New York Game Awards announces 2023 nominees

The New York Video Game Critics Circle today announced the nominees of its 2023 Game Awards. The NYVGCC previously announced the awards would be held in-person once more. The last two ceremonies were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several familiar titles grace the major awards lists, as they did in late 2022: Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, Neon White. There are some games missing from the list. Stray, one of 2022’s most popular indie titles, is absent from any nominee list, while Tunic is only nominated as a kids game. However, some deep cuts have received recognition here, such as Trombone Champ.

The nominees are:

Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Cult of the Lamb
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarök
• Immortality
• Pentiment
• Vampire Survivors
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game

• Immortality
• Neon White
• Return to Monkey Island
• Trombone Champ
• Vampire Survivors
• Wordle
• Wylde Flowers

Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game

• As Dusk Falls
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarök
• Immortality
• Norco
• Return to Monkey Island
• Roadwarden

Statue of Liberty Award for Best World

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarök
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Pentiment
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarök
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Metal: Hellsinger
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
• Trombone Champ

Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game

• Alex Jarrett as Zoe Walker in As Dusk Falls
• Ashly Burch as Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West
• Christopher Judge as Kratos in God of War Ragnarök
• Grace Zabriskie as Eliza Vorez in The Quarry
• Justice Smith as Ryan Erzahler in The Quarry
• Manon Gage as Marissa Marcel in Immortality

Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game

• BONELAB
• Lost Recipes
• Moss: Book II
• RUINSMAGUS
• The Last Clockwinder

Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game

• Harmony’s Odyssey
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Moss: Book II
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus
• Splatoon 3
• Tunic

A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game

• Desta: The Memories Between
• Marvel Snap
• Poinpy
• Railbound
• Wylde Flowers

Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake

• Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration
• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Reunion
• Life is Strange Remastered Collection
• Live A Live
• The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe

Joltin’ Joe Award for Best Esports Player of the Year

• Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique (FATE Esports/Red Bull Esports) – Tekken 7
• Bryan “pANcada” Luna (Sentinels, formerly with LOUD) – Valorant
• Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu (DWG KIA) – League of Legends
• Masaya “aMSa” Chikamoto (VGBootCamp/Red Bull Esports) – Super Smash Bros. Melee
• Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev (Natus Vincere) – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• Yoo “smurf” Myeong-hwan (Boston Uprising) – Overwatch

Chumley’s Speakeasy Award for Best Hidden Gem

• A Memoir Blue
• Norco
• Patrick’s Parabox
• Perfect Tides
• SIGNALIS
• Strange Horticulture
• The Case of the Golden Idol
• Wayward Strand

NYC GWB Award for Best DLC

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Tombs of the Fallen Pt. 2
• Bugsnax: The Isle of BIGsnax
• Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
• Microsoft Flight Simulator: Top Gun Maverick DLC
• Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

The ceremony airs on January 17 at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan.