‘Horizon Zero Dawn’ leads ‘Zelda’ for DICE nominations

Image: Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive via AFP Relaxnews

Sci-fi open world adventure “Horizon Zero Dawn” and fantasy epic “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” are among the nominees for the games industry’s D.I.C.E. Awards.

PlayStation 4 game “Horizon Zero Dawn” goes into Las Vegas’s D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony with a field-leading ten nominations, including one for Game of the Year.

Joining it in contention for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ Game of the Year accolade are vintage cartoon-style action game “Cuphead”; last-person-standing survival challenge “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds”; joyous jump and run platform adventure “Super Mario Odyssey”; and another expansive open-world epic “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”.

Launched as a foundational title for Nintendo’s Switch console, and available for the legacy Wii U system, “Breath of the Wild” accrued six nods from the D.I.C.E. nominations process.

“Horizon Zero Dawn”, “Breath of the Wild” and “Super Mario Odyssey” crop up again in the Adventure Game category, as does the Ancient Egyptian-set “Assassin’s Creed Origins” and polished franchise spin-off “Uncharted: The Lost Legacy”.

In total, “Uncharted: The Lost Legacy” was one of three games receiving five nominations, alongside “Cuphead” and “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice”, perhaps surprisingly, given its widely observed use of nuanced 3D audio, “Hellblade” didn’t end up a finalist for the Sound Design award.

Pictorial puzzle adventure “Gorogoa” picked up four recommendations, as did “PUBG” and “Super Mario Odyssey”.

As well as generalist categories covering story, sound, animation, art, and characterization, genre categories included action, adventure, fighting, racing, sports, strategy, role-playing, and family games.

A separate Sprite Award group serves to highlight some of the best and most innovative games of the past year, lest they get lost in the mix of multi-million dollar budget projects.

So check out “Gorogoa” along with animal-rolling exploration “Everything”, friendly cut and paste puzzle “Snipperclips”, high-fantasy sport and storyline blend “Pyre”, and anthropomorphic hometown investigation “Night in the Woods”.

On mobile, “Gorogoa” is one of five in the hat, rubbing shoulders with “Cat Quest”, “Fire Emblem Heroes”, “Monument Valley 2” and “Spitter Critters”.

And Family Game of the Year has not just the expected entries for dance and karaoke titles (“Just Dance 2018”, “SingStar Celebration”) but also mobile music mixing game “DropMix” 3D puzzle “GNOG” and “Snipperclips” again.

The 2018 D.I.C.E. Awards will take place on Feb. 22. A full list of nominations is available to view at interactive.org. The Game Developers Choice Awards occur a month later, on March 21. JB

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