A Glorious Moment!
Last night’s atmosphere was electric at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, attracting a star-studded crowd from the worlds of music and film (Harrison Ford, Snoop Dogg—who has been omnipresent since the Olympics, Twenty One Pilots, Aaron Paul…), and of course, the gaming industry (Todd Howard, Troy Baker, Hideo Kojima, Sam Lake…). This was a significant triumph for this modest platformer game created by a team of just 65 people.
With over 1.5 million copies sold according to Sony—owner of Team Asobi—Astro Bot also achieved the highest rating of the year on the review aggregator website Metacritic, with a score of 94 out of 100, tied with Metaphor: ReFantazio
and Elden Ring: Shadows of the Erdtree
, both contenders for the top honor.
Moved by the occasion, Frenchman Nicolas Doucet, director of the Japanese studio Team Asobi, expressed his gratitude towards his team for their dedication. They are not calculative; they simply think of the children, as we have the immense privilege of potentially being the first game they play
.
Balatro: Another Star of the Night
Despite being an underdog, Balatro, a bold and surprising card game, made a significant impact by winning three awards: Best Independent Game, Best Debut Game, and Best Mobile Game. It’s also worth mentioning that it recently won the Game of the Year title at the Apple Arcade during the last App Store Awards. This achievement further demonstrates that innovation and simplicity can coexist, providing a refreshing alternative to more traditional game productions.
And the Announcements!
The Game Awards didn’t just celebrate the past year’s games but also unveiled upcoming projects. Among the World Premieres that captured the audience’s attention, notable upcoming releases include The Witcher 4
, highly anticipated, Borderlands 4
which promises to push the boundaries of chaos, Elden Ring: Nightreign
a new adventure in the universe of FromSoftware, Mafia: The Old Country
that delves into the origins of the series, and Intergalactic
, the next ambitious project from Naughty Dog.