Hades, Ghost of Tsushima, and Last of Us Part 2 lead GDC Award nominees

The Game Developers Choice Awards today announced the nominees for its 21st annual awards, with the winners to be announced Wednesday, July 21.

As usual, the awards will be given out as part of the Game Developers Conference, which this year will take place as an all-digital event July 19-23. The Independent Games Festival award will also be announced the same day.

Hades, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us 2 tied this year with a total of seven nominations each, including for Game of the Year. Half-Life: Alyx received the next-most nominations, up for five categories including Game of the Year.

Here are the finalists for each category of the 2021 Game Developers Choice Awards, as well as honorable mentions:

Game of the Year

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)
• The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Spelunky 2 (Blitworks, Mossmouth / Mossmouth), Doom Eternal (id Software / Bethesda Softworks), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios), Final Fantasy 7: Remake (Square Enix), Genshin Impact (miHoYo)

Best Audio

• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Doom Eternal (id Software / Bethesda Softworks)
• Final Fantasy 7: Remake (Square Enix)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Half-Life: Alyx (Valve), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo), Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios / iam8bit), Fuser (Harmonix Music Systems / NCsoft)

Best Debut

• Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games)
• Umurangi Generation (Origame Digital / Playism, Origame Digital)
• Carrion (Phobia Game Studio / Devolver Digital)
• Mortal Shell (Cold Symmetry / Playstack)
• Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games / Super!Com)

Honorable Mentions: Call of the Sea (Out of the Blue / Raw Fury), Röki (Polygon Treehouse / CI Games), If Found... (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive)

Best Design

• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo EPD/ Nintendo)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy 7: Remake (Square Enix), Crusader Kings 3 (Paradox Development Studio / Paradox Interactive), Spelunky 2 (Blitworks, Mossmouth / Mossmouth), Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Mobile

• The Pathless (Giant Squid/Annapurna Interactive)
• Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
• Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)
• Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (ustwo/PID Publishing)
• If Found... (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive)

Honorable Mentions: Pokémon Café Mix (Genius Sonority / Nintendo / The Pokémon Company), Reigns: Beyond (Nerial / Devolver Digital)

Innovation Award

• Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio/Xbox Game Studios)
• Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (Mediatonic / Devolver Digital)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)

Honorable Mentions: Astro's Playroom (Sony Japan Studio/Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment), The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)

Best Narrative

• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (Cardboard Computer / Annapurna Interactive)
• Final Fantasy 7: Remake (Square Enix)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Honorable Mentions: Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games), Half-Life: Alyx (Valve), Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt), If Found... (Dreamfeel / Annapurna Interactive), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment), 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Vanillaware / Atlus)

Best Technology

• The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios)

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy 7: Remake (Square Enix), Astro's Playroom (Sony Japan Studio/Team Asobi/Sony Interactive Entertainment), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best Visual Art

• Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Hades (Supergiant Games)
• The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Moon Studios / Xbox Game Studios / iam8bit)
• Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt RED / CD Projekt)

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy 7: Remake (Square Enix), Spiritfarer (Thunder Lotus Games), Umurangi Generation (Origame Digital/Playism, Origame Digital), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Best VR/AR Game

• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Skydance Interactive)
• Paper Beast (Pixel Reef)
• Dreams (Media Molecule / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Half-Life: Alyx (Valve)
• Star Wars: Squadrons (Motive Studios / Electronic Arts)

Honorable Mentions: Phasmophobia (Kinetic Games), The Room VR: A Dark Matter (Fireproof Games), Iron Man VR (Camouflaj / Sony Interactive Entertainment), Microsoft Flight Simulator (Asobo Studio / Xbox Game Studios), Until You Fall (Schell Games)