The 2023 Game Awards have come and gone, but it’s been quite a while since I did a wrap-up with my own thoughts on the proceedings. Back in 2015, I was so much more optimistic and less cynical about The Game Awards, but like with everything, the steady flow of time has worn me down.
I won’t get too into how “celebrating all the talented people who make games” at The Game Awards 2023 felt like an utterly hollow sentiment amid weeks of mass layoffs or how they had they had to keep reminding the audience how much they support indie devs amid the waves of controversy about “what makes an indie game.” Instead, like last time, I want to focus on the winners and losers and give my personal thoughts on the ones that mattered to me—for whatever it’s worth.
Game of the Year: Baldur’s Gate 3
When we talked about it on the Pixels & Ink podcast, I had a feeling Baldur’s Gate 3 was going to take the win, with the real competition only really being between it and maybe Alan Wake 2. It definitely feels well earned considering the time and effort Larian Studios put into Baldur’s Gate 3 and how, as a game, it stands in stark contrast to everything the AAA industry thinks it needs to churn out for quick and maximized profits.
While I still wish Super Mario Wonder could have walked away with a victory—considering how new it felt for the Super Mario franchise and how dedicated it was to creativity, fun and togetherness—this definitely feels like the right game won the right award.
Best Direction: Alan Wake 2
I’m not sure how I felt about this one, since the opinion on Alan Wake 2 seems to be a bit split. While some have praised the game highly for its story and atmosphere, others have knocked it for tedious gameplay and somewhat questionable direction. Naturally, I’ll have to face the barbs and jabs of, “you’re just a Nintendo fanboy,” but I must admit I really think Super Mario Wonder should have taken this one.
As I mentioned above, Super Mario Wonder really takes the franchise in a bold, refreshing…direction that I really haven’t so thoroughly enjoyed a Super Mario game since the days of the SNES. It’s art style and incredible Wonder effects make every level enjoyable and memorable, and that aforementioned commitment to fun and working together really shines through every moment of the game. Whether you’re playing online or locally, you constantly see people helping each other find secrets, saving them from pits, or sharing items in a pinch. It’s exactly what the world needs right now: a bit of kindness.
Best Narrative: Alan Wake 2
Again, this selection at The Game Awards 2023 is a bit conflicting, given the mixed response to Alan Wake 2. I have heard some argue that the story is very good, but I’ve also heard it’s a bit flat. I couldn’t help but feel that maybe Baldur’s Gate 3 should’ve taken this given just how much work Larian put into how many potential scenarios not only the moment-to-moment storytelling can have but also the game’s overarching narrative—to say nothing of the incredibly amount of detail they put into each moment.
I would’ve guffawed if Final Fantasy XIV took Best Narrative—you know, the game where the protagonist had slaves but was always a nice slave owner, so it’s totally fine, and then the game just completely moves past this in the second act.
Best Art Direction: Alan Wake 2
One more time, and I swear I’ll stop, again, this really should’ve been given to Super Mario Wonder or at least Hi-Fi Rush. I guess “art direction,” much like the term “indie game,” has a pretty broad definition to The Game Awards since I can’t really figure out how a game that looks more or less like any other big-budget AAA game had better art direction than a highly animated, extremely inventive and consistently unique game like Super Mario Wonder.
I mean, as much as I loved it, Lies of P looks just like Bloodborne—you won’t hear me complaining about that—and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is identical to Breath of the Wild. At least Hi-Fi Rush had a unique art style to back its unique gameplay.
Best Score and Music: Final Fantasy XVI
Alan Wake 2 has a big rock opera somewhere in the middle of it. Supposedly it’s a show-stopper of a scene that really needed to be seen at the moment it happens in the game. It should say something about how little of a chance Alan Wake 2 had to win this prestigious award since they replicate the entire scene during The Game Awards. In all seriousness, this did feel like a deserved win for Final Fantasy XVI. The music in that game was so incredibly good that during most of the boss fights I actually sat up the way gamers do when things get serious.
Best Audio Design: Hi-Fi Rush
Hi-Fi Rush deserved this award, hands down, full stop. If a game that was built entirely around audio and music didn’t win the award for best audio design, then The Game Awards would lose the remaining shred of credibility they have left. It almost feels unfair to the other nominees in the category, and it’s kind of laughable that there were even other nominees in this category. Oh, was Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 going to win for how realistic the thwips sound? Grow up!
Best Independent Game: Sea of Stars
This one actually shocked me when it was announced. I thought for sure it was going to go to Dave the Diver—as a game that not only had a huge financial backing but also as one that saw near universal appraise for its interesting and captivating gameplay. I can’t help feel that Sea of Stars’ reminiscence of retro RPGs like Secret of Mana and more notably Chrono Trigger helped push it to the front of games media’s attention, but as someone who genuinely loved Sabotage Studio’s The Messenger I was happy to see them get the win. The only other game I was rooting for in this category was Viewfinder, but I didn’t really think it deserved to win.
Best Debut Indie: Cocoon
Pizza Tower was robbed. Hands down, full stop. It’s been talked about in greater circles, but “Best Debut Indie” feels like if not a pointless category, then something of a demeaning one. Considering many indie games usually ARE the studio’s debut game, it feels like a way to give certain games a token nod, so as to not take away the bigger, more popular indies from the actual award.
As such, Pizza Tower was completely robbed in this category. I’m not saying Cocoon is a bad game—the consensus on it has been universal praise—but Cocoon was also nominated for Best Independent Game and also had a huge publisher behind it. The fact that The Game Awards couldn’t even throw one of the ACTUAL independently made games a bone in the token-nod category is kind of pathetic.
Best Action Game: Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
I’ll admit, I really thought this one was going to be a bit of a toss-up. There were a lot of really solid Action games to release this year, and I thought for sure Ghostrunner 2 or even Hi-Fi Rush were going to win. But Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon feels like as deserved a win for From Soft as GOTY did for Elden Ring. A complex, high-octane game that combines intense action with methodical mech-building gameplay.
For a long time, I’ve felt that Armored Core has sat in relative obscurity—call it algorithm-chasing all you’d like, but the amount of“Is this Dark Souls” that came in the wake of ACVI’s release just exemplified how little people knew about From’s gaming history. A win like this might remind people that From made other games when they announce the next Tenchu.
Best Fighting Game: Street Fighter 6
I started playing Street Fighter 6 a few days before The Game Awards, having finally picked the game up during the PlayStation end-of-the-year sale, and I HAVE.NOT.BEEN.ABLE.TO.STOP. I had heard nothing but good things about it and was dying to play it finally, but I wasn’t fully prepared for just how deep it would get its hooks into me.
None of the other nominees were going to get even remotely close to Street Fighter’s level of quality, visual style, and, above all ACCESSIBILITY. The way Capcom has evolved the classic fighter’s control system to make the most approachable Street Fighter in decades will set the standard for all other fighting games for generations to come. And I mean, come on…did you really think Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 was going to win? Grow up!
Best Family: Super Mario Wonder
Without reiterating too much of what I said at the top, this probably was the best choice given the nominees. I know CGM’s resident family owners, Dayna Eileen and Chris De Hoog, had a particular fondness for Disney Illusion Island. Still, for my money, it was Super Mario Wonder all the way.
I mentioned during the Pixels & Ink podcast, it was something I noticed while playing Super Mario 3D World with my niece—the way that game ranks players at the end and gives a big golden crown to whoever had the most points was making my niece very selfish; telling me not to do anything so she could get all the points and be the “winner.” At that moment, I realized how extraordinary Super Mario Wonder was, putting patience and togetherness at the forefront for a much more enjoyable experience.
Best Adaptation: HBO’s The Last of Us
This one really burned my biscuits. Not because HBO’s The Last of Us wasn’t a solid adaptation, but simply for the fact that the property it was based on was already structured to be like a movie that there was almost nothing to really adapt. All the cards were stacked in its favour, whereas things like Gran Turismo or even Twister Metal were much more risky endeavours.
You probably already know where I’m going with this, but it should’ve been The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Think about it: you have a game that’s already difficult to adapt—a game whose last adaptation was so notorious, it scared Nintendo away from movies for 20 years—from a studio that was responsible for a lot of generic shlock, and Chris Pratt as Mario. The fact the Super Mario Bros. Movie was as good as it was, really needed to be awarded properly.
