The nominees for the 39th annual Golden Joystick Awards have been revealed, and you can start voting for your personal favorites. The Golden Joystick Awards 2021 nominations feature a variety of games across all platforms, ensuring that this year’s show will likely be a tough competition, and New Pokémon Snap, Neo: The World Ends With You, Monster Hunter Rise, Bravely Default II, WarioWare: Get It Together, and Metroid Dread are all contenders for the Nintendo Game of the Year award. Additionally, Metroid Dread is in the running for “Ultimate Game of the Year” alongside games such as Psychonauts 2, Resident Evil Village, Deathloop, Ratchet and Clank, and more.

Here is the full list of nominees for The Golden Joystick Awards 2021:

The Golden Joystick Awards 2021 nominees

Best Storytelling
Life is Strange: True Colours
Psychonauts 2
Wildermyth
12 Minutes
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Tales of Arise

Best Multiplayer Game
Deathloop
It Takes Two
Chivalry 2
Back 4 Blood
Valheim
NARAKA: BLADEPOINT

Best Visual Design
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Psychonauts 2
The Artful Escape
Little Nightmares 2
Hitman 3
Genesis Noir

Best Indie Game
Death’s Door
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Old World
Wildermyth
Bonfire Peaks
Sable

Studio of the Year
Io Interactive
Arkane
Housemarque
Double Fine
Capcom
Draknek & Friends

Best Game Expansion
Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Episode Intermission
The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos
Sims 4: Cottage Living
Super Mario: Bowser’s Fury
DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2

Mobile Game of the Year
Clap Hanz Golf
Fantasian
Overboard!
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
Cozy Grove
League of Legends: Wild Rift

Best Audio
Returnal
Jett: The Far Shore
Sable
Little Nightmares 2
Resident Evil Village
The Artful Escape

Best Performer
Jason Kelley – Colt Vahn, Deathloop
Erika Mori – Alex Chen, LiS: True Colors
Maggie Robertson, Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
Ozioma Akagha – Julianna Blake, Deathloop
Jennifer Hale – Rivet, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Elijah Wood – Gristol/Nick the Post Guy, Pschonauts 2

Best Game Community
Final Fantasy 14
No Man’s Sky
Dreams
Monster Hunter Rise
Destiny 2
Magic: The Gathering Arena

PC Game of the Year
Wildermyth
Chivalry 2
Old World
Hitman 3
Pathfinder
The Forgotten City

PlayStation Game of the Year
Returnal
Deathloop
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Resident Evil: Village
Death Stranding Director’s Cut
Kena: Bridge Of Spirits

Nintendo Game of the Year
New Pokemon Snap
Neo: The World Ends with You
Monster Hunter Rise
Bravely Default 2
WarioWare: Get It Together
Metroid Dread

Xbox Game of the Year
Lost Judgment
The Ascent
Psychonauts 2
Microsoft Flight Simulator
The Artful Escape
12 Minutes

Best Gaming Hardware
PS5
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
Nintendo Switch OLED
WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD

Still Playing Award
Apex Legends
Call of Duty: Warzone
Final Fantasy 14
Destiny 2
GTA Online
Genshin Impact
Fortnite
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Rocket League
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Most Wanted Game
God of War: Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Halo Infinite
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
GTA V: Enhanced Edition
Skate 4
Elden Ring
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Starfield
Gotham Knights

Ultimate Game of the Year
Deathloop
Psychonauts 2
Resident Evil Village
Ratchet and Clank
Wildermyth
Hitman 3
The Forgotten City
It Takes Two
Metroid Dread
Mass Effect Legendary Edition

The Nintendo Switch OLED has also been nominated in the “Best Hardware” category but will face the extremely popular PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles. Other highlights include the Bowser’s Fury add-on introduced in the Nintendo Switch version of Super Mario 3D World being nominated for “Best Game Expansion,” and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 and Pokémon Legends: Arceus are contenders for “Most Wanted Game.”

If you’re interested in voting for this year’s Golden Joystick Awards, head over to GamesRadar and share your thoughts. Voting will be available until November 5, 2021, and The Golden Joystick Awards 2021 itself will take place on November 23, 2021. What is your game of the year for 2021 so far, and do you think Metroid Dread has a shot to win?

[Source]

Jaimie Ditchfield

Freelance Writer. Work seen on GGRecon, Zelda Universe, and BackToTheGaming. Studied Games Journalism and PR for three years, and is relentless at spreading his love for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.