Gaming Influence: Predictions - Game Awards 2024 ~ Part 3
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Gaming Influence, a reboot of the same name I created in WrestleCorp. However, I will not only be giving my thoughts on certain video games and video game series but also on 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 2024 Game Awards which will be airing the show live worldwide on December 12, 2024. I'm definitely excited for the game announcements and trailers for the show as anything can happen from all of the video game companies so we'll see what they got.
However, these predictions do not focus on what games will appear on the show but on the awards themselves, as I won't be doing all of them. This year, I will make sixteen predictions for sixteen categories for the Game Awards. In addition, these predictions will be separated into four parts so this is Part 3 of my Game Awards predictions which will include Best Debut Indie Game of the Year, Best Independent Game of the Year, Best Audio Design of the Year, and Best Score and Music of the Year. Plus, I'll first give my thoughts on the game itself 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 the Best Debut Indie Game of the Year category.
ANIMAL WELL is a Metroidvania game developed by Shared Memory as you explore a labyrinth filled with animals as a blob. I generally do enjoy Metroidvanias and this game was no different as it was challenging but also fun. Plus, you get to play as a blob while exploring a labyrinth with animals, who doesn't love that?! Therefore, this game has every right to win the Best Debut Indie Game of the Year.
Balatro is a poker-themed roguelike deck-building game developed by LocalThunk. It's one of the more innovative roguelike card games available today. This is one of the more unique card games out there and the fact that this game is roguelike is quite cool. It's not only fun but also addicting so this game has every right to win the Best Debut Indie Game of the Year.
Manor Lords is a medieval city-builder and real-tactics game developed by Slavic Magic. It is one of several games set in medieval times. It's impressive that this game was developed by an indie studio as they were able to create a game this massive in scale for what it is. With the amount of effort that was put into this game, it has every right to win Best Debut Indie Game of the Year.
Pacific Drive is a survival game developed by Ironwood Studios as the player is stuck in the Pacific Northwest as they try to escape either by foot or station wagon. This is one of the more unique indie games out there as I love the fact that you're trying to escape the environment you're in with only two options which is quite cool. Due to those reasons, it has every right to win Best Debut Indie Game of the Year.
The Plucky Squire is an action-adventure game developed by All Possible Futures as it's bringing 2D and 3D adventure into one. The fact that this game is developed by an indie studio is quite impressive, especially with the art style, and the ability to go back from 2D to 3D and vice versa is awesome. With the way that this game is designed and implemented, it has every right to win Best Debut Indie Game of the Year.
Regarding which game will be the Best Debut Indie Game of the Year, I think the winner will be Balatro. This year, when the game came out, and still to this day, I see people play this game everywhere which shows how much impact this game has made on people as well as how fun and addicting it is. Plus, this game is also in contention with Game of the Year as well so it has a chance of winning this category.
Regarding which game I want to be the Best Debut Indie Game of the Year, I want it to be ANIMAL WELL. Even though all of the indie games are great in their own way, I really do enjoy ANIMAL WELL as I do enjoy my Metroidvanias and the experience I had with it is a lot of fun. Even though I still think that Balatro will take this category, I hope that ANIMAL WELL takes this category here.
Next, we'll discuss the category, Best Independent Game of the Year.
ANIMAL WELL is a Metroidvania game developed by Shared Memory. As I mentioned before, this game is a pretty great Metroidvania that is challenging, but fun. If you're into Metroidvanias, definitely check out this game and it has every right to win Best Independent Game of the Year.
Balatro is a poker-themed roguelike deck-building game developed by LocalThunk. As I mentioned previously, this game is played by almost everyone and it's also addicting as well. If you're into poker as well as roguelikes and card games, this is the game for you and it has every right to win Best Independent Game of the Year.
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a puzzle game developed by Simogo where it tells an interesting story within a hotel as the player must escape with puzzles along the way. I really like the atmosphere of this game as it also has very unique art style as well. Not only that, but the game has a pretty interesting narrative and fun puzzles to solve too. For those reasons, it has every right to win the Best Independent Game of the Year.
Neva is a puzzle platformer developed by Nomada Studio where the player travels with their wolf through a world of corrupted darkness. I was a fan of GRIS as it was made by the same developer who developed Neva and I like the direction that this game did here with its art style, story, and gameplay. If you're into puzzle platformers, would recommend checking this game out as it has every right to win the Best Independent Game of the Year.
UFO 50 is a video game collection developed by Mossmouth as it has 50 unique games in one collection. When I usually see a video game collection, it's from AAA companies so the fact that an indie studio managed to make a video game collection with UFO 50 is insane. Not only that, each game within this collection is unique and different with genres and gameplay styles which is very impressive. Therefore, this game has every right to win the Best Independent Game of the Year.
In terms of which game, I think will be the Best Independent Game of the Year, I think the winner will be Balatro. Just like I mentioned in the Best Debut Indie Game of the Year category, this game is played by a lot of people and is well received. Not to mention that this game is also in contention for Game of the Year. Therefore, it has a high chance of winning Best Independent Game of the Year.
