Elden Ring Takes Home Surprising Game Award

gamerant.com:

Elden Ring saw one of the most surprising wins at this year's BAFTA Games Awards, earning the award for multiplayer, which may be considered a major upset by many. Elden Ring was nominated nine times, second behind God of War Ragnarok and tied with Stray.

Multiplayer has been a staple of FromSoftware's catalog for decades, and Demon's Souls pioneered the invasion formula that the studio has been iterating on ever since. Even Sekiro Shadows Die Twice, a solely single-player title, saw asynchronous multiplayer features added to the game after release. But as consistent as FromSoftware's commitment to multiplayer components is the criticism that they often receive. Compared to many modern multiplayer and cooperative experiences, Elden Ring lacks certain accessibility, has been known to struggle with stability, and has had issues with balance. That said, thousands have thoroughly enjoyed the unique moments that arise from Elden Ring's invasions and cooperative play, and it is far from inconceivable to understand why it was nominated for a Best Multiplayer category.

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However, Elden Ring won Best Multiplayer at this year's BAFTAs, beating out fellow nominees Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, FIFA 23, Overwatch 2, Splatoon 3, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. Elden Ring's inclusion as a multiplayer game may puzzle some people, but the fact that it won will probably raise eyebrows, especially when the single-player aspect of FromSoftware's magnum opus is its focus. For many, the potential fun of Elden Ring's multiplayer does not trump the fact that most of the other nominated titles were built for and operate better as a multiplayer experience.

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