Gaming Influence: Predictions - Game Awards 2023 ~ Part 4

Hello everyone, 

Welcome to Gaming Influence, a reboot of the same name I created in WrestleCorp. However, not only will I be giving my thoughts on certain video games and video game series, but also video game movies, video game anime, video game digital presentations, etc.

For this edition of Gaming Influence, I'll be giving my predictions for the 2023 Game Awards which will be airing the show live worldwide on December 7, 2023. I'm definitely excited for the game announcements and trailers for the show as anything can happen from all of the gaming companies so we'll see what they got.

However, the focus with these predictions is not on what games will appear on the show, but more on the awards themselves as I will only be doing some of them, but I'll be doing sixteen predictions for sixteen categories for the Game Awards this year. In addition, these predictions will be separated into four parts so this is Part 4 (Final Part) of my Game Awards predictions which will include Best Art Direction of the Year, Best Narrative of the Year, Best Game Direction of the Year, and Game of the Year. Plus, I'll first give my thoughts on the game themselves for the category they're under before giving my predictions on which game I think and want to win the award.

Anyway, let's get started!

We'll start with this category, the Best Art Direction of the Year.

Alan Wake II is a survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games as it's the long-awaited sequel to the first Alan Wake released in 2010. The game's art direction is great as it definitely has that realistic look to it where it feels like you're actually watching a movie with actual real-life people. The added dark atmosphere to the game really gives the vibes which really enhances the art direction as well and it has every right to win the Best Art Direction of the Year.

Hi-Fi Rush is a rhythm-based action game developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda as it combines rhythm and action into one. This game screams personality and charm when it comes to its art style. The characters are well-expressive, the colors are very vibrant which definitely stood out, and the game just looks like a comic book at times which I personally love a lot. Due to its unique art direction, this game has every right to win the Best Art Direction of the Year.

Lies of P is a soulslike action role-playing game developed by Neowiz Games as it combines the soulslike gameplay within a different take of the Pinocchio story. This is another game that has a really great art direction as it's realistic in its own way which also adds that fairy tale element to it since the game is based on Pinocchio. In addition to the dark setting of the game, the art style really gels well and this game has every right to win the Best Art Direction of the Year.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a platformer developed by Nintendo as it's another game within the popular platforming series, Super Mario Bros. The Super Mario Bros. generally has good art direction for the most part, but with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, they took it to the next level. The characters are more well-expressive, the colors are vibrant, and it definitely looks beautiful with the art direction they took with this game as it has every right to win the Best Art Direction of the Year.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo as it's the sequel to the 2017 Game of the Year winner, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has a beautiful art style that still looks great to this day and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it continues that trend. When seeing the open-world, it's incredible and you can see way far in the distance to notice something that catches the player's eye that just makes them want to explore and because of that, it has every right to win the Best Art Direction of the Year.

In terms of which game I think will be the Best Art Direction of the Year, I think the winner will be Alan Wake II. The Game Awards' judges tend to favor games in this category with very realistic graphics and with Alan Wake II, it pretty much exceeded those expectations in terms of art direction that the Game Awards' judges would like. Due to that fact, I can see Alan Wake II winning Best Art Direction of the Year.

In terms of which game I want to be the Best Art Direction of the Year, I want it to be Hi-Fi Rush. Even though all of the games in this category have pretty good art direction, the one game that stood out to me is Hi-Fi Rush. The reason why is because its art style definitely stood out compared to the rest of the game as it looks like a comic book coming to life with its distinct colors and the vibes it gives as well. Therefore, I want Hi-Fi Rush to win Best Art Direction of the Year, but it has stiff competition to win that category.

Next, we'll talk about this category, Best Narrative of the Year.

Alan Wake II is a survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games as it's the long-awaited sequel to the first Alan Wake released in 2010. This game really has a great narrative that continues where it left off in the first game that follows two different protagonists going their own path which really makes the story really interesting as time goes on. With how well done the game did with its narrative by having two separate stories with two different characters, I can see why this game would win the Best Narrative of the Year.

Baldur's Gate III is a role-playing game developed by Larian Studios as it's one of the most talked about games today. Despite not finishing the game yet, it does have an interesting story where the protagonist wakes up in a flying ship as they are implanted by illithid tadpoles which are like parasites that turn people into illithids, but yet the protagonist doesn't transform into one as the ship gets under attack from githyanki warriors. Even though I haven't finished the game yet, the story is quite interesting and I can see why this game can win the Best Narrative of the Year. 

