The dark horse candidates for The Game Awards 2023
As 2023 comes to a close, the games industry once again prepares for another ceremony recognizing the year’s line-up of adventures that made us laugh, cry, and everything in between. While we all have our personal lists, The Game Awards (TGA) packages that into something a little more formal.
We’ve crafted our way through Hyrule, rolled in the Forgotten Realms, explored the Settled Systems, and swung through New York. As a massive celebration of video games, TGA acts as a sign-off and spotlight for things to come. With its formal list of nominees planned for a November 13 reveal, I figured I’d highlight a few of 2023’s dark horse candidates. Commit the box art to memory ’cause I’m hoping for some snubs, surprises, and success stories out of these.
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Series X/S
Potential Nominations: Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Score/Music, Best RPG, and Best Indie Game
It’s an understatement to say Sea of Stars hit big upon release. Created by Game Award winner Sabotage Studio (The Messenger), the RPG felt like it came out of nowhere and surprised everyone, myself included. It’s a turn-based 2D RPG harkening back to classics like Chrono Trigger in more ways than one. Andrea Shearon, who reviewed Sea of Stars and awarded it a 9/10, noted how it manages not only to capture what made retro-RPGs special but also charts its own path.
As for what titles it may run for, it’s no stretch to pin it in the Game of the Year category. Its Metacritic score, 91, ranks second among the other contenders here. There’s plenty else it works as a nominee for, too, like Best Indie Game, Best RPG, Best Soundtrack, and Best Art Direction. One that wouldn’t be too
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