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Time to break out that ocarina you bought at the ren faire back in high school. If you weren’t feeling your bones enough, today marks the 25th anniversary of the Japanese release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Known for being one of the most iconic and highest-regarded Zelda games to date, Ocarina of Time set into motion a ton of lore and timelines that became a foundation of what we expect from the franchise to this day. While the title came out for the Nintendo 64 on November 21st, 1998 in Japan, we didn’t see it in the US until 2 days later on the 23rd. So, consider the entire rest of the week as a celebration as you eat turkey and solve temple puzzles. As fans are aware, the game wasn’t only on the N64. It’s had multiple iterations, such as being available on the now-defunct Nintendo Wii Virtual Console and (my favorite) as the bundle with the lost Master Quest (or Ura Zelda in Japan) version for the Gamecube. If you’re wondering what you can do with your 3DS now that the eShop is closed down, the answer is that you can grab Ocarina of Time to play offline. You can find the physical 3DS version over on Amazon for around $40. To this day, the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time still is on Metacritic at a whopping 99 out of 100, with all other versions sitting in the 90s as well. Needless to say, Ocarina of Time captured our heart containers with a grappling hook 25 years ago and never let go. It’s time to bust out your old ocarina that you bought to impress your friends and relearn Zelda’s Lullaby today. Disclaimer: If you make a purchase from Amazon, GameCrate may earn a small commission.

“Pokémon, forever and forever, a hundred years, Morty” - Someone at The Pokémon Company, probably. It’s always nice to see some positivity in the games industry, especially with a long-running franchise. Earlier this week, The Guardian sat down with Takato Utsunomiya, COO of The Pokémon Company International and he has high hopes for the company’s future. With last year’s release of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet and this year’s DLC schedule, The Pokémon Company has kept the train going. For those that have lost count, we’re well above 1,000 creatures to catch at this point in the newest games, and they have no intention of stopping. Utsunomiya went into detail about their plans. “My job? I spend all day every day thinking about Pokémon,” he explained. “Our goal is to keep Pokémon alive for hundreds of years – making sure it survives well past our lifetimes.” That’s a lot to take in, considering they’re sitting at just under 28 years, currently, as it stands. The Pokémon franchise has celebrated its birthday every year on February 27th, since 1996. He continued by explaining that original fans have grown up, but they’re still remaining entrenched as they have kids. For instance, this year’s Pokémon World Championships in Yokohama allowed them to see just how true that sentiment is. “I think in the past,” he explained, “we had two separate audiences – younger kids and adults – but now we’re starting to see a family audience where they’re enjoying the experiences together.” The idea is that Pokémon may have a real-world, generational progress where kids grow up to still be fans, tell their kids, who grow up to still be fans, and so on. Pokémon, with this logic, is the Star Wars and Marvel of video games. This is why we see so many experimental and varied apps and games, such as Pokémon Sleep. The second part of the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet DLC expansion, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, will be released on December 14th, 2023. This part is titled The Indigo Disk and focuses on a school built in the middle of the sea. If you’re interested in reading all about the interview with Takato Utsunomiya, it’s found in its entirety on The Guardian.

