The Shacknews Awards 2023 nominees

As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time for us to reflect on what was an unprecedented year for video games. Arguably no other year has been more deserving of the “Year of the Games” title we like to use here at Shacknews, with memorable releases across every genre in both the AAA and indie spaces. As we work to determine the winners, we present to you the nominees for the 2023 Shacknews Awards.

Note: Shacknews will not be releasing a list of nominees for Game of the Year or Indie Game of the Year. We will publish a top 10 list for both categories alongside the announcement of the winners from this article.

Person of the Year

• Charles Martinet
• Phil Spencer
• Shigeru Miyamoto
• Sam Altman
• Swen Vincke
• Sam Lake

Do it for Shacknews Award

• The Freelancers (Shacknews’ various article and review contributors)
• Duke Nukem Restoration Project
• Mega Ran
• F-Zero 99 Developers
• Shigeru Miyamoto
• Nightdive Studios

Best Developer

• Nintendo
• Capcom
• Larian Studios
• Ironmace
• Insomniac Games
• Remedy Entertainment

Best Publisher

• Nintendo
• Larian Studios
• Capcom
• Square Enix
• Bandai Namco

Shackbattle Game of the Year

• Street Fighter 6
• Wreckfest
• Battlefield 2042
• Team Fortress 2

Best PC Game

• Resident Evil 4 (2023)
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Alan Wake 2
• Cities: Skylines 2
• Dune: Spice Wars
• Remnant 2

Best PS5 Game

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Final Fantasy 16
• Humanity
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Resident Evil 4 (2023)
• Lies of P

Best Nintendo Switch Game

• F-Zero 99
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Super Mario RPG
• Pikmin 4
• Metroid Prime Remastered

Best Xbox Series X Game

• Starfield
• Forza Motorsport
• Hi-Fi Rush
• Minecraft Legends
• Lies of P
• Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Best Comeback

• Cyberpunk 2077
• F-Zero
• Street Fighter
• World of Warcraft
• Warhammer 40k: Darktide
• Samba de Amigo

Modojo @ Shacknews Mobile Game of the Year

• Warcraft Rumble
• Honkai: Star Rail
• Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis
• Hello Kitty Island Adventure
• Pokemon Sleep

Most Improved Game

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Halo: Infinite
• Vampire Survivors
• Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed
• Hitman: World of Assassination

Best Strategy Game

• Dune: Spice Wars
• Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
• Jagged Alliance 3
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cities: Skylines 2
• Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp

Best Graphics

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Resident Evil 4 (2023)
• Forza Motorsport
• Alan Wake 2
• Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

Best Multiplayer Game

• Counter-Strike 2
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Street Fighter 6
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
• F-Zero 99
• Deceive Inc.

Best Hardware

• Meta Quest 3
• PlayStation VR2
• XREAL Air 2
• Samsung Odyssey Neo G9
• Steam Deck OLED
• Asus ROG Ally

Outstanding Achievement in Accessibility

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Street Fighter 6
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• PlayStation Access Controller

Best VR Game

• Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR
• Humanity
• Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
• C-Smash VRS
• F1 23
• 7th Guest VR

Best Narrative Game

• Alan Wake 2
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Thirsty Suitors
• Goodbye Volcano High
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Baldur’s Gate 3

Best Art Style

• Hi-Fi Rush
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Pikmin 4
• Lies of P
• Bombrush Cyberfunk

Best FPS Game

• Counter-Strike 2
• Quake 2
• Payday 3
• System Shock Remake
• Metroid Prime Remastered
• RoboCop: Rogue City

Best Gaming Accessory

• Razer Kitsune arcade pad
• SteelSeries Alias Mic
• NYXI Wizard Wireless Controller
• PDP Realms Controllers

Esports Hero

• Angrybird
• Faker
• Arslan Ash
• rapha

Best Horror Game

• Resident Evil 4 (2023)
• Dead Space (2023)
• Alan Wake 2
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
• You Will Die Here Tonight
• Dredge

Best Cozy Game

• Hello Kitty Island Adventure
• Palia
• Fae Farm
• Suika Game
• Bluey: The Videogame

Best RPG

• Octopath Traveler 2
• Super Mario RPG
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Sea of Stars
• Star Ocean: The Second Story R
• Starfield

Best Early Access Game

• Tape to Tape
• Disney Dreamlight Valley
• BattleBit Remastered
• Dark and Darker
• Kerbal Space Program 2
• Relic Hunters Legend

Best Expansion

• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
• Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
• Hitman: World of Assassination – Freelancer
• Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass
• Remnant 2: The Awakened King

Best Co-Op Game

• Remnant 2
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Disney Illusion Island
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Payday 3

Best Trendsetter

• Street Fighter 6
• Pizza Tower
• Thirsty Suitors
• Vampire Survivors
• OpenAI
• Nintendo

Best Mod

• Cursed Halo Again
• MS Paint Layers
• Duke Nukem Forever Restoration Project
• John Romero’s Sigil 2
• Baldur’s Gate 3’s Party Limit Begone
• Resident Evil 4’s Max Stack Sizes

Best Fighting Game

• Street Fighter 6
• Mortal Kombat 1
• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
• God of Rock

Best Sports Game

• Wild Card Football
• Golf It!
• AEW Fight Forever
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
• MLB The Show 23
• WWE 2K23

Best Remake

• Resident Evil 4
• Dead Space
• System Shock
• Super Mario RPG
• Star Ocean: The Second Story R
• GoldenEye 007

Best Racing Game

• F-Zero 99
• Disney Speedstorm
• LEGO 2K Drive
• Forza Motorsport
• EA Sports WRC
• Trackmania

Most Overlooked Game

• Crash Team Rumble
• Darkest Dungeon 2
• Wild Hearts
• Samba de Amigo: Party Central
• Octopath Traveler 2
• Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew

Best Strand Game

• Death Stranding
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Destiny 2 (Strand Subclass)

Best Open World Game

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Street Fighter 6
• Starfield
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Tchia
• Palia

Best Ongoing Game

• Marvel Snap
• Vampire Survivors
• Fortnite
• Hunt: Showdown
• Hitman: World of Assassination
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Best Sound Design

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Alan Wake 2
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Starfield
• Darkest Dungeon 2

Best Voice Actor

• Matt Mercer (Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)
• Alan Lee (Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 1)
• Neil Newbon (Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3)
• Yuri Lowenthal (Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2)
• Alejandro Saab (Osvald in Octopath Traveler 2)
• Melanie Liburd (Saga Anderson in Alan Wake 2)

Best Music

• F-Zero 99
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Octopath Traveler 2
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
• Street Fighter 6

Best Action-Adventure Game

• Final Fantasy 16
• Remnant 2
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Lies of P

Best Headshot

• Resident Evil 4
• RoboCop: Rogue City
• Payday 3
• Jagged Alliance 3

Quietest Lobby

• Wild Hearts
• Crash Team Rumble
• Deceive Inc.
• Payday 3
• Wild Card Football
• Exoprimal

Best Free-to-Play Game

• Hello Kitty Island Adventure
• Warcraft Rumble
• Trackmania
• Counter-Strike 2

Best Cameo

• Jean-Claude Van Damme (Mortal Kombat 1)
• Dimitri Vegas (Hitman: World of Assassination)
• Nicolas Cage (Dead by Daylight)
• Sam Lake (Alan Wake 2)
• Temuera Morrison (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor)

Best Add-on

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge Dimension Shellshock
• Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
• Resident Evil 4: The Mercenaries

Best NPC

• Turgle (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor)
• Shadowheart (Baldur’s Gate 3)
• Jill Warrick (Final Fantasy 16)
• Ganke (Marvel’s Spider-Man 2)
• Ashley Graham (Resident Evil 4)
• Uncle Hinti (Thirsty Suitors)

Best Water

• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cities: Skylines 2
• Destiny 2: Season of the Deep
• Forza Motorsport

Best Nintendo Switch Port

• Vampire Survivors
• PowerWash Simulator
• Dave The Diver
• Suika Game
• Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp
• Borderlands 3

Best PC Port

• Marvel Snap
• Returnal
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Persona 3 Portable
• Live A Live

Best Online Presentation

• Starfield Direct
• Xbox Games Showcase
• Bigmode Memo 2023
• Nintendo Direct June 2023
• Summer Game Fest/Day of the Devs Digital Showcase

Best Video Game Pet

• Handler’s Dog (Remnant 2)
• Owlbear (Baldur’s Gate 3)
• Akala (Octopath Traveler 2)
• Torgal (Final Fantasy 16)
• Oatchi (Pikmin 4)
• 808 (Hi-Fi Rush)

Best Platformer

• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Mr. Run and Jump
• Disney Illusion Island
• Sonic Superstars
• Convergence: A League of Legends Story
• Gravity Circuit

Biggest Surprise

• F-Zero 99
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Super Mario RPG
• The Legend of Zelda movie announcement
• RoboCop: Rogue City
• Star Ocean: The Second Story R

Best Puzzle Game

• The Talos Principle 2
• Humanity
• Suika Game
• Viewfinder
• Cocoon
• Crime O’clock

Best Old School Throwback Game

• RoboCop: Rogue City
• F-Zero 99
• Cassette Beasts
• Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons
• Pizza Tower
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

Best Gore

• Mortal Kombat 1
• Dead Island 2
• RoboCop: Rogue City
• Diablo 4
• Dead Space (2023)
• Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Pop! Goes the Culture! Presents: Best Adaptation

• The Last of Us
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie
• Castlevania: Nocturne
• Five Nights at Freddy’s
• Twisted Metal
• Tetris

Game That Should Be On Nintendo Switch

• Pizza Tower
• Humanity
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Cities: Skylines 2
• System Shock (2023)
• Viewfinder

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Congratulations to all of the nominees for the 2023 Shacknews Awards! Winners will be announced on December 29, 2023.