Ruim twee weken na de Dutch Game Awards was België aan de beurt om de beste games uit eigen land in het zonnetje te zetten. Het mag geen verrassing zijn dat Baldur’s Gate 3 met de meeste awards naar huis ging.
Hieronder een overzicht van alle Belgian Game Awards winnaars. Onder elke winnaar het (onvertaalde) citaat uit het juryrapport.
XR Game of the Year
GAZZLERS van Bolt Blaster Games
Uit het jury rapport: What the jury had to say: “GAZZLERS is a game with universal appeal that makes losing feel like fun. The game is very intuitive and makes good use of the VR medium. It makes you want to come back for more. The art direction is remarkable, the game is well polished and the voice acting is sublime.”
Best Applied Game
Please, Touch The Artwork 2 van Thomas Waterzooi
“Please, Touch The Artwork 2 is easily accessible and can be used anywhere: from the kitchen to the museum or in schools. It brings the big C of Culture to anyone using the medium of a game”
Best Narrative
Baldur’s Gate 3 van Larian Studios
“Baldur’s Gate 3 is in a league of its own. The game stayed true to the studio’s DNA while thriving on a huge and impressive IP. The communities that arose around the game’s characters, such as Astarion, have never been seen before. There is an enormous amount of effort and content put in the narrative lines. The storylines and characters became real for many players;
which makes this game unique.”
Best Audio
Baldur’s Gate 3 van Larian Studios
“A lot of the emotions and immersion in Baldur’s Gate 3 come to the player through the music. The music is even used in other media to set the atmosphere of a scene (e.g. De Mol). The voice acting is sublime and the game single-handedly launched the career of its voice actors. Goosebumps all over every time we start-up it up and the first score starts.”
Best Visual Art
The Man Came Around van Pipette Inc
“Developed by a single person, The Man Came Around managed to set a very strong identity. If you see a screenshot of this game, you immediately recognize the art style. A simple style that works and doesn’t follow the 2D trends.”
Best Game Design
Baldur’s Gate 3 van Larian Studios
“Even if you hate turn-based-combat, you’ll still love Baldur’s Gate 3 as it made the Dungeons & Dragons rules less boring. Every detail is just right: the difficulty levels are well balanced and there is an undeniable Larian touch in the way the toy box elements have been perfected.”
Best Multiplayer
Breachers van Triangle Factory
“If Counterstrike and Rainbow 6 would have a love-child in VR, Breachers would be it! With a huge player community – and some practice to get the hang of it – once you’re in, you are hooked.”
Student Game of the Year
Nebelmer van Haute École Albert Jacquard studenten
“Nebelmer offers an incredible experience and is so well polished for a student game. Please finish it and put it on the market!”
Most-Anticipated Game
Laser Dance van Studio Vanbo
“Laser Dance is the perfect Mixed Reality game to showcase to people who don’t grasp the concept yet. Any room in your house can be turned into a unique level and the possibilities are endless. Brilliant concept with flawless execution, we can’t wait to play more of it!”
Best Tech Provider
Demute
“Demute has an impressive track record working on scopes ranging from big AAA titles to humble indie games. They have worked on over 20 Belgian games and remain an important element for our Belgian games ecosystem. But they have big news to share: in January 2025, they will open a new
branch in Montreal to better serve their North American clients while still offering advice, audio services, tools and shared knowledge to Belgian studios.”
Changemaker of the Year
BrainBugs
“BrainBugs has a unique focus on using games to solve social and ethical questions. For instance, they are working on a game that raises the topic of AI-use and the ethics surrounding that. They actively use the medium of video games to contribute to change in our society.”
Most-Promising Start-Up Studio
Maracas Studio
“Maracas is a young studio with a very holistic view. They know where they come from, who they are and where they are going. The studio works on a diverse portfolio of games and carefully adjusts which projects to invest in, while also giving back to the local community through their recurring developer meet-ups.”
Game of the Year en Audience Award
Baldur’s Gate 3 van Larian Studios
“Het lijkt erop dat de jury van de Belgian Game Awards en de stemmers thuis het eens waren over hun favoriete titel, want Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 heeft zowel de Game Of The Year als de Audience Award gewonnen. Dit is geen verrassing, want de epische RPG geïnspireerd op D&D heeft wereldwijd alle grote award shows gewonnen, dus het lijkt alleen maar passend dat het hetzelfde doet op eigen bodem”, aldus de organisatie.
De Belgian Game Awards worden georganiseerd door FLEGA en BelgianGames met steun vanuit de industrie. De awards werden uitgereikt in aanwezigheid van de kersverse Vlaamse minister van Media, Cieltje Van Achter.