It’s that time of year again — the Game Awards nominations<\/a> are finally out. As expected, the year’s biggest AAA titles like God of War Ragnarok<\/em>, Elden Ring<\/em>, and Horizon Forbidden West\u00a0<\/em>dominate in a lot of the major categories, and while it’s not controversial to assume that one of those is going to take home the grand prize of Game of the Year, it’s the Best Narrative nominations that are stirring up the Discourse this time around.<\/p> The full list of Best Narrative nominees includes\u00a0Ragnarok, Elden Ring, Forbidden West, A Plague Tale: Requiem<\/em>, and\u00a0Immortality<\/em>. It’s a reasonable-yet-predictable list, but regardless, fans are up in arms about\u00a0Elden Ring\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0God of War<\/em> in particular. There are a lot of different takes going on here, so I’ll do my best to try and break it down.<\/p> A lot of FromSoft fans are really excited to see\u00a0Elden Ring<\/em> getting praise for its nonlinear, worldbuilding-focused storytelling. Many are citing that they’re used to only seeing games that are very on-rails and cutscene heavy in the Best Narrative category, so they’re glad to see some variety in the category for once. I also get the impression that a lot of the long-time Soulsborne fans see this as vindication for FromSoft’s narrative design as a whole, because while their games have become increasingly known for the quality of their lore, this would be the first time it’s being acknowledged on a large scale.<\/p> I think we hear "Best Narrative" and assume the game should be somewhat linear with a bunch of dialog driven cutscenes. "Narratives" in gaming should be judged differently, and when your world-building is as god-tier as FromSoft's, it deserves to be recognized. #gameawards<\/a><\/p> — Andy Cortez (didn't pay for the blue check) (@TheAndyCortez) November 15, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> Bring on the discourse<\/h3>