Despite launching what seems like a lifetime ago back in February, from the moment the review embargo was lifted, it seemed inevitable that Elden Ring would be in the running for Game of the Year 2022. Epitomizing the critically-acclaimed formula that developer FromSoftware has honed and perfected since 2009's Demon's Souls, Elden Ring represents the pinnacle of the Japanese developer's work to date. This was unsurprisingly ratified at the Game Awards 2022, when the action RPG managed to win four awards, including the coveted Game of the Year award itself.
Aside from Game of the Year, Elden Ring also managed to win Best Role-Playing Game, Best Game Direction, and Best Art Direction too. This is a testament to FromSoftware's hard work on what was obviously an incredibly ambitious project, one that has ultimately paid dividends. In even better news for fans, it appears there is still more to come from the Lands Between, with Elden Ring's director Hidetaka Miyazaki confirming that he has ''more things'' he wants to do with the game during his acceptance speech, all but solidifying the game will get some more content further down the line.
Elden Ring Won an Impressive Four Awards
In the buildup to the awards, lots of talk was centered on who would win Game of the Year, with the general consensus being it would probably come down to two titles: Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarök. As the latter has only recently launched, many felt it may be slight favorite due to being much fresher in a lot of peoples minds. These predictions proved to be unfounded though, and in the end, Elden Ring brought home the award. The game pushed new boundaries in terms of what people should expect from an open-world game, with a level of depth and freedom not really seen before. It also beat out popular indie title Stray, Horizon Forbidden West, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and A Plague Tale: Requiem to the award.
In the Best Role Playing Game category, Elden Ring was up against Live a Live, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Triangle Strategy and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. While each title on this list deserves its place among the nominees, the level of depth offered in terms of Elden Ring's customization options and build variety makes it a worthy winner. Players are still experimenting with new builds even today, finding new ways to play the game.
The Best Game Direction category, awarded for 'outstanding creative vision and innovation in game direction and design', pitted Elden Ring against God of War Ragnarök, Stray, Horizon Forbidden West and Immortality. Each title on the list, although being five very different games, could make a strong case to win this award. That being said, none of those cases would likely be as strong as Elden Ring's. The game has created a new blueprint for open-world games which will surely be replicated numerous times over the years, likely with differing results.
That the game won Best Art Direction should come as no surprise to long-standing FromSoftware fans. Miyazaki and his team have often been praised for the incredibly detailed and vivid game worlds they create, and many will cite Bloodborne, with its grim Lovecraftian setting, as one of, if not the best, game worlds ever created. Everything from creature design to the environments and locations such as castles and poisonous swamps have grown in scope and imagination with each FromSoftware project, and Elden Ring oozes this creativity in every crevice of its huge world. The game beat off God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Scorn and Stray to win the award.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
