching guitar riffs in the blink of an eye. Not to mention the gorgeous french vocals backing many of the major pieces. Side note: while writing this piece I started refreshing my memories on the scores and just ended up listening to the Clair Obscur score for the rest of the article.

Best Art Direction

All of these games have fantastically stylized art direction that honestly it’s really anyone’s award. Everyone deserves it and I can’t believe how many beautiful games we’ve gotten this year. If I had to pick one from the bunch though, it would be Clair Obscur. The French inspired take on dark fantasy is undoubtedly beautiful and its painterly style is one I’m obsessed with. It’s probably the best realized fantasy world since 2022’s Elden Ring and that’s no small feat.

Best Narrative

Kojima games are famous (or maybe infamous) for their narrative and Death Stranding 2 is no exception to this rule. The game’s story goes all over the place but the themes of connecting a fractured world will always be relevant to our day. It’s a little messy, but Kojima is a favorite of both journalists and the wider gaming community so I think there’s a good shot it wins. I also want to point out the wildcard Silent Hill F. So called “elevated horror” is very big so a new game from an all time classic that fits in that mold could definitely be a pick too.

Best Game Direction

Most people probably can’t even name one game director. I myself can probably count on my fingers the number of currently working game directors I know. All that’s to say that Kojima is definitely notable enough to get the win. Game direction is one of the more vague categories so I think there’s a very good chance that Kojima’s notoriety will play a huge factor in giving Death Stranding 2 the win.

Game of the Year

Here we are, the big one. All of these games are great and definitely the nominees from this year I personally would have picked. However, the one I see really stand out above the others is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and I think it’s for good reason. The game gives something wholly original and creative at the scope of a triple A game. It’s really a breath of fresh air for gaming and really makes most other triple A games look bad by comparison. I can’t wait to see where Sandfall Interactive goes next and I’ll gladly go along for the ride wherever they take us.

Well that’s our list. Do you have any other predictions? Stay tuned for our coverage of the event itself hopefully dropping soon after the show.