In a surprising turn of events, the colorful Playstation 5 platforming game Astro Bot won over the hearts of players and judges alike at The Game Awards on December 12 in a winning sweep, along with the independent mobile game Balatro. Astro Bot was crowned Best Action / Adventure Game and Best Family Game over Echoes of Wisdom and other Nintendo contenders Super Mario Party Jamboree and Princess Peach Showtime! And in a move stunned by everyone, Astro Bot also won Game of the Year for 2024.
During their winning speech, the Astro Bot development team made a tasteful tribute to Nintendo and credited the original Super Mario Bros. as a notable source of inspiration for their own platforming title. While the name Nintendo was not mentioned, enough hints were dropped for the audience to know exactly who they were complimenting. Team Asobi and Sony Interactive Entertainment co-produced Astro Bot, and Nicolas Doucet is its Director.
Zelda fans were obviously disappointed at Echoes of Wisdom’s loss, but were overall pleased that a family platforming game took a winning sweep at The Game Awards. Many expressed their congratulations. Not surprisingly, Nintendo Switch announcements were quite thin during the event. Experts and gamers alike have agreed that the Big N’s silence indicates they are winding things down in their plans to gear up for a much bigger campaign promoting their Switch console successor in 2025.
