Astro Bot, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth top nominees for the Golden Joystick Awards

The race for Game of the Year remains wide open, with celebrated indies attracting equal or stronger critical interest than the obvious AAA tentpoles (and shaking up the fall calendar at the last minute – Assassin’s Creed Shadows was never ready to be The Big One before 2024, but Ubisoft’s decision to move it to 2025 makes it a non-starter). The nominees for this year’s Golden Joystick Awards, which are entering the 41st year of presenting trophies for the best gaming players, only reinforce the narrative that there is no story. It’s someone’s… uh, game.

Astrobot, Final fantasy 7 RebirthAnd Hell divers 2 led the nominees for Joysticks, which this year celebrates titles released between November 11, 2023 and October 4, 2024, with smaller games such as Balatro, Tactical Break WizardsAnd UFO 50 also appear in multiple categories. Fan voting is now open for the awards, with nominees selected by PC Gamer, the Future Games Show, Edge magazine, Retro Gamer, GamesRadar and “a variety of industry experts.” And Dragon Age fans are wondering if The Veil Guard gets completely confused by a weird nomination window, don’t worry: The Joysticks said games released between October 4 and November 21 (awards day) are still eligible for categories like Best Performance and Ultimate Game of the Year , where the sequel will likely dominate. Like the Golden Globes bypassing the Oscars, the Joysticks clearly see opportunities to get out of the gate first, bending the rules to ensure nothing is lost in the shuffling. Award season!

How indicative are these nominees of a larger Game of the Year wave that will ultimately impact the Game Awards this December? Of the nominated jury for the Golden Joystick Awards, only Edge, GamesRadar and PC Gamer typically contribute to the TGA voting jury, which consists of more than 100 outlets from around the world. So if you’re rooting there Black Myth Wukong or Metaphor: ReFantazioit’s not over yet.

Here’s the full list of nominees for the Golden Joystick Awards. The winners will be announced on November 21.

Best Indie Game – Self-Published

Still Playing Award – PC and Console

Still Playing Award – Mobile

Best Supporting Artist