The winners of the 24th annualDICE Awardshave been announced, and while many of 2020’s best games were honored, it was a very successful night for one studio in particular. While The Game Awards tends to be the biggest awards show, often coming with new announcementsand its own controversies, the DICE Awards are highly regarded by those within the games industry.
In 2020, at the 23rd annual DICE Awards, theGame of the Year award surprisingly went toUntitled Goose Gameover other popular titles likeDeath StrandingandDisco Elysium,and a similar tale played out at this year’s awards. Supergiant Games’Hadesbeat out AAA games likeThe Last Of Us Part 2, Ghost of Tsushima,andFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketo claim the Game of the Year award. While all the previously mentioned AAA games did win some awards, Supergiant’s indie darling was definitely the winner.
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All in all,Supergiant’s Hades received five awards, Action Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Design, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game, and, of course, Game of the Year. Sucker Punch’sGhost of Tsushimaalso had a successful showing, winning four awards, including Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Outstanding Achievement in Audio Direction. The only other games to take home multiple awards were Naughty Dog’sThe Last of Us Part 2, which claimed Outstanding Achievement in Animation and Outstanding Achievement in Story, andHalf-Life: Alyx which won Immersive Reality Technical Achievement and Immersive Reality Game of the Year.
Here is the full list of winners at 2021' 24th annual DICE Awards:
Game of the Year-Hades
2020 was one of the strangest years in gaming while also being one of the industry’s most successful. It proved to be a very competitive year with great games likeDoom Eternal, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla,andSpritfarerall missing out on winning any awards.
It is hard to argue that this year’s biggest winners don’t deserve their awards. Hadesshowed that early access could lead to great games, andGhost of Tsushimadelivered a beautiful world and set anew standard for photo modes in video games. As always, it will be interesting to see what will win Game of the Year at next year’s DICE Awards. Will a AAA game likeResident Evil VillageorHalo Infinitewin Game of the Year, or will a surprise indie hit claim the award for the third year in a row?
MORE:Hades Developer Reveals Why Supergiant Games Took the Early Access Route
