Starfield has had a bit of a rough time when it comes to the awards season in video games, with various snubs and disappointing results all around.
Although there was plenty of hype surrounding Starfield before its release at the beginning of September, the Bethesda game ended up somewhat overshadowed by titles that wowed the gaming world in ways that were more than a little unexpected, like the epic RPG Baldur’s Gate 3, the horror/ psychological thriller and sequel Alan Wake 2, and the family-friendly Super Mario Wonder.
With so many great games released this year, Starfield fell by the wayside a bit, despite average reviews ranging from sevens to 10 out of 10. That said, the game was still nominated in categories in both the recent Golden Joystick Awards and the upcoming 2023 Game Awards, so let’s take a closer look at how it performed.
Starfield nominations and wins
So far, Starfield has only won one of the awards that it was nominated for. The game took home the Xbox Game of the Year award at the Golden Joysticks. Starfield was also nominated for the following:
- Best Audio
- Best Supporting Performer for Cissy Jones as Andreja
- Best Visual Design
- Ultimate Game of the Year
Three of these four categories were won by Baldur’s Gate 3, those being Best Visual Design, Best Supporting Performer (won by Neil Newbon as Astarion), and Ultimate Game of the Year. The Best Audio award went to Final Fantasy XVI.
Starfield only took home one win at the Golden Joysticks Award, and it only has the chance to win once more as it has only been nominated for one category at The Game Awards. The award is question is the Best Role-Playing Game, and it will face the following competitors in that category.
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Lies of P
- Sea of Stars
Baldur’s Gate 3 has completely dominated both the Golden Joystick Awards and The Game Awards in terms of nominations, but it also won most of its nominations at the Golden Joysticks. I’m going to take a guess and say it’s likely to do the same at The Game Awards, especially in the Best RPG category, seeing as how the role-playing elements are the main selling point of Baldur’s Gate 3.
That said, Starfield could take home a sneaky win. Honestly, though, I highly doubt it. If it had been any other category other than role-playing I would have thought that Starfield stood a decent chance, but to go up against Baldur’s Gate 3 in the RPG category is a bit of an awkwardly hopeless position to be in.
The biggest snub Starfield has faced so far has to be its exclusion from the list of nominees for the Game of the Year award at The Game Awards. The nominees for the Game of the Year at The Game Awards are as follows:
- Alan Wake II
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
As you can see, it’s an incredibly tough competition this year when it comes to excellence in gaming. The nominated titles include several long-awaited sequels, all of which surpassed expectations.
Not only that, but it also includes a remake of a classic and beloved horror game and features the appearance of several iconic characters, from Spider-Man to Mario, Leon Kennedy to Link, and more.
As much as Starfield is a fun sci-fi RPG, there are simply too many worthy competitors this year, so I’m not surprised it was overlooked in this category. It just wasn’t enough to be an enjoyable video game this year if you wanted to be considered the best of the best. You had to go above and beyond expectations. Starfield might have done that for some gamers, but it wasn’t enough to win it a spot amongst these coveted, Game of the Year nominated games.
You can still head over to The Game Awards website to vote for your favorites—including Starfield for Best RPG Game if you want to—until Wednesday, Dec. 6th. The show is going to be taking place the following day—Thursday, Dec. 7th—so we will keep you posted on the winners when they are announced.
