The Game Awards 2024 Impressions
Looking at the 2024 Game Awards
Another year passes for Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards and once again I have mixed reactions to it. On one hand, I thought the show was one of the best reveal shows in the last few years. On the other hand, I still feel better care and respect could be given to the awards portion of the show - I mean it is called THE GAME AWARDS. So, let’s look at it.
The Reveals
If this show was an E3 event, I would call this an A+ tier showcase. Usually, The Game Awards has one or two really good reveals and there is something for everyone, but it’s never been a must-watch reveals showcase. The most incredible announcement they’ve had was 2019’s Xbox Series X reveal. However, that was not the case this year. I felt like I saw dream announcement after dream announcement. In one showcase we saw the return of several franchises – Turok, Onimusha, Okami and The Witcher. We also saw the reveal of Naughty Dog’s new game, Intergalactic, which looks incredible and seems as if they are returning to their adventure roots over the depressing world of The Last of Us. If you’re a gamer, you weren’t bored with this show thanks to the reveals.
The Moments
There were plenty of stories coming out of the awards portion of the show. Astro Bot actually did much better than I expected in the lower categories and took that momentum all the way to the Game of the Year win. There’s something fitting about such a small team that started out making tech demos winning the Game of the Year for a mascot platformer that celebrates PlayStation during the brand’s 30th anniversary. I also thought it was awesome that the team did a shout-out to Nintendo as an inspiration for the game. We also saw Melina Juergens win her second Best Performance award for her portrayal of Senua in Hellblade II. Balatro got a lot of love in the indie categories. I’ve been pretty open about my ambivalence to the game, but I do think a game winning awards that was literally made by one person is pretty cool.
We also saw Harrison Ford appear on stage, although it did look like he was a little annoyed with the teleprompter going slow (lol). Final Fantasy VII Rebirth won the Best Score/Music, and I did find it a little perplexing they would play the battle theme over One Winged Angel. Lastly, we had my favorite moment of the night, which spotlighted Amir Satvat, who has helped laid off game developers get the Game Awards Game Changer award. This was easily the best segment of the show in terms of celebrating the industry and the developers that help make our games.
The Production
The production for the show is always top notch. The best part is always the music and the orchestra. Some people weren’t fans of the Snoop Dogg performance, I personally didn’t mind it. I also felt the use of celebrities here was better than in the past and as a defender of The Muppets segments in past shows, I was happy people liked how they were used this year. Geoff seemed to want to shake off some of the negative feelings his public persona was starting to give off and used them to make fun of him and the show. I thought it was a rare show of humble pie by him. The pacing of the show still needs to be fixed, like most Geoff events its worst part was the middle. One thing I’ll give Geoff is that he makes sure this show looks and sounds good.
The Criticisms
The main criticism of The Game Awards is that the show doesn’t even come close to living up to its name. I love the reveals at the show, but I feel it’s taking away from truly celebrating the industry and the year that was. They revealed a massive audience of 130 million plus, but how many of those people are really tuning in for the awards? At a certain point we have to look at ourselves and question if we can continue to call this an awards show. Josef Fares is a talented guy, but does he really have to come on stage cursing. It just takes away from it all, and if you think I’m being stuck up, that’s okay, I’m just giving my opinion on what I want the show to be.
Now, Geoff did make some ground up this year. The winners actually got plenty of time to talk. However, we still got a lot of awards that were quickly run down with no speeches or clips. The orchestra continues to be used too little, and I still think they should be used for the Best Score/Music nominees.
I think the show being an extension of Geoff is becoming more of a growing issue I’m having. I’ve defended Geoff time and time again, and I do think he has a legitimate love for the industry. But, I can’t help but think about him coming out and introduced as “the creator of The Game Awards”. It just screams a bit narcissistic and doesn’t help the guy beat the allegations, as the kids say. It reminds me that this isn’t an organization or an academy, its all Geoff and it shows. He created it, he produced it, he hosts it. In the past it didn’t bother me as much, but now its starting to. Is this a show to celebrate a medium and art? Or is it to feed Geoff’s personal ambition as the face of video games?
Overall Thoughts
The problem with The Game Awards is that its two shows fighting each other, with the titular awards portion constantly losing. In many ways, we deserve better if we want something akin to the Oscars. Don’t get me wrong, I have my issues with the Oscars, but they try to celebrate movies and the industry. The Game Awards is much more entertainment and advertising than celebrating my favorite art form. It doesn’t mean the show is bad. I was entertained by the reveals and segments, but I didn’t feel the games and developers were celebrated the best way they could.
I’m not going to life and say I didn’t enjoy the show. I did. I just think as I get older and write about the industry, I would like something closer to the Oscars. Unfortunately, at this moment The Game Awards is that show. Until Geoff gets real competition, it’s going to stay that way. As for me, I’m still going to follow it because it’s important to the news and moments in the industry. I will be looking at other awards more closely and keeping track of them.
Hopefully Geoff continues to learn and try to actually make the show an awards show. I still love seeing the reveals, but would like to see the awards get more show. Until next year Geoff.
Intergalactic sounds really cool!