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2022 SXSW Gaming Awards Nominees

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SXSW has announced the nominees for the 2022 SXSW Gaming Awards. I was particularly invested in this since I rolled the dice and submitted Haunted: A Slip Story on the off chance that the branching and looping narrative structure and solid weird fiction vibes could sneak it into the Excellence in Narrative category. Alas, my beautiful, hand-illustrated game with an original song score and 48 unique paths that react to your choices game came up short. I’m sure it was a close sixth place after nominees like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. We’ll get’em next time.

I have a lot of respect for how SXSW runs these awards. The entry fee is pretty darn accessible for any size creator and it’s easy to enter. They make you feel important even in rejection and are clearly committed to showcasing a wide variety of indie and AAA titles. 40 different games are competing in 12 categories, and if you squint just the right way you can see Haunted bringing up the rear.

But enough about my amazing interactive weird fiction collection game available now on itch.io. Here are the nominees you can actually vote for in this all-digital edition of the SXSW Gaming Awards.

Video Game of the Year

  • Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

  • It Takes Two

  • Psychonauts 2

  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

  • Resident Evil Village

My vote goes to Resident Evil Village, though this is a great final selection of games all worth looking into.

Indie Game of the Year

  • Chicory: A Colorful Tale

  • Death’s Door

  • Inscryption

  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits

  • Loop Hero

  • Lost Words: Beyond the Page

  • The Medium

  • Unpacking

  • Valheim

  • The Wild at Heart

I’ve played about half of these and watched streamers play a few of the others. I need to do some digging on my own to make a final vote, but right now I’m leaning towards my own Game of the Year pick Inscryption.

Tabletop Game of the Year

  • Cascadia

  • Dune: Imperium

  • Oath: Chronicles of Empire & Exile

  • Roll Camera! The Filmmaking Board Game

  • That Time You Killed Me

I’m trying to get more into tabletop gaming this year. This list feels like a good place to start. That’s the polite way of saying I know nothing of this category and am trying to hide my shame.

VR Game of the Year

  • After the Fall

  • Demeo

  • Lone Echo II

  • Resident Evil 4 VR

  • Song in the Smoke

VR games don’t always play nice with my eyes, but I enjoy what I’ve played of After The Fall and Resident Evil 4 VR.

Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award

  • Chicory: A Colorful Tale

  • Before Your Eyes

  • Life Is Strange: True Colors

  • Lost Words: Beyond the Page

  • Unpacking

This is a wonderful category. The entire idea is recognizing games with “a culturally innovative view of a game world, character, or gameplay.” It’s the category to recognize games that forge their own path and represent different aspects of life, art, and creativity. I have not played Lost Words: Beyond the Page, but I can highly recommend the other nominees in the category. The tranquil puzzle vibes and subtle storytelling of Unpacking get my vote here for now.

Excellence in Animation, Art, & Visual Achievement

  • Deathloop

  • Exo One

  • Forza Horizon 5

  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits

  • The Wild At Heart

Pretty pretty games. Exo One gets my vote. That game is a moving version of the art I blow my con budget on every time even when I say I’m not going to buy any new art.

Excellence in Game Design

  • Deathloop

  • Inscryption

  • Loop Hero

  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

  • Returnal

This award is for concept, mechanics, and execution. I’m torn between Loop Hero and Inscryption here, which should shock no one with how many card games I review and praise at Sketching Details. I think my vote goes to Loop Hero for using the card element for a very different style of gameplay.

Excellence in Original Score

  • The Artful Escape

  • Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits

  • The Medium

  • Wytchwood

I haven’t played enough of these games to deliver a fair vote. I loved the music in The Medium.

Excellence in Multiplayer

  • Back 4 Blood

  • Halo Infinite

  • It Takes Two

  • Riders Republic

  • Valheim

This is a fun group of multiplayer games. I’m always down for experiences like It Takes Two.

Excellence in Narrative

  • Deathloop

  • Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits

  • Lost in Random

  • Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

I know this will shock you, but Lost In Random, a really clever game with a card combat system, gets my vote for Excellence in Narrative. Like finding any excuse to praise Tobe Hooper and Clive Barker, you can count on Sketching Details to find any excuse to discuss how great card games are.

Excellence in Audio Design

  • Forza Horizon 5

  • Hell Let Loose

  • Inscryption

  • Twelve Minutes

  • Resident Evil Village

This is a tough category. Great audio design really grounds you in the world of a game and all of these games achieve that. I’m actually going to give my vote to Forza Horizon 5. It’s a great sounding racing game.

Excellence in Technical Achievement

  • Before Your Eyes

  • Forza Horizon 5

  • Hell Let Loose

  • Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

  • Returnal

This award is for pushing the technical limits of the medium. I’m giving the edge to Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. This is a series that consistently pushes itself to new heights, developing new game mechanics to take advantage of the capabilities of the next console generation. It’s a feature as much as the characters at this point.

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You can vote for the winners in each category on the SXSW website until 8 February. The winners will be announced during the SXSW Gaming Awards Ceremony on 12 March, airing on the SXWSGaming Twitch channel.


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