The battle for ‘Game of the Year’ showcases strong contenders
Warriors come face to face with a towering foe forging their own destiny in “Elden Ring,” the latest game that has challenged many gamers to “get good,” and emerge victorious/Photo contributed by FromSoftware Studios
December 8, 2022
This year has been strong for video games such as showcasing a God and his son, a warrior punishing enemies, and a kitten with a robot companion.
With 2022 coming to an end, gamers are looking forward to seeing who takes home the coveted “Game of the Year” award at The Game Awards. Deemed the Oscars for gaming will be streamed on YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms hosted by Geoff Keighley.
This year’s contenders are “A Plague Tale: Requiem,” “Horizon Forbidden West,” and “Xenoblade Chronicles 3.” But the titles that are the clear favorites are “God of War: Ragnarok,” “Stray,” and “Elden Ring,” as being the front runners to take home the significant award.
With FromSoftware’s “Elden Ring,” who has a strong reputation for the “Souls” games and was written by “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin, “Ragnarok” is a strong follow-up to the 2018 PlayStation exclusive that exceeded high expectations, and “Stray” coming out of nowhere charming gamers who were able to roam around as a cat.
For senior English major Dylan Lopez, the race for GOTY is a clear choice in which he feels that “Ragnarok” is the one who deserves the title.
“The gameplay is inventive, the world is absolutely visually stunning on all platforms,” Lopez said, “It has a great soundtrack and best of all, it’s got a refreshing grittiness or realness to how it tells its story.”
With most games for the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X selling up to $70 , many are wondering if they’re getting their money’s worth. But for Lopez, “Ragnarok” is worth the current price due to it’s advancements in its story and gameplay.
But unlike the Oscars, where the awards are decided amongst the Academy, The Game Awards winners are decided by the fans and given the track record FromSoftware’s games have had at The Game Awards with “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” winning the big title in 2019, all cards are in play for “Elden Ring” to potentially win according to Lopez.
“I suspect “Elden Ring” will win just because of the fanatical support “Souls-like” players will give it,” Lopez said, “There’s no denying that a tremendous amount of people played it at launch.”
Eurogamer reports that “Elden Ring” has surpassed 17.5 million copies sold and is shaping up to be another ongoing series for FromSoftware. Although Lopez picked “Ragnarok” to win, he wouldn’t be upset if “Elden Ring” wins GOTY because of the work Martin and FromSoftware put in making the game.
To find out who takes home the big award, be sure to tune into The Game Awards at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8 on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and all other major social media platforms.
Sources:
Game of the Year Nominees:
https://thegameawards.com/nominees/game-of-the-year
Elden Ring sales:
