This GOTY nominee could break a long-standing tradition for the second time

2024 The game prizes The nominees have already been announced, with some of the runners-up have the potential to destroy years-old traditions. So far, Astrobot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are leading the categories with seven nominations each, but face stiff competition from other nominees. While there are plenty of traditional AAA games on display this year, what has most fans excited is the inclusion of DLC and a popular indie game landing in the coveted GOTY nomination slots.

The biggest controversy with this year’s nominees is the inclusion of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree being the first DLC expansion eligible for the official GOTY award, rather than just subcategories. With games like Witcher 3: Blood and Wine or Cyberpunk: Phantom Freedom Not being eligible despite being critically acclaimed experiences on a massive scale is a confusing move on behalf of The Game Awards. Unfortunately for the fans, this news somewhat overshadowed the naming of an explosively popular indie game released in February.

Balatro could win GOTY at The Game Awards

An addictive Rogue-like with hundreds of hours of replayability

With its incredibly fun gameplay loop with unique mechanics and presentation, BalatroGOTY Award Nomination Announcement Is a Surprising but Well-Deserved Development. Developed by a single person over a few years, Balatro It’s a huge win for independent developers as a whole, showing what’s possible to achieve in the gaming industry today, even without the huge resources or funding from other development teams. While naming smaller games always generates some resistance, BalatroThe honor of also brought new players who might otherwise never have played.

The roguelike genre isn’t always for everyone, but BalatroDeck-building gameplay is mixed with recognizable cards at first, before quickly evolving into new mechanics and exciting combos to achieve as many points as possible. Having already won several awards this year, including Best Indie Game at the Golden Joystick Awards, there’s a good chance that the beloved Balatro could win at least some of its five category nominations.

Balatro has tough competition against heavyweight titles like Elden Ring: Shadow of Erdtree and Dark Myth: Wukong. Despite these long odds, the game has a legitimate shot at becoming the first solo developer project to win Game of the Year at the Game Awards.

Only one other indie game has won GOTY

The first indie game to break the ceiling

It takes two Winning Game of the Year has had its share of controversy in 2021, but it was an undeniably memorable experience for fans of co-op games. Despite It takes two being developed by the relatively new indie game studio Hazelight Studios, it still had the support of the monolithic Electronic Arts as publisher, making its qualification as an indie game questionable. Although this does not take away It takes twothe conquest, BalatroPublisher Playstack is much smaller in comparison, having just a little over a dozen indie titles under its belt.

With the inclusion of a small-scale standalone game and an all-new DLC expansion, both breaking traditions in The game prizesfans can expect more interesting submissions in the coming years as they broaden their nomination horizons. Regardless of whether Balatro Whether or not it wins this year’s GOTY award, its inclusion alone is a huge win for the indie gaming community, with Balatro gaining even more well-deserved attention from new fans who tried it after the nomination.

Source: X/LocalThunk