UPDATE: God of War Ragnarok won Best Action/Adventure Game at The Game Awards 2022!
The Game Awards are fast-approaching, and a lot of gamers are already making their predictions for which titles are going to win out in the 31 categories for the show. The Game Awards provides more than just a celebration for the year’s biggest and best games, as it can be a place where new titles are unveiled or more information is given out on upcoming releases. However, for the most part,The Game Awardsmark an occasion to praise the past year for its gaming achievements.
2022 has been a strong year for video games, as shown by the competition in almost every category for this year’s Game Awards, and the Action and Adventure nominees also make up a list of some impressive titles. This year,A Plague Tale: Requiem,God of War: Ragnarok,Horizon Forbidden West, Stray, andTunicare all up to potentially winBest Action/Adventure, which celebrates games that mix in combat with traversal and puzzle solving.
RELATED:The Game Awards 2022 Nominees Have Been Announced
A Plague Tale: Requiem
Following the success ofA Plague Tale: Innocence,A Plague Tale: Requiemhas been praised as a great sequel, building on the foundations set by the first game without moving too far away from it. Picking up a few months after the events ofInnocence,A Plague Tale: Requiemfollows Amicia and Hugo as they continue their search for safety in a fictional version of Medieval France. With Amicia being a bit older this time around, she takes on a much more mature role in thestory ofA Plague Tale: Requiem.
As Amicia is much more willing to kill inA Plague Tale: Requiem, this has significantly changed the gameplay of the sequel from its predecessor.Amicia’s crossbow, for example, allows for the quick dispatching of guards she would have otherwise had to avoid inA Plague Tale: Innocence.Also, inA Plague Tale: Requiem, Hugo’s rat powers have changed, again expanding the gameplay options for the player and bringing some more action into this Action/Adventure title.
God of War: Ragnarok
One of the most talked about and hyped games for 2022 launched recently, and for a lot of players,God of War: Ragnarokis living up to the hype. Throwing players right into the heat of the conflict between Kratos and the Aesir gods,God of War: Ragnarokgives players plenty of action, as well as crafting some visually excellent and deep realms to explore, each with their own unique environment and enemies.
As in the 2018God of War, there is a lot of loot to pick up inGod of War: Ragnarok, and a lot of it isn’t directly given to the player. Instead, they’ll have to explore to find the health and rage boosts from theNornir Chests. This means that alongsideGod of War: Ragnarok’sincreased roster of enemies to fight, there are also a lot more puzzles to interact with and land to explore this time around.
Horizon Forbidden West
The third sequel among the category’s list of nominees, fans could have predicted thatHorizon Forbidden Westwould perfectly fit the bill for an Action/Adventure title long before it released. As an open-world game,Horizon Forbidden Westgives the player more spaceto explore than either of the two previous nominees, and it makes excellent use of that space by cramming it with collectibles, quests, and secrets of the world for players to find.
This world also features plenty ofnew machines added withHorizon Forbidden West, and plenty of extra environments for Aloy to discover more knowledge about the old world in. Already,Horizon Forbidden Westhas received a lot of praise, with many stating that it is a great follow-up toHorizon Zero Dawn. The game even managed to take home a Best Storytelling award at the Golden Joystick Awards.
RELATED:Horizon Forbidden West Has Already Won a Game of the Year Award
Stray
WhileStraymight not have the in-depth combat ofHorizon Forbidden WestorGod of War: Ragnarok, it does include some battling later on, as the player’s trusty drone companion can be used to destroy smaller robots that are looking to cut the adventure of the feline protagonist short. Within the futuristic,dystopian cityscape thatStraytakes place in, there are plenty of secrets to discover and puzzles to complete in order to continue the journey.
Strayis a notably shorter game than most of the other titles in the running for Best Action/Adventure, but it certainly packs a lot into the hours it takes to beat. With a cute cat as the protagonist as well,Straybecame a hugely popular game, despite being BlueTwelve Studio’s debut title. Perhaps this surge in popularity could rocketStrayto the win for best Action/Adventure game.
Tunic
One of the biggest indie hits of 2022,Tunicis a game that some thought would make it onto this year’s Game of the Year list. First releasing on Xbox and PC in March, and coming to PlayStation and Switch later in the year,Tunic’sstaggered releases have helped it remain in many gamers' memories throughout 2022. A homage to classic Nintendo titles likeThe Legend of Zelda, Tunicevokes the nostalgic feeling of those games with its isometric style and gameplay.
A player cannot enter a new area inTunicunless they manage to collect a new weapon or ability first. This means thatTunic’sworld is often locked until the player has explored enough. Despite its cutesy art style,Tuniccan be a difficult game, and has even been compared to FromSoftware’s catalog. LikeStray,Tunicis a notably shorter gamethan some of the other nominees, but it packs a lot of content into the hours players will spend with it.
Final Prediction
Horizon Forbidden Westmay offer a huge map for players to explore, andStraymight have a cute catas its protagonist, but it is difficult to imagine a game knocking the juggernaut that isGod of War: Ragnarokfrom the top spot for the Best Action/Adventure category. Combining gorgeous areas with visceral combat, praisingGod of War: Ragnarokmay only be adding to the chorus of other positive notes the game has received since launch, but this tremendous reception hasn’t come out of nowhere.
Also, while there is some hand-holding inGod of War: Ragnarokwhere its puzzlesare concerned, a lot of the interaction with the world feels natural, rather than a barrier that’s been put in place to keep the player from progressing too quickly. Therefore, to see another game take homethe Game Awards' title of Best Action/Adventure would be quite the upset.
