These games didn’t get Game Awards nominations, but they absolutely deserve recognition

“Snub” is an interesting word when it comes to awards discussions.

Realistically, it’s just impossible to nominate everyone who’s “deserving” in a given category. Sure, there are certainly standouts in any categories that are arguably more worthy of recognition that others, but on the whole, you just can’t please everyone. But of course, there are always going to be things that we wish were nominated, anyway. That’s only natural.

I say all of this as I reflect on this week’s reveal of The Game Awards 2024 nominees. As is always the case, there’s been much Discourse™ surrounding what was and wasn’t nominated. Elden Ring‘s meaty Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is up for the coveted Game of the Year (GOTY), but should it have been? Smash-hit Canadian poker roguelite Balatro netted a GOTY nod, but what other indies also deserved more love? Were acclaimed games Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth snubbed? I could go on.

I’m not here to tell you either which way about any of those debates, in no small part because MobileSyrup is part of this year’s voting jury consisting of more than 130 global media outlets. But what I would like to do is shout out several other standout games that didn’t get nominated in various categories. Again, I’m not arguing whether they were or weren’t “snubbed,” per se, so let’s consider this more of an “honourable mentions” list. The idea is just to celebrate a few more games or creators that didn’t get as much recognition and, hopefully, put them on more people’s radar.

Now, without further ado, let’s get into it.

Arranger: A Role-Playing Adventure — Best Mobile Game, Best Indie Game

Arranger from developer Furniture & Mattress is the perfect example of creating depth and complexity out of simple mechanics. While it’s available on all platforms, the game’s mobile-friendly premise has you sliding both your character and objects in the environment along a grid to re-arrange them and clear a path. Because of that, you can literally play the game just by making intuitive swipes on a touchscreen. That’s not to say the puzzles themselves are easy, though, with Furniture & Mattress slowly ratcheting up the difficulty over time to deliver an appropriately challenging experience. Arranger is simply brilliant game design.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — Best Performance (Cody Christian as Cloud Strife)

Please join us celebrating @ReallyCody winning Best Lead Performer at the #GoldenJoystickAwards – here’s his winning speech! #FF7R pic.twitter.com/e32wY6UsqE

— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) November 22, 2024

As someone who considers the original Final Fantasy VII to be his all-time favourite game and was profoundly moved by Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, I’m of course happy for all the awards love Rebirth has gotten. In particular, it’s wonderful to see Briana White deservedly nominated for her touching performance as Aerith, who is, in many ways, the beating heart of Rebirth. (Her acceptance speech at the Golden Joystick Awards is also touching and wholesome.) But I also want to give a special shoutout to Cody Christian, who stars as Cloud Strife. As a character with a fragile mental state who suffers from a literal identity crisis, Cloud requires a multi-layered performance, and Christian absolutely crushes it. Whether it’s his endearing youthful delivery in Rebirth‘s opening flashback chapter, his surprising tenderness in the party date scenes breaking through his cold exterior or the shockingly bloodthirsty and downright villainous scenes when he’s manipulated by Sephiroth, Christian is simply phenomenal as Cloud.

To be honest, my earlier point about not being able to nominate everyone feels especially relevant when it comes to performers. With so many games, especially RPGs, relying on numerous actors to breathe life into their massive casts, there are bound to be “snubs.” That said, it would be great if The Game Awards at least took inspiration from The Golden Joystick Awards (see above video) and created two acting categories: one for Best Lead Actor and the other for Best Supporting Actor. That way, we could have had both Cody Christian and Briana White recognized for their excellent yet uniquely important contributions.

Horror games as a whole

Mouthwashing. (Image credit: Critical Reflex)

I’m certainly not the first person who’s suggested this, but we’re at the point where horror games could very well have their own category. After all, we see a bunch of quality titles in the genre every year, especially on the indie front, and yet, they’re seldom recognized unless they’re glossy AAA remakes á la Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 or Konami’s Silent Hill 2. Admittedly, the lack of recognition for horror plagues Hollywood as well, but it feels particularly pronounced in games where the scares are amplified since you, the player, must directly confront them.

So, in no particular order, I wanted to shout out a few of this year’s horror games that are worth checking out:

Crow Country from SFB Games is lovingly inspired by PS1 horror games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. As investigator Mara Forest, you must get to the bottom of a mystery surrounding an abandoned theme park. While its tank controls-style shooting mechanics make for a winning retro throwback, Crow Country also boasts welcome customization options that let you use modernized control schemes and an enemy-free mode to focus on the atmospheric exploration and puzzle-solving.