In terms of which game, I want to be the Best Independent Game of the Year, I also want it to be Balatro. Even if it's the most talked about indie game currently, that doesn't mean it's bad because this game is quite a lot of fun and addicting. Despite loving the other indie games in this category, the impact that Balatro has had among the gaming community is impressive and should definitely win Best Independent Game of thee Year because of it.
Next, we'll discuss the category, Best Audio Design of the Year.
Astro Bot is a platformer developed by Team Asobi, and it's a love letter to the history of PlayStation in a 3D platformer setting. The audio design for this game is pretty well designed as each action with a special ability you take using 3D audio makes you feel that you're actually doing it yourself which is very impressive. Due to how the audio makes you feel immersive in the world of Astro Bot, this game has every right to win Best Audio Design of the Year.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and Raven Software as it's one of the most popular franchises for first-person shooters, Call of Duty. Despite not being into the Call of Duty series that much, can't deny that the series usually has pretty good audio design, and with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, it's no different. How they designed the audio with the sound effects of the guns and explosions made it feel realistic that you're in the game. Due to how the audio makes you feel like you're in the game, it has every right to win Best Audio Design of the Year.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix. It's the sequel to the reimagining that won Best RPG of the Year in 2020, Final Fantasy VII Remake. The audio design for this game was pretty well implemented especially on what they did with the mic as it felt like Chadley and MAI were talking to you through the mic on the DualSense controller which is pretty cool. Due to the way they use the audio design to communicate has every right to win Best Audio Design of the Year.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is an action-adventure game developed by Ninja Theory. It is the sequel to Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, the 2017 Games for Impact of the Year. The audio design for this game just like with Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is amazing since you’re playing as Senua who has psychosis so you’re playing as her, you’ll hear voices and it feels like you have psychosis yourself. The way they implemented having the player feel like they have psychosis through the audio design is incredible and for that reason, it has every right to win Best Audio Design of the Year.
Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror game developed by Team Bloober. It's a remake of the classic survival horror game released on PS2 and Xbox back in 2001, and it has the same name. Generally, survival horror games excel when it comes to audio design and with Silent Hill 2, it’s no different. With the 3D audio for PS5, feeling the tension and atmosphere that is within Silent Hill 2 is incredible as it felt like you’re in the game itself. Due to how immersive the game is with the audio design, it has every right to win Best Audio Design of the Year.
In terms of which game I want to win the Best Audio Design of the Year, I want the winner to be Silent Hill 2. Like I mentioned before, survival horror games deliver when it comes to audio design and the intensity I feel every time I play the game feels like something dangerous is something that ends up happening due to the audio design. Even though I think Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will take the award here, I want Silent Hill 2 to win this year’s Best Audio Design of the Year.
Finally, we'll talk about this category, Best Score and Music of the Year.
Astro Bot is a platformer developed by Team Asobi. The soundtrack of Astro Bot is pretty good as it's very charming and techno when you play the game in the environments you're in as it's catchy and feels like you're in that universe. Here are a few songs from the OST for you to listen to.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix. The original Final Fantasy VII has an amazing soundtrack at its time and Final Fantasy VII Remake also has an amazing soundtrack where it won 2020 Best Score and Music of the Year. With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it's no different as they still have the classic tunes we love but remixed it in a way that feels modern as well as some new arrangements that I didn't expect at all. Here are a few songs from the OST for you to listen to.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a role-playing game developed by Studio Zero as it's a Shin Megami Tensei x Persona game in an isekai. Generally, Shin Megami Tensei and Persona games have amazing music, and with Metaphor: ReFantazio, it's no different. Unlike Shin Megami Tensei and Persona though, the music takes a different approach with it being more opera-like and high intensity compared. Here are a few songs from the OST for you to listen to.
Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror game developed by Team Bloober. The original game had great music and with the remake of the game, it's no different as it still gives out the spookiness, creepiness, and intensity that the original, but in a remixed way which worked out well. Here are a few songs from the OST for you to listen to.
Stellar Blade is an action-adventure and hack-and-slash game developed by Shift Up where it combines world exploration with octane fast-paced action combat. This game has probably one of the most unique soundtracks I've heard in a video game as they somehow mixed different genres of music with K-pop into one which really works out well and it's awesome. It also sounds like NieR's soundtrack as well which I really love. Here are a few songs from the OST for you to listen to.
In terms of which game I want to win the Best Score and Music of the Year, I want the winner to be Stellar Blade. I love all of the soundtracks in this category so I wouldn’t mind if any game won this category. Although, if one has to win, I would choose Stellar Blade. The fact that they mix different genres of music with K-Pop and make it feel atmospheric similar to NieR is incredible. Don’t care which game wins this category as I feel they earned it, but would choose Stellar Blade if I had to pick one.
Those are my predictions for the Best Debut Indie Game of the Year, Best Independent Game of the Year, Best Audio Design of the Year, and Best Score and Music of the Year for the Game Awards.
Which games do you think or want to win the awards in each category?
Let me know in the comments below and look forward to Part 4 (The final part) of my predictions for Game Awards 2024.
Thank you for reading.
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