As the year closes, so does another stream of The Game Awards, where nominees and winners gather together to celebrate the developmental, artistic and technical victories of the gaming world. Every year, well known host Geoff Keighley spins himself into a tizzy as the awards are handed out, and the world waits for the next top secret game announcement to reveal itself on screen. Over the years, The Game Awards have felt less about the awards themselves, and more about the newest releases set to hit the scene in the next year. To that end, The Game Awards did not disappoint.
Before I get into the three games that tickled my tuchus this year, I wanted to quickly give a shout out to all of the nominees and award winners that didn’t get time in the limelight. The developers that are passionate about the games they produce and take the time to listen and understand gamers like us, cannot, and should not, be minimized. I feel like in a lot of categories, especially where The Game Awards pre-show is concerned, there could have been a bit more fanfare related to the awards themselves. For all intents and purposes, it seems that these days, the awards are secondary to the new announcements and trailer releases. That being said, congratulations to all of the winners, especially Elden Ring for winning game of the year, as it was well deserved.
I spent quite a bit of time during the game awards pulling trailers that may be interesting to all of us here at MMORPG.com. Game shows are one time of year where I can relax the standards a little bit about the types of trailers and games we can write about, simply because, half the time, we don’t know much about these games shown from the over the top, dopamine inducing cinematic trailers that the studios concoct to pique our interest. I could probably knock out a quick list of 10 reveals I was interested in and not bat an eye. There were three games that really spoke to me though. Three games that I couldn’t help but feel drawn to. Check out my 3 quick picks for games to get hyped for from The Game Awards.
Wayfinder
Digital extremes showed off their new game in partnership with Airship Syndicate, called Wayfinder. This online action RPG states that they want to capture the feeling of an MMORPG, where players will make new friends, and adventure out into a dangerous world, and cooperatively work together to defeat challenges. The art style is somewhat reminiscent of the Torchlight series, and while I’ve loved Torchlight in most of its iterations, I can’t help but feel like Wayfinder is going to bring a more cohesive group concept that Torchlight has been missing.
Wayfinder is also character based, similar to games like League of Legends, so players will choose specific characters they want to play, complete with their own skills and playstyles. Players will get augments, weapons, player housing and plenty of crafting materials that they can use to build items and get stronger throughout their journey. Early access is currently slated for Spring of 2023, but you can sign up for beta right now.
Nightingale
If you’ve been sliding into our thorough, always educational, weekly Indie MMO Spotlight articles, then Nightingale probably isn’t new to you. The trailer shown during The Game Awards really solidified how exciting a cooperative survival game could be, when the worlds you inhabit are unique, with humongous creatures, and a steampunk-style fantasy world. While Dune: Awakening was also shown during The Game Awards, Nightingale actually looked good, whereas Dune didn’t really grasp me in the same way, despite being an MMO.
Nightingale will allow co-op or solo play, with exciting first-person combat. You will be able to hire NPC’s to help build your estates, craft weapons, visit different realms, and collect Realm Cards that you can use to procedurally generate new realms. The features of Nightingale could fit the mold of any number of survival games, but the massive monsters and purely co-operative spirit is right up my alley, and I hope all of you out there feel the same way. Nightingale is looking to release in the first half of 2023 on PC, with Beta currently ongoing.
Blue Protocol
For a long time, it was up in the air as to whether Bandai Namco would be bringing Blue Protocol to the west, after numerous beta tests that were strictly Japan only. During The Game Awards, we came to find out that not only will it be coming to the west, and not only will it be published by Amazon Games Studios, but it will also be coming to consoles as well! This is fantastic news for people looking for a proper anime inspired MMORPG.
Blue Protocol is a free-to-play MMO where players will create their characters, swap between multiple classes, synergize damage and elemental effects, and work with other players in teams to battle bosses and take on raids against huge enemies. A western Beta is on the way soon, so keep your eyes out in the first half of next year so you can jump into the game, and try it out for yourself!
These were just a few of the games that caught my eye during The Game Awards. Did you happen to watch the awards this year? Were there any games that you’re looking forward to? Tell us in the comments what you thought!
