God of War and Spider-Man Lead the Nominations for the 2019 DICE Awards

Nathan Birch

The nominations for the annual DICE (Design Innovate Communicate Entertain) Awards have been announced, and two familiar names top the list. The DICE Awards, which are organized by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, are different than some other gaming awards, as they reflect what the gaming industry, rather than critics or fans, think the best games of the year are. This year’s show will emanate from its usual home in Las Vegas and be hosted by Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot.

The three leading contenders are God of War with 12 nominations, Marvel’s Spider-Man with 11 nominations, and Red Dead Redemption 2 with 8 nods. Some games that have been largely left out of other awards shows have also received nominations – Return of the Obra Dinn has picked up an impressive six nominations, while Into the Breach, Florence, and Astro Bot Rescue Mission have all picked up four nods. You can check out the full list of nominees, below:

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Outstanding Achievement in Animation

  • God of War
  • GRIS
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Moss
  • Red Dead Redemption 2

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

  • Detroit: Become Human
  • God of War
  • GRIS
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Red Dead Redemption 2

Outstanding Achievement in Character

  • Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Kassandra)
  • God of War (Atreus)
  • God of War (Kratos)
  • Marvel's Spider-Man (Peter Parker/Spider-Man)
  • Red Dead Redemption 2 (Arthur Morgan)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

  • Detroit: Become Human
  • Forgotton Anne
  • God of War
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Tetris Effect

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

  • Battlefield V
  • Detroit: Become Human
  • God of War
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Moss

Outstanding Achievement in Story

  • Assassin's Creed Odyssey
  • Florence
  • God of War
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Return of the Obra Dinn

Outstanding Technical Achievement

  • ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission
  • Battlefield V
  • God of War
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Red Dead Redemption 2

Action Game of the Year

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
  • Celeste
  • Destiny 2: Forsaken
  • Far Cry 5
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Adventure Game of the Year

  • Detroit: Become Human
  • God of War
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Return of the Obra Dinn

Family Game of the Year

  • ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission
  • Kirby Star Allies
  • LEGO DC Super-Villains
  • Starlink: Battle for Atlas
  • Unravel Two

Fighting Game of the Year

  • BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • SOULCALIBUR VI
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Racing Game of the Year

  • Forza Horizon 4
  • F1 2018
  • Wreckfest

Role-Playing Game of the Year

  • Assassin's Creed Odyssey
  • Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
  • Monster Hunter World
  • Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
  • Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Sports Game of the Year

  • FIFA 19
  • Mario Tennis Aces
  • MLB The Show 18

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

  • Bad North
  • Frostpunk
  • Into the Breach
  • Northgard
  • RimWorld

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

  • ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission
  • Beat Saber
  • Dr. Grordbort's Invaders
  • Tónandi
  • Torn

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

  • ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission
  • Beat Saber
  • Moss
  • Sprint Vector
  • Transference

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game

  • Celeste
  • Florence
  • Into the Breach
  • Minit
  • Return of the Obra Dinn

Portable Game of the Year

  • Dandara
  • Donut County
  • Dragalia Lost
  • Florence
  • Oddmar

Online Game of the Year

  • Fortnite
  • Destiny 2: Forsaken
  • Laser League
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Sea of Thieves

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

  • God of War
  • Into the Breach
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Return of the Obra Dinn
  • Subnautica

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

  • Florence
  • God of War
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Return of the Obra Dinn

Game of the Year

  • God of War
  • Into the Breach
  • Marvel's Spider-Man
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Return of the Obra Dinn

Some interesting choices! If there’s something I’m struck by, it’s the lack of nominations for “games as a service” style titles. Again, these awards are decided by industry insiders – could we be seeing a departure from the loot box and microtransaction mania of the past few years? Any nominees you’ve been meaning to check out? I think I need to give Return of the Obra Dinn a try.

The 22nd annual DICE Awards will be held on February 13 at 8pm PT.

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