Gaming Influence: Predictions - Game Awards 2024 ~ Part 2
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 2 of my Game Awards predictions which will include Best Fighting Game of the Year, Best RPG of the Year, Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year, and Best Action Game 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 this category, Best Fighting Game of the Year.
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is a fighting game developed by Spike Chunsoft. It's another game in the beloved anime fighting game series DRAGON BALL: Sparking! The last DRAGON BALL: Sparking! game was Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 which was released on PS2 and Wii in 2007 so it’s been seventeen years since the last game in the series. Luckily, it delivered on that front with so many playable characters, awesome graphics, fun gameplay, good modes, and solid online play as well. Due to all of those reasons, it has every right to be the Best Fighting Game of the Year.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is a 2D fighting game developed by Arc System Works as it's a sequel to the rising 2D fighting games series, Granblue Fantasy Versus. I really enjoyed the first Granblue Fantasy Versus and with Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, it’s pretty much that, but with better improvements from the first. The gameplay is still fun, the graphics still look beautiful, more characters on the roster, and the online play is pretty decent. For those reasons, it has every right to win Best Fighting Game of the Year.
Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a compilation developed by Capcom that combines a collection of classic crossover fighting games into one. Marvel Vs. Capcom is one of my favorite crossover fighting game series ever so when a collection of this was announced, I was thrilled as these games still hold up to this day and are amazing. However, the problem is that these games are from the arcades, Saturn, and Dreamcast back in the 90s and 2000s so it’s not really fair to have them here in this category. Regardless, great collection, and people should obviously play them, but due to them being a game collection of retro games, it shouldn’t win Best Fighting Game of the Year in my opinion.
MultiVersus is a free-to-play crossover fighting game developed by Player First Games and it won Best Fighting Game of the Year last year, but with the game officially released this year, it came back again in this category. Oh boy, how has this game fallen from last year? It had so much potential, but with its official release this year, it just became a huge disappointment. It became every other free-to-live service game out there with microtransactions and everything which made this game a huge letdown. Plus, this game won Best Fighting Game of the Year last year so very strange to see it on here again as I felt like it shouldn’t deserve to win because of the game-winning last year as well as the game being a huge disappointment.
Tekken 8 is a fighting game developed by Bandai Namco as it's the next generation of one of the more popular fighting game franchises, Tekken. This is pretty much a Tekken game and there's nothing wrong with that as it does it well, but also improves upon it. The roster is great, the gameplay is fun, the graphics look incredible, a lot of modes for players to play with, and the online is pretty good overall as well. Due to those reasons, it has every right to be the Best Fighting Game of the Year.
Regarding which game will be the Best Fighting Game of the Year, I think the winner will be Tekken 8. As I mentioned previously, it has everything that makes it a great fighting game with a pretty good roster, fun gameplay, great graphics, tons of modes for players to play with both single and multiplayer, and the online is solid too. With how well the game was reviewed overall as well, it has a pretty high chance of winning the Best Fighting Game of the Year.
Regarding which game I want to be the Best Fighting Game of the Year, I also want it to be Tekken 8. I don't think I need to repeat myself as Tekken 8 definitely checks off everything I want in a fighting game and the fact that we still get new fighters coming in with season passes is also great to see as well. Hope the game wins Best Fighting Game of the Year and I have a feeling that it might have a chance to do so.
Next, we'll discuss the category, Best RPG of the Year.
Dragon's Dogma II is an action role-playing game developed by Capcom as it's the sequel to one of the more unique RPGs in the early 2010s, Dragon's Dogma. Dragon's Dogma was released back in 2012 on the PS3 and Xbox 360 so it's been twelve years since the last game we never thought we would get another game in the series again, but we did and it delivered. The amount of customization you have for your avatar with weapons and classes is absurd, and the world exploration and gameplay were also a lot of fun. Due to those reasons, it has every right to be the Best RPG of the Year.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is a DLC expansion of the popular action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware that won Game of the Year in 2022, Elden Ring. Elden Ring was one of my favorite games in 2022 as in a way, it redefined soulslike games in a whole new way by being open-world which is incredible as the DLC expansion pretty continues that. As much as I love Shadow of the Erdtree as it's pretty much its own game due to how long it is, it's DLC at the end of the day which I feel like it shouldn't qualify for Best RPG of the Year for that reason alone.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix as it's the sequel to the reimagining that won Best RPG of the Year in 2020, Final Fantasy VII Remake. Final Fantasy VII Remake was one of my favorite games in 2020 and yet somehow, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was able to exceed expectations and is better than Final Fantasy VII Remake in every way. The story is better, the gameplay is better, and the fact that they even added an open area where you can explore is unbelievable. This pretty much checks everything I love in an RPG and it has every right to win Best RPG of the Year.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a role-playing game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio as it's another game in the beloved franchise involving yakuza, Like a Dragon. Originally, the Like a Dragon (Yakuza) series was an action-adventure series, but with the new direction that they're going in, they made the series into an RPG series and I felt like the series became bigger due to that change. I really love Yakuza: Like a Dragon and they made Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth even better with more customization and the gameplay continues to evolve and be fun. Due to those reasons, this game has every right to win Best RPG of the Year.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a role-playing game developed by Studio Zero as it's a Shin Megami Tensei x Persona game in an isekai. I always wanted to see a Shin Megami Tensei/Persona game based on a fantasy world rather than the real world and we got that with Metaphor: ReFantazio and it's incredible. The story is pretty good, the gameplay is expanded upon from Shin Megami Tensei/Persona which I like, and the amount of customization you can do with yourself and your party members is insane. For all of those reasons, it has every right to be the Best RPG of the Year.
