BAFTA Game Awards 2018 Winners

BAFTA Game Awards 2018 was held on April 12th, 2018 where the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards outstanding games for all their hard work in sixteen categories.

With a quick speech from the BAFTA Games Vice President, who talked about a new category added to encourage diverse voices in the gaming industry, the awards show commenced with a dance from BBC Young Dancer winner 2017 Nafisah Baba accompanying a video of the games of the past year. Dara O Briain hosts again and he brought a lot of enthusiasm and great humor with his opening speech. So, without further ado, here are the nominees and their respective winners in bold in each category.

You can view the stream archive for the BAFTA Game Awards 2018 below:

BEST ORIGINAL PROPERTY

Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
Gorogoa (Buried Signal)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla)
Night in the Woods (InfiniteFall/Finji)
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow)

All the five nominations each have their standout points to be a part of Original Property. Horizon Zero Dawn takes home the first award of the night with a story set a thousand years in the future when nature has reclaimed the lands and we play as Aloy and she fights these mechanical beasts of all sorts. Well-deserved for sure, Horizon Zero Dawn creates great characters, action-packed and story-driven game in a futuristic world which is both mechanical and full of nature. For a game that was announced in E3 2015 with a lot of hype, it definitely delivered. You can’t really ask for more in an unique original property.

BEST MUSIC

Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
Get Even (The Farm 51)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerilla Games)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD)
What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow)

The nominees in Best Music are mostly not surprising however, Get Even finally gets a nomination nod, a game that gets compared to a gaming version of the TV series Black Mirror upon release (not that it has anything to do with music). Cuphead nabs this award for Best Music. While Cuphead stood out for its hand-drawn art nostalgic of the early animated features, the game also relied heavily on its soundtrack for each battle to match its colorful and challenging game.

BEST GAME DESIGN

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft Montreal)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD)
Nier: Automata (Platinum Games)
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD)
What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow)

Nintendo takes home their first BAFTA for 2018 with Super Mario Odyssey for Game Design. In this group of nominations, its hard to completely agree that Super Mario Odyssey was the true winner for ourselves. It delivers a new style of a Mario game with the addition of Cappy being the unique feature they mention in their acceptance speech. But is it really enough to define a truly great game design? Assassin’s Creed Origins reinvented their franchise by going back to the origin story as well as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; while Horizon Zero Dawn brought in some mechanical beasts. Are those game designs any less worthy? It’s really a pretty level field for this category. Now, wouldn’t it be surprising if What Remains of Edith Finch had won over these AAA titles?

BEST EVOLVING GAME

Clash Royale (Supercell)
Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix)
Fortnite (Epic Games/People Can Fly)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corporation)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft)

There was really no competition in this one. Clash Royale seems to pop up in this category last year if we remember correctly. Final Fantasy XV only did have two DLCs released (so far) while Fortnite is a newly released game within the last year as well as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds who was in Early Access for most of last year. It was quite predictable that with the sheer amount of events and new characters and maps added into Overwatch that it would win the Evolving Game this year. Plus, it still has retained and growing gamers still very invested into hopping into the captivating world of Overwatch, making it very relevant. If anything, we do question how Battlefield 1 which had an outstanding amount of DLCs over the past year didn’t even get a nomination.

BEST NARRATIVE

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerilla Games)
Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall/Finji)
Tacoma (Fullbright)
What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow)
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (Machine Games)

Judging from the past award shows, it wasn’t surprising that Night in the Woods would take home the award for Best Narrative. While the creators and writers of the game couldn’t make it, they did get a speech prepared which was very inspiring in itself encouraging everyone to tell their own unique stories.

GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT

Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Last Day of June (Ovosonico)
Life is Strange: Before the Storm (Deck Nine)
Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
Sea Hero Quest VR (Glitchers)

In terms of meaningful game experiences, nothing can quite beat the winner, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice who took the time to bring an authentic and immersive experience playing as a character going through psychosis. They did their research and consultation throughout to make sure it was genuine. With that said, it brings in a new perspective and is a refreshing approach to mental illness which is often misrepresented in video games.

BEST DEBUT GAME

Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
Gorogoa (Buried Signal)
Hollow Knight (Team Cherry)
Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
The Sexy Brutale (Cavalier Game Studios/Tequila Works)
Slime Rancher (Monomi Park)

A diverse group of nominations arrives for Debut Game. It is nice to see Hollow Knight get a nomination nod but unfortunately, it still miss out on the win as its a fabulous game that we’ll review soon if you haven’t played it already. However, Gorogoa is a very innovative puzzle game idea that also works on many levels. It deserves the praise that it has gotten so far. Hopefully, this will encourage Buried Signal to make more unique gaming experiences.

BEST FAMILY GAME

Just Dance 2018 (Ubisoft Paris)
LEGO World (TT Games)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft)
Monument Valley 2 (ustwo Games)
Snipperclips (SFB Games)
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD)

It was rather predictable to see a Nintendo game get the win. Although, there were quite a few Nintendo Switch games nominated in this category from Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Snipperclips and Super Mario Odyssey. With that said, Super Mario Odyssey uses its joy con to create a 2 player coop experience that brings players together.

