Golden Joystick Awards 2024 Was a Big Showing for Indie Games

The Golden Joystick Awards 2024 have announced their roster of nominees for over ten categories, including an entirely new bracket for self-developed, self-published indie games.

Golden Joystick Awards 2024 Nominees

Celebrating "the best" in the gaming industry since 1983, The Golden Joystick Awards returns on November 21, 2024 for its 42nd run to celebrate games released from Nov. 11, 2023 to Oct. 4, 2024. This year appears to be a big one for smaller scale games, with titles like Balatro and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes garnering nominations in multiple categories.

A total of 19 categories make up this Golden Joystick Awards 2024, including a new category for self-publishing indie developers. This category is dedicated for indie titles that have been both developed and published by a smaller scale team or developer. "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." the award organizers stated.

Below are the following categories and nominees for this year's 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 live, with the nominees selected by jury members including PC Gamer, GamesRadar, the Future Games Show, Edge magazine, Retro Gamer, and more. Voting can be accessed on the official website. The voting period for the Ultimate Game of the Year category takes place at a later. The shortlist will be revealed on November 4, with voting running from November 4 to 8, 2024. Title released between October 4, 2024 and November 21, 2024 will still be eligible for the Best Performance and Ultimate Game of the Year categories.

As a bonus for voting, eligible participants can claim a free ebook worth up to approximately $19 from a selection which 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 completely seperate category for the Ultimate Game of the Year nominees are yet to be finalized and announced, according to The Golden Joystick Awards. However, things in the gaming community have started—and continue—to heat up as the GOTY 2024 race remains wide open. Notable fan-favorite titles that were not part of the Game of Year nominees for PC and Console include Metaphor: ReFantazio, Space Marine 2, and Black Myth Wukong, much to fans' dismay.

In particular, Wukong fans have written out their criticism of the awards show and accused organizers of "playing them," as their hand-picked games have not made it to either GOTY list. "When you are accused, you use the 'UGOTY' award as a shield," one user wrote on social media, "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 sent out a tweet confirming that its full list of Ultimate Game of The Year (UGOTY) nominees is yet to be launched: "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."