It would be oversimplifying things to call BAFTA the British Oscars, although on the level of cultural prestige it probably comes closest. Its British Academy Game Awards ceremony is much younger, of course, and still in the midst of achieving that same level of recognition, but each year’s nominees do a lot to showcase the diversity of talent and creativity in an ever-growing industry.
This year’s winners had some automatic shoe-ins — Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture netted two awards for sound and music design, while crowdpleaser Rocket League nabbed best Multiplayer game — and some surprises, like Bethesda’s Fallout 4 being named Game of the Year. It pays to keep in mind, however, that although the winners of these awards might not always fit our personal ideas of what is ‘best’ in a given category, the whole range of nominees is usually pretty solid and represents some of the top talent in a given year. I know, it’s kind of hackneyed to say “it’s an honor just to be nominated” or that “everyone’s a winner,” but no really, that’s sort of how it shakes out with these things.
Here’s the complete listings of nominees for all categories, with winners in bold.
Artistic Achievement
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Ori and the Blind Forest
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Batman: Arkham Knight
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Audio Achievement
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Batman: Arkham Knight
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Star Wars Battlefront
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
British Game
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Batman: Arkham Knight
Prison Architect
Tearaway Unfolded
Until Dawn
Her Story
Debut Game
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Prune
Ori and the Blind Forest
Mini Metro
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Her Story
Family
Disney Infinity 3.0: Play Without Limits
Guitar Hero: Live
Rocket League
Super Mario Maker
FIFA 16
LEGO Dimensions
Game Design
Bloodborne
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Rocket League
Grow Home
Her Story
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Game Innovation
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Life is Strange
Until Dawn
Her Story
Splatoon
Mobile & Handheld
Prune
Fallout Shelter
Lara Croft GO
Alphabear
Her Story
The Room Three
Multiplayer
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Destiny: The Taken King
Rocket League
World of Warships
Splatoon
Music
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Batman: Arkham Knight
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Ori and the Blind Forest
Fallout 4
Halo 5: Guardians
Original Property
Until Dawn
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Ori and the Blind Forest
Life is Strange
Splatoon
Her Story
Performer
Oliver Dimsdale as Stephen Appleton (Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture)
Merle Dandridge as Kate Collins (Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture)
Mark Hamill as The Joker (Batman: Arkham Knight)
Ashly Burch as Chloe Price (Life is Strange)
Masasa Moyo as Vella (Broken Age: Act 2)
Doug Cockle as Geralt (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)
Persistent Game
Destiny: The Taken King
Final Fantasy XIV Online
Guitar Hero: Live
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
LEGO Dimensions
Prison Architect
Sport
DiRT Rally
Football Manager
FIFA 16
PES 2016
Rocket League
Forza Motorsport 6
Story
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Until Dawn
Undertale
Life is Strange
Her Story
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Bafta ‘Ones to Watch’ Award, in association with Dare to be Digital
Sundown
The Wall Shall Stand
Selfienation
AMD eSports Audience Award
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Dota 2
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
League of Legends
Smite
Best Game
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Life is Strange
Rocket League
Fallout 4
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
So, what are your thoughts? Who got a deserving win, and who isn’t here who wasn’t even nominated? Let us know in the comments below!
Kris Ligman is the News Editor for ZAM.
