Indie Games Shine at Golden Joystick Awards 2024

The Golden Joystick Awards 2024 have unveiled an exciting lineup of nominees across more than ten categories, spotlighting the vibrant indie game scene with a brand-new category for self-developed, self-published titles.

Golden Joystick Awards 2024 Nominees

Since its inception in 1983, The Golden Joystick Awards has been a beacon for excellence in gaming. The 42nd edition, set for November 21, 2024, will honor games released between November 11, 2023, and October 4, 2024. This year marks a significant milestone for indie games, with standout titles like Balatro and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes receiving multiple nominations.

The awards feature 19 categories, including a fresh addition for indie developers who both develop and publish their own games. This category celebrates the expansive world of indie gaming, focusing on teams without the backing of larger publishers and games targeting niche markets. The organizers stated, "The award recognizes the increasingly broad definition of 'indie' games, with a special focus on teams without the financial or technical support of a larger games publisher; and titles entering markets less well served by traditional publishing."

Below are the categories and nominees for this year's prestigious award show:

Best Soundtrack

• A Highland Song
• Astro Bot
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Hauntii
• Silent Hill 2
• Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Best Audio Design

• Astro Bot
• Balatro
• Robobeat
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
• Star Wars Outlaws
• Still Wakes the Deep

Best Game Trailer

• Caravan Sandwitch - Launch Trailer
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach - State of Play Announce Trailer
• Helldivers 2 - “The Fight for Freedom Begins” Launch Trailer
• Kingmakers - Official Announcement Trailer
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VII - Narrator Reveal Trailer
• The Plucky Squire - Launch Trailer

Best Game Expansion

• Alan Wake 2 Expansion Pass
• Destiny 2: The Final Shape
• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
• Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
• God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla
• World of Warcraft: The War Within

Best Early Access Game

• Enshrouded
• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
• Hades II
• Manor Lords
• Lethal Company
• Palworld

Still Playing Award - Mobile

• Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
• Free Fire
• Honkai: Star Rail
• Roblox
• Marvel Snap
• Monopoly Go!
• Mini Motorways
• PUBG: Battlegrounds
• Squad Busters
• Star Wars: Hunters
• Subway Surfers
• The Sims Mobile

Still Playing Award - Console & PC

• Apex Legends
• Counter-Strike 2
• EA Sports FC
• Dota 2
• Fortnite
• GTA Online
• Minecraft
• Naraka: Bladepoint
• Roblox
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
• Valorant
• Warframe

Best Indie Game

• Animal Well
• Arco
• Balatro
• Beyond Galaxyland
• Conscript
• Indika
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Thank Goodness You’re Here!
• The Plucky Squire
• Ultros

Best Indie Game - Self Published

• Arctic Eggs
• Another Crab’s Treasure
• Crow Country
• Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
• I Am Your Beast
• Little Kitty, Big City
• Riven
• Tactical Breach Wizards
• Tiny Glade
• UFO 50

Console Game of the Year

• Astro Bot
• Dragon’s Dogma 2
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Helldivers 2
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Best Multiplayer Game

• Abiotic Factor
• EA Sports College Football 25
• Helldivers 2
• Sons of the Forest
• Tekken 8
• The Finals

Best Lead Performer

• Cody Christian (Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
• Kaiji Tang (Ichiban Kasuga in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth)
• Humberly Gonzalez (Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws)
• Luke Roberts (James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2)
• Melina Juergens (Senua in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II)
• Sonequa Martin-Green (Alvilda in Asgard’s Wrath 2)

Best Supporting Performer

• Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen (The Furies in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II)
• Briana White (Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
• Dawn M. Bennett (Aigis in Persona 3 Reload)
• Debra Wilson (Amanda Waller in Suicide Squad)
• Matt Berry (Herbert in Thank Goodness You’re Here!)
• Neve McIntosh (Suze in Still Wakes the Deep)

Best Storytelling

• 1000xResist
• Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Tactical Breach Wizards

Best Visual Design

• Astro Bot
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Harold Halibut
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Most Wanted Game

• Atomfall
• Assassin’s Creed Shadows
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Deadlock
• Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
• Doom: The Dark Ages
• Exodus
• Fable
• Ghost of Yotei
• Grand Theft Auto VI
• Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
• Light No Fire
• Mafia: The Old Country
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Skate.
• Slay the Spire 2
• South of Midnight

Best Gaming Hardware

• Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)
• Backbone One (2nd Gen)
• LG UltraGear 32GS95UE
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super
• Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra
• Steam Deck OLED

Studio of the Year

• 11 Bit Studios
• Arrowhead Game Studios
• Capcom
• Digital Eclipse
• Team ASOBI
• Visual Concepts

PC Game of the Year

• Animal Well
• Balatro
• Frostpunk 2
• Satisfactory
• Tactical Breach Wizards
• UFO 50

Voting Period

Fan voting for the Golden Joystick Awards 2024 is now open, with nominees selected by a distinguished jury including PC Gamer, GamesRadar, the Future Games Show, Edge magazine, Retro Gamer, and more. You can cast your vote on the official website. The voting period for the Ultimate Game of the Year category will occur later, with the shortlist revealed on November 4 and voting running from November 4 to 8, 2024. Games released between October 4, 2024, and November 21, 2024, remain eligible for the Best Performance and Ultimate Game of the Year categories.

As an incentive for voting, eligible participants can claim a free ebook valued at up to approximately $19 from a selection that includes:

• 100 Retro Games to Play Before You Die
• 100 PlayStation Games To Play Before You Die
• The History of Videogames
• Ultimate Fan's Guide to Pokémon
• Ultimate Guide to Roblox

Fans Angry GOTY Nominees 2024 Seemingly Snubs Black Myth Wukong

A separate category for the Ultimate Game of the Year nominees is yet to be finalized and announced, according to The Golden Joystick Awards. The gaming community's fervor has escalated as the race for GOTY 2024 remains wide open. Notable fan-favorite titles such as Metaphor: ReFantazio, Space Marine 2, and Black Myth Wukong were not included in the Game of the Year nominees for PC and Console, sparking significant discontent among fans.

Particularly, Wukong fans have voiced their frustration and accused the awards show of bias, suggesting that the organization uses the Ultimate Game of the Year category as a shield. One user expressed on social media, "When you are accused, you use the 'UGOTY' award as a shield. We are well aware that you are trying to maintain your arrogant 'authority and elitism' while telling us the deceptive lie of 'We stand with u'. But it can only prove the differences between media and the players."

In response to the backlash, the organization tweeted, "Thanks to everyone who has been in touch to ask why Game X or Game Y was not included in our GOTY list. One reason is that we have not launched our GOTY shortlist, which opens on Nov 4."