The Game Awardshas recently released its full list of nominees and categories for 2022. People can vote for a game in each category leading up to The Game Awards, and the winners will be announced at the award show on December 8. Among the many categories, standout games of 2022 likeGod of War RagnarokandElden Ringare present throughout. Other games likeHorizon Forbidden West,Stray, andA Plague Tale: Requiemalso have a prominent presence throughout the categories. As such, so much repetition among categories has left some people feeling like their favorite games have been snubbed in favor of other titles.
There have been some fantastic games throughout 2022. It was a great year for highly anticipated AAA games, and this year saw numerous outstanding indie titles as well. As such, to narrow down most categories forThe Game Awardsto only five games is a difficult task. That being said, there are some notable games that came out in 2022 that are nowhere to be seen throughout the entire award show. There are also cases to be made that in some of the categories, there are games that do not belong there in the first place due to different classifications of genre or other reasons.
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Sonic Frontiers Is Strangely Absent
One game that does not have any presence throughout the different awards is the newest game in theSonic the Hedgehogseries,Sonic Frontiers. Though the game is getting many different reactions from gamers, as expected of a newSonictitle, there are many people who say thatSonic Frontiersis the best 3DSonicgame sinceSonic Adventure 2. Despite its varied praise, there it is not in any of the categories for the Game Awards. There is a strong argument to be made thatSonic Frontiershas one of the best soundtracks this year, so its absence from the category is strange.Sonic Frontierscould also fit well into other categories like Best Action Game.
The reason forSonic Frontier’s absence from the awards could be due to how recently the game came out. The game came out less than a week before nominees for The Game Awards were publicly released, let alone considered. There might not have been enough time for the game to fully sit with people and think about its impact on the industry. However, a game that came out the day afterSonic FrontiersisGod of War Ragnarok.God of War Ragnarokis currently nominated for game of the yearand several other categories, so the argument thatSonic Frontierscame out too late is not very good. WhileGod of War Ragnarokwas likely always going to be nominated, it is unfortunate thatSonic Frontiersis nowhere to be seen.
Many Indie Games Are Left Out
2022 was a fantastic year for indie games. The Game Awards feature many indie games across its categories, andStrayhas even been nominated for game of the year. Seeing their games represented on such a prominent stage must be uplifting for the developers of those games, but there are still many notable indie games from this year that are left out of fitting categories or altogether. For example,Vampire Survivorswas nominated for Best Debut Indie, but its influence on the industry goes far beyond its debut. It could be argued thatVampire Survivorsis a fitting candidate for the Best Indie Game and even game of the year.
Another game that has been snubbed from the awards isRogue Legacy 2. The first game that came out almost 10 years ago has had a massive impact on indie games and the rogue-like genre.Rogue Legacy 2has been highly anticipated for yearsand exceeded expectations when it was finally released out of early access. WhileRogue Legacy 2has earned its praise, it is difficult to compare it to the other indie games present at the awards. Having two categories for indie games with little variation between them allows for an entire industry of games to compete while big-budget titles are more favored for other categories.Rogue Legacy 2would likely win if there were a category for best rogue-like games, which is seemingly needed.
A surprise indie hit from this year that left many people stunned wasSignalis. This game is inspired by the best of the classic survival horror genre from its gameplay to its retro visuals.Signalishas earned high praise, yet it is absent from The Game Awards like many other indie games. With many indie games being good candidates for many of the other categories, mostly being limited to the Best Indie Game is restraining. InSignalis' case, there is not even a category for best horror game despite the number of horror games that release every year. If there were a category for best horror game at The Game Awards,Signaliswould likely be a top contender to win the award.
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Sifu Snubs Other Deserving Fighting Games
Sifuis a fantastic game that involves the player fighting through waves of enemiesgetting older with each attempt. However, while the game is a huge success for independent developers and is a great action game, it does not exactly belong in the category of Best Fighting Game. When compared to the other games in that category, it is the only game that is a purely single-player experience. As such,Sifubeing among the nominations could be taking the spotlight from other deserving games. Games likethe kaiju fighterGigaBashand the rerelease ofPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxare more fitting candidates for Best Fighting Game and deserve to be recognized.
There are still many people and games that have been left out of different categories.Strangers of Paradise: Final Fantasy Originfor Best Action Game, Danielle Bisutti asFreya inGod of War Ragnarokfor Best Performance, andPotionomicsbeing one of the many left-out indie games are just some candidates that could have been added to different categories. The Game Awards is a celebration of the video game industry, but always seems to leave out notable games in favor of certain titles being nominated for numerous awards. Many games were snubbed in the 2022 Game Awards, and hopefully, they will get the recognition they deserve from players.
The Game Awardspremiere on December 8
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