Ninja Theory’s self-published gamble, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, leads the nominations for the BAFTA video game awards 2018, with nine nods including Best Game. It’s been a tremendous success for the British studio, with Hellblade winning both critical acclaim and bringing in more than half-a-million sales.
Sony’s Playstation 4 smash hit Horizion: Zero Dawn follows with eight nominations ahead of What Remanins of Edith Finch. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, has five nods, as does the puzzle game Gorogoa.
The four-nod tier are old Disney-inspired platformer Cuphead, Night in the Woods and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. On the three-nod tier: Assassin’s Creed Origins, Monument Valley 2, PUBG and Super Mario Odyssey. On the two-nod tier: Snipperclips, Fortnite, NieR: Automata, The Sexy Brutale and Bury Me, My Love.
This year’s new Game Beyond Entertainment category, designed to recognise games exploring something more than just entertainment, will be contended by Life is Strange: Beyond the Storm; Night in the Woods; Bury Me, My Love; Last Day of June; Hellblade; and Sea Hero Quest VR. Between them they shine a light on a range of mental health afflictions and social issues as well as grief and war. They, and many other games, are doing great work.
Performers in the spotlight for their role in a game this year are: Bayek (Assassin’s Creed Origins) actor Abubakar Salim; Aloy (Horizon) actor Ashly Burch; Senua (Hellblade) actor Melina Juergens (this was her first acting role incidentally); Edith Finch actor Valerie Rose Lohman; and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy duo Claudia Black (Chloe) and Laura Bailey (Nadine Ross).
The BAFTA video game awards take place 12th April in London and will be hosted by comedian Dara O’Briain for the eight time.
Game of the Year
- Assassin’s Creed Origins
- Hellblade
- Horizon
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Super Mario Odyssey
- What Remains of Edith Finch
Best Artistic Achievement
- Cuphead
- Gorogoa
- Hellblade
- Horizon
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Best Audio Achievement
- COD: World War 2
- Destiny 2
- Hellblade
- Horizon
- Star Wars Battlefront 2
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Best British Game
- Hellblade
- Monument Valley 2
- Reigns: Her Majesty
- The Sexy Brutale
- Sniper Elite 4
- Total War: Warhammer 2
Debut Game
- Cuphead
- Gorogoa
- Hollow Knight
- Night in the Woods
- The Sexy Brutale
- Slime Rancher
Evolving Game
- Clash Royale
- Final Fantasy 15
- Fortnite
- Overwatch
- PUBG
- Rainbow Six Siege
Best Family Game
- Just Dance 2018
- Lego Worlds
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
- Monument Valley 2
- Snipperclips
- Super Mario Odyssey
Best Game Beyond Entertainment
- Bury Me, My Love
- Hellblade
- Last Day of June
- Life is Strange: Before the Storm
- Night in the Woods
- Sea Hero Quest VR
Best Game Design
- Assassin’s Creed Origins
- Horizon Zero Dawn
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Nier Automata
- Super Mario Odyssey
- What Remains of Edith Finch
Best Game Innovation
- Gorogoa
- Hellblade
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Nier Automata
- Snipperclips
- What Remains of Edith Finch
Best Mobile Game
- Bury Me, My Love
- Golf Clash
- Gorogoa
- Kami 2
- Monument Valley 2
- Stranger Things: The Game
Best Multiplayer Game
- Divinity: Original Sin 2 (yay!)
- Fortnite
- Gang Beasts
- PUBG
- Splatoon 2
- Star Trek Bridge Crew
Best Music
- Cuphead
- Get Even
- Hellblade
- Horizon
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- What Remains of Edith Finch
Best Narrative
- Hellblade
- Horizon
- Night in the Woods
- Tacoma
- What Remains of Edith Finch
- Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
Best Original Property
- Cuphead
- Gorogoa
- Horizon
- Night in the Woods
- PUBG
- What Remains of Edity Finch
Best Performance in a Video Game
- Abubakar Salim as Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins
- Ashly Burch as Aloy in Horizon
- Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- Laura Bailey as Nadine Ross in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- Melina Juergens as Senua in Hellblade
- Valerie Rose Lohman as Edith Finch in What Remains of Edith Finch
