The next big awards show of the year comes courtesy of the New York Videogame Critics Circle (NYVGCC) and features Team Asobi’s PlayStation 5 exclusive in several categories.

Sam Lake is sure to receive an award: the Remedy Entertainment creative director will receive the 2025 Andrew Yoon Legend Award, recognizing his work as a legend. “2024 has been another banner year for video games, and we’re thrilled to honor these amazing projects at the 14th Annual New York Game Awards on January 21. Our team of journalists, interns, and volunteers at the NYVGCC look forward to hosting and honoring the many talented individuals working in the video game industry,” said Harold Goldberg, President and Founder of the NYVGCC.

Let’s take a look at the awards and the list of nominees:

Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year:

• Balatro
• Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
• Astro Bot
• UFO 50
• 1000xResist
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• EA Sports College Football 25

Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game:

• Tales of Kenzera: Zau
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Balatro
• I Am Your Beast
• UFO 50
• 1000xResist
• Thank Goodness You’re Here!
• Neva

Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game:

• Harold Halibut
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• 1000xResist
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure
• Phoenix Springs
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Statue of Liberty Award for Best World:

• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Tales of Kenzera: Zau
• Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
• Astro Bot
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game:

• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure
• Astro Bot
• Arco
• Black Myth Wukong
• 1000xResist

Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game:

• Abubakar Salim as Zao, Zuberi and Griot Echo in Tales of Kenzara: Zau
• John Eric Bentley as Barret in Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
• Hannah Telle as Max Caulfield in Life is Strange: Double Exposure
• Melina Juergens as Senua in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• Troy Baker as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Humberly González as Kay in Star Wars Outlaws

Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game:

• Thrasher
• Batman: Arkham Shadow
• Umurangi Generation VR
• Skydance’s Behemoth
• Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire
• Shattered

Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game:

• Astro Bot
• Super Mario Party Jamboree
• Little Kitty, Big City
• Sonic X Shadow Generations
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game:

• Rabbids: Legends of the Multiverse
• Wuthering Waves
• Zenless Zone Zero
• Ex Astris
• Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket

Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake:

• Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered
• Silent Hill 2 Remake
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
• Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
• Age of Mythology: Retold
• Persona 3: Reload

Chumley’s Speakeasy Award for Best Hidden Gem:

• Ultros
• Vampire Therapist
• Mouthwashing
• Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
• Mars After Midnight
• Starstruck: Hands of Time

NYC GWB Award for Best DLC:

• Alan Wake II: Night Springs and The Lake House
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Mask of Darkness
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Remnant 2: The Dark Horizon
• Splatoon 3: Side Order
• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred

Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism:

• Duncan Fyfe
• Alexis Ong
• Grant Stoner
• Mason Andrew Hamberlin
• Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
• Simone De Rochefort & Clayton Ashley

Astro Bot received four nominations. Let’s see how many it wins.

Source: WCCFTech