It’s almost that time of year again folks. 2023 has been an amazing year for Nintendo and The Legend of Zelda, let alone video games in general. Tears of the Kingdom was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of the last four years and when it finally released, it went on to set multiple records of its own. No doubt a contender for Game of the Year, the game was well received and is arguably one of the best video games, albeit Zelda games of all time. It should come as no surprise that Tears of the Kingdom has received multiple nominations from 2023’s Golden Joystick Awards.
Tears of the Kingdom has managed to secure a total of five nominations for the 41st Annual Golden Joystick awards. Those nominations are for Nintendo Game of the Year, Best Audio, Best Game Community, and an award for Best Game Trailer for Tears of the Kingdom’s “Official Trailer 3” featured below. The fifth award was for Nintendo EPD netting Studio of the Year. Additionally, Zelda’s voice actress, Patricia Summersett, did an outstanding job with her work in Tears of the Kingdom and was nominated for Best Supporting Performer.
Unsurprisingly, Tears of the Kingdom is a contender for the ultimate Game of the Year Award but this will be a tough decision with so many other extraordinary games such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Final Fantasy XVI, and Starfield, not to mention Nintendo’s Super Mario Wonder and Sony’s Spiderman 2, which are definitely fierce competitors. It will be exciting to see what snags this award. Daniel Dawkins, GamesRadar+’s events content director had some exciting words about this year’s upcoming games:
“What. A. Year. It’s a testament to the astonishing quality of 2023’s game releases that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – an exceptional sequel to one of the best games of all time – isn’t the only game to claim the most nominations. Larian’s critically adored Baldur’s Gate 3 shares that accolade, earning a coveted 10/10 in Edge Magazine, and hailed by PC Gamer’s reviewer as the ‘greatest RPG I’ve played’.
Bethesda’s epic Starfield achieved lift-off despite the gravity of expectations, while big sequels such as Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 hit the mark. Add a slew of superb AAA remakes, plus indie gems including Dave the Diver, Dredge and Cocoon, and 2023 has a legitimate claim to the best in gaming history.
The Golden Joystick Awards are held in such high regard since only the public’s votes will decide the winners. We’re thrilled to share this intensely debated shortlist and – this year, more than ever – are a touch relieved at not casting the deciding vote.”
Any way you look at it, Daniel is right. 2023 has proven to be one of the best years for gaming in a long time, if at all. With less than two months left, we still have quite a few good games scheduled to release such as the much-anticipated Super Mario RPG Remake later this month, and Pokemon Scarlet/Violet’s The Indigo Disk coming in December. If you are excited for this year’s awards and would like to see a full list of the nominees, you can go here. This is one show you won’t want to miss.
