We couldn’t help feeling that Housemarque got robbed a little bit at The Game Awards last year, so it’s good to see the Finnish studio finally receive the recognition it deserves at the BAFTAs. At a glitzy event in London overnight, the freshly minted PlayStation Studio took home the gongs for Audio Achievement, best Music, best Performer in a Leading Role, and, crucially, Best Game.
You can watch studio founder Ilari Kuittinen’s acceptance speech below; it’s clearly a milestone moment for the almost three decades-old team:
Jane Perry also spoke well upon receiving the award for her portrayal of Selene in the best Performer in a Leading Role category:
All in all, it was another big night for PlayStation, with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart also taking home two awards – Technical Achievement and Animation – taking Sony’s total on the night up to six. It’s a reminder that, for all of the Japanese giant’s flaws, it’s still pumping out many of the best games on the market on a regular basis.
Other noteworthy award winners included Chicory: A Colorful Tale in the best Family category and No Man’s Sky for best Evolving Game. It Takes Two – the big winner at The Game Awards – settled for best Multiplayer and best Original Property, while Unpacking – which is coming to PS5 and PS4 soon – scooped the best Narrative and EE Game of the Year gong, a separate award to the one Returnal won.
You can view the full list of winners through here.
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[source bafta.org]
Comments 62
Long overdue recognition for the wonderful Housemarque!
The winning categories check out. Well done all the gang there
@get2sammyb We were saying on the Returnal thread that you guys must be asleep as you hadn’t covered this earlier 😉
@render Haha, better late than never!
Is the ending explained by the devs.somewere, or anything close to the truth??
Would be cool to know the real story...
BRAVO!!! BRAVO!!! Happy to see this game getting its just due!
Very happy for the team, it’s a truly phenomenal game.
Worthy winner as this game is a banger!
@LangTrangGang at GDC, they said that even they don't know how the story ends.
So deserving of this win, sooo happy for the gang at housemarque😁😁👍
HOT SAUCE!!!!! Glad to hear this gem of a game is finally getting it's just due!
Excellent news for Sony and housemarque, even playstations AA games winning games of the year awards lol can see why sony bought them and can't wait to see what their next game will be
Really pleased for Housemarque, this was the game that gave me the real new gen excitement and was the only game I thought about for a month or so. Great game.
Well deserved and a very big congratulations to Housemarque. I recently got the new trophies for the Ascension DLC and was reminded of why this game is so special.
I like it when an underdog overperforms.
Probably the worst of the PS5 exclusives I’ve played so far. It had promise though so hopefully Housemarque make something with some actual meat on its bones next time.
@nessisonett very unpopular opinion you have.
@4kgk2 That’s the wonderful thing about opinions, they differ.
@nessisonett Going to say mine is Ratchet.
D. All stars doesn't exist btw. What is that?
Congrats Housemarque!
Game awards ass is kicked now 😉
Well deserved. In my opinion these awards hold far more weight then The Game Awards, basically TGA are MTV levels award next to BAFTA in my opinion. Also great seeing No Man's Sky get a much deserved award.
I mean it's a good game but for me personally it's just been an exhausting experience. It was just ridiculous it didn't even have a suspend feature until there was substantial backlash for one to be implemented and they probably wouldn't have implemented it at all otherwise.
Off topic but earlier on I was playing some VR games including Lucky's Tale for a long period of time and now my vision is doing weird things. As I type on my Phone the screen looks like I'm looking at it through a VR headset, this is so strange. I've had weird sensations playing VR previously but I don't think I've ever had this happen before.
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@nessisonett "Probably the worst of the PS5 exclusives I’ve played so far."
Nope! the worst exclusive you and the rest of us have played is Destruction Allstars 🙃
@nessisonett I agree with you and I’ve loved everything Housemarque has done up until this game. I’m not saying it’s terrible, but it’s not for me at all.
@eagletrippin Sorry I have to disagree. I've known @nessisonett for years now. I had an account before this one and he's definitely not a troll. There's a difference between trolling and freedom of expression which he has a right to do. I don't think it's the worst exclusive but I don't have a problem with someone who feels differently. Just saying.