Mouthwashing from developer Wrong Organ is a psychological horror game that follows a spaceship crew as it’s stranded among the stars and struggling with diminishing resources. That simple premise belies a clever non-linear narrative and unreliable narrator that, when used alongside low-poly visuals, create an unsettling and suspenseful experience that thoughtfully explores madness and morality.

Fear the Spotlight is an impressive debut title from both the husband-wife duo at Cozy Game Pals and prolific film studio Blumhouse’s new gaming label. In the game, you play as two teenage girls who must navigate their haunted school at night after a séance gone wrong. With glorious PS1-inspired graphics, solid Resident Evil-inspired puzzles and a surprisingly sweet story about friendship and coming-of-age, Fear the Spotlight was a real gem this year.

From Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture maker The Chinese Room comes Still Wakes the Deep, a narrative-driven horror game set on an oil rig off the coast of Scotland in the 1970s. This creates an extremely potent and unique sense of place and atmosphere, with the game being both very Scottish and trippy as you discover the source of the disturbing Lovecraftian creatures that have come aboard. Throw in an excellent lead performance from Alec Newman (Adam Smasher in Cyberpunk 2077) and you have a deeply compelling psychological horror experience.

Lil’ Guardsman — Best Debut Indie Game and Best Art Direction

Image credit: Hilltop Games/Versus Evil

The debut title from Toronto’s Hilltop is an absolute delight. It draws from the deduction mechanics of Lucas Pope’s seminal Papers, Please game, an emotional experience about developing empathy for immigrants, and pivots to a much more colourful and irreverent premise set in a medieval fantasy world. As 12-year-old Lil’, your job is to use a variety of interview tactics and gadgets to determine which quirky characters — ranging from knights and mages to goblins and vampires — to admit into the city. In a particularly inspired and hilarious twist, one of them is even a psychotic riff on Disney princesses. There’s nothing quite like it.

Metaphor: ReFantazio — Best Performance (anyone, honestly)

Image credit: Atlus

Like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: ReFantazio has one of the best voice casts of any RPG I’ve ever played. It’s not just “good for an English dub” — it’s just good, period. My personal favourites are Stewart Clarke, who so beautifully conveyed both the earnest nobility and innate pain of Strohl, and Joseph Tweedale, who brought so much gravitas to the villainous Louis. But frankly, anyone from that cast warrants recognition. Alejandra Reynoso’s lively turn as the almost older sister-like fairy Gallica. Kristin Atherton’s Drax the Destroyer-esque seriousness as Hulkenberg belies a surprising amount of quirkiness. Phillipe Spall’s Heismay’s effortless blend of inspiring wisdom and heart-wrenching grief over his lost son. Shoutout to the entire Metaphor: ReFantazio cast, really. To quote one Keanu Reeves: you’re all breathtaking!

1000xResist — Everything

Image credit: Fellow Traveller

Of all the so-called “snubs,” this is the one that I feel strongest about. That’s because 1000xResist from first-time Vancouver developer Sunset Visitor is a genuine revelation. It mixes the thought-provoking existentialist themes and electric cinematography and perspective changes of Nier: Automata with one of the most profound and emotional explorations of intergenerational trauma and diasporic communities that I’ve ever seen in any piece of media, games or otherwise. It easily would have warranted nominations for GOTY, Best Narrative, Best Game Direction and Best Indie and Best Debut Indie, among other categories. I’d also give a special shoutout to Vietnamese-Canadian Nhi Do, who delivers a mesmerizing performance as two clones named Watcher and Blue. Sadly, it doesn’t seem like enough people have played this masterpiece, but man, is it a remarkable achievement.

Unleaving — Best Art Direction

Image credit: Orangutan Matter

Unleaving from Toronto-based Orangutan Matter is one of those games that speaks for itself. Just look at it! Essentially, it’s a “playable art gallery” featuring painstakingly hand-painted and jaw-droppingly gorgeous work by Sura Karnawi, with some puzzles thrown in. There is a story here about navigating a young girl through a strange land, but it’s told in a deeply abstract way à la Playdead’s Limbo and Inside. It’s a smart approach that really lets you absorb the evocative imagery and form your own interpretations. Sadly, this game has seemingly flown under most people’s radars this year, but it absolutely deserves your attention for its stunning artwork.

What were your favourite games this year? What do you think should have gotten more recognition from The Game Awards? Let us know in the comments.

The Game Awards will be streamed live on YouTube and Twitch on December 12th at 5pm PT/8pm ET. Fans can vote for their favourite games until December 11th at 6pm PT/9pm ET.

Image credit: Sunset Visitor/Critical Reflex/Versus Evil