D.I.C.E. Awards Reveal GOTY Lineup With Surprising Snubs

4 days ago 11

Ben Brosofsky has been writing for Screen Rant since 2022 and editing since 2024. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor's in Cinema & Media Arts. Writing serves as a much-needed distraction from tackling a backlog of Steam games that will never be surmounted.

The 29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards have revealed the official slate of nominations, and this year's lineup has some noteworthy exclusions. At The Game Awards, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 duked it out with games like Hollow Knight: Silksong and Death Stranding 2 to nab the coveted Game of the Year award, but its competition at the D.I.C.E. Awards will be completely different.

In a press release, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences revealed that the following games will be competing for GOTY at the D.I.C.E. Awards:

Arc Raiders
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Dispatch
Ghost of Yōtei

Long-anticipated indie darling Hollow Knight: Silksong is notably missing from the slate, as are Death Stranding 2, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades 2, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, all of which received nominations at The Game Awards this year.

The D.I.C.E. Awards Are Nothing Like The Game Awards

Two Very Different Lineups

A close-up on Lord Saito in Ghost of Yotei.

Major titles that lost out on GOTY nominations did appear elsewhere in the array of D.I.C.E. Awards categories. Death Stranding 2 fared particularly well, receiving nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design, and Outstanding Technical Achievement. Hollow Knight: Silksong, meanwhile, scraped by with only an Adventure Game of the Year nomination.

It's no surprise to see Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leading the pack, but notably, Ghost of Yōtei managed to tie it in the number of overall nominations. Each game was nominated for eight categories, followed by Arc Raiders and Dispatch, which received six nominations apiece.

D.I.C.E.'s Silksong Snub Is A Big Surprise

No Love For Team Cherry

Silksong Sea of Sorrow Hornet Promo Image

The comprehensive list of D.I.C.E. Awards finalists can be found on the official Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences website, and it's definitely worth checking out in full. A few choices are refreshing compared to The Game Awards, like the choice not to qualify the decidedly AA Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for the Independent Game category. It's also nice to see Blue Prince competing for the top prize, even if it will likely fall before the might of Expedition 33.

On the whole, however, I'm not in love with this year's picks. The Hollow Knight: Silksong snub is hard to ignore, and it's frustrating to see ARC Raiders nominated for Audio Design after its heavy use of AI for voices. Arguments about AI aside, it's just noticeably inferior audio design to real voice acting. I'm also a little baffled by the extent of love for Ghost of Yōtei, an undeniably polished game that isn't exceptionally innovative. For better or worse, the D.I.C.E. Awards will definitely be interesting this year.