Red Dead Redemption 2 leads the field of nominees for the 19th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, with seven nominations, while PlayStation exclusives God of War and Spider-Man received six each. All three are nominated for Game of the Year.
They are joined in that category by Celeste and Return of the Obra Dinn, which likewise picked up multiple nominations (three for Celeste, four for Obra Dinn). Four of the five nominees for Game of the Year are nominated for Best Narrative, where they are also joined by Florence, which was given an honorable mention for Game of the Year.
Nominees are chosen by video games developers and winners are announced during this year’s Game Developers Conference; the ceremony will be held March 20, 2019.
Additionally, Amy Hennig, creative director and writer on Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series, will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Her honor was announced back in December. Another award, The Pioneer Award, will announce its winner soon.
- Red Dead Redemption 2, by Rockstar Games, was tabbed for Best Audio, Best Design, Best Narrative, Best Technology, Best Visual Art, Game of the Year and the Innovation Award.
- God of War, by Sony Santa Monica, and Marvel’s Marvel’s Spider-Man by Insomniac Games were each nominated for Best Audio, Best Design, Best Narrative, Best Technology, Best Visual Art and Game of the Year.
- Celeste was nominated for Best Audio and Best Design in addition to Game of the Year. Return of the Obra Dinn was nominated for Best Narrative, Best Visual Art, Game of the Year and the Innovation Award.
All five of the Game of the Year contenders were in Polygon’s top 10 games of the year for 2018, with God of War as our top game overall.
Here is the full list of nominees:
Best Audio
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
Best Debut
- Polyarc (Moss)
- Mountains (Florence)
- Nomada Studio (Gris)
- Villa Gorilla (Yoku’s Island Express)
- Sabotage (The Messenger)
Best Design
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- Into the Breach (Subset Games)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Best Mobile Game
- Alto’s Odyssey (Snowman)
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Devolver Digital)
- Holedown (Grapefrukt Games)
- Donut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)
Innovation Award
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)
- Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
Best Narrative
- Florence (Mountains/Annapurna Interactive)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Technology
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)
- Forza Horizon 4 (Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games / Microsoft Studios)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best Visual Art
- Gris (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
Best VR/AR Game
- Budget Cuts (Neat Corporation)
- Beat Saber (Beat Games)
- Tetris Effect (Monstars and Resonair / Enhance)
- Moss (Polyarc)
- Astro Bot Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Game of the Year
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
- Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope / 3909)
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
- Celeste (Matt Makes Games)
- God of War (Sony Santa Monica / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Comments
Wonder how many hours it took them to vote on that.
By AmiralPatate on 01.04.19 6:11pm
lol it’s just the same 5 games repeated for every category, unsurprisingly
By DJCR33P on 01.07.19 6:05am
Best technology is one tough, interesting category. That should be the Game Developers Choice top award, while "game of the year" is announced via unceremonious tweet.
By Raln on 01.04.19 8:30pm
Cause game narratives, art, music, gameplay and all that stuff are secondary in designing a fun and involving game
By Justbackforasec on 01.05.19 7:06am
Is RDR2 really that innovative? It just did the same open-world stuff, but bigger and more detailed. I haven’t finished it yet, but it doesn’t feel like there was anything "new" about it. Maybe the realistic horse balls haven’t been done before.
By SoulFyre on 01.04.19 8:56pm
No game has incorporated a story about like 20 people attached to the main character so well. The camp mechanics were excellent if we exclude the excruciatingly slow speed of walking. I spent hours just sitting in the camp listening to stories some of them tell around the fire, playing poker or getting drunk and talking to everyone to see their reaction. I liked upgrading the camp even if it didn’t bring much difference beyond cosmetic. You tagging along for the companions’ side-missions or them joining into yours was done so well. Seeing the character progression of everyone as the group kept moving was excellent.
The story itself was great as well, compilation of tropes or not they were used very well. I love when a game wants me to sink 100 hours in but it feels earned and cathartic by the end of it. Giving shit to Dutch from the get-go in every interaction on my 2nd playthrough never gets old. I am a 33 year old man with a job and hobbies other than gaming, yet felt the need to dive in again a week after finishing it. It’s a landmark game.
By Nastee on 01.04.19 10:24pm
But none of that is "innovative." They’ve done everything in the game better than anyone, but innovative should mean something new was done. The game is amazing, I’m just not sure it deserves an award for innovation.
By SoulFyre on 01.05.19 3:35pm
Everything is an iteration of previous games though, none of these were built in a vacuum. Tetris was also nominated. TETRIS! Just because it’s VR doesn’t make it a whole new game.
By Tyreal on 01.06.19 2:16am
Innovation could be about tech – which RDR2 has in abundance. Even just look at the lighting, weather and cloud engine.
Or innovation could be in storytelling, world building, or even just how a game makes you feel.
i.e. Journey was an innovative game because it somehow, even through average game mechanics, found a way to get players to emotionally engage with a stranger.
By inteliboy on 01.06.19 7:23am
All of Bioware’s games disagree.
As much as I enjoyed all the characters in RDR2 I felt the game barely scratched the surface of exploring everyone except Arthur and Dutch. The poor pacing and disjointed patchwork structure of the narrative also hurt the development of the story and the gang members. The game felt like a series of, often compelling and interesting, vignettes rather than a cohesive story.
By greyjk on 01.06.19 10:38am
Every time I see a commercial for this game I hear someone talking about worrying about ‘cops’ – which is weird – since it supposedly takes place in the old west right?
By FrackTacular on 01.04.19 9:37pm
According to snopes.com, people started calling police officers "coppers" in the 1840s, and then started shortening it to "cops" by 1859. The game itself is set in 1899. I totally understand it seeming anachronistic, but as far as I can tell it’s not.
By MisterFrodo17 on 01.05.19 3:29am
I wish Subnautica would’ve gotten some love. Great game with a great concept.
By fixlarz on 01.05.19 4:04am
Hope RDR2 wins Game of the Year. Its a work of art. My only regret is that I finished it too quickly but in all honesty I rushed through the last few chapters (including the epilogue) as I had had enough of all the spoilers!
Currently playing Spider-Man and I’m really enjoying it. Web-slinging is great fun and the story is really good, much better than the last few Spider-Man films (haven’t seen Into the Spider-Verse though).
Yet to play God of War or AC: Odyssey but definitely will at some point this year.
The other games mentioned either don’t appeal or are on a different platform. I tend to prefer big AAA titles over small indie titles anyway.
By Col_McCafferty on 01.05.19 4:42am
Lol is it really possible to "rush" through the last few chapters? It all takes hours and hours.
By NYCman100 on 01.05.19 2:08pm
Ha, compared to how much time I spent just exploring the world during the first 3-4 chapters then yeah, I definitely ‘rushed’ through the next two. It took me seven weeks to finish the complete story but it could have taken me longer.
I didnt really bother with the Legendary animals or find a single dinosaur bone or dreamcatcher or anything like that.
By Col_McCafferty on 01.05.19 6:55pm
BTW for fans of RDR2, check out This Land is my Land. Its not as "cinematic" as RDR2, but it will have big world too and its not some copy – you play Native American warrior in a world that evolves over time.
Some details here:
https://translate.google.cz/translate?hl=cs&sl=cs&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.farflame.cz%2Fclanek22.htm
By Xirius on 01.05.19 6:54am
Sounds very interesting. I enjoyed the segments in Red Dead with Rain Falls and Eagle Flies plus Charles is a great character.
By Col_McCafferty on 01.05.19 7:48am
Say whaaaat? I haven’t heard of this, looks cool though
By ObjectNull on 01.05.19 1:06pm