Who will be taking home the gongs this year?
And with the coming of the darker evenings and the cooler nights — awards season is already upon us. Kicking things off for 2021 will be the annual Golden Joystick Awards, the UK-based ceremony that sees the year’s best and brightest titles honored for their respective skills at telling tales, looking lovely, breaking barriers, and entertaining us all while doing so.
The Golden Joystick committee has released the nominees for a huge slew of categories pertaining to visuals, sound design, storytelling capabilities, character performances, and DLC content. In the case of all categories, video game fans can slap down their vote over on the GamesRadar+ website. Voting will close on Friday, November 5, with the winners revealed in a special online ceremony to be broadcast live on November 23.
The nominees include Arkane Studios’ Deathloop, which is nominated in five categories, as well as other major releases including Capcom’s Resident Evil Village, Housemarque’s sci-fi epic Returnal, Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and Nintendo releases Metroid Dread, Monster Hunter Rise, and WarioWare: Get it Together. The spunky indie scene is represented via Greg Lobanov’s Chicory, Worldwalker’s Wildermyth, and Acid Nerve’s gloomy adventure Death’s Door.
The full list of nominees for the Golden Joystick Awards 2021 are as follows:
Best Storytelling:
Life is Strange: True Colours
Psychonauts 2
Wildermyth
12 Minutes
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Tales of Arise
Best Multiplayer Game:
Deathloop
It Takes Two
Chivalry 2
Back 4 Blood
Valheim
Naraka: Bladepoint
Best Visual Design:
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Psychonauts 2
The Artful Escape
Little Nightmares II
Hitman 3
Genesis Noir
Best Indie Game:
Death’s Door
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Old World
Wildermyth
Bonfire Peaks
Sable
Studio of the Year:
Io Interactive
Arkane
Housemarque
Double Fine
Capcom
Draknek & Friends
Best Game Expansion:
Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island
Final Fantasy VII Remake: Episode Intermission
The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos
Sims 4: Cottage Living
Super Mario: Bowser’s Fury
Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part II
Best Audio:
Returnal
Jett: The Far Shore
Sable
Little Nightmares 2
Resident Evil Village
The Artful Escape
Best Performer:
Jason Kelley — Colt Vahn, Deathloop
Erika Mori — Alex Chen, Life is Strange: True Colors
Maggie Robertson — Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
Ozioma Akagha — Julianna Blake, Deathloop
Jennifer Hale — Rivet, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Elijah Wood — Gristol/Nick the Post Guy, Pschonauts 2
Best Game Community:
Final Fantasy XIV
No Man’s Sky
Dreams
Monster Hunter Rise
Destiny 2
Magic: The Gathering Arena
Mobile Game of the Year:
Clap Hanz Golf
Fantasian
Overboard!
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
Cozy Grove
League of Legends: Wild Rift
PC Game of the Year:
Wildermyth
Chivalry 2
Old World
Hitman 3
Pathfinder
The Forgotten City
PlayStation Game of the Year:
Returnal
Deathloop
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Resident Evil: Village
Death Stranding Director’s Cut
Kena: Bridge Of Spirits
Nintendo Game of the Year:
New Pokemon Snap
Neo: The World Ends with You
Monster Hunter Rise
Bravely Default II
WarioWare: Get It Together
Metroid Dread
Xbox Game of the Year:
Lost Judgment
The Ascent
Psychonauts 2
Microsoft Flight Simulator
The Artful Escape
12 Minutes
Best Gaming Hardware:
PS5
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
Nintendo Switch OLED
WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD
Still Playing Award:
Apex Legends
Call of Duty: Warzone
Final Fantasy 14
Destiny 2
GTA Online
Genshin Impact
Fortnite
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Rocket League
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Most Wanted Game:
God of War: Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Halo Infinite
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
GTA V: Enhanced Edition
Skate 4
Elden Ring
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild II
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Starfield
Gotham Knights
Ultimate Game of the Year:
Deathloop
Psychonauts 2
Resident Evil Village
Ratchet and Clank
Wildermyth
Hitman 3
The Forgotten City
It Takes Two
Metroid Dread
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
