November 21st 2024.
As the year comes to an end, we are ushered into awards season, and the first major event on the list is none other than the Golden Joystick Awards. This prestigious ceremony, which has been running for 42 years, stands out as one of the few where the winners are chosen by the general public. And this year, the unexpected has happened – Black Myth: Wukong has been crowned as the Ultimate Game of the Year, beating out popular titles like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Helldivers 2.
With over 12 million votes from the public across 21 different categories, it's clear that Black Myth: Wukong has struck a chord with gamers. What's surprising is that it managed to claim the top spot despite having the lowest Metacritic score among the 12 nominees, with a modest 81. This means it outshined highly-rated games like Astro Bot, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Animal Well.
While Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was also a strong contender, it took home four awards in different categories, including Best Storytelling, Best Soundtrack, Best Supporting Performer, and Best Lead Performer. Helldivers 2 also had its fair share of success, winning four awards for Best Multiplayer Game, Best Game Trailer, Console Game of the Year, and the Critics' Choice Award.
It's worth noting that only three out of the 21 categories were decided by critics, namely the Critics' Choice, Breakthrough Award, and Streamers' Choice. The rest were solely based on public votes. Other notable winners include Astro Bot, which took home two awards for Best Audio Design and Studio of the Year for Team ASOBI, and Balatro, which won Best Indie Game and the Breakthrough Award.
It's no surprise that the most wanted game for 2025 was GTA 6, which is expected to dominate the upcoming award season. The ceremony was hosted by renowned voice actor Ben Starr, best known for his role as Clive in Final Fantasy 16. The nominations included over 125 games, developers, formats, and TV shows across 21 categories.
Did you have a chance to cast your vote for your favorite games? The winners of the Golden Joystick Awards 2024 were announced and here's a list of the top winners in each category:
• Best Storytelling – Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Best Visual Design – Black Myth: Wukong
• Best Multiplayer Game – Helldivers 2
• Best Audio Design – Astro Bot
• Best Game Expansion – Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree
• Best Indie Game Self Published – Another Crab's Treasure
• Best Indie Game – Balatro
• Studio of the Year – Team ASOBI
• Best Soundtrack – Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Best Game Trailer – Helldivers 2
• Best Early Access Game – Lethal Company
• Still Playing – Mobile – Honkai: Star Rail
• Still Playing – Consoles & PC – Minecraft
• Streamers' Choice Award – Chained Together
• Breakthrough Award – Balatro
• Best Gaming Hardware – Steam Deck OLED
• Best Game Adaptation – Fallout
• Best Supporting Performer – Briana White
• Best Lead Performer – Cody Christian
• PC Game of the Year – Satisfactory
• Console Game of the Year – Helldivers 2
• Critics' Choice Award – Helldivers 2
• Most Wanted Game – Grand Theft Auto 6
• Ultimate Game of the Year – Black Myth: Wukong
It's clear that Black Myth: Wukong's win was unexpected, but it goes to show that the opinions of the public matter just as much as those of critics. If you have any thoughts or comments, we'd love to hear from you. You can also follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter. And if you want to submit Inbox letters or Reader's Features, you can easily do so on our Submit Stuff page.
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