Following the announcement of the 2024 Game of the Year nominees at The Game Awards, the inclusion of Elden Ring: Shadow of Erdtree has the public divided regarding its eligibility. Released as an expansion for Elden Ringwhich won Game of the Year in 2022, Shadow of the Erd Tree released to critical acclaim, despite some complaints about the DLC’s especially high difficulty. Despite being one of the biggest releases of 2024, the public is questioning Shadow of the Erd Treethe status of “complete game”.
After the announcement of Shadow of the Erd Treeher appointment, which puts her against Astrobot, Balatro, Dark Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthand Metaphor: ReFantazio, Gaming audiences are relatively divided on the legitimacy of DLC inclusion. Critics of the decision argue that Shadow of the Erd Tree shouldn’t be eligible in the first place, while others argue that as one of 2024’s best releases, SOTE deserves its place. Notably, Shadow of the Erd Tree it was also nominated for Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction and Best RPG.
Game of the Year nominees cause huge uproar
Shadow Of The Erdtree Is Possibly The Most Controversial GOTY Nominee In The History Of The Game Awards
After the announcement, Shadow of the Erd Tree proved to be the most controversial GOTY nominee of 2024and possibly the most controversial choice in the history of The Game Awards. Critics of the decision, such as those who responded to the GOTY nominee announcement tweet from @thegameawards on X, argued that Shadow of the Erd Tree should not be an eligible pick as it is not a complete game – especially since it requires a large investment in the base game Elden Ring to be played.
Shadow of the Erd TreeThe case especially wasn’t helped by the timing of the announcement that the DLC would be eligible for GOTY, which occurred just days before the nominees were announced. The sudden announcement was perceived by critics, both before and after the nominees were revealed, as a change in the rules that shows blatant favoritism towards Shadow of the Erd Tree. This, in turn, has sparked accusations that the prizes are fraudulent – accusations that will only get worse if SOTE really wins.
Elden Ring could take home multiple Game of the Year awards
A GOTY win for Shadow Of The Erdtree would be Elden Ring’s second year of wins at The Game Awards
Not everyone gets angry with SOTEthe inclusion of, however, as some fans of the game have argued, on platforms such as Redditthat despite being a DLC, Shadow of the Erd Tree is still one of the best releases of 2024 and deserves to be recognized for its high quality. Additionally, while no DLC has been nominated for Game of the Year at previous Game Awards, there is some precedent for the inclusion of DLC, as releases like Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Freedom and the Blood and Wine DLC for The Witcher 3 They have already been nominated and even won other categories.
While Game of the Year picks always bring some controversy, as audiences may feel that certain games were “snubbed” or that some nominees don’t belong, Shadow of the Erd Tree quickly became one of, if not the most controversial choices in the history of The Game Awards. Despite the arguments against its inclusion, it’s incredibly unlikely that the DLC will be removed from contention at this point, so critics will just have to hope that one of the other nominees can take the prize. Elden Ring: Shadow of Erdtree for 2024.
Sources: @thegameawards/X, Cheshire_Guy/Reddit
Elden Ring: Shadow of Erdtree