The DICE Awards games celebration show for 2021 is going to be a thing this 9th April (GMT+8), and with it are the nominees for this year.

First, let’s celebrate the fact that a Southeast Asian-made title made its way into the DICE Awards this year. Coffee Talk, a visual novel we recently elected as one of our best games of 2020, is nominated for Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game alongside the following:

• Hades
• If Found…
• Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
• Noita

This is very stiff competition, if we’re being frank. But the fact that Toge Productions is nominated is a great cause for celebration, especially for a prestigious game awards show like this that isn’t reliant on shoving our faces with Mountain Dew and Doritos-type ads. Other highlights include:

• 13 Sentinels nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in Story category.
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps showing up in a few more categories, though not to the extent of The Last of Us Part 2 and Hades.
• The Last of Us Part 2 took two slots in the Outstanding Achievement in Character category.

Nobody’s perfect. The rest of the nominees in their respective categories are below and here.

Game of the Year

• Animal Crossing; New Horizons
• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• The Last of Us Part 2

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• Half-Life Alyx
• Kentucky Route Zero
• The Last of Us Part 2

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• Half-Life Alyx
• TLOU 2
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Action Game of the Year

• Doom Eternal
• Hades
• Half-Life Alyx
• Spider-Man Miles Morales
• Nioh 2

Adventure Game of the Year

• AC Valhalla
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Kentucky Route Zero
• The Last of Us Part 2
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Family Game of the Year

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Astro’s Playroom
• Dreams
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Fighting Game of the Year

• EA Sports UFC 4
• Granblue Fantasy Versus
• Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
• Them’s Fightin Herds

Racing Game of the Year

• DIRT 5
• F1 2020
• Mario Kart Live

Project CARS 3 isn’t even nominated here. Ouch.

RPG of the Year

• Cyberpunk 2077
• FFVII Remake
• Persona 5 Royal
• Wasteland 3
• Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Sports Game of the Year

• FIFA 21
• MLB The Show 20
• NBA 2K21
• PGA Tour 2K21
• Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

• Crusader Kings 3
• Desperados 3
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Monster Train
• Per Aspera

Where the f*** is Gears Tactics?

Mobile Game of the Year

• HoloVista
• Legends of Runeterra
• Little Orpheus
• Song of Bloom
• South of the Circle

Online Game of the Year

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War
• Fall Guys
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Tetris Effect: Connected

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• The Last of Us Part 2
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Spiritfarer

Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction

• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• The Last of Us Part 2
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Outstanding Achievement in Character

• Eivor Varinsdottir in AC Valhalla
• Zagreus in Hades
• Abby in TLOU 2
• Ellie in TLOU 2
• Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

• Carrion
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Little Orpheus
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• The Pathless

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design

• Dreams
• Ghost of Tsushima
• The Last of Us Part 2
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Outstanding Achievement In Story

• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Hades
• Kentucky Route Zero
• TLOU 2

Outstanding Technical Achievement

• Dreams
• Ghost of Tsushima
• TLOU 2
• Mario Kart Live
• Microsoft Flight Simulator

Immersive Reality Tech Achievement

• Half-Life Alyx
• Mario Kart Live
• Museum of Other Realities
• Paper Beast
• Tempest

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

• Down the Rabbit Hole
• Half-Life Alyx
• Paper Beast
• The Room VR: A Dark Matter
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners