The Game Awards 2021 Nominations Revealed, Deathloop Gets Eight Nominations But Returnal Snubbed

Imagine nominating Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Deathloop for GOTY over Returnal. Don't worry, we'll get it right on our site.

I really like Ratchet&Clank but I hope Metroid Dread wins. May give the game (and the whole franchise) a small boost in popularity

Returnal got disrespected by the GOTY. If deathloop win I’m gonna be angry.

Completed Returnal not long ago and it's my personal GOTY. I understand it's not for everyone because of the difficulty but if you persist and it clicks, there's few games more satisfying. I love how the story didn't hand everything to you on a plate either. I'm playing through Deathloop at the minute and whilst I'm really enjoying it, it's not on the same level in my opinion.

Of course any Arkane game deserves any nominations and awards anytime any day!

Wow, didn’t expect it to be snubbed. I haven’t played all the games on that list but it actually looks like a particularly strong year surprisingly.

Resident Evil Village was trash. I cannot believe it is on this list over Returnal.

Don't really care about these awards. But some of the titles in general on the list are VERY questionable.

Returnal is properly my 2nd fav game this year, RE Village is no 1 though so i would pick that regardless. I liked Deathloop but there's no way it deserves GOTY over Returnal or that many nominations. I give Kena the visual awards as its jaw dropping.

@rawzeku The only one I can see really questionable at all is 12 Minutes being near any awards.

What a weak year for new games, that GOTY list says it all. A real shame that Tales of Arise was snubbed as well.

This may be a dumb question but why hold the game awards before the year is over and discredit games that release afterwards? Shouldn't this be held in January the following year?

@cherryghost41 Nah Village is fantastic and is to RE4 what RE7 was to RE1.

@ShogunRok I disagree as between my PS5, Series S and Switch i've played many games what could make my top 3. Overall i think its been pretty solid in my opinion.

@nessisonett

Not sure if you are just looking at the nominees posted here, but there are more.
I mean Cyberpunk as Best RPG? Absolutely no. And SMTV as well, which has been out 4 days? Not saying SMTV is bad, as its in my top 3 games this year. But that seem really weird to me. But meh. Again, Don't care about these awards so people can have it however they want

Pretty bad selection IMO, R&C is the only one I'd even nominate personally. Def some notable snubs on there but I assume Deathloop will win it.

I personally didn't think Returnal was GOTY material. Happy to see It Takes Two, RE Village, and Psychonauts 2 among the GOTY nominees.

What ya'll smoking. Far Cry 6th Generation is the best.

Or what about GTA Trilogy!

Do your part, vote for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart for GOTY, it won’t stand a chance but we can try

RE8 for sure. All the other games on that list, meh.

Rooting for Psychonauts 2 in every category it’s in. Easily my GOTY.

GOTY 2022 is definitely PlayStation with God of war and Horizon releasing.

Did anyone actually play Returnal? For it to not even be considered in the discussion is baffling. As much as enjoyed Metroid Dread, even that is trumped by Returnal. I must have a bizarre taste in games or something. It's almost like it hasn't be nominated to stop it from winning.

Death’s Door should have been up for GoTY. It’s my pick for sure.

I see DeathLoop winning more than a few. And im all for that as its still an “exclusive” right now

@4kgk2 Halo will be there also

I hope RE8 takes goty, beautiful experience and I can't praise it enough. Also I would swap out Deathloop for Returnal.

Resident Evil Village is the one I'd go for but give the reception of Returnal and Forza Horizon 5 I'm shocked to see neither here.

In terms of my gaming this year my favourites, apart from RE8 and Hitman 3 have been remakes/remasters with the likes of Quake and Super Monkey Ball

@Yaycandy no disrespect but halo ain’t on horizon and god of war level.

I haven't played Deathloop yet but according to these nominations it's a damn good game!

Well Returnal should not win Game of the Year...but at least the nomination it should indeed get!

Guilty Gear strive should have been there for the art direction...

Like most years my personal goty isn’t nominated (little nightmares 2) or even most of my top ten this year which will make things difficult to vote. Out of the ones there I think I’ll vote for Psychonauts 2 with Dread as a runner up.

