The first Horizon Forbidden West GOTY award has already been handed out in – *checks notes* – July 2022. The Develop: Star Awards, which is organized by the folks behind the annual Develop: Brighton, took place last night where Horizon Forbidden West won Best Game of 2022 as well as Best Visual Art. It was a good night for PlayStation in general as Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and timed PS5-exclusive Deathloop both picked up an award each as well.
First Horizon Forbidden West GOTY comes ahead of God of War Ragnarok’s launch
The Develop:Star Awards 2022 Best Game winner is Horizon Forbidden West from @Guerrilla & @PlayStationUK! Congratulations! #DevelopStars pic.twitter.com/Ij8g3GRep1
— Develop:Brighton (@developconf) July 13, 2022
God of War Ragnarok, Sony’s next big blockbuster, is scheduled for release in November so it remains to be seen how it fares in terms of critical reception. Horizon Forbidden West, which released in February, was dwarfed by Elden Ring with many pointing fingers at its unfortunate release date but it looks like critics haven’t exactly forgotten about the game.
“Shortlists were decided across 19 categories by a panel of game developers and industry experts, who reviewed a record number of submissions,” reads a note on Develop’s website.
The full list of winners are as follows:
Best Narrative: Life is Strange: True Colors
Best Audio: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Creative Provider: d3t
Best QA & Localisation Provider: Keywords Studios
Best Technical Innovation: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Best Visual Art: Horizon Forbidden West
Marketing Star: Media Molecule Live Services Team
Best Extended Reality Game: Resident Evil 4 VR
Tomorrow’s Star: Charmie Kim
Best Technology Provider: Unreal Engine
Recruitment Star: Sumo Group
Best Mobile Game: LEGO Star Wars Battles
Diversity Star: Charu Desodt
Best Original IP: DEATHLOOP
Best Game Design: Unpacking
Publishing Star: Curve Games
Best Game: Horizon Forbidden West
Best Micro Studio: Acid Nerve
Best Studio: Sumo Digital
The Develop Star Award: Dinga Bakaba – Arkane Lyon
In other news, there are still plenty of Ubisoft+ Classics headed to PS Plus this year, and the next Assassin’s Creed game won’t be set in the Aztec Empire contrary to rumors.
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