Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Tops All BAFTA Nominees With Nine
Image via Ninja Theory
The BAFTA Games Awards nominations were announced Thursday, and an unlikely name was at the top of the pack in total nominations: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The critically acclaimed title from Cambridge-based developer Ninja Theory reeled in nine nominations, with nods in more than half of the 16 categories.
The most notable of Hellblade’s nominations are for Best Game, Narrative, Performer and Game Beyond Entertainment. The game caters heavily toward the new category of Game Beyond Entertainment, which honors games that explore social issues through story, characters and gameplay. Hellblade was praised for its discussion and representation of mental illness.
Not far behind Hellblade are Horizon Zero Dawn and What Remains of Edith Finch with eight and seven nominations, respectively. Both games will square off with Hellblade in the Best Game, Narrative and Performer categories.
The other nominees for Best Game are Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The BAFTA Games Awards will take place on April 12 in Troxy, London, England. The full list of nominations can be seen below, or here. See which ones made Paste’s list of 2017’s best games here.
ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
CUPHEAD Development Team – StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc./StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc.
GOROGOA Development Team – Jason Roberts, Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive
HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY Development Team – Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT
CALL OF DUTY: WORLD WAR II Development Team – Sledgehammer Games/Activision
DESTINY 2 Development Team – Bungie/Activision
HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE David Garcia Diaz – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II Development Team – DICE/Electronic Arts
UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY Development Team – Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
BEST GAME
ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS Development Team – Ubisoft Montreal/ Ubisoft
HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
HORIZON ZERO DAWN Development Team – Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH Development Team – Giant Sparrow/Annapurna Interactive
BRITISH GAME
HELLBLADE: SENUA’S SACRIFICE Development Team – Ninja Theory Ltd/ Ninja Theory Ltd
MONUMENT VALLEY 2 Development Team – ustwo games/ustwo games
REIGNS: HER MAJESTY Leigh Alexander, François Alliot, Arnaud De Bock – Nerial Ltd/ Devolver Digital
THE SEXY BRUTALE Charles Griffiths, James Griffiths, Tom Lansdale – Cavalier Game Studios and Tequila Works/ Tequila Works
SNIPER ELITE 4 Development Team – Rebellion/ Rebellion
TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER II Development Team – Creative Assembly/ SEGA
DEBUT GAME
CUPHEAD Development Team – StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc./StudioMDHR Entertainment Inc.
GOROGOA Development Team – Jason Roberts, Buried Signal/Annapurna Interactive
HOLLOW KNIGHT Development Team – Team Cherry/Team Cherry
NIGHT IN THE WOODS Scott Benson, Alec Holowka, Bethany Hockenberry – InfiniteFall/Finji
THE SEXY BRUTALE Charles Griffiths, James Griffiths, Tom Lansdale – Cavalier Game Studios and Tequila Works/Tequila Works
SLIME RANCHER Development Team – Monomi Park/Monomi Park
EVOLVING GAME
CLASH ROYALE Development Team – Supercell/ Supercell
FINAL FANTASY XV Hajime Tabata – Square Enix/ Square Enix
FORTNITE Development Team – Epic Games/ Epic Games
OVERWATCH Development Team – Blizzard Entertainment/ Blizzard Entertainment
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS Development Team – PUBG Corp/ Bluehole, Inc.
TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE Development Team – Ubisoft Montreal/ Ubisoft