Haven't tried it yet but I will someday!
Massive congratulations to HM! I just wished they'd patched in the 'suspend' feature about 3 months earlier...!
Awesome game though, uncompromising and challenging - but provides a level of reward that I have yet to experience anywhere else in gaming so far.
Can't wait to jump into the DLC at the weekend
@RubyCarbuncle Lol, I see the block feature seems to be working so very well, with apparently snide comments being made that I can’t even see. Fantastic.
@eagletrippin I guess but still. If someone is saying something I don't like on here I just don't pay any attention. I will only add someone to ignore under exceptional circumstances, eh it's just me though.
@eagletrippin i dont always agree with nessisonett but he is a very intelligent person and always presents his oppinions in a well structured and engaging manner..also his music taste is off the charts so to refer to him as a troll is deeply insulting..
I bought this day one and still haven’t unwrapped it. I had loads of work around the release and never got around to it. Similar with Resident Evil 8, although I did install that, I only played about 3 minutes. Never left the house at the beginning.
I really need to get onto Returnal. It looks amazing.
@nessisonett ”That’s the wonderful thing about opinions, they differ.”
Unfortunately, these days, unless you are on the side of whatever the person is talking about. You’re an idiot and your opinion is wrong. Haha. What a wonderful world.
@Northern_munkey Agree to disagree. Our experiences with different people can be different.
Bravo, about time it picked up best game in one of the awards. Especially with the new update. It was definetaly my game of year last year fantastic enjoyed every minute of it, and enjoying it again now with the new update
From Rags to Riches.
Said they would stop making SHMUPS. Make Returnal. Finally join the PS family. Now win a BAFTA.
There was a real chance that they would go under, but what a turnaround. Fully deserved.
PS. Play Nex Machina.
Glad to see returnal is doing well. All i hear is praise for the game. Unfortunately for me ive found it too much of a slog then i found out there are certain elements of set piece jump scares in the game so i sold it. I dont do jump scares of any kind.
Not played Returnal as the genre isn’t really my thing. I’m really glad It Takes Two got it’s deserved recognition though. One of the best games of last year for sure. The wife and I hope this means their next games will go along similar lines.
Well done Housemarque! My personal GOTY last year.
Strange one this. Let me explain. An incredible game that I never played for more than two hours. Why?. I truly dislike these rogue style games with punishing loops...it takes away the freedom to play in a relaxed way. Game is incredible by design and what it braves to do...it was unfortunately not for me. Had I been late teens early 20s...yes, I would have loved it but I do not get that much time for longer sessions and learning games that have a huge difficulty level...my set up in our living room and with a young daughter it's hard to find time to concentrate on games that require full on dedication.
@jrt87 @mezzer yup. These games are definitely not for everyone, not even for the same person at different periods of his life.
I played Demon's Souls and Bloodborne for a few hours at different stages of my life. Demon's Souls when I was a student and Bloodborne as an adult. After having some pretty tough days at work and having very limited time for gaming, playing Bloodborne felt like torture. Losing the progress that I made over the course of an hour was the opposite of fun. Sure, when I would finally beat a boss, the feeling of satisfaction was incredible, but overall I would dread playing the game. So, I decided to avoid such games. I know they're not bad games, just not for me.
@naruball That is fair. A game won't hit every person the same way. Demon's Souls for me was a nice adventure, but the die & return to the start of the world thing did feel tortuous, to the point that I resorted to save-scumming (no shame here). However, Returnal, for whatever reason, I would play until 12am, despite having work early the next morning, after a 2-hour run ended in death, I'd find myself motivated to start another run immediately. For me, it was that fun, engaging. There aren't many games in my over 35 years of gaming that would hand my ass to me over & over again and I still had fun & liked the challenge. So beating the game and then platinuming it did provide a sense of accomplishment.
Well deserved, I'm really happy a team taking risks and doing things differently got recognised. I cant wait to see what they will create next.
Seems well deserved! The only rogue-like I've played is Hades, and that feels fairly forgiving as far as the genre goes lmao. I'm very curious about Returnal but can't justify the asking price in the knowledge that I'll probably be terrible at it and not get to even the first boss. But I'm definitely going to give it a go when it's included in the PS+ tier!
@eagletrippin That's wonderful to hear. Very happy for you and anyone else who get so much enjoyment out of a video game. I love that there's such variety in video games that everyone can find that special game for them.
For me it was Nino Kuni (1). It felt like a dream.
@jrt87 I see! I had no idea it worked like that. That would definitely put me off, too.
@Grimwood It is included at launch in the Extra and Premium tiers.
Well done housemarque! I never did another playthrough for act 3 but despite finding the structure of the rogue-lite bits unforgiving, I still think the moment to moment gameplay is up with the very best. It's more amazing it's that studios first full 3d game! I can't wait to see what they do next
@LangTrangGang I think they have left it deliberately vague..
So its up to you how you see it.
They should rename the BAFTAs awards to - 'The PlayStation Awards' I want to play it but just get put off when people say it's to hard really. And that is because I HATE dying and dying in games it just wastes my precious gaming time (& trying to kill bosses for hours and hours(it seems) I find pointless in games) Maybe I am to LAZY nowadays
Good to see NMS get an award, well deserved.
@R1spam yes it was phenomenal to see feel and hear. A dazzling spectacle, there is no way I can typically tolerate these style games that repeat themselves anymore so it had to have been remarkable from a sensory perspective. Deathloop; despite being reasonably impressive in those aspects itself has gone completely untouched on my dashboard. I’ve it pinned; it looks neglected hanging on at the end. That thing was a GOTY contender where Returnal wasn’t, and it won best Game Direction? A loop isn’t a direction to me it’s the do chasing it’s own tail. We don’t want recycling of limited environs, we want sprawling epic adventures where little repeats itself. Hence the success of Elden Ring remove that things jankiness; give us dazzling particle effects ultimate manoeuvrability and and you get.. Forspoken? Where am I going with this
@nessisonett "Housemarque make something with some actual meat on its bones next time."
Hasn't Housemarque always produced some rather lightweight arcade action titles? I remember the original Stardust on the Amiga through to games like Dead Nation on the PS platforms - they've always been rather lightweight, good for a few minutes shoot-em-up titles.
True, I've not played Returnal yet but I did worry about all the hype surrounding it given what Housemarque had done before.
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Well done Housemarque! Best game I played on PS5 so far.
I'm really glad Returnal and Inscryption are getting the late recognition they deserve. They were by far the best games of 2021 in my opinion.
@nessisonett Not liking something does make it bad. A lot of people make that mistake whats bad the techinical part of the game or gameplay, story i would love to hear you tell me whats bad.
@Titntin I dont like GTA its not my thing but i wont call it bad there is a real difference between not liking something or something being bad.
@Flaming_Kaiser I completely agree with you? Was it me you intended to reply to? I rather like GTA...
I've not suggested anything is bad because I dont like it, far from it, I often play game styles im not that keen on just to get an insight into what people are enjoying. The world would be a much poorer place if everyones tastes were aligned with mine, and there would be a lot less formulaic shooters, thats for sure!
There are somethings I would class as 'bad' that are universaly bad, but thats usually to do with technical performance rather than a gameplay design choice.
Amazing game, don't normally like games like this (e.g. Demons Souls, Dark Souls, Elden Ring etc...) but Returnal is unbelievably good fun, atmospheric, challenging, fast paced, and very well put together. Couldn't recommend it enough, defo my favourite game of the PS5 era so far. 👌
I'd rate this higher, or about as high as most everyone, if not for the run breaking bugs (notably not being able to interact with anything, and doors not opening) and the CONSTANT crashes. If it had a save state for when things like that happened at launch I wouldn't care, but it didn't, and my runs got bugged and I had to restart which is extremely poor.
Thankfully, that got fixed, and the game is better than ever. Wish I didn't buy it at launch too. Waste of money for sure.
@Titntin Maybe i took the message wrong then i will apologise and you can disregard the reply.
@Flaming_Kaiser Thats OK my freind, its easy to get wires crossed in here!
Pretty sure we are in agreement too
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