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is the spy-thriller adventure expansion for the open-world action-adventure role-playing game that was released in 2020, Cyberpunk 2077. I would definitely say that this expansion is a lot better compared to the base game in my opinion as it's a new original story where the protagonist, V, got hired by netrunner Songbird and goes to the lawless town part of Night City, known as Dogtown, to help the President of the New United States of America. To me, the story is a lot better here compared to the base game and I can see why it would win the Best Narrative of the Year.

Final Fantasy XVI is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix as it's the sixteenth mainline game of the popular role-playing game series, Final Fantasy. Even though they changed the gameplay of what the mainline Final Fantasy games are, the story still screams Final Fantasy on what the series is all about, but it's done in much a darker tone which has been executed really well in my opinion. Due to how well executed the story is in this game, it has every right to win the Best Narrative of the Year.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is an action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, it's the sequel to the first Marvel's Spider-Man as it continues the journey of one of the most well-known Marvel superheroes ever, Spider-Man. The story of the first game was really great and the sequel kicked to another level with its story as it continues where it left off with the two Spider-Mans. The villains they displayed here with their stories as well as the two Spider-Man stories as well as the game goes along really make the narrative strong in this one and it has every right to win the Best Narrative of the Year.

In terms of which game I think will win the Best Narrative of the Year, the winner will be Alan Wake II. As I mentioned numerous times in previous parts as well, Alan Wake II recently came out where the story of that game is still in people's minds so that will play a huge factor of it winning in my opinion. Plus, I have a feeling that the Game Awards' judges will pick Alan Wake II to win the Best Narrative of the Year because of recency bias.

In terms of which game I want to win the Best Narrative of the Year, I want the winner to be Final Fantasy XVI. Personally to me, Final Fantasy XVI with its story hits me the hardest as a lot of its themes resonated with me in terms of what I have to deal with and I can relate to what the protagonist, Clive, went through which makes me support him as he has done his journey which makes the story to me very compelling and relatable. Due to me having a deep connection with its story, I want Final Fantasy XVI to win the Best Narrative of the Year even though it has stiff competition in this category.

Next, we'll discuss the category, Best Game Direction of the Year.

Alan Wake II is a survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games as it's the long-awaited sequel to the first Alan Wake released in 2010. This game went from an action-adventure game to a survival horror which I believe made this game a lot more interesting. This new direction that they took with this franchise is definitely well done and it could definitely lead to great things with the franchise so it has every right to win the Best Game Direction of the Year.

Baldur's Gate III is a role-playing game developed by Larian Studios as it's one of the most talked about games today. Despite not playing much of this game, the direction it took by continuing what makes Dungeons and Dragons really popular, did its job pretty well. Even though I feel like its direction really hasn't changed much compared to the first two games, it's still a pretty good direction and I can see why it would win the Best Game Direction of the Year.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is an action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, it's the sequel to the first Marvel's Spider-Man as it continues the journey of one of the most well-known Marvel superheroes ever, Spider-Man. The direction that Marvel's Spider-Man took was great and with the sequel, they took it a step further by not only playing two Spider-Mans, but also expanding the world of New York for the players to explore. With the additional content that they added within this game, it has every right to win the Best Game Direction of the Year.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a platformer developed by Nintendo as it's another game within the popular platforming series, Super Mario Bros. Personally, I was getting tired of the New Super Mario Bros. series as each new game in that series didn't really add anything new per se and it was getting stale. Luckily, with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, they did something new with the series again that made Mario and his friends a lot more charming and filled with personality that really makes this game more wonderful in my opinion. Due to the new change of direction with the Super Mario Bros. series, this game has every right to win the Best Game Direction of the Year.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo as it's the sequel to the 2017 Game of the Year winner, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I love The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as the game took a different direction with The Legend of Zelda franchise and the same applies to the sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The addition of the crafting mechanics in this game is out of this world and it changes how crafting in games should be like moving forward. Due to the game showing and evolving the mechanics of crafting, it has every right to win the Best Game Direction of the Year.

