2025 New York Game Awards: Full List of Nominees

The New York Videogame Critics Circle (NYVGCC) has officially unveiled the nominees for the 14th annual New York Game Awards.

The announcement was made during a livestream event at the Paley Center for Media, hosted by voice actors Hannah Telle (Max from Life is Strange: Double Exposure) and Logan Cunningham (Hades from Hades II).

This year’s event will also honor Sam Lake, Creative Director at Remedy Entertainment, with the prestigious Andrew Yoon Legend Award in 2025.

The nominees cover a wide range of categories, including Best Game of the Year, Best Indie Game, Best Writing, and Best Music, among others. Some of the standout titles for the Big Apple Award (Best Game of the Year) include Balatro, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Astro Bot, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. Interestingly Chinese game Black Myth: Wukong, which was nominated by The Game Awards for GOTY (although it didn’t win) and most of the other media outlets, is missing from the list.

Here’s a list of all categories and nominated games for the 14th Annual New York Game Awards:

Big Apple Award for Game of the Year

1. Balatro (Developer/Publisher: LocalTrunk, Genre: Card Battler)
2. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (Developer/Publisher: Square Enix, Genre: Action RPG)
3. Astro Bot (Developer: Team Asobi, Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Genre: Platformer)
4. UFO 50 (Developer/Publisher: Mossmouth, Genre: Retro Compilation)
5. 1000xResist (Developer/Publisher: Sunset Visitor, Genre: Adventure,)
6. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Developer: MachineGames, Publisher: Bethesda Softworks, Genre: Action Adventure)
7. Metaphor: ReFantazio (Developer: Atlus, Publisher: Sega, Genre: JRPG)
8. EA Sports College Football 25 (Developer: EA Tiburon, Publisher: EA Sports, Genre: Sports game)

Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game

1. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (Developer: Surgent Studios, Publisher: EA, Genre: Action Adventure)
2. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Developer: Simogo, Publisher: Annapurna Interactive, Genre: Puzzle Adventure)
3. Balatro (Developer/Publisher: LocalTrunk, Genre: Card Battler)
4. I Am Your Beast (Developer/Publisher: Strange Scaffold, Genre: Horror Adventure)
5. UFO 50 (Developer: Mossmouth, Publisher: Mossmouth, Genre: Retro Compilation)
6. 1000xResist (Developer/Publisher: Sunset Visitor, Genre: Adventure)
7. Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Developer: Coal Supper, Publisher: Panic, Genre: Comedy Adventure)
8. Neva (Developer: Nomada Studio, Publisher: Devolver Digital, Genre: Platformer)

Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game

1. Harold Halibut (Developer/Publisher: Slow Bros., Genre: Adventure)
2. Metaphor: ReFantazio (Developer: Atlus, Publisher: Sega, Genre: JRPG)
3. 1000xResist (Developer/Publisher: Sunset Visitor, Genre: Adventure)
4. Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Developer: Dontnod Entertainment, Publisher: Square Enix, Genre: Narrative Adventure)
5. Phoenix Springs (Developer/Publisher: Calligram Studio, Genre: Mystery Adventure)
6. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Developer: MachineGames, Publisher: Bethesda Softworks, Genre: Action Adventure)

Statue of Liberty Award for Best World

1. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (Developer: FromSoftware, Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment, Genre: Action RPG)
2. Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (Developer: Surgent Studios, Publisher: EA, Genre: Action Adventure)
3. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (Developer/Publisher: Square Enix, Genre: Action RPG)
4. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Developer/Publisher: Capcom, Genre: Action Adventure)
5. Astro Bot (Developer: Team Asobi, Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Genre: Platformer)
6. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Developer: MachineGames, Publisher: Bethesda Softworks, Genre: Action Adventure)
7. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (Developer/Publisher: GSC Game World, Genre: FPS/Survival)

Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game

1. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Developer/Publisher: Capcom, Genre: Action Adventure)
2. Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Developer: Dontnod Entertainment, Publisher: Square Enix, Genre: Narrative Adventure)
3. Astro Bot (Developer: Team Asobi, Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Genre: Platformer)
4. Arco (Developer/Publisher: Overland Studio, Genre: Action RPG)
5. Black Myth: Wukong (Developer/Publisher: Game Science, Genre: Action RPG)
6. 1000xResist (Developer/Publisher: Sunset Visitor, Genre: Adventure)

Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game

1. Abubakar Salim as Zao, Zuberi, and Griot Echo (Tales of Kenzera: ZAU)
2. John Eric Bentley as Barret (Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth)
3. Hannah Telle as Max Caulfield (Life is Strange: Double Exposure)
4. Melina Juergens as Senua (Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2)
5. Troy Baker as Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle)
6. Humberly González as Kay (Star Wars: Outlaws)

Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game

1. Thrasher (Developer: Puddle LLC, Publisher: Creature, Genre: Action)
2. Batman: Arkham Shadow (Developer: Rocksteady Studios, Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Genre: Action/Adventure)
3. Umurangi Generation VR (Developer: Origame Digital, Publisher: Playism, Genre: Photography Adventure)
4. Skydance’s Behemoth (Developer: Skydance Interactive, Publisher: Skydance Interactive, Genre: Action RPG)
5. Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire (Developer/Publisher: Schell Games, Genre: Horror Adventure)
6. Shattered (Developer: PlaySide Studios, Publisher: Oculus Publishing, Genre: Puzzle/Exploration)

Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game

1. Astro Bot (Developer: Team Asobi, Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Genre: Platformer)
2. Super Mario Party Jamboree (Developer/Publisher: Nintendo, Genre: Party Game)
3. Little Kitty, Big City (Developer/Publisher: Double Dagger Studio, Genre: Adventure)
4. Sonic X Shadow Generations (Developer/Publisher: Sega, Genre: Platformer)
5. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Developer/Publisher: Nintendo, Genre: Action Adventure)

A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game

1. Rabbids: Legends of the Multiverse (Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft, Genre: Strategy)
2. Wuthering Waves (Developer/Publisher: Kuro Game, Genre: Open World Action)
3. Zenless Zone Zero (Developer/Publisher: HoYoverse, Genre: Action RPG)
4. Ex Astris (Developer/Publisher: GRYPH FRONTIER, Genre: JRPG)
5. Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Developer/Publisher: The Pokémon Company, Genre: Card Battler)

Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake

1. Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered (Developer: Crystal Dynamics, Publisher: Square Enix, Genre: Action Adventure)
2. Silent Hill 2 (Developer: Bloober Team, Publisher: Konami, Genre: Survival Horror)
3. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Developer: Intelligent Systems, Publisher: Nintendo, Genre: RPG)
4. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (Developer/Publisher: Square Enix, Genre: Action RPG, Release Date: February 29, 2024)
5. Age of Mythology: Retold (Developer: Forgotten Empires, Publisher: Xbox Game Studios, Genre: RTS)
6. Persona 3: Reload (Developer: Atlus, Publisher: Sega, Genre: JRPG)

Chumley’s Speakeasy Award for Best Hidden Gem

1. Ultros (Developer: Hadoque, Publisher: Kepler Interactive, Genre: Metroidvania)
2. Vampire Therapist (Developer/Publisher:
   Little Bat Games, Genre: Adventure RPG)
3. Mouthwashing (Developer/ Publisher: Critical Reflex, Genre: psychological horror adventure)
4. Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (Developer/Publisher: Digital Eclipse, Genre: Narrative)
5. Mars After Midnight (Developer/Publisher: Lucas Pope, Genre: Adventure)
6. Starstruck: Hands of Time (Developer/Publisher:
   Createdelic LLC, Genre: Music Adventure)

NYC GWB Award for Best DLC

1. Alan Wake II: Night Springs and The Lake House (Developer: Remedy Entertainment, Publisher: Epic Games, Genre: Action Adventure)
2. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – Mask of Darkness (Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft, Genre: Action Adventure)
3. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (Developer: FromSoftware, Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment, Genre: Action RPG)
4. Remnant 2: The Dark Horizon (Developer: Gunfire Games, Publisher: Gearbox Publishing, Genre: Action RPG)
5. Splatoon 3: Side Order (Developer/Publisher: Nintendo, Genre: Shooter)
6. Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (Developer/Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment, Genre: Action RPG)

Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism

• Duncan Fyfe
• Alexis Ong
• Grant Stoner
• Mason Andrew Hamberlin
• Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
• Simone De Rochefort & Clayton Ashley

In a statement, Harold Goldberg, president and founder of the NYVGCC, shared his excitement about the nominees, saying, “2024 was another standout year for video games, and we’re thrilled to recognize these stunning projects at the 14th New York Game Awards on January 21. Our team of journalists, interns, and volunteers looks forward to hosting and honoring the many talented individuals in the video game industry. Get your tickets to join us for a truly special awards show!”

For more details on ticket sales and other NYVGCC programs, visit their website at nygamecritics.com.

The NYVGCC, a nonprofit organization based in Manhattan, is made up of 40 video game critics and journalists. They focus on supporting the community through scholarships, mentorship, and outreach programs for underserved students in New York. They advocate for diversity and inclusion within the gaming industry.

Image Credit: NYVGCC