The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was crowned “Game of the Year 2024” during the Game Awards interactive awards ceremony.
The French-developed RPG (Role-Playing Game) achieved victories in 9 out of 10 categories it was nominated for, with additional wins in the “Best Narrative,” “Best Score and Music,” and “Best Performance” categories.
The Clair Obscur project triumphed over competition from games like Death Stranding 2, Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza, indie games Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades 2, and the medieval adventure Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 to top the awards list.
At the performance ceremony held in Los Angeles, players got their first look at the new planned Tomb Raider games, a synchronized version of Control Resonant, and a new Star Wars role-playing game.
Clair Obscur is set in a world where a supernatural entity known as the “Painter” prevents the population from aging. The game was invited to be nominated for its story about a group of adventurers on a mission to destroy the Painter, which translated into a classic narrative and old-school turn-based combat.
Players also enjoy the story of developer Sandarala Interactive, founded after employees left gaming giant Ubilubic to create their dream project.
In accepting the Game of the Year 2024 award, director Guillaume Brochet, wearing a red helmet and a striped shirt, delivered words of thanks to his team, describing the year as a “strange timeline” for the developing company.
He extended his thanks to the “struggling heroes who caught the public’s attention,” saying: “For helping develop games via YouTube, when we didn’t know how to make a game before that.”
Clair Obscur entered the competition as one of the most anticipated games for the awards ceremony and became the most nominated game in the ceremony’s history with 12 nominations.
Composer Lorin Tissard won Best Score and Music, and Clair Obscur achieved the quickest win in the categories of Best RPG, Best Indie Game, and Best Debut Indie Game.
It received four nominations for Best Performance, with actress Jennifer English winning for her role as Milil ahead of her counterparts Charles Koch and Ben Star, who dedicated the award to “everyone who follows a different way of thinking from the viewers.”
Clair Obscur did not win all the awards it was nominated for.
Festville 6 won Best Audio Design, while Wuthering Waves won the Player’s Choice Award for Best Player Interaction category.
Donkey Kong Bananza won Best Family Game, while Arc Raiders won Best Multiplayer.
Hollow Knight: Silksong won Best Rhythmic Adventure Game, while Umamusume: Pretty Derby won Best Mobile Game.
Although the Interactive Game Awards are often called the “Interactive Game Academy,” they are a mix of a classic ceremony and a digital advertisement showcase.
The biggest developers in the gaming industry will give a first look at upcoming major titles during the ceremony, which is believed to be one of the main reasons many fans tune into the event.
The most prominent announcements of the night included the RPG Divinity from Larian Studios, the developer of the 2023 Game of the Year Baldur’s Gate 3.
The developer was prompted to appear by a mysterious statue that first showed up in the Californian deserts.
The remake of the original Tomb Raider game was leaked, but the announcement of a second new entry featuring Lara Croft was a surprise.
Actors in the new Street Fighter movie (except for rapper 50 Cent) presented a first video song at the ceremony.
The event also included new footage from the upcoming Resident Evil 9, confirming the appearance of fan-favorite character Kennedy, and a shot of Saros from PS5.
The Interactive Game Awards have been criticized in the past for focusing too little on the awards compared to the announcements, with acceptance speeches excessively cut and the absence of on-stage presentations for some categories.
The 2024 ceremony was welcomed for addressing some of the criticism, but developers are asking organizer Geoff Keighley to direct more acknowledgment toward issues in the industry, such as the widespread job losses in the past few years.
This year, the awards were controversial regarding the cancellation of the Future program, which aimed to promote “flourishing talent” in the gaming industry.
It took place in 2023 when current and former members of the group signed an open letter petitioning the ceremony to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
During this year’s nomination period, after confirming the Future program would not return, alumni accused the program of expressing inadequacy and prompting them to increase their connections.
Last year, the ceremony presented a new award for digital changemakers to Amir Satvat for his efforts in helping developers who lost their jobs find new employment.
UN Newsbeat reporters cast a spotlight on the organizers for comments.
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