As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time for us to reflect on what was an unprecedented year for video games. Arguably no other year has been more deserving of the “Year of the Games” title we like to use here at Shacknews, with memorable releases across every genre in both the AAA and indie spaces. As we work to determine the winners, we present to you the nominees for the 2023 Shacknews Awards.
Note: Shacknews will not be releasing a list of nominees for Game of the Year or Indie Game of the Year. We will publish a top 10 list for both categories alongside the announcement of the winners from this article.
Person of the Year
- Charles Martinet
- Phil Spencer
- Shigeru Miyamoto
- Sam Altman
- Swen Vincke
- Sam Lake
Do it for Shacknews Award
- The Freelancers (Shacknews' various article and review contributors)
- Duke Nukem Restoration Project
- Mega Ran
- F-Zero 99 Developers
- Shigeru Miyamoto
- Nightdive Studios
Best Developer
- Nintendo
- Capcom
- Larian Studios
- Ironmace
- Insomniac Games
- Remedy Entertainment
Best Publisher
- Nintendo
- Larian Studios
- Capcom
- Square Enix
- Bandai Namco
Shackbattle Game of the Year
- Street Fighter 6
- Wreckfest
- Battlefield 2042
- Team Fortress 2
Best PC Game
- Resident Evil 4 (2023)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Alan Wake 2
- Cities: Skylines 2
- Dune: Spice Wars
- Remnant 2
Best PS5 Game
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Final Fantasy 16
- Humanity
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Resident Evil 4 (2023)
- Lies of P
Best Nintendo Switch Game
- F-Zero 99
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Super Mario RPG
- Pikmin 4
- Metroid Prime Remastered
Best Xbox Series X Game
- Starfield
- Forza Motorsport
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Minecraft Legends
- Lies of P
- Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Best Comeback
- Cyberpunk 2077
- F-Zero
- Street Fighter
- World of Warcraft
- Warhammer 40k: Darktide
- Samba de Amigo
Modojo @ Shacknews Mobile Game of the Year
- Warcraft Rumble
- Honkai: Star Rail
- Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure
- Pokemon Sleep
Most Improved Game
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Halo: Infinite
- Vampire Survivors
- Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed
- Hitman: World of Assassination
Best Strategy Game
- Dune: Spice Wars
- Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
- Jagged Alliance 3
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cities: Skylines 2
- Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp
Best Graphics
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4 (2023)
- Forza Motorsport
- Alan Wake 2
- Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
Best Multiplayer Game
- Counter-Strike 2
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Street Fighter 6
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
- F-Zero 99
- Deceive Inc.
Best Hardware
- Meta Quest 3
- PlayStation VR2
- XREAL Air 2
- Samsung Odyssey Neo G9
- Steam Deck OLED
- Asus ROG Ally
Outstanding Achievement in Accessibility
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Street Fighter 6
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- PlayStation Access Controller
Best VR Game
- Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR
- Humanity
- Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
- C-Smash VRS
- F1 23
- 7th Guest VR
Best Narrative Game
- Alan Wake 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Thirsty Suitors
- Goodbye Volcano High
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Baldur’s Gate 3
Best Art Style
- Hi-Fi Rush
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Pikmin 4
- Lies of P
- Bombrush Cyberfunk
Best FPS Game
- Counter-Strike 2
- Quake 2
- Payday 3
- System Shock Remake
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- RoboCop: Rogue City
Best Gaming Accessory
- Razer Kitsune arcade pad
- SteelSeries Alias Mic
- NYXI Wizard Wireless Controller
- PDP REALMz Controllers
Esports Hero
- Angrybird
- Faker
- Arslan Ash
- rapha
Best Horror Game
- Resident Evil 4 (2023)
- Dead Space (2023)
- Alan Wake 2
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
- You Will Die Here Tonight
- Dredge
Best Cozy Game
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure
- Palia
- Fae Farm
- Suika Game
- Bluey: The Videogame
Best RPG
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Super Mario RPG
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Sea of Stars
- Star Ocean: The Second Story R
- Starfield
Best Early Access Game
- Tape to Tape
- Disney Dreamlight Valley
- BattleBit Remastered
- Dark and Darker
- Kerbal Space Program 2
- Relic Hunters Legend
Best Expansion
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
- Hitman: World of Assassination - Freelancer
- Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass
- Remnant 2: The Awakened King
Best Co-Op Game
- Remnant 2
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Disney Illusion Island
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Payday 3
Best Trendsetter
- Street Fighter 6
- Pizza Tower
- Thirsty Suitors
- Vampire Survivors
- OpenAI
- Nintendo
Best Mod
- Cursed Halo Again
- MS Paint Layers
- Duke Nukem Forever Restoration Project
- John Romero's Sigil 2
- Baldur's Gate 3's Party Limit Begone
- Resident Evil 4's Max Stack Sizes
Best Fighting Game
- Street Fighter 6
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
- God of Rock
Best Sports Game
- Wild Card Football
- Golf It!
