If you’re annoyed by The Game Awards becoming more of an E3 replacement than an actual awards show, there’s more than one trophy out there. There’s The New York Game Awards, a Keighley-less affair that doesn’t get as much attention, yet has been chugging along for 12 years.
And their 13th installment has been scheduled for later this month. Their nominations list was released this morning. There are the expected categories like “Best Game” with the expected entries, but the NYGA gets a little more creative and honors a wider field of the industry. There’s a category for Best Remake, since there were so many last year (but do you judge on the game itself, which can be the same thing, or on the improvements made?). The nominees for “Best Hidden Gem” are all truly games I’ve never heard of.
You should be pleased with this list…mostly. Just try to ignore the fact that they wrote “Super Mario Bro. Wonders” at some point. The New York Game Awards will be held in Manhattan, at the SVA Theatre on January 23.
Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year
- Alan Wake II
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Hi-Fi Rush
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield
Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game
- A Space for the Unbound
- Chants of Sennaar
- El Paso Elsewhere
- Jusant
- Pizza Tower
- Sea of Stars
- The Talos Principle II
- Viewfinder
Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game
- Alan Wake II
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Starfield
- Tchia
- Thirsty Suitors
Statue of Liberty Award for Best World
- Alan Wake II
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Chants of Sennaar
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield
Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game
- Alan Wake II
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Tchia
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game
- Amelia Tyler as The Narrator in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Ben Starr as Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI
- Elizabeth Saydah as Riley in Oxenfree II: Lost Signals
- Idris Elba as Solomon Reed in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Melanie Liburd as Saga Anderson in Alan Wake II
- Neil Newbon as Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3
Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game
- Asgard’s Wrath 2
- Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR
- Body of Mine
- Horizon Call of the Mountain
- Humanity
- We Are One
Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game
- Disney Illusion Island
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
- Pikmin 4
- Super Mario Bro. Wonders
- Tchia
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Kimono Cats
- Laya’s Horizon
- Monster Hunter Now
- Terra Nil
Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake
- Dead Space
- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- Resident Evil 4
- Star Ocean: The Second Story
- Super Mario RPG
Joltin’ Joe Award for Best Esports Player of the Year
- Alexis “Zen” Bernier (Team Vitality) – Rocket League
- Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique (Twisted Minds/Red Bull eSports) – Tekken 7
- Choi “Zeus” Woo-je (T1) – League of Legends
- Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok (T1) – League of Legends
- Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (Team Vitality) – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez (New York Subliners) – Call of Duty
Chumley’s Speakeasy Award for Best Hidden Gem
- 9 Years of Shadow
- American Arcadia
- Conrad Stevenson’s Paranormal P.I.
- Outer Terror
- Slay the Princess
- Videoverse
NYC GWB Award for Best DLC
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
- God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla
- Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
- Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways
- Vampire Survivors: Coop Mode
Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism
- Andrea Long Chu, Vulture
- Blessing Adeoya Jr., Kinda Funny Games
- Brendan Sinclair, GamesIndustry.biz
- Ed Smith, PCGamesN/Bullet Points Monthly
- Hanif Abdurraqib, The Paris Review
- Nicole Carpenter, Polygon
- Reid McCarter, Bullet Points Monthly
