The nominees for the 42nd Golden Joystick Awards have finally been revealed. Despite following one of the most competitive years for gaming in 2023, the ceremony’s shortlist is both impressive and very competitive, especially for smaller studios–especially because there’s a whole new category for self-publishing indie devs.
Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are top of the pile with five nominations each; Helldivers 2 gets four; most delightfully, roguelike poker deck builder Balatro, which accounts for 88 hours of my life in 2024, puts in an incredible performance for the indie scene with three nominations.
Balatro isn’t the only great independent game getting its name in the spotlight, and that’s down to new category changes. “Best Indie Game–Self Published” has been added to sit alongside the usual Best Indie Game award, giving more opportunities to otherwise overlooked titles.
Other smaller-scale games up for voting include atmospheric oil-rig horror Still Wakes the Deep with two noms; fellow scare-bears Crow Country and Conscript, both PS1-inspired horrors, land one nomination apiece, as does the gorgeous Harold Halibut. Thank Goodness You’re Here is also up for two awards, including one for Matt Berry as best supporting performer. While he was hilarious, his selection as the highest-profile actor is a bit predictable and arguably undercuts even stronger performances elsewhere, particularly those of Em Humble.
This year’s ceremony has also replaced Best Audio, splitting it into two through all-new Best Soundtrack and Best Audio Design awards. The Still Playing Award has been divided into separate Mobile and Console & PC categories.
The list isn’t complete just yet, though; the shortlists and voting for Ultimate Game of the Year, Best Performer, and Best Supporting Performer will arrive on October 23 in a separate voting window. On the night, there will also be four additional gongs voted for by journalists: the Streamers’ Choice Award, Breakthrough Award, Best Game Adaptation, and Critics’ Choice Award.
How you can vote in the 2024 Golden Joystick Awards
Voting is now live at GamesRadar and will be open until November 1 at 7pm EDT (11pm GMT).
2024 Golden Joystick Awards Nominations in full
Best Storytelling
- 1000xResist
- Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
- Tactical Breach Wizards
Best Multiplayer Game
- Abiotic Factor
- EA Sports College Football 25
- Helldivers 2
- Sons of the Forest
- Tekken 8
- The Finals
Best Visual Design
- Astro Bot
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Harold Halibut
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Best Indie Game
- Animal Well
- Arco
- Balatro
- Beyond Galaxyland
- Conscript
- Indika
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
- Thank Goodness You’re Here!
- The Plucky Squire
- Ultros
Best Indie Game—Self Published
- Arctic Eggs
- Another Crab’s Treasure
- Crow Country
- Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
- I Am Your Beast
- Little Kitty, Big City
- Riven
- Tactical Breach Wizards
- Tiny Glade
- UFO 50
Still Playing Award—PC and Console
- Apex Legends
- Counter-Strike 2
- EA Sports FC
- Dota 2
- Fortnite
- GTA Online
- Minecraft
- Naraka: Bladepoint
- Roblox
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
- Valorant
- Warframe
Still Playing Award – Mobile
- Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
- Free Fire
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Roblox
- Marvel Snap
- Monopoly Go!
- Mini Motorways
- PUBG: Battlegrounds
- Squad Busters
- Star Wars: Hunters
- Subway Surfers
- The Sims Mobile
Studio of the Year
- 11 Bit Studios
- Arrowhead Game Studios
- Capcom
- Digital Eclipse
- Team ASOBI
- Visual Concepts
Best Game Expansion
- Alan Wake 2 Expansion Pass
- Destiny 2: The Final Shape
- Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
- Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
- God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla
- World of Warcraft: The War Within
Best Audio Design
- Astro Bot
- Balatro
- Robobeat
- Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Still Wakes the Deep
Best Soundtrack
- A Highland Song
- Astro Bot
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Hauntii
- Silent Hill 2
- Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Best Lead Performer
- Cody Christian (Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
- Kaiji Tang (Ichiban Kasuga in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth)
- Humberly Gonzalez (Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws)
- Luke Roberts (James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2)
- Melina Juergens (Senua in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II)
- Sonequa Martin-Green (Alvilda in Asgard’s Wrath 2)
Best Supporting Performer
- Abbi Greenland and Helen Goalen (The Furies in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II)
- Briana White (Aerith Gainsborough in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
- Dawn M. Bennett (Aigis in Persona 3 Reload)
- Debra Wilson (Amanda Waller in Suicide Squad)
- Matt Berry (Herbert in Thank Goodness You’re Here!)
- Neve McIntosh (Suze in Still Wakes the Deep)
PC Game of the Year
- Animal Well
- Balatro
- Frostpunk 2
- Satisfactory
- Tactical Breach Wizards
- UFO 50
Console Game of the Year
- Astro Bot
- Dragon’s Dogma 2
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Helldivers 2
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Best Early Access Game
- Enshrouded
- Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
- Hades II
- Manor Lords
- Lethal Company
- Palworld
Best Gaming Hardware
- Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)
- Backbone One (2nd Gen)
- LG UltraGear 32GS95UE
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super
- Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra
- Steam Deck OLED
Best Game Trailer
- Caravan Sandwitch – Launch Trailer
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach – State of Play Announce Trailer
- Helldivers 2 – “The Fight for Freedom Begins” Launch Trailer
- Kingmakers – Official Announcement Trailer
- Sid Meier’s Civilization VII – Narrator Reveal Trailer
- The Plucky Squire – Launch Trailer
Most Wanted Game
- Atomfall
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows
- Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Deadlock
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
- Doom: The Dark Ages
- Exodus
- Fable
- Ghost of Yotei
- Grand Theft Auto VI
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Light No Fire
- Mafia: The Old Country
- Monster Hunter Wilds
- Skate.
- Slay the Spire 2
- South of Midnight
Daniel Dawkins, content director for games, video and digital events, said: “2023 was one of video-gaming’s best year’s ever, with Baldur’s Gate 3 and Larian Studios claiming a record seven trophies at last year’s Golden Joystick Awards. 2024 has been a challenging year for the games industry in so many ways, but the variety and diversity of releases over the last 12 months has made this one of the most difficult–and exciting–Golden Joystick Awards nominees list we’ve ever compiled.
“Above all, this could be a year of big surprises–who saw Palworld, Helldivers 2 or Balatro coming?”