- AEW Fight Forever
- Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
- MLB The Show 23
- WWE 2K23
Best Remake
- Resident Evil 4
- Dead Space
- System Shock
- Super Mario RPG
- Star Ocean: The Second Story R
- GoldenEye 007
Best Racing Game
- F-Zero 99
- Disney Speedstorm
- LEGO 2K Drive
- Forza Motorsport
- EA Sports WRC
- Trackmania
Most Overlooked Game
- Crash Team Rumble
- Darkest Dungeon 2
- Wild Hearts
- Samba de Amigo: Party Central
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
Best Strand Game
- Death Stranding
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Destiny 2 (Strand Subclass)
Best Open World Game
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Street Fighter 6
- Starfield
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Tchia
- Palia
Best Ongoing Game
- Marvel Snap
- Vampire Survivors
- Fortnite
- Hunt: Showdown
- Hitman: World of Assassination
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Best Sound Design
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Alan Wake 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Starfield
- Darkest Dungeon 2
Best Voice Actor
- Matt Mercer (Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)
- Alan Lee (Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 1)
- Neil Newbon (Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3)
- Yuri Lowenthal (Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Marvel's Spider-Man 2)
- Alejandro Saab (Osvald in Octopath Traveler 2)
- Melanie Liburd (Saga Anderson in Alan Wake 2)
Best Music
- F-Zero 99
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
- Street Fighter 6
Best Action-Adventure Game
- Final Fantasy 16
- Remnant 2
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Lies of P
Best Headshot
- Resident Evil 4
- RoboCop: Rogue City
- Payday 3
- Jagged Alliance 3
Quietest Lobby
- Wild Hearts
- Crash Team Rumble
- Deceive Inc.
- Payday 3
- Wild Card Football
- Exoprimal
Best Free-to-Play Game
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure
- Warcraft Rumble
- Trackmania
- Counter-Strike 2
Best Cameo
- Jean-Claude Van Damme (Mortal Kombat 1)
- Dimitri Vegas (Hitman: World of Assassination)
- Nicolas Cage (Dead by Daylight)
- Sam Lake (Alan Wake 2)
- Temuera Morrison (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor)
Best Add-on
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge Dimension Shellshock
- Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
- Resident Evil 4: The Mercenaries
Best NPC
- Turgle (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor)
- Shadowheart (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Jill Warrick (Final Fantasy 16)
- Ganke (Marvel’s Spider-Man 2)
- Ashley Graham (Resident Evil 4)
- Uncle Hinti (Thirsty Suitors)
Best Water
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cities: Skylines 2
- Destiny 2: Season of the Deep
- Forza Motorsport
Best Nintendo Switch Port
- Vampire Survivors
- PowerWash Simulator
- Dave The Diver
- Suika Game
- Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp
- Borderlands 3
Best PC Port
- Marvel Snap
- Returnal
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Persona 3 Portable
- Live A Live
Best Online Presentation
- Starfield Direct
- Xbox Games Showcase
- Bigmode Memo 2023
- Nintendo Direct June 2023
- Summer Game Fest/Day of the Devs Digital Showcase
Best Video Game Pet
- Handler’s Dog (Remnant 2)
- Owlbear (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Akala (Octopath Traveler 2)
- Torgal (Final Fantasy 16)
- Oatchi (Pikmin 4)
- 808 (Hi-Fi Rush)
Best Platformer
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Mr. Run and Jump
- Disney Illusion Island
- Sonic Superstars
- Convergence: A League of Legends Story
- Gravity Circuit
Biggest Surprise
- F-Zero 99
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Super Mario RPG
- The Legend of Zelda movie announcement
- RoboCop: Rogue City
- Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Best Puzzle Game
- The Talos Principle 2
- Humanity
- Suika Game
- Viewfinder
- Cocoon
- Crime O’clock
Best Old School Throwback Game
- RoboCop: Rogue City
- F-Zero 99
- Cassette Beasts
- Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons
- Pizza Tower
- Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Best Gore
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Dead Island 2
- RoboCop: Rogue City
- Diablo 4
- Dead Space (2023)
- Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Pop! Goes the Culture! Presents: Best Adaptation
- The Last of Us
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie
- Castlevania: Nocturne
- Five Nights at Freddy’s
- Twisted Metal
- Tetris
Game That Should Be On Nintendo Switch
- Pizza Tower
- Humanity
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Cities: Skylines 2
- System Shock (2023)
- Viewfinder
Congratulations to all of the nominees for the 2023 Shacknews Awards! Winners will be announced on December 29, 2023.
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Shacknews
replyShack Staff posted a new article, The Shacknews Awards 2023 nominees
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Holy crap look at all the categories!
I really want to know who is going to win Best Strand Game. Also, Alien for DbD not on the Best Surprise list?-
AND AMELIA TYLER SNUBBED AGAIN >:(
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Best dev is going to come down to Larian vs. Nintendo
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Those are fantastic categories. Love it.
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1> I don't like that Baldur's Gate 3 is in the Strategy category as well as the RPG category.
2> Biggest Comeback has a lot of overlap with Most Improved Game?
3> None of the eSports Heroes is Liberal Terminator.
4> Is Dredge REALLY a 'horror game'? More just 'survival/gathering, but wet'. I mean I know about "oooooo when it gets dark though."
5> I'm super depressed that "Best Remake" has multiple entries.
6> None of us were listed under "Best Mods."
7> Street Fighter 6 is listed under Open World.
8> Neither Free 2 Play nor Ongoing have League Of Legends listed.
9> Quietest Lobby is gonna be Anthem.
10> this isn't actually a line item, I just felt the list needed completion. -
I'm surprised Diablo 4 didn't get a nod for its accessibility features, when a blind gamer was able to beat Uber Lilith :)
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What’s Sam Altman doing there?
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Also was Metroid Prime Remastered snubbed in remakes because it has remaster in the title ?
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It happens to every entertainment industry when competition gets thick. To stand out from the crowd you use name brand recognition.
For example, I remember people saying that the 2009 reboot of Star Trek changed so many things (Spock is now someone who gets into relationships, with Uhura no less, his mother is dead, Planet Vulcan is destroyed, the engine room is now a water processing plant, Starfleet Academy is now a "anyone who shows up" sort of thing, etc.) that they might as well have made it a new story/franchise. But then no one would go see it. But you still call it Star Trek and people show up.
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No StackMasters? Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft.
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