In terms of which game, I think will be the Best RPG of the Year, I think the winner will be Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. As much as I don't agree with this, knowing the Game Awards' judges and their love for FromSoftware, I have a feeling that Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree will win Best RPG of the Year because of that as I felt like they added the stipulation of making DLC/expansion to be eligible for these categories due to this game. Granted, hope it doesn't win, but won't be surprised if it did.
In terms of which game, I want to be the Best RPG of the Year, I want it to be Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. As much as I love the other games in this category, I mentioned previously that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth pretty much checked out all of the boxes I want in an RPG such as story, gameplay, and world exploration. It has a very good chance of winning Best RPG of the Year, but with Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree being here, I don't see it winning, but I can hope it happens, we'll see.
Next, we'll talk about this category, Best Action/Adventure Game 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. I already mentioned how much I love Astro Bot in Part 1 of my predictions of this Game Awards as I believe this is one the best 3D platformers out there today. However, I wouldn't really consider this game as an action-adventure as there's not really much action to consider it as an action-adventure. As much as I love the game, it shouldn't win Best Action/Adventure game as it's a platformer.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is an action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft. It's a new game within the beloved franchise but in a Metroidvania, Prince of Persia. I really love and enjoyed this game as it's great to see Prince of Persia in a Metroidvania setting which works so well. The action combat is a lot of fun and the adventure of exploring the areas to get abilities, skills, and items is great too. With those factors, it has every right to be the Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year.
Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror game developed by Bloober Team as it's a remake of the classic survival horror game released on PS2 and Xbox back in 2001 with the same name. I really love the original Silent Hill 2 and the remake of the game did the original justice I feel like. Despite all of that, it is a survival horror game so it's not really an action-adventure game despite it having a bit of action and adventure, it's more about the horror that defines this game. As much as I love the game, it shouldn't win Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year because it's a survival horror game, not an action-adventure game.
Star War Outlaws is an action-adventure game developed by Massive Entertainment as it's an open-world game within the Star Wars universe. This game had so much potential when it was first seen, but after playing it, it's just a huge disappointment. It felt like the game came out a bit too soon as it's currently filled with bugs and glitches which isn't a good look for them at all. I doubt they would improve the game either, but as of now, it shouldn't win Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year due to the problems the game has.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Grezzo as it's a new original 2D Zelda game where Zelda is the protagonist of this game. Usually, Legend of Zelda games deliver in the action-adventure genre, and with Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it accomplished just that. The fact that this game is pretty much similar to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom with the open-world and crafting aspect is incredible. Due to those reasons, it has every right to win the Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year.
In terms of which game I want to be the Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year, I want the winner to be Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. As I mentioned previously, Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is basically Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but in 2D as they define what makes an action-adventure game. Even though I think it’s not going to win Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year as I think Astro Bot will take it, I still want it to win, but we’ll see what happens.
Finally, we'll discuss the category, Best Action Game of the Year.
Black Myth: Wukong is an action role-playing game developed by Game Science as it's a game that is inspired by The Journey to the West, but with soulslike gameplay. With the game being Soulslike, you know you’re going to have fun action combat and this game has that. With the amount of techniques you can use in combat, it has every right to be the Best Action Game 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 when it comes to first-person shooters, Call of Duty. Even though I’m not a fan of Call of Duty that much, can’t deny that the series has great action combat and with this game, it’s no different as they tried to be more immersive than ever. Due to that reason, it has every right to win Best Action Game of the Year.
Helldivers II is a cooperative third-person shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios as it's one of the more popular co-op shooters today. Despite the game having a rough launch, it bounced back with the patches they put in and the action combat in this game is quite fun. Therefore, due to the intense action in this game, it has every right to win Best Action Game of the Year.
Stellar Blade is an action-adventure and hack-and-slash game developed by Shift Up where it combines world exploration with fast-paced octane action combat. This game reminds me so much of NieR Automata and it’s not because of the world environment, but mainly the gameplay as it is quite similar with its own flavor to it which I enjoy. Due to its fun action combat, it has every right to win Best Action Game of the Year.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a third-person shooter hack-and-slash game developed by Saber Saint Petersburg as it's one of the more talked about Warhammer games in recent memory. Despite not being into Warhammer that much, the fact that this is the most talked about Warhammer game in recent memory that people enjoyed and think the action combat in this is good is great to see. With those reasons alone, it has a right to win Best Action Game of the Year.
In terms of which game I want to be the Best Action Game of the Year, I want the winner to be Black Myth Wukong. Even though all of the games in this category have a good chance of winning this category, I feel like Black Myth: Wukong has the best action combat out of all of the games here. The fact that the game is Soulslike and the challenge is quite difficult, but fun as well, I feel like Black Myth: Wukong deserves to win Best Action Game of the Year. Granted, I feel like Helldivers II will take the win here, but I want Black Myth: Wukong to take the award in this category.
Those are my predictions for the Best Fighting Game of the Year, Best RPG of the Year, Best Action/Adventure Game of the Year, and Best Action Game 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 3 of my predictions for Game Awards 2024.
Thank you for reading.
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