In terms of which game I think will win the Best Game Direction of the Year, I think the winner will be Alan Wake II. As I mentioned in my previous predictions of the 2023 Game Awards, the Game Awards' judges tend to favor Western games, and Alan Wake II just recently came out, I can see a recency bias towards this game since it'll be fresh on people's minds and a lot of people are talking about the game as well which can give this game a huge advantage. Plus, the game direction in this game is something that a lot of people are into and because of that, I can see it winning the Best Game Direction of the Year.

In terms of which game I want to win Best Game Direction of the Year, I want the winner to be The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Even though all of the games in this category definitely have the right to win Best Game Direction of the Year, the one I feel has the most impact out of all of the other games in terms of its direction, it's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. To me, they have perfected the crafting mechanics and I feel like a lot of game developers will take inspiration for their own games. Due to that fact, I want The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to win the Best Game Direction of the Year because of what they did with the mechanics of crafting and how it'll impact future game developers doing this.

Finally, we'll talk about this category, Game of the Year.

Alan Wake II is a survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games as it's the long-awaited sequel to the first Alan Wake released in 2010. The first Alan Wake was a great game and Alan Wake II took the franchise in a different direction. As a result of that new direction, it was excellent as it has an interesting story, fun gameplay, beautiful graphics, and great music. Due to all of those aspects, this game has every right to win Game of the Year.

Baldur's Gate III is a role-playing game developed by Larian Studios as it's one of the most talked about games today. Despite not playing the game much, I can see why this game is very popular for what it is. With great character customization, an intriguing story, fun gameplay, beautiful graphics, and an excellent soundtrack, I can see why this game would win Game of the Year.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is an action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, it's the sequel to the first Marvel's Spider-Man as it continues the journey of one of the most well-known Marvel superheroes ever, Spider-Man. The first Marvel's Spider-Man was excellent and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 continues that trend by expanding the world of New York to explore, two Spider-Mans to play with different gameplay styles made the game a lot more fun, a great story, beautiful graphics, and a good soundtrack. With the addition of new content that expands the first game, this game has every right to win the Game of the Year.

Resident Evil 4 is a survival horror game developed by Capcom as it's the reimagining of the original game that was made back on the GameCube in 2005. Despite the game being a remake, it's more of a reimagining as it doesn't follow the original game. It does remove and add content that wasn't in the original game which makes the game its own and more distinct while still appreciating what the original did. Due to the game being reimagined in this form, it has every right to win Game of the Year.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a platformer developed by Nintendo as it's another game within the popular platforming series, Super Mario Bros. The Super Mario Bros. games are generally good to excellent and with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it'll join the excellent Super Mario Bros. games. I love the fact that this game has more charm and personality for Mario and his friends compared to the New Super Mario Bros. series which really adds to the game in my opinion while still having the same fun gameplay the games usually have. Due to Nintendo going in a new direction with the Mario series moving forward, this game has every right to win Game of the Year.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo as it's the sequel to the 2017 Game of the Year winner, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I love The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I personally think it's better compared to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The fact that they added more to explore in the open world and in addition to the crafting mechanics, Nintendo continues to innovate in terms of what open-world games should really be like. I feel other video game developers will take inspiration from this game in terms of crafting mechanics for their own games due to how well it's been implemented. Due to how the game evolves how open-world games should be like once again in addition to the crafting mechanics, this game has every right to win Game of the Year.

In terms of which game I think will win Game of the Year, the winner will be Baldur's Gate III. As I mentioned numerous times in other parts of my predictions for the Game Awards 2023, the Game Awards' judges tend to favor Western games and it has a lot of fans that support this game and it's still being talked about to this day. Due to the judges' tastes and preferences as well as the support of the fans, I believe that Baldur's Gate III will win Game of the Year.

In terms of which game I want to win the Game of the Year, I want the winner to be The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Even though I do think all of the games in this category deserve to win as each game is excellent in its own right. However, out of all of them with my personal tastes and preferences, I want The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to win. As I mentioned before, this game has re-invent yet again what open-world games should be like, and with the addition of how the crafting mechanics are implemented in this game, it'll change the landscape on how crafting mechanics will be moving forward and because of that, I want it to win Game of the Year.

Those are my predictions for the Best Art Direction of the Year, the Best Narrative of the Year, the Best Game Direction of the Year, and the Game of the Year for Game Awards.

Which games do you think or want to win the awards in each category?

Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading.