Subjective Interpretation - We asked experts across various parts of the industry for their diverse, and personal, view on why some games deserve to be elevated above others. Sure, you know why a certain game is acclaimed, but why do you love it? What aspect of the game deserves to be uniquely celebrated? Global community of games fans can now vote for the EE Game of the Year Award at ee.co.uk/BAFTAGames Ostensibly a drab government building, Control's main setting of The Oldest House is actually a shifting, twisting, and teleporting behemoth, which the team uses to consistently marry the everyday with the supernatural in increasingly bizarre and exciting ways. And exploration around this world is some of the best in third-person action - Marvel may not have ever given us a proper Jean Grey videogame, but playing as Jesse Faden offers enough telekinetic powers to play with that at once feel powerful and spry, weighty yet nimble in a way that translates to both exploration and combat. Control may seem unassuming, just like its location, on the surface, but digging just a couple levels deeper reveals how layered, nuanced, and enchanting its world really is. - Jonathon Dornbush (Read Our Review) 63. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Both the original freeware version of Spelunky, and its 2008 HD remake are two of the most influential games of all time due to their monumental impact that shaped the entire roguelike genre. The HD remake was largely viewed as being a near perfect game, in particular. That is, until Spelunky 2 came along 12 years later and somehow managed to improve upon every single facet of its mechanics without ever sacrificing the procedurally generated magic that made Spelunky so special. Spelunky 2 is a game all about storytelling, only the stories told aren’t the ones the game scripts for you, they’re the ones you craft for yourself by exploring its constantly changing worlds, fighting against nearly impossible odds, with both the successes and the failures being equally memorable. - Mitchell Saltzman (Read Our Review) 74. Return of the Obra Dinn For all its inter-dimensional threats, monster hunts and magic powers, I’ve always thought The Witcher 3’s key achievement is in how it nails the mundane. Geralt’s fantasy world is one of mud, thatch and metal, his main quests are freelance work, and he loves a game of cards down the pub. That sense of reality is what helps you empathise with Geralt, understand the world, and really understand how bad things have gotten when the crazy shit starts popping off. An RPG with enough complexity to satisfy the urge to tinker, but enough character never to feel impersonal, Wild Hunt is a staggering achievement no matter how you look at it. Its story deftly balances cosmic threat and family drama, its choices feel truly meaningful and world-changingly effective, and it looks gorgeous in its own grubby way. Even its two DLC expansions are among the best ever released. Geralt’s final journey might be built on the mundane, but that makes it nothing short of magical. - Joe Skrebels (Read Our Review) 15. Halo 2

And the finalists for 2022 are…

League of Legends exists in a magical place that lies somewhere between intense competition and fun and enjoyable strategy. Though there’s a lot to master, League of Legends is equipped with great modes that make the MOBA easy to learn, yet is still incredibly challenging as players scale the competitive ladder. While the excellent Summoner’s Rift stands as the primary battleground for competitive play, the other modes also provide a great means for a fun chance to practice with Champions when things get too tense. With continuous improvement updates and a constantly changing roster, League of Legends stands as one of the best competitive games in existence. - Miranda Sanchez (Read Our Review) 92. Mega Man 3 Voting for EE Game of the Year opens from today until 12:00PM on Monday 22nd March 2021 at ee.co.uk/BaftaGames. The EE Game of the Year winner will be announced at the BAFTA Games Award on Thursday 25th March 2021. Journey is the closest a video game has come to emulating the effects of poetry. In terms of structure it’s so simple: you must reach a snowy mountain peak visible in the distance. Along the way, your character surfs across glistening deserts, hides from flying creatures made entirely from cloth, and occasionally meets other players embarking on the same pilgrimage. Journey has a unique and special tone: it’s dreamlike and melancholic for the most part, but it’s the rapturous conclusion which truly elevates it. Words like "breathtaking" are used so liberally their meaning has been hollowed out, but Journey deserves to command its full significance. - Daniel Krupa (Read Our Review) 57. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director at EE, said: “We are delighted to announce the return of the EE Game of the Year Award with a shortlist of the six games that have resonated most with fans over the last year. As the UK’s number one network for gaming, we are proud to continue our partnership with the BAFTA Games Awards and to give gamers the platform support and showcase their community.”

Mario's move out of arcades and into the Mushroom Kingdom changed our hobby and our industry as we know it, setting off a chain of events that shaped gaming as we know it today. Super Mario Bros. has been re-released many times, but there's no such thing as too many times because it's still fun and it's still some kid's first time ever playing a game. Its influence cannot be overstated. Example: literally everyone reading this can hum its theme song, right now, from memory. See? Now it's playing in your head again. You're welcome. - Ryan McCaffrey 20. Undertale Nominations for all other categories will be announced Tuesday 2nd March 2021, with the winners announced at the BAFTA Games Awards on Thursday 25th March 2021 Tara Saunders, Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee, said: "Huge congratulations to all of this year’s nominees for the EE Game of The Year award. All six of these games have captured the imaginations of people around the world and represent a diverse range of genres, storylines and gaming experiences. Our other category nominations will be revealed live on BAFTA's Twitch channel on Thursday 2nd March, and we can’t wait to announce the winners on Thursday 30th March.” As a result, the shortlist represents a diverse selection of games spanning eras and genres that had the X-Factor, that little sprinkle of magic, that means that have stood the test of time. Some of the shortlisted titles aren’t even - technically - brilliant games, at least not from a design perspective, but transcended their limitations to burn bright in the memory. Why didn’t you use another voting system and why are we only allowed to vote on 20 games? Where Mass Effect set the stage for a futuristic Milky Way, Mass Effect 2 let you explore and experience so much more of it. As Commander Shepard, I traveled the galaxy on the best recruitment trip I could have wished for, and experienced possibly one of the most heart-wrenching stories – but whether or not the game ends in tears is entirely up to you. As you head out for a suicide mission, you’ll meet some of the best-written characters that feel original and have the power to evoke true emotions. Perhaps one of the best parts about earning the loyalty of each of the companions was discovering more about their respective species and seeing how they’re surviving in a violent galaxy. Maximum loyalty for my companions in Mass Effect 2 was not an option; for my heart’s own good, it was a requirement. - Miranda Sanchez (Read Our Review) 5. Super MetroidThe premise of the game is for the spymasters to try and get their teammates to guess the cards that correspond to their spies' codenames using just one-word clues. Guess right, and your team gets a point—or more if you can find a word that encompasses more than just one spy's codename. As for the Yiga Clan, this connects directly on from BOTW’s ending & their goal is researching and pillaging the depths in preparation for Ganondorfs return - so if anything they are more connected to the main story than last time (even if this is ultimately a side adventure). Bethesda’s epic Starfield achieved lift-off despite the gravity of expectations, while big sequels such as Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 hit the mark. Add a slew of superb AAA remakes, plus indie gems including Dave the Diver, Dredge and Cocoon, and 2023 has a legitimate claim to the best in gaming history. Additional category winners will be selected by a panel of journalists from brands including gamesradar.com, pcgamer.com, FGS, Edge magazine, Retro Gamer and Play magazine, plus Future’s trusted network of freelance writers. These winners will be revealed on the night.

In testing, we found that this game is best suited for a close group of friends or family members around the same age. The Voting Game offers a fun platform to reminisce and poke fun at one another so it's best when played with people you know well. We noticed, however, that after a couple of rounds, the game became more and more predictable. The objective of the game is to name items within certain categories. Each card has one of six different symbols and when two players have the same symbol on the card on the top of their pile, they both race to give as many examples of their opponent's category as they can without repeating a phrase. The fastest player takes his opponent's card and places it facedown in his score pile. Half-Life 2 forever changed our expectations for what a first-person shooter could be. Its richly imagined world and wonderfully paced gameplay is a delight, never letting up and brimming with invention. The Gravity Gun is obviously the poster child of Half-Life 2, turning each environment into a tactile playground in which you can create improvised weapons and solve basic but clever physics puzzles - and its importance can’t be overstated - but there’s an awful lot more here. We’re introduced to Alyx Vance, a supporting character with a rare warmth and intelligence. We’re transported to an iconic city, where Combine barricades loom with grim authority, and Striders stalk the streets with an otherworldly menace. We get to set Antlions on our enemies and in which we play fetch with a robot Dog. In short, it is a truly memorable piece of game design. - Cam Shea (Read Our Review) 8. Red Dead Redemption 2 nofriendo It's definitely not perfect, but BotW would probably be top of my list for the generation as well. It rejuvenated both The Legend of Zelda and open world game design, both of which were becoming very tired and well-worn by that point. It's a magical experience from beginning to end, one that I became fully immersed in. IMMORTALITY is an interactive film video game developed and published by Half Mermaid. The haunting new game from Sam Barlow focuses on actress, Marissa Marcel, who disappeared. Marissa made three movies but none were ever released. Use the game’s cinematic ability to teleport from scene to scene via match-cut and explore a treasure trove of newly unearthed footage from the lost films of Marissa Marcel. Traverse decades of movie history across Ambrosio (1968), Minsky (1970) and Two of Everything (1999). The player can cut their own path through the footage and solve the mystery of: What happened to Marissa Marcel?. The game is available on iOS, Android, macOS, Xbox Series X and Series S, Mac and PC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Similar to the superlative selection process from your high school days, The Voting Game asks you to vote on the “most likely” candidates from your group. Not only were players treated to an excellent RTS experience in StarCraft, but their reward for completing sections of the campaign were evocative visuals that further immersed you in a world where humans are losing a war against brutal aliens. As I played through the storyline I learned to love the different little characters I interacted with and felt genuine anger when the Zerg managed to capture Kerrigan and bend her to their will. Still, the highlight of StarCraft is its multiplayer. Few gaming moments are as satisfying as defending your base against a Zerg rush as the Protoss or successfully sending in a fleet of Terran to decimate an enemy's base. - Destin Legarie 47. World of Warcraft TOTK has a bad, poorly explained, even unexplained story with key elements missing. It is supposed to be a sequel yet acts as it's own game. Almost nothing in the game suggests to or refers to the events that happened in the last game. There is no explanation of why after already activating towers you now have to go reactivate some completely different new towers. Why is every tower not working? Princess Zelda is a dragon (of course they explain why, but....honestly, why)? No real in depth explanation of the Zonai. They just included them to include them. The graphics and game play barely updated. Even more vast areas full of complete nothingness. The entire underground seems as if it is just meant to waste your time and life away. The Yiga clan have even less connection to the story than last time. I can go on and on. Completing this game felt like a chore. Ganondorf had a cool updated version, sure. But what even was the point? Not only did I get completely lost in the massive single-player world of Red Dead Redemption, to the point where I'd started talking with a bit of a drawl because I was so used to hearing it, but it also drew me into online gaming unlike anything I'd played before. Never before had I so successfully crafted my own stories and adventures (with friends and strangers alike) than in Red Dead's Free Roam mode. It was the kind of game you couldn't wait to discuss with your friends the next day. Everyone had their own amazing tales to tell about their time in the old west, and you were constantly making new ones every time you turned it on. - Jon Ryan (Read Our Review) 36. Metal Gear Solid Don’t forget Ultimate Game of the Year, Best Performer and Best Supporting Performer have a separate voting window that opens on Monday, October 23 2023 for one week only.