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Supergiant Games scored a victory for indie development as Hades won Game of the Year today at the 24th annual Dice Awards today. The honor was one of five that the roguelite dungeon-crawler received.
The game beat out rivals including Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us Part II.
Normally held in Las Vegas at the Dice Summit in February, this year’s show was online only, hosted by Greg Miller, Jessica Chobot, and Kahlief Adams. Adams will be an emcee at our GamesBeat Summit 2021 event next week, and that event will feature our very own Visionary Awards.
The Dice Awards, staged by game industry peers in the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, also gave Hades Outstanding Achievement for Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement for Game Design, Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game, and Action Game of the Year.
Voters have been partial to indie games. Last year, the Dice Awards chose Untitled Goose Game as its winner. While The Last of Us Part II won at the prestigious The Game Awards, Hades also came out as No. 2 for GamesBeat’s Game of the Year Award. Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which our Mike Minotti championed, beat it out. I think everybody knows who I voted for. (The Last of Us Part II). But I acknowledge that Hades is a phenomenal achievement for a small studio.
Above: The Dice Awards nominees for Game of the Year 2021.
Image Credit: Dice Awards
Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima came in second with four awards, including Adventure Game of the Year. Half-Life: Alyx and The Last of Us Part II won two categories. The Last of Us Part II was built by a huge team at Sony’s Naughty Dog studio, and it has been the favorite for most awards with more than 215 wins for Game of the Year to date.
Here’s the complete list of the category winners.
- Action Game of the Year: Hades
- Adventure Game of the Year — Ghost of Tsushima
- Family Game of the Year — Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Fighting Game of the Year — Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
- Racing Game of the Year — Mario Kart Live
- Role-Playing Game of the Year — Final Fantasy 7 Remake
- Sports Game of the Year — Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
- Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year — Microsoft Flight Simulator
- Immersive Reality Technical Achievement — Half-Life: Alyx
- Immersive Reality Game of the Year — Half-Life: Alyx
- Mobile Game of the Year — Legends of Runeterra
- Online Game of the Year — Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Design — Hades
- Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game — Hades
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction — Hades
- Outstanding Achievement in Animation — The Last of Us Part II
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction — Ghost of Tsushima
- Outstanding Achievement in Character — Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition — Ghost of Tsushima
- Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design — Ghost of Tsushima
- Outstanding Achievement in Story — The Last of Us Part II
- Outstanding Technical Achievement — Dreams
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