Did it miss the cut off date but seriously
FORZA HORIZON 5 not a goty contender?
I believe it is the highest rated NEW game of 2021
or number 2.

Ratchet abd clan for the win.word up son

DeathLoop was average, there was nothing in the game that I could point out and say “this is a next gen game”. I felt like I was playing a game in Source Engine 2, which is a fantastic game engine, but not something you can say as next generational.

Maybe this year is more a hangover from last year in terms of what can be certified contenders. Slim pickings in that sense

Not played quite few games on the list but psychonauts 2 was very good. Fantastic art style and great narrative that manages to walk a fine line with potentially problematic subject material. Need to play ratchet and Clank in the battle of the action platformers.

@BertMan666 Have you ever played a rogue-like before? Returnal isn't a particularly great one. If you enjoyed Returnal, I'd suggest Hades as that's truly a game worthy of GOTY

Deathloop? The dishonoured clone? Over Returnal? Over Tales of Arise and Forza Horizon 5?

Ok show skipped

PS. Hope Resident Evil wins, most deserving from that list

Insulting and ducking joke of awards
FORZA HORIZON 5 92% meta.
highest rated new game of 2021.
Will not watch this crap shower of a show.

@RBMango Returnal was the great next gen addictive-compulsive experience of the year that brought something new to the table. That doesn’t make it at least a contender?

Snubbed in all categories but one 😬 RE village doesn’t really make a subcategory yet shortlisted for game of the year. Listen I don’t want any of what they’re smoking; it skews judgment and impairs thought processes.

@UltimateOtaku91
Insulting and ducking joke of awards
FORZA HORIZON 5 92% meta.
highest rated new game of 2021.

LMAO at all these salty Sony fanboys trashing Deathloop. You should be happy you have a great timed exclusive rather than hate on the game because MS bought it's parent company which they had no control over...

Just curious, how do they pick the nominees? Returnal deserves to be on the GOTY list at least.

AC Valhalla will be livid not to be nominated for best ongoing game. It never ends!

Tales of Arise, Guilty Gear, Returnal and probably my personal favorite underrated gem of this year, Ender Lillies all should have have been nominated in some of the categories. RE8 Village is probably the only game on this list that I enjoyed the most. MH Rise was fun for a while but dropped it after a few months. Not really my kind of game.

This may be the year where I could care less on most of the nominated games.

@mcslooter that's the great thing about opinions, they're all yours. And I happen to think Returnal was the best game I've played this year. Yeah I've played and completed Hades. Finished my 10th run and had a break before I go back. It's probably in my top 5 this year. Although I preferred Dead Cells if I'm being honest.

@Dezzy70 It's a car game mate, might as well nominate FIFA.

Ha, usual outrage over nothing. It really doesn't matter what wins, just play your damn games.

@SystemAddict I don't think so. Again, it comes down to personal taste, but I thought Returnal was very mediocre. These Game Awards are meaningless anyway, so it's whatever.

@Qu1n0n3z By the looks of it they ask journalists who have only played about three different games this year and just stick with that.

I got R&C on Day 1, coming off the heels of platinum'ing Returnal...and I got to 75% of completing R&C, and haven't even cared to finish the game. Not saying it R&C isn't a good game — it is — but it also wasn't doing anything new or anything we haven't seen before, not only from other games, but from previous R&C games itself...

@Col_McCafferty
You are very correct it doesn’t matter what wins
As the nominations are a joke.
Payed for awards it should be called.

@Col_McCafferty
True, a car game that has the highest rated review score of any new game in 2021.
Not bad for a car game 😂😂😂

Even though I didn't play it, I would vote for It Takes Two.
Maybe it's time for a AA game to win.
Returnal should've been on the list, but don't worry guys! Cyberpunk 2077 is there 🤢🤢🤢
What a joke!

unfortunately for returnal it didn't get enough sales for it to be considered among the best and this definitely matters when you're in the spotlight of the No.1 gaming award show on the planet. Another reason I can think of is that it doesn't have much content I beat it in a week and didn't play it again until the latest major patch.

@BertMan666 Exactly, I think many people shut down Returnal because of its difficulty. I'm not even great "on the sticks", and I beat it, LOL. It takes a little bit — okay, a lot — of perseverence. But the fast gameplay, ever-changing world, incredible weapons and enemies make it well worth it.

Whilst I wouldn't have necessarily expected Returnal to win, I'm pretty shocked regarding the snub!

I think it would be fair to say that most would deem it to be 'GOTY Material', irrespective of personal opinion/enjoyment.

I wonder if the divisive difficulty level did it some damage here? Maybe patch 2.0 was 'too little too late'...

I know that these awards are hugley subjective and inconsequential, but I am slightly sad for Housemarque in that they will miss out on deserved recognition for a tremendous video game.

Was Deathloop really that great? I thought it was a solid 8 game. I'm really not understanding how it got all these perfect scores but at the same time, I don't think there is really a standout game of the year in 2021. So this year's winner would feel more of a best of the rest situation.

@mcslooter That’s my thoughts as well. Returnal was a good game but just not a good roguelike at all. It would have been so much better if it was a fully designed map like Metroid Prime.

Very surprised Sea of Thieves isn't on the Ongoing list. Implemented Seasons, did the whole Pirates of the Caribbean update and added underwater dungeons.

Returnal should have been nominated for game of the year. The game was an achievement in so many levels. I believe it got unfairly punished for not being a more traditional game. It is The Games Awards loss really, as the place for Returnal in history is secured.

I haven't played deathloop but watch some videos some reviews seems like a bunch of scrap, how the hell did it get goty nomination over Returnal. Only game even worth a look there for goty I'd RE village, tga are clearly idiots that I have no doubt

Weak year, i think metroid should be the goty this year

@4kgk2 Sarcasm, sorry i dont know the universal sarcasm punctuation

What about Astro Bot? I haven't played it (don't own/want ps5) but that's been pretty universally praised. I know it's not an actual purchaseable game but people have been loving that bad boy from what I've seen. If Astro Bot VR was anything to go by, I can completely see why.

This is the same award show that gave Death Stranding a music award over YOKO SHIMOMIRA so I couldn't really give a toss about what they consider quality

Tales of Arise and Returnal should be on the GOTY list over Deathloop and Ratchet & Clank. And, that's coming from a huge R&C fan. Deathloop also nominated for Best Narrative? Um, no. Deathloop would be my nomination for "Most Overrated Game" award.

Lots of great games on that list - We all win 😃 best hobby ever! 👍

• GOTY is RE Village (this should be a lock)
• Best Indie: KENA
  (Death's door is great, But KENA music and Art is "AAA" level)
• Best: Art Direction: KENA
• Best RPG: Tales of Arise.
• Best Multiplayer: It takes Two
• Best Sport/Racing: F1 2021

I found Returnal and Metroid Dread to be as "Fun" as being beat with a club (So bias against them). I guess I should at a minimum rent Deathloop 🤔

Real winner?... 3rd party games.

@mcslooter If everybody is just salty about Deathloop because Arkane is owned by MS now, than why is nobody salty about Psychonauts 2 being on that list? The developer of that game is owned by MS now. Maybe, I don't know, a lot of people just don't feel it's good enough to be GOTY.

@mcslooter Deathloop is a fine game but its still a "poorer" version of Dishonoured. Also considering many are wondering why Horizon 5 isn't on the list your logic makes zero sense.

The games I really want to see pick something up on the night are Returnal and Metroid Dread. Both are utterly brilliant and genuinely special.

@Dezzy70 Hot Wheels Unleashed is ducking better than Forza 5.

It’s not that serious.
They can give their awards to whatever they want to. It’s just entertainment and promotion. Every site will give different awards.

@themightyant
Thank you, so we know it did not miss the awards.
Should have been nominated for the goty though.
Terrible decision.

@Jeevz
Enjoy playing hot wheels then 😂

@nessisonett Probably because of the well-known actors behind the game.

So, Giancarlo Esposito gets nominated for Best Performance but Keanu Reeves doesn't? And then there's the whole thing with Returnal that pretty much everyone else has talked about.

What a joke!

