The Game Awards noms: The good, the bad, the WTF | Kaser focus

I think 2022 was a good year for games – at least I had fun. But you wouldn’t get that impression from the Game of the Year nominations released by The Game Awards this year. In 2021 we had It Takes Two, Psychonauts 2, Metroid Dread and Rift Apart, among others. This year it basically comes down to a battle between Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök. Poor Horizon: Forbidden West is the only dark horse.

As for the others, I’m not too impressed. As much as I loved Stray – and I loved it; I gave it a 4.5, for God’s sake – it’s not GOTY material. It was excellent at what it tried to be, but it didn’t try to be much. I’m more surprised that Tunic was left out. I think the big question that gamers love – Soulslikes or cute cats – has finally been answered. Also, the inclusion of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 feels like a weird fluke. As for A Plague Tale: Requiem… I liked it, but it was way too long for my taste.

Of course, nothing feels more bizarre to me than seeing Half-Mermaid’s Immortality receive nominations, including for best direction and best story. I’m a group of one, apparently, but I despised that game. Ironically, the only category I would have nominated it for (if you had put a gun to my head) was best audio design, which it wasn’t nominated for. I’m also not sure why Sifu is nominated for Best Fighting Game if it’s an action game. And do we really need a “most anticipated” price? We get it – everyone wants to play Tears of the Kingdom. It doesn’t need more recognition.

Okay, enough that I’m a curmudgeon. We all know that The Game Awards are mostly about the trailers, and I look forward to watching those with all of you. In the meantime, I’m playing some Pentiment, which I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I might play with some pokemon, if there’s time. You know me: murder mysteries first!

What to play this week

What’s new:

• Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
• penance
• Goat Simulator 3
• Somerville
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil Within Me
• lapin
• Terracotta
• Courage and greed
• Ballads of Hongye
• Frozen Flame

New on subscription services:

• Dune: Spice Wars (Xbox Game Pass)
• Ghostlore (Xbox Game Pass)
• Norco (Xbox Game Pass)
• Dead End Lane (Xbox Games with Gold)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition (PlayStation Plus)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Kingdom Hearts III (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Oddworld: Soulstorm – Enhanced Edition (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Chorus (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• What Remains of Edith Finch (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• The Gardens Between (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Earth Defense Force: World Brothers (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Onee Chanbara Origin (PlayStation Plus Extra+Premium)
• Ratchet & Clank (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Ratchet & Clank: Stuck (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PlayStation Plus Premium)
• Nobody – The Turnaround (GeForce Now)
• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (GeForce Now)
• Caveblazers (GeForce Now)
• The Darkest Stories (GeForce Now)
• The Tenants (GeForce Now)
• Old Man’s Journey+ (Apple Arcade)