Deathloop, Ratchet and Clank dominate 2021’s Game Awards nominations

By Otto Kratky November 16, 2021

With a year’s worth of games nearly behind us, Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards are on the way to recap everything we’ve played and dole out some awards. As with most years, the list of nominees for 2021’s Game Awards is packed with triple-A games including Life is Strange: True Colors, Psychonauts 2, Resident Evil: Village, and Returnal. However, Deathloop and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart dominate the list, with nine and six nominations respectively.

We’ll see how many awards each game takes home when this year’s Game Awards show airs on December 9. A roundup of some of this year’s nominees in the biggest categories — including game of the year, best game direction, most anticipated game, and more — can be found below. There are 30 categories overall this year.

Game of the year

Deathloop
It Takes 2
Metroid Dread
Psychonauts 2
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Resident Evil: Village

Best game direction

Deathloop
Psychonauts 2
It Takes 2
Returnal
Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart

Most anticipated game

Elden Ring
God of War: Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Breath of The Wild 2
Starfield

Best role-playing game

Cyberpunk 2077
Monster Hunter Rise
Scarlet Nexus
Shin Megami Tensei V
Tales of Arise

Best action-adventure game

Marvel’s Guardians of The Galaxy
Metroid: Dread
Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart
Resident Evil: Village
Psychonauts 2

Best action game

Back 4 Blood
Chivalry 2
Deathloop
Far Cry 6
Returnal

Best narrative

Deathloop
It Takes 2
Life is Strange: True Colors
Marvel’s Guardians of The Galaxy
Psychonauts 2

Best art direction

Deathloop
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Psychonauts 2
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
The Artful Escape

The Game Awards will take place on Thursday, December 9. The show will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

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Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…

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