Deathloop is okay but shouldn't be GOTY, for one it's a big fest, and secondly it doesn't have nearly enough level variety to stay fresh after a few days, it's a good game but Returnal and Tales of Arise should be up for GOTY before Deathloop

Deathloop is the biggest repetitive garbage I have ever played in my life. The reason why you should NEVER EVER listen to reviewers. Can't belive this got so many nominations, one of most overrated Crap I ever played. The conspiracy part of me thinks all these positive reviews of the game and positive praise all were paid by Microsoft to get people hyped up about the next game from arcane. I love arcane , pray 2017 was one of my favorite games on ps4 generation, dishonored was awsome as well but deathloop is complete TRASH

Goes to show how mediocre this year was for gaming when Deathloop is in the running for ge of the year...

My picks :
Game of the Year – Psychonauts 2 (but really, it should be Returnal)
Best Game Direction – Deathloop
Best Narrative – It Takes Two
Best Independent Game – Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Best Role Playing Game – Tales of Arise
Best Art Direction – Psychonauts 2
Best Score/Music – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Performance – Maggie Robertson (Resident Evil Village)
Best Multiplayer Game – It Takes Two
Best Ongoing Game – Final Fantasy XIV

All in all not a year with the greatest of games, but plenty of good enjoyable ones.

Well Biden won some how🙄 so Deathloop has a chance😎

Returnal GOTY

Wonder how much they paid to have deathloop in every category for the most part. (and in one case, twice) It being there instead of Returnal shows the damned bias and checks being handed over.

@Spaceball_s no politics talk here please.

It Takes Two should win every category it's in TBF.

Zi Booooook OF luuuurvvvveee

@LiamCroft 100% This.

@LiamCroft I enjoyed both of those games far more than Returnal. I beat Returnal in 12 hours as well.

It Takes Two is my GotY.

As expected I don't feel strongly for any of the GOTY picks. I guess I'd pick Ratchet? Lost Judgment got nominated for nothing which is just tragic that game is fantastic. Great for Scarlet Nexus at least getting a nomination for RPG.

That's crazy, I mean deathloop was ok but not GOTY worthy. Ratchet was fantastic but had flaws. Returnal definitely deserved a nomination.

@LiamCroft I can understand why Deathloop is on it given how highly it was reviewed overall despite some fans turning on it because it was either overexposed or because MS owns Arkane.

I am surprised Returnal wasn't nominated, although I am also surprised even @LiamCroft shunned other PS5 exclusives just because Returnal wasn't nominated. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is still my personal GOTY, so I have no problem with that being nominated. I will think the list here will be a joke if it's not on it, so it's all a matter of opinion, not that somebody got it wrong. I could understand if mediocre games got nominated, but all of them are considered really good. Maybe Returnal could have been on it, but honestly, I don't think it matters much in the end because I think Metroid Dread already has the award won if only because it's a new game in an iconic series that was extremely well received.

Returnal is my Game of the Year, no matter what some shadowy cabal says.

Metroid Dread listed as GOTY, but not Returnal... I call Bull Schmidt on that one. Metroid Dread is NOT a very good Metroid game and pales in comparison to its GBA brethren.

Ratchet and clank is a good game...but it shouldn't be anywhere near game of the year

Damn. I'm a little disappointed not to see Kena or Monster Hunter Rise in the running for GOTY. As those are the two games I enjoyed the most this year. Not that either of them would have won per say, but for them to have at least been nominated would have been nice

What a joke! I can only think it is the underwhelming story that is holding returnal back as its gameplay is deserving of goty all day long. Ratchet was beautiful but it was like playing returnal in slow mo.

Returnal zealots be like...
People, you gotta admit that was a niche game. Only a fringe group actually loved it. It is not for everybody. Breath of the Wild this is not.

Crazy that Xbox has 2 nominees and PS only has 1….Wild that FH5 was snubbed

@Texan_Survivor exactly TLOU2 was garbage

@mcslooter Yeah, man. You just nailed them. Totally based. When you compare returnal (and its "wonderful" save system) with really great games like Hades, it is embarrassing. But hey, returnal is an "exclusive" (on PC in 2 years) so we must defend it like a religion.

The Game of the Year list is close to what I would've come up with, though might've subbed out Deathloop or It Takes Two for Monster Hunter Rise. Still, all are great games.

@LiamCroft Broken games should not be celebrated for GOTY

Can't believe no love for Returnal! Game was original and knocked it outta the park!

GTA Trilogy was robbed!

Returnal doesnt deserve GOTY.

Returnal being snubbed is hilarious, especially with the likes of ratchet and RE8 on their which where very generic.

However, if you have watched the last few game awards and game shows this guy does, it's like this every time, with ridiculous nominations, followed by winner announcements that make no sense at all. The game show examples are the most most ridiculous because you can tell its just where Grubb gets additional advertising revenue.

It goes something like this (just a made up example). The show debuts a trailer for elden ring, shows gameplay for GOW 2 and Horizon FW, along with Halo, and Forza. He announces the nominations for best game at the show to be voted on by viewers and reveled at the end of the show. "the nominations are... hot shots golf 15, smurphs adventure time, pong 3d , Rainbow Six extraction, and duck hunter 64. .... and the winner is the major profit driven, coockie cutter ubisoft game!" crickets chirp, the precorded show cuts to a commercial, and oh wow its a commercial for that very game, how ironic that everyone voted for that game, as we didn't allow any choices based on the games that people truly wanted to see.

The fact that Cyberpunk is nominated in anything is so sad. Money trumps credibility no matter the industry.

@LiamCroft - I imagine they got in for the same reason the good-but-not-great RE: Village got in: Lack of worthwhile nominees (though I imagine next year won't have this problem).

@captainaverage - "The mere fact Cyberpunk is among the RPG candidates despite the abysmal state it was released in and CDPR's PR BS already makes these awards a farce."
Considering how much praise for the game I've heard from those who've played it, the fact it's only being nominated for best RPG (and music) is a testament to those things. If it weren't for the technical problems, you can be absolutely sure it'd be this years runaway GOTY.

Yeah, I was worried something like this would happen; most likely thanks to the pandemic delaying a lot of projects to next year, this year ended up even worse than 2019 (at least there you had a lot of worthy nominees, just nothing that stood out) with the only stand-outs being It Takes Two and Psychonauts 2 (as much as I like Metroid Dread). Of course, as mentioned earlier, if Cyberpunk had a decent development cycle and/or released properly this year, it'd probably be this years favourite, but *shrugs * it wasn't, so, this is what we're left with.

Returnal... that's a definite snubbing if I say so myself

Returnal not even on the list for game of the year is ridiculous. It was by FAR the best game I've played over the previous year and still play. Also why wasn't it nominated for music. That was fantastic too. Really disappointed it's not on the list. Hopefully they get accolades from other award ceremonies.

I can understand Returnal not receiving GOTY, but not even being nominated? Who's selecting this stuff and have they played the game??

Returnal is so much better than the massively overhyped Ratchet & Clank. Disappointed with this tbh.

I mean I loved RE Village but GOTY nominee over Returnal? No mam, not on this day

@ShogunRok huh ? its been an amazing year for new games..what are you talking about ?? O_o

@frabbit Ratchet & Clank is so much better than the massively overhyped Returnal.

There you go. Argument.

Makes me realise I have not played a single nominated game this year lol
And I have no interest in any of them

Personally, I’d remove Deathloop and Ratchet & Clank and replace them with Returnal and Forza Horizon 5. Doesn’t matter though, because It Takes Two should be GOTY.

Hi there fellow gamers.
I DO NOT agree with both Returnal and Forza Horizon 5 not being in the GOTY award nominees for this year.
Especialy Returnal..... That is such a weird decision.
It makes no sense at all. Oh well....
Hoping the game announcements are actualy good ones.
Cheers, stay safe everyone and happy gaming to us all

@naruball I wasn't looking for an argument, just expressing my opinion. Certainly didn't mean to offend you, if you preferred Ratchet then fill yer boots. I liked it too, I just think it got more exposure than it deserved.

Returnal didn't get as much hype, but I put 70 hours into it and loved every minute. It was fast paced, challenging, beautiful, and different. Ratchet was very pretty and good fun but I failed to see what all the hype was about.

If it was a matter of making sure PS5 exclusives were adequately represented in the nominations then I feel Returnal deserved the place more.

@frabbit preferring one game over another is fine. Calling the one you don't like as much "overhyped" or "overrated" is not, imo. You're essentially saying that your opinion is more important than the opinion of others.

@WallyWest I really enjoyed 7, but I played the entire game in VR. Without VR, the novelty of playing an RE game in first person wore off really fast. The Village controls and gunplay were clunky, and I just didn't enjoy the goofy story at all.

yeah... all that "gitgud" vibe that Returnal was going with... how did that turn out for ya ... maybe it should die and try to get on the list during the next run

Forza Horizon 5 not being on any of the lists is not the same as Returnal not being there, so don't equate the two.
Maybe I am wrong but I think Forza failed to make the cut due to it's release date.
Returnal got spat on (look, I like to make jokes and talk sh** about Returnal (I hate roguelikes), but real talk, yes, it should have definitely been nominated for some of these categories).

@BertMan666 I am a bit perplexed why it didn't get more of a following. I guess there's just something fundamentally different about the appeal, but I would have thought the soulsborne community would be all over Returnal.

I don't even like rogue like games and returnal blew my mind. Ratchet and clank was fun but nowhere near the magic that was returnal

This is why no award program should be taken seriously. TV,Film,Music or games...it's all nonsense.

@cherryghost41 agree. 8 was decent but not game of the year contender...nowhere near it.

FYI Returnal is on sale now on Amazon Australia (dunno bout other countries amazon’s) for $50 AUD which is $75 off. Free next day delivery with amazon prime too. Just sign up for a free trial and then cancel. If you’ve previously already got the trial just create a new amazon account and you can get the trial free that way. All you need is a new email. Also Jbhifi (Australian retailer) are going to be selling Deathloop for $39 AUD ($30 off) when their sale starts on Tuesday. 3rd gen echo dots will be $19 there as well 👌

@naruball Luckily for me I don't defer to you on what is "fine" to think or believe. It's my fairly held opinion about two games that I've played through to platinum. It's completely valid, take it or leave it.

RE:Village for sure. Staggeringly good game.
But at the end of the day I find awards show for any medium to be pointless and redundant.
Everyone has wildly different tastes.

@naruball What if they said “in my opinion it’s overrated”?

@frabbit

my point

you

@Arnna it would still be problematic, because they would not be simply expressing their own opinion on a game, but dismiss the opinion of all the others who think differently (critics and, based on the push square poll, many other gamers).

Calling something "overrated" or "overhyped" (whatever that means) suggests you're better than others. You get it, while others don't, hence their wrong impression that x is a good game, when it's not.

@naruball Overhyped in this scenario means that I think the publicity pre and post-release that the game received was more than the game deserved for the content of the final product.

Like I said, I didn't hate this game at all, but I think that by virtue of it being one of the only exclusive releases for the console it was over hyped and the final product just wasn't that special. In the context of my original post, I preferred Returnal and think that game was far more deserving of a GOTY nomination.

@frabbit I didn't see as much hype for the game as you did (definitely not "massive"). If anything, I'd say it flew under the radar because it wasn't a 9+/10 success like TLoU2 or God of War were. There was some hype because of the power of the ps5 SSD, but the game was always niche. R&C has never been a huge seller or a cult game. Even Demon's Souls had more hype, imo (before it was announced, when it was officially announced, and when it launched).

Then again, it's hard to measure hype, so who knows.

"In the context of my original post, I preferred Returnal and think that game was far more deserving of a GOTY nomination."
Fair enough.

@redd214 Metroid Dread is fantastic, better than Ratchet by a fair bit.

Deathloop is very overrated by a some critics, don't really get it and I bought the game day one. Dishonored 2 is much better. Returnal is better than any game on there but maybe Dread.

@Coltaine22 I thought it was dreadful (lol). No seriously it wasn't that bad just got bored with it after a few hours but I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@Coltaine22 personally I feel either Deathloop should be replaced by Returnal and Ratchet and Clank RA replaced by FH5