2019 ended with several game award shows, but the events aren’t over yet. The nominees for the 23rd annual DICE Awards, which are presented by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, have been announced.
This year, Kojima Production’s Death Stranding and Remedy Entertainment’s Control have received the most nominations.
D.I.C.E. is an acronym meaning “Design Innovate Communicate Entertain.” The ceremony is held during the annual Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences summit in Las Vegas.
For the year 2019, 65 games received nominations. Both Death Stranding and Control received eight nominations each, which was the most of any other title.
Control tells the story of Jessie Faden. “The main plot focuses on her personal search for answers as she grows into the role of the Director. The world of Control has its own story, as do the allies Jesse meets along the way. Side-quests and Secrets are everywhere. Jesse works with other Bureau agents, decodes cryptic ciphers and discovers strange Bureau experiments.” states the official Steam description.
Death Stranding was a highly-anticipated title from the studio of Hideo Kojima. The title was a PlayStation 4 exclusive and the summary states, “After the collapse of civilization, Sam Bridges must journey across a ravaged landscape crawling with otherworldly threats to save mankind from the brink of extinction.”
House House’s Untitled Goose Game, which quickly became popular among gamers, received four total nominations, along with Mobius Digital and Annapurna Interactive’s Outer Wilds.
The Game of the Year Nominees includes Control, Death Stranding, Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, and Untitled Goose Game. One of these titles will take home the prestigious award for 2019.
There are several more categories to celebrate achievements in the gaming world.
Action Game of the Year includes Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Surprisingly, while this title won several Game of the Year awards in 2019, it was not nominated for overall Game of the Year at the DICE Awards. It only received two nominations, with the other being Outstanding Achievement in Game Design.
Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 received three nominations for Adventure Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, and Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design. With the release of Resident Evil 3 coming later this year, there’s a possibility Capcom may take home a few Game of the Year 2020 awards.
In 2018, Santa Monica Studio and Sony’s God of War won Game of the Year.
The 23rd Annual DICE Awards will be held in Las Vegas on February 13, 2020.
