The return of Kratos and his offspring Atreus to the PlayStation has received the most nominations for the 2023 Bafta Games Awards.
God of War: Ragnarok, which pits players against Norse gods, is up for 14 of the prestigious golden masks.
Stray, a cat simulator and underground success tale, is nominated eight times.
Elden Ring, a dark fantasy role-playing epic that triumphed big at The Game Awards, is nominated seven times.
The awards ceremony is one of the most prestigious evenings in the gaming industry’s calendar.
God of War: Ragnarok is the sequel to the Bafta-winning God of War and has received the most nominations since the inception of these awards in 2004.
However, leading in nominations does not inherently indicate success on the night. In 2020 mysterious adventure game Control was nominated 11 times and took up one solitary golden mask.
The game could win in categories spanning from best animation to best game. Critics and fans praised the actors’ efforts, and many of the title nominations are in the performer categories.
Christopher Judge, who portrays the main character Kratos, Sunny Suljic, who portrays his son Atreus. And Danielle Bisutti, who portrays the deity Fryea, were nominated for a second consecutive year.
A Plague Tale: Requiem is nominated five times, as is PlayStation exclusive Horizon Forbidden West, along with the endearing (yet exceedingly difficult) independent game Tunic.
These awards have frequently produced a few surprises. Such as when What Remains of Edit Finch beat out Zelda for the best game award in 2018.
Unusual games like 2020’s Unknown Goose Game can succeed. It was an experience that was nominated four times and centered on a disgruntled gander.
These awards often yield surprises, like when What Remains of Edit Finch beat Zelda for best game in 2018.
Those who keep up to date with the twist and turns of the games industry on social media won’t be too surprised, given the game’s release in July 2022 was accompanied by masses of buzz and positive reaction.
Bafta CEO Jane Millichip said that the awards were an essential platform to raise awareness of the industry to the broader public.
She hopes they can demonstrate that working in games is an option for anyone, saying: “Our charity work, whether focused on talent and skills development, bursaries and scholarships feed into the awards.
The awards can elevate all of this work and allow us to inspire new people to enter the industry and expose more people to video games. Whether it’s massively popular games like God of War or Elden Ring or all of the nominees in the category for debut games.”
She added that they wanted to “help level the playing field for individuals from backgrounds who may face entry barriers” and that it was just as important for them to do so in the gaming industry as it was in film and television.
According to Tara Saunders, chair of the Bafta Games Committee, the awards “validate gaming as a legitimate career choice.”
“The industry has a perception problem when it comes to career counselors in schools or with parents,” she said.
“Not enough is known about it, but the fact that Bafta hosts the awards. And when game lovers see that, a lot of future talent learns that games can be a job. They will be drawn in by the Bafta spotlight. It has been a historical issue.”
Creative Assembly, renowned for creating the grand strategy franchise Total War, has received its sixteenth nomination for the series. The greatest British game is Total War: Warhammer III.
The Evolving Game category often contains some of the industry’s biggest names, games that are continuously updated and tweaked. Titles like Apex Legends, Forza Horizons 5, Dreams, and No Man’s Sky have also been nominated.
The EE Game of the Year is one category not decided by a panel of experts. It was first presented in 2021 and is the only award category determined by public vote. Some people have already selected Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon: Forbidden West, Immortality, Marvel Snap, or Stray.
