In the lead-up to last year’s Game Awards, we noted that the ceremony could use some new categories. We felt that the current list was starting to feel lacking, especially as a shifting game industry has moved more toward remakes, early access launches, and more. We secretly hoped that someone running the show would take those suggestions to heart and adopt them. That didn’t happen with this year’s nominations, leading to all sorts of discourse about whether a DLC should be considered for Game of the Year and when is the right time to include it.
So we’ve taken matters into our own hands: welcome to Digital Trends’ 2024 Game Awards Expansion Pack!
In the spirit of a good DLC (or maybe an unofficial mod, more accurately), we’ve created five extra categories that you won’t see at this year’s Game Awards in December. Our aim is to cover a few holes that the real show has forgotten, including honors for forgotten genres and early access games. This year’s extra nominees range from small-scale indies to some heavy hitters competing at the real Game Awards. Though this isn’t an official part of the show, we plan to make it a new tradition here — at least until the real ceremony steals our thunder.
Best Puzzle Game
The nominees
- Isles of Sea & Sky
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
- The Rise of the Golden Idol
- Riven
- Wilmot Works It Out
While many genres are covered by The Game Awards’ categories, there isn’t a good fit for puzzle games. The ceremony’s restrictive Action Adventure category bars out games like Islands of Insight that feature no combat. So this year, we’re writing that wrong and honoring some of the year’s best. From the Link’s Awakening-inspired box pushing of Isles of Sea & Sky to the quiet joy of Wilmot Works it Out, these five games take a classic genre in entirely different directions.
And the winner is: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
While it was a competitive field this year, Simogo’s ambitious Lorelei and the Laser Eyes stands out among its peers thanks to its intricate puzzles, haunting direction, and incredible sense of style. It’s a classic puzzle box setup that harkens back to the early days of Resident Evil, complete with fixed camera angles, but replaces its zombies with complex puzzles that require players to twist their brains inside and out to deduce the adventure’s hidden language. It’s an astonishing accomplishment — one that deserves its Best Indie Game nomination at the real Game Awards.
Best Horror Game
The nominees
- Crow Country
- Mouthwashing
- Silent Hill 2
- Sorry We’re Closed
- Still Wakes the Deep
Video games are currently in the middle of a horror renaissance, and it’s not slowing down any time soon. After a monumental year for the genre in 2023, game developers got creative this year. Oddball games like Indika and Clickolding towed genre lines to deliver unsettling narrative adventures that have stuck with us since. It was a competitive list to choose from, but we narrowed it down to these five games that range from small-scale retro celebrations to big-budget thrills.
And the winner is: Silent Hill 2
Maybe it feels like cheating to give this award to a faithful remake of arguably the best horror game of all time, but developer Bloober Team earned this award with its thoughtful reimagining of Silent Hill 2. The move to traditional third-person shooting allows Bloober to toy with players in new ways as its shambling enemies duck in and out of James Sunderland’s flashlight beam. Best of all, though, is the way it brings new depth to characters like Angela, exploring their trauma in horrifying new ways without losing sight of the off-kilter mystery that shrouds their stories.
Best DLC
The nominees
- Destiny 2: The Final Shape
- Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Splatoon 3: Side Order
- The Talos Principle 2: Road to Elysium
DLC is a tricky thing to consider when it comes to awards. Is something like Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways good on its own merits, or does it just benefit from being more of a great game? That confusion has bled into The Game Awards this year, as players can’t quite agree on whether Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree deserves a spot that could have gone to a wholly original title like Helldivers 2. Well, we’ve solved that problem by giving these five nominees their own category.
And the winner is: Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
It’s probably no surprise to see Shadow of the Erdtree here considering that it’s the best-reviewed video game DLC of all time. Its strengths are obvious, giving fans of the base game a massive expansion that at times feels like its own sequel. Rather than heaping more deserved praise onto it, I’ll give a shout out to the other nominees here, as they all brought more depth to the base games they’re attached to. My personal favorite? Don’t sleep on Splatoon 3‘s surprisingly fun roguelite mode!
Best Remake/Remaster
The nominees
- Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
- Riven
- Silent Hill 2
While gaming award shows tend to be about honoring the present and looking to the future, the actual industry is currently looking to the past. Remakes and remasters have become dominant in recent years, almost to the point of parody. For every revival of a long-lost game, we had something entirely unnecessary, like The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. As hollow as the trend can be, there are plenty of remakes that go the extra mile to deepen our understanding of an old game rather than play the hits. These five nominees represent that, bringing classic games into the modern era in very different ways.
And the winner is: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has been a been polarizing since its release because of its stuffed open-world structure and controversial ending, but there’s no doubt that it’s a lovingly crafted chapter in Square Enix’s surprising remake trilogy. The second installment brings an eccentric chunk of the PS1 classic to life, adapting everything from the jungles of Gongaga to the opulent Gold Saucer. What stands out even more is the way that Rebirth continues to derive new meaning from its source material, offering up a complicated meditation on grief and how we can learn to live with it and fight on.
Best Early Access Game
The nominees
- Fields of Mistria
- Hades 2
- Manor Lords
- The Rogue Prince of Persia
- Windblown
If we learn nothing else from 2024’s game lineup, let it be that early access games can’t be ignored. What once was a niche practice is bringing in more mainstream audiences thanks to hits like Palworld and Manor Lords. Even Ubisoft jumped into the trend this year with The Rogue Prince of Persia. Should early access games compete like any other titles, or should voters wait until their 1.0 launches to consider them? The answer is muddled considering that Manor Lords is up for awards at this year’s Game Awards, but Hades 2 isn’t. So we’ve fixed that by giving these games their own category.
And the winner is: Hades 2
While its story isn’t quite complete yet, Hades 2 is already a fantastic sequel in its unfinished state. It takes the first game’s winning roguelite formula and gives it a witchy twist as players hunt down Chronos using a variety of new weapons and casting spells. What’s most impressive is that it doesn’t just feature one roguelite run; it has two entirely separate ones. That already has given the sequel much more longevity and allowed developer Supergiant to create even more creative biomes and fantastic songs to soundtrack them. Don’t be surprised if you see this competing for Game of the Year in 2025.
The actual 2024 Game Awards airs on December 12.
