‘God of War’ Leads D.I.C.E. Awards Nominations

The Design Innovate Communicate Entertain (D.I.C.E.) Awards on Thursday morning revealed its nominees for the 22nd annual event honoring the best in video games.

Sony Santa Monica’s God of War leads the field with 12 total nominations, followed by Marvel’s Spider-Man with 11, Red Dead Redemption 2 with eight and the indie hit Return of the Obra Dinn with six. Other games receiving multiple noms include the Sony VR game ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission, Detroit: Become Human, Florence and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

Up for the top honor of game of the year are God of War, Into the Breach, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Return of the Obra Dinn.

Winners are chosen by a panel of video game industry experts and members of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. The honors will be presented during the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ annual D.I.C.E. Summit, which is set to take place Feb. 11-13 at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The D.I.C.E. Awards will be streamed live at 8 p.m. PT on Feb. 13 to close out the conference. 

A full list of nominees follows.

Game of the Year 
God of War 
Into the Breach 
Marvel’s Spider-Man 
Red Dead Redemption 2 
Return of the Obra Dinn

Outstanding Achievement in Animation
God of War 
GRIS 
Marvel’s Spider-Man 
Moss 
Red Dead Redemption 2

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Detroit: Become Human
God of War
GRIS
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption 2

Outstanding Achievement in Character
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Kassandra)
God of War (Atreus)
God of War (Kratos)
Marvel’s Spider-Man (Peter Parker/Spider-Man)
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Arthur Morgan)

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Detroit: Become Human
Forgotton Anne
God of War
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Tetris Effect

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Battlefield V
Detroit: Become Human
God of War
Marvel’s Spider-Man Moss

Outstanding Achievement in Story
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Florence
God of War
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Return of the Obra Dinn

Outstanding Technical Achievement
ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission
Battlefield V
God of War
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption 2

Action Game of the Year
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Celeste
Destiny 2: Forsaken
Far Cry 5
Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Adventure Game of the Year
Detroit: Become Human
God of War
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn

Family Game of the Year
ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission
Kirby Star Allies
LEGO DC Super-Villains
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Unravel Two

Fighting Game of the Year
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
Dragon Ball Fighter Z
SOULCALIBUR VI
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Racing Game of the Year
Forza Horizon 4
F1 2018
Wreckfest

Role-Playing Game of the Year
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Monster Hunter World
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Sports Game of the Year
FIFA 19
Mario Tennis Aces
MLB The Show 18

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Bad North
Frostpunk
Into the Breach
Northgard
RimWorld

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission
Beat Saber
Dr. Grordbort’s Invaders
Tónandi
Torn

Immersive Reality Game of the Year
ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission
Beat Saber
Moss
Sprint Vector
Transference

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
Celeste
Florence
Into the Breach
Minit
Return of the Obra Dinn

Portable Game of the Year
Dandara
Donut County
Dragalia Lost
Florence
Oddmar

Online Game of the Year
Fortnite
Destiny 2: Forsaken
Laser League
Red Dead Redemption 2
Sea of Thieves

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
God of War
Into the Breach
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Return of the Obra Dinn
Subnautica

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Florence
God of War
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn