Highlights

  • The Game Awards 2023 nominations have sparked discussion among fans, with some feeling that certain games were snubbed in certain categories.
  • Dead Space by EA Motive received praise for its impressive remake, particularly the addition of voice lines for Isaac that enhance the storytelling.
  • Despite Gunner Wright's outstanding performance as Isaac in the Dead Space remake, he did not receive a nomination in The Game Awards' Performance category, which is disappointing considering the significance of his reprisal of the character.

The Game Awards 2023 nominations have made their way to each corner of the internet and fans everywhere have since responded with their own opinions on how categories have taken shape. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions after the fact, of course, but when looking at nominations it is clear that some games may have been snubbed for one reason or another, especially concerning particular categories where fans believe one game’s nomination may be unearned, illogical, or omitted.

EA Motive’s Dead Space remake has sort of flown under the radar since its release, even though it made a fairly large impact at launch with impressive ground-up changes it made from its predecessor. Indeed, the remake’s lighting and audio systems alone were substantially enhanced, but one addition to the game was easily its most astounding and unique due to the fact that it wasn’t in the original. That addition was a voice and dialogue for Isaac, and yet that performance seems to have been snubbed at The Game Awards this year.

RELATED: Soulslikes Pave an Unorthodox Path of Revival for The Callisto Protocol

Dead Space’s Gunner Wright was Snubbed for The Game Awards’ Performance Category

Isaac Talking in EA Motive’s Dead Space is Emergent for a Remake

If Dead Space’s remake didn’t have voice lines for Isaac it still would’ve been entirely superb in how it updated the original for modern audiences. How players traverse the Ishimura and how certain functions in the ship needed to be activated or deactivated to progress were only two ways that made Dead Space feel even more fluid, for instance, while limb degradation and the alteration of a divisive turret mini-game sequence were also terrific iterations.

However, what Isaac’s voice lines give to the remake is a completely refurbished story, where now Isaac is finally responsive in every situation and can actually participate in conversations instead of being talked at exclusively. Hearing him shout characters’ names as they’re in peril is a wonderful way to demonstrate his emotions in certain scenes, and with a Nicole side quest in the Dead Space remake it feels as though Isaac is actually worried about his girlfriend’s whereabouts the whole time.

Therefore, because Gunner Wright reprised the role of Isaac for the remake of a game that he didn’t previously have a voice in, only to make it more narratively significant and not receive a nomination in The Game Awards’ Performance category is disappointing. The nominees for the Performance category are as follows:

Game

Actor Nominated for Best Performance

Final Fantasy 16

Ben Starr

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Yuri Lowenthal

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

Idris Elba

Baldur’s Gate 3

Neil Newbon

Alan Wake 2

Melanie Liburd

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Cameron Monaghan

There are outstanding actors nominated who all deserve to win, and their portrayals have all led to fan-favorite characters from their respective titles. Still, Gunner Wright not receiving a nomination here seems like a huge missed opportunity considering the circumstances of his Isaac reprisal, breathing new life into the character once more and creating an experience that is wildly different from the original game.

Dead Space’s remake arrived right at the start of the year and it may have been easy for exciting games to obscure it thereafter. Nonetheless, Gunner Wright’s voice was its most distinct inclusion and definitely deserved to have more recognition in this year’s Game Awards as a result.