BEST MOBILE GAME

Bury Me, My Love (My Pixel Hunt & Fig)
Golf Clash (Playdemic)
Gorogoa (Buried Signal)
KAMI 2 (State of Play)
Monument Valley 2 (ustwo Games)
Stranger Things: The Game (Bonus XP Inc.)

Mobile games are definitely a rapidly growing market with all kinds of games popping up everyday. The nominated titles range from emotional narratives to 1v1 matches to puzzles and of course, TV series based game. All different in their own manner and surprisingly (at least to us because we have only heard but never played) Golf Clash takes home the win as Best Mobile Game, beating out some solid titles in this category. It is time for us to give this game a go if you haven’t already. Check out our review of KAMI 2 in the March Mobile Game Round-up here.

BEST ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT

Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
Gorogoa (Buried Signal)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD)
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog)

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice takes home its second award of the night with Best Artistic Achievement. Some strong competition in this category, Cuphead and Gorogoa being the obvious focus on the art direction as well as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. However, it is nice to see the efforts of Hellblade and their focus on characters an environment design being appreciated.

BEST MULTIPLAYER

Divinity: Original Sin 2 (Larian Studios)
Fortnite (Epic Games)
Gang Beasts (Boneloaf)
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corp)
Splatoon 2 (Nintendo EPD)
Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Red Storm Entertainment)

AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT

Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games)
Destiny 2 (Bungie)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla)
Star Wars Battlefront 2 (DICE)
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog)

I’m not saying that any of the other games are less worthy in their audio design, but even if you haven’t played Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, just turn on any Let’s Play video and its hard to not be affected by the audio design that makes Senua’s journey and psychosis unnerving through whispers, and that is just one example. Ninja Theory takes home their well-deserved third award of the show.

BEST GAME INNOVATION

Gorogoa (Buried Signal)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD)
Nier: Automata (Platinum Games/Square Enix)
Snipperclips (SFB Games)
What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been sweeping in terms of their innovation of rebuilding Zelda and Hyrule. It takes open world and story-driven to another level. Zelda has an established fan base and to change any element of something so beloved is always a challenge. For Nintendo EPD to have daringly done that and still be so loved definitely shows that long-time franchises can still be reinvented and they’ve definitely proved that they’ve done it.

BEST BRITISH GAME

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Monument Valley 2 (ustwo games)
Reigns: Her Majesty (Nerial)
The Sexy Brutale (Cavalier Game Studios/Tequila Works)
Sniper Elite 4 (Rebellion)
Total War: Warhammer II (Creative Assembly)

This category served to make everyone aware of some of the British game development companies thriving in the market. With that said, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice gets its fourth award of the show with its Best British Game. A patriotic award to say the least to know that they are representing their country in making standout games.

BEST PERFORMER

Abubakar Salim as Bayek (Assassin’s Creed Origins)
Ashly Burch as Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn)
Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer (Uncharted: The Lost Legacy)
Laura Bailey as Nadine Ross (Uncharted: The Lost Legacy)
Melina Jurgens as Senua (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice)
Valerie Rose Lohman as Edith Finch (What Remains of Edith Finch)

Naughty Dog definitely has its way with great voice casting in their games as we see them take two nominations with Best Performer for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Ashly Burch has done a lot of standout characters in games as well as she takes a nomination for Horizon Zero Dawn. Regardless of the experience in these other nominees, the award goes to newcomer Melina Jurgens who started as video editor on Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and took on the big task of taking on the heavy role of Senua.

BEST GAME

Assassin’s Creed:Origins (Ubisoft Montreal)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD)
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD)
What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow)

We can’t talk about this award before we talk about its presenter, Jonathan Ross who does a stand-up job just pulling off some great humor before building the tension to revealing the winner. Between What Remains of Edith Finch losing out on all of the other awards despite having a good few nominations and the opposite situation occurring for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild winning this award in the last two game award shows, the winner was a completely complete plot twist. Suffice to say that we were very happy to see What Remains of Edith Finch takes up the honor of the biggest award of the night. (So happy that I fist-pumped in public). What Remains of Edith Finch has a great balance of all of the categories that it was nominated it and absolutely deserved the recognition. Check out our review of What Remains of Edith Finch here.

Before the BAFTA Game Awards 2018 wraps up, the last task is to award the Academy Fellowship Award. This year, it goes to Tim Schafer who actually received a similar award in an earlier award show as well. Tim Schafer does deserve a lot of credit for his work in the gaming industry as he has written some great games and created some fun worlds to dive into.

Overall, BAFTA Games Awards 2018 wraps up with a big winner for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It highlighted a lot of wins for Nintendo Switch exclusives, Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda and other AAA titles while still recognizing a lot of well-deserved and unique independent games in the past year. It was a fun event thanks to its dynamic host. While it had its predictable wins, it also had some surprises.

What did you think of BAFTA Games Awards 2018 winners and nominations?