The 28th annual DICE Awards ceremony has recently taken place in Las Vegas, and though Astro Bot robbed Nintendo of any potential wins (perhaps deservedly, to be honest – it’s a bloomin’ good game), there were a few notable nods toward a couple of outstanding indie titles available on Switch.
Those games are Balatro and Animal Well. The former took home three awards, including ‘Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year’, ‘Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game’, and ‘Mobile Game of the Year’, while the latter won the award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction’.
Astro Bot won the coveted ‘Game of the Year’ award alongside four additional gongs, including ‘Best Family Game of the Year’ in which it was up against Super Mario Party Jamboree. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was up for the ‘Adventure Game of the Year’ award, but ultimately lost out to MachineGames’ excellent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Here’s a look at the full line-up of winners:
- Outstanding Achievement in Animation – Astro Bot
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction – Black Myth: Wukong
- Outstanding Achievement in Character – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones
- Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition – HELLDIVERS 2
- Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design – HELLDIVERS 2
- Outstanding Achievement in Story – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Outstanding Technical Achievement – Astro Bot
- Action Game of the Year – HELLDIVERS 2
- Adventure Game of the Year – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Family Game of the Year – Astro Bot
- Fighting Game of the Year – TEKKEN 8
- Racing Game of the Year – F1® 24
- Role-Playing Game of the Year – Metaphor: Refantazio
- Sports Game of the Year – MLB® The Show™ 24
- Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year – Balatro
- Online Game of the Year – HELLDIVERS 2
- Immersive Reality Technical Achievement – Starship Home
- Immersive Reality Game of the Year – Batman: Arkham Shadow
- Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game – Balatro
- Mobile Game of the Year – Balatro
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Design – Astro Bot
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction – Animal Well
- Game of the Year – Astro Bot
Though Nintendo didn’t get any wins for its games at this year’s ceremony, NoA veteran Don James was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. James joined Nintendo in 1981 before retiring in 2024 and “oversaw numerous departments” as executive vice president of operations. Congrats, Don!
The 28th annual DICE Awards ceremony has recently taken place in Las Vegas, and though Astro Bot robbed Nintendo of any potential wins (perhaps deservedly, to be honest – it's a bloomin' good game), there were a few notable nods toward a couple of outstanding indie titles available on Switch.
Those games are Balatro and Animal Well. The former took home three awards, including 'Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year', 'Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game', and 'Mobile Game of the Year', while the latter won the award for 'Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction'.
Astro Bot won the coveted 'Game of the Year' award alongside four additional gongs, including 'Best Family Game of the Year' in which it was up against Super Mario Party Jamboree. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was up for the 'Adventure Game of the Year' award, but ultimately lost out to MachineGames' excellent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Here's a look at the full line-up of winners:
- Outstanding Achievement in Animation - Astro Bot
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction - Black Myth: Wukong
- Outstanding Achievement in Character - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones
- Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition - HELLDIVERS 2
- Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design - HELLDIVERS 2
- Outstanding Achievement in Story - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Outstanding Technical Achievement - Astro Bot
- Action Game of the Year - HELLDIVERS 2
- Adventure Game of the Year - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- Family Game of the Year - Astro Bot
- Fighting Game of the Year - TEKKEN 8
- Racing Game of the Year - F1® 24
- Role-Playing Game of the Year - Metaphor: Refantazio
- Sports Game of the Year - MLB® The Show™ 24
- Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year - Balatro
- Online Game of the Year - HELLDIVERS 2
- Immersive Reality Technical Achievement - Starship Home
- Immersive Reality Game of the Year - Batman: Arkham Shadow
- Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game - Balatro
- Mobile Game of the Year - Balatro
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Design - Astro Bot
- Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction - Animal Well
- Game of the Year - Astro Bot
Though Nintendo didn't get any wins for its games at this year's ceremony, NoA veteran Don James was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. James joined Nintendo in 1981 before retiring in 2024 and "oversaw numerous departments" as executive vice president of operations. Congrats, Don!