The League of Legends PBE is looking deep into the Void in the new season. 2024 is nearing fast and with a new year comes new updates from the almost 15-year-old game, League of Legends. Starting today, players on the Public Beta Environment (or PBE for short) can download the newest update to the client to try out the upcoming changes. Summoner’s Rift is getting some overhauls related to the Void, one of the game modes in LoL. But, sadly, there won’t be a Void event at all in 2024, according to the official website. Keep in mind: to get these updates, you have to have an account in good standing and be signed up for the PBE to participate. If you’re not a part of PBE, fear not. You can get these updates in January with the official 14.1 patch, like everyone else. As this is for public beta testing, the changes made today in PBE may be a little rough. That’s the point of beta testing. The majority of the changes today will likely be tweaked or altered by January’s official launch. As mentioned, a ton of the changes involve the Void. For instance, you’ll now see new creatures called Voidgrubs that are Voidborn beasts, showing up early in a game, taking the place of the first Rift Herald. Taking them down earns your whole team the Hunger of the Void buff, which is a bonus toward attacking structures. Yes, it stacks. Speaking of the Rift Herald, it got a new look this time around, looking similar to the Voidgrubs. You can ride her to deal damage to enemies or structures. Just make sure she’s aimed correctly. A ton more is available for the Previews Season in LoL. You can check out the entire list of patch notes and how they affect the Void, Summoner’s Rift as a whole, and more, down below. Or read more about it, in-depth, over on Riot Games’ official blog. Out of everything, I’m a fan of being able to Fist Bump emote with your entire team now. Here are the patch notes from Riot Games: Void Changes Voidgrubs & Voidmites: Voidgrubs are brand new inhabitants of the Baron pit that will be taking the place of the first Rift Herald of each game before despawning at 14 minutes. Starting at five minutes, three Voidgrubs will spawn, each with its own respawn timer, and a maximum of six can spawn in a single game. When aggroed, each Voidgrub will unleash a swarm of Voidmites to attack their enemies. Players that slay Voidgrubs will earn the Hunger of the Void buff that gives the user damage over time bonus damage to structures. This buff stacks based on the amount of Voidgrubs taken down; slaying five or six will cause the player to periodically summon one or two Voidmites, respectively, that will help take down structures. Rift Herald: Rift Herald is back, but with a brand-new, Voidgrub-inspired look. New in Season Start 2024, when players crush the Eye of the Herald, Rift Herald will spawn as usual, but the user or an allied champion will be able to right-click the Rift Herald to jump onto it. The player will then be able to steer the Rift Herald and command it to charge forward, damaging and knocking up any enemy champions in its path. If players charge the Rift Herald into a turret, it will do even more damage than if the Rift Herald charged into it without being controlled. After colliding with terrain or a turret, the champion riding the Rift Herald will be knocked out, going back to their usual selves. Void Camps: Starting at 20 minutes into the game, the next time Blue Sentinel and Red Brambleback respawn, they will rise again as Voidborn Sentinel and Voidborn Brambleback, respectively. Their transformation makes them harder to take down, but now grants their respective buffs to the entire team of the player that takes them down, excluding any allies that were dead at the time of taking the buff down. Also starting at 20 minutes, Rift Scuttler will next respawn as Voidborn Scuttler. When slain, Voidborn Scuttler will send out a massive Scryer’s Bloom effect, revealing all champions and wards in a large surrounding area. Similar to Scryer’s Bloom, all wards revealed this way will be reduced to 1 HP. Baron Nashor: In addition to a visual update, Baron Nashor is also getting three brand new forms: Territorial Baron, Hunting Baron, and All-Seeing Baron. Each of these forms comes with their own terrain changes to the Baron pit. Hunting Baron leaves the pit unchanged, Territorial Baron creates a wall in front of the pit, and finally the All-Seeing Baron closes off the front and opens up both sides creating a tunnel. Additionally, each variation of Baron comes with different attacks: Hunting Baron blasts all nearby enemies with lightning from above, Territorial Baron uses his new hands to pull champions towards him, and All-Seeing Baron opens a Void Rift that creates a damage over time zone within the new tunnel pit. Terrain Changes Top Lane: The top lane will feature two major changes: the terrain on both sides will now be more closely mirrored and there will be a new small wall and brush combination in the middle of the river entrance. Jungle: The biggest terrain change to the jungle will be the addition of wide walls directly across from the Baron and Drake pits. Mid Lane: In mid lane, the brush will be moved back slightly, providing more safety for less mobile champions. Bot Lane: Similar to the change coming to the top lane, a small wall and brush combination will be added to the bot side. Additionally, the blue tri-brush area has been mirrored onto the red side. These changes are designed to make the lane more symmetrical, eliminating any side-based advantages. Additional Changes Item Changes: Mythic Items will be removed from the game with the goals of shifting power from items into the champions themselves and giving players more flexibility with their build paths. With this change, there will come a plethora of item additions, removals and adjustments to power and effects. Additionally, an update to item tooltips will be rolled out, making descriptions more digestible at a glance while keeping detailed information viewable as needed. Drake Changes: Once Infernal Drake’s Infernal Rift is locked in, Infernal Cinders will spawn around the map. Each cinder will give the champion that picked it up adaptive stats and a burst of movement speed. Upon death, champions will drop half of their cinders which can then be picked up by allied or enemy champions. Also, given the new terrain changes, a few of the small walls and brushes for Mountain Drake and Ocean Drake will be moved. Dynamic Music: Alongside visual changes coming to Baron pit, new music will be added when fighting around Baron or other Void objectives.

The Game Awards official X account announced Spyro and Elora this week. Spyro, everyone’s favorite original PlayStation-era dragon, is back. This time, he’s joining up with Crash Bandicoot in the party multiplayer game, Crash Team Rumble. And he isn’t alone! While rumors and leaks have surfaced since the game launched for both Spyro and his friend Elora, the official The Game Awards X account dropped a teaser for the upcoming Season 3, All Fired Up. The teaser shows off Crash Bandicoot leading three others out of a portal that feels right out of the Spyro the Dragon games. Following him are Spyro, Elora, and Ripto. Ripto, Spyro’s nemesis, had already been introduced to Crash Team Rumble back in September’s Season 2, where he helped support the Booster role. But, Spyro was nowhere to be found. While leaks have likely gone into detail on Spyro and Elora’s roles and movesets, nothing has been confirmed just yet. Elora, a character that played a more prominent role in Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, also shows up in the teaser image. She’s a faun from Avalar who gives Spyro hints during the game and gives him the Guidebook, an important item in the game. One additional detail in the The Game Awards teaser for Crash Team Rumble is the use of a lot of gems. Gems, especially in this style, are collectibles in the Spyro games. While a lot of gems are seen in the Toys For Bob Labs modes of the game, they tend to be pads to walk on and not actual gems you can hold. This could be a tease for a new Spyro-inspired game mode going into Season 3. Spyro and Elora land with Season 3 on December 7th, the same day as The Game Awards 2023. You can pick up the game, if you don't already have it, here. Disclaimer: GameCrate is published by and is a subsidiary of Newegg Commerce Inc.

Coming in Q1 2024, the set has quite a few physical and digital goodies. Baldur’s Gate 3 has become an unexpected hero of 2023 in a sea of also fantastic games. But, it’s only been available (only digitally with no physical release) for PlayStation 5 and PC. The good news is that is changing very soon! Larian Studios announced a physical Deluxe Edition of Baldur’s Gate 3, which will only be available on Larian’s own website. You can head over to their site to grab the preorder now, and you’ll see that the game is actually very reasonable in price at only $80. But, what do you get in the physical Baldur’s Gate 3 Deluxe Edition? In the physical Deluxe Edition of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’re getting your money’s worth. Generally speaking, the game retails for $59.99, with the Digital Deluxe DLC for an additional $9.99. But, this version has a ton of physical perks and goodies as well for only $10 more. This version comes in three different flavors: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Yes, Xbox is finally getting a release, which will be on both digital and physical editions going forward. Here’s what you’ll get in it: Physical copy of the game on Xbox Series X (three discs), PS5 (two discs) or PC (one disc containing a CD key and installer) World map Original soundtrack (3 discs) Mind Flayer poster Deluxe Edition box, resembling previous games in the franchise 32 Baldur’s Gate 3 and Larian Studios stickers 2 patches Additionally, the box comes with the digital goods from the $9.99 Digital Deluxe DLC, which includes: Divinity Item Pack Bard Song Pack Exclusive Dice Skin Paintings from Rivellon Adventurer’s Pouch Digital OST Digital Artbook Digital D&D Character Sheets If you have been waiting patiently on the Xbox edition of the game, or just really want to get that physical loot from editions you already had access to, you can preorder the game at Larian Studios’ official website, set to come out Q1 2024.

The new PowerWash Simulator: Back to the Future Special Pack cleans up memorable franchise vehicles and settings. No Gigawatts are needed. When Doc Brown exclaims “Great Scott!” do you think about setting a power wash hose on full power? But that’s just what he may be thinking now with the launch of the PowerWash Simulator: Back to the Future Special Pack. The Back to the Future Special Pack for PowerWash Simulator is available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows and Steam. The expansion’s five new levels are: Doc Brown’s Van Time Machine Hill Valley Clocktower Holomax Theater Doc’s Time Train From the new launch trailer, the expansion is faithful to the film series. For example, the clocktower level shows the entire town square. The Time Machine (you know, the suped up DeLorean) is in the nighttime parking lot of the Twin Pines Mall, which is coincidentally a filming location near GameCrate’s offices. The Holomax theater is the futuristic site from Back to the Future II, which imagined how 2015 would become back in the 1989 movie. Back to the Future Special Pack Launch Trailer Back to the Future is not PowerWash Simulator’s first DLC. Another Special Pack (i.e., paid) featured areas from SpongeBob SquarePants. Free add-ons included Tomb Raider, Midgar (from Final Fantasy) and a couple of Muckingham Files add-ons that are related to the game. PowerWash Simulator is a unique first-person power hosing game. You clean off vehicles, structures and outdoor areas that are covered in undisclosed dark filth. Every level requires power washing using a variety of hose settings to help items sparkle. Clean all dirty surface areas to move to the next level. The game has been called out for its ASMR elements because power washing is surprisingly relaxing and therapeutic to the point of sleep inducing. Developed by FuturLab and published by Square Enix Collective, PowerWash Simulator debuted in July 2022 for Windows and Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. Versions for PS5, PS4 and Switch released this past January and the Quest 2, 3 and Pro versions launched earlier this month. If you’re a PowerWash Simulator player or a Back to the Future fan, this expansion pack may become your “density.” Image: FuturLab / Square Enix Collective / PowerWash Simulator: Back to the Future Special Pack Image: FuturLab / Square Enix Collective / PowerWash Simulator: Back to the Future Special Pack

The Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora DLC and season pass finally got detailed. The upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is shaping up to be a pretty expansive experience for fans of the nearly 15-year-old franchise. With the second movie, Avatar: The Way of Water, hitting theaters last year and Disney embracing the films more and more, a proper video game was only a matter of time that wasn’t just a rehash of the films. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a fast-approaching first-person, open-world game set on (as you likely guessed by the title) Pandora, Avatar’s beautiful jungle paradise of a planet. The game will be set after the events of the first film but on a completely different side of the planet. While the events of the first movie happened, it doesn’t mean that everyone on the tribal planet knows what went down. This means that the planet’s blue-skinned inhabitants, the Na’vi, are just trying to protect their home from the invading RDA corporation. You play as one of those Na’vi. But, with such a big game, there’s always going to be additional content post-release. Ubisoft previously announced a season pass for Frontiers of Pandora but didn’t offer many details on what that included. The season pass includes 2 story packs, a bonus quest, and the resistance bundle. The first story pack, The Sky Breaker, set to come out next summer, will have players “face a mysterious shadow.” The second pack, Secrets of the Spires, focuses more on “epic aerial battles” and is due out next fall. The bonus mission, Familiar Echoes, tasks the player to infiltrate an RDA base to sabotage their databases. Additionally, the aforementioned “resistance” bundle is a special cosmetic for your equipment and banshee mount, the flying, bird-like creatures of the franchise. Currently, the only way to get the season pass is by grabbing the Gold or Ultimate editions of the game, which pops the $69.99 game up to $109.99 and $129.99 respectively. That will likely change after launch, though. You can grab the game when it launches on December 7th.

Black Friday gets earlier and earlier every year… It’s after Halloween, meaning the holiday season is officially upon us. So that you don’t have to worry about shopping after eating turkey, Newegg is starting their Black Friday deals a week early. While there are plenty of sales for non-gaming items going on during the month, they definitely took some major steps in giving gamers the gift of deals this year. Diving into the mix, you can find discounts on gaming laptops to gaming consoles to PC components and accessories. There are a lot, and this is likely just a taste of what to expect when the sale starts. Just a few highlights include incredibly low-priced gaming computers, for instance. Yes, that includes both desktop PC and laptop. In laptops, you can find the Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8, which offers a 15.6” screen, Intel Core i5, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050, 8GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD. While it isn’t going to play games at the highest settings, it’ll get you where you need to go, especially for only $749.99 right now, down $350 from its usual price. For just $100 more, though, you can get your hands on a bit more power with the MSI GF Series laptop. This one supes up the specs to be an Intel Core i7 (albeit, an older generation), 32GB RAM, and 1TB SSD. The graphics card also amps up slightly to a GeForce RTX 4060. Speaking of MSI, there’s a desktop for $200 off right now, if you prefer something a bit more solid. The MSI Gaming Desktop Aegis R 12NUC7-635US rocks a similar 12th Generation Intel Core i7 and 1TB SSD. For $999 right now, a desktop-style NVIVIA GeForce RTX 4060 and 16GB of RAM will do you just fine for most gaming. If that just isn’t enough RAM, no worries! Corsair has you covered with their trademark RGB desktop memory. For $102.99, you can snag 32GB to drop into a DDR5 PC. Plus, it changes colors in your case. If you’re on a budget, you can’t go wrong with Acer Gaming, though. Acer has a desktop gaming PC for $659.99. You get an Intel Core i5 (13th Generation!), 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SDD, and a GeForce RTX 3050 built in. If you want a tad bit more power to the graphics card in the Acer, ASUS has a version of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti White OC Edition that’ll look real nice in a clean desktop. Pick it up for only $299.99. Some of these items are hot commodities, so get them quick! The Black Friday deals mentioned are already going. But, once the sale starts on November 17th, there will be even more. When the Cyber Monday deal starts a week later, some of those sales may change, but new ones will take their place. So, keep an eye out on Newegg for the rest of the month! Disclaimer: GameCrate is published by and is a subsidiary of Newegg Commerce Inc.

This shooter Is engaging, underwhelming, and different but still good…just not at the same time. For years, Call of Duty has essentially been three interconnected games in one: a story-driven single-player game, a co-op game that often features zombies, and a competitive multiplayer game, all sharing common locations and timeframe. But Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III marks the first time when the disparity between these modes is so great that we cannot recommend it if you only play one of them. One specific one. For those who play well with others… For most people, Call of Duty starts and ends with multiplayer. And in this regard, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III feels like it has for years (which, depending on your perspective, is either good or a sign this needs to be rebooted). There are the increasingly rewarding kill streaks, the satisfying leveling-up rewards, and, of course, such fan-favorite modes as "Team Deathmatch," "Kill Confirmed," and "Ground War." It also, of course, has the usual upgrades and changes every new installment gets. This, in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, includes bringing back the helpful red dot minimap that was glaringly absent in 2019's Modern Warfare and 2022's Modern Warfare II, and which allows players to see if someone nearby has used a weapon without a suppressor, making for even more energetic battles. But the biggest addition to multiplayer is "Cutthroat," in which three teams of three players each try to eliminate the competition three times. It's like "Team Deathmatch" if you were always outnumbered. It's also faster and less forgiving. There's no mid-round respawning (though teammates can revive you); while said rounds are short, and end when two teams are eliminated or, if time runs out, someone grabs the overtime flag. All of which makes it frantic and fun, though it's decidedly better if you're paired with people who value teamwork (good luck with that). As fun as "Cutthroat" and the rest of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III's multiplayer is, though, the map situation leaves a lot to be desired. Specifically: new maps. Of the 20 included at launch, 16 are from 2011's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Granted, they’ve been remastered, but they're still the same maps we memorized 12 years ago. For those who don't play well with others… Next, there's single-player. Which, as Call of Duty campaigns go, is pretty typical, but decidedly thin compared to others. While Call of Duty's campaigns are always short — especially next to such fellow first-person shooters as Halo and Doom — they usually compensate by being nicely varied in clever ways, and full of over-the-top cinematic moments, which makes them so effortlessly fun that you want to play them multiple times. However, while the one in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has variety, it's the same variety we've gotten before...and better in other games. This becomes glaringly obvious when you swim up to a dock to quietly shoot some guards, only to realize it's a shallower version of something you did in Modern Warfare II. There's also nothing as exhilarating, or as cinematic, as Modern Warfare II's Matrix-meets-Dead Space-meets-Battlefield car chase. In MWIII, you never go from manning a turret in a helicopter gunship to hanging upside down from the chopper to jumping from one truck to another. That said, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III's campaign does add one (relatively) new idea: large, multi-objective battlefields (think Sniper Elite 5 or Wolfenstein Youngblood). These not only give you multiple ways to reach your objectives, but they also give your enemies multiple ways to come at you. As a result, these parts have the kind of frantic, seat-of-your-pants firefights that are a hallmark of this series. They also add some engaging games of cat & mouse, especially when it's dark or the area is intricate. It's during these moments that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III's single-player mode redeems itself somewhat. Though the operative word is "somewhat." While the campaign may not be terrible — this isn't as dull as 2005's Call of Duty 2: Big Red One — it's also not as good as any that have come in the intervening 18 years. For those who brains brains brains… Finally, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III has a rather different version of "Zombies." Taking a cue from the campaign (or, more accurately, the "DMZ" mode in Call of Duty: Warzone), this co-op mode also sets its action in large, open areas, though these are considerably larger. They also have multiple objectives, including somewhere you fight interlopers who are very much alive. By setting "Zombies" in such huge open areas, it gives you a real sense of loneliness and dread. This is amplified by how there are not always a lot of zombies in any one spot, though there might be some lurking around the corner. Though you also never know whether they're the fast or slow kind or some kind of super zombie. That said, when the horde does come, it comes hard. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III's "Zombies" is also more of a free-for-all than the progression we normally face in this mode. Though it does still have many of the usual mechanics, such as the incongruous Doom-like power-ups and an announcer on loan from Mortal Kombat 1. As engaging as "Zombies" can be, though, it is a bit complicated and not explained well, even if you've played this mode in previous games. It's also a bummer that, unlike those previous games, you can't play "Zombies" in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III on your own. Though that's probably for the best since — like "Cutthroat" mode in multiplayer — this works best when you have a competent and observant team by your side. Still, if you're prejudiced against the living impaired, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III's "Zombies" is an interesting spin on this familiar co-op mode. Time To End This... In the end, as you've probably surmised, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III is worth getting if you're going to play multiplayer, "Zombies," some combination of the two, or one or both, and the campaign. Just don't buy it only for the campaign; it's not worth it. At least not at full price. This may be three games in one, but it really feels like two and a half. Do you have any thoughts about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III? Tell us in the comments below, or talk about it on X, Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, Instagram, and HIVE Social. Don’t forget to tag us in the discussion! And keep an eye on more from GameCrate!

Apparently, they could have just called it “The Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake II Awards” and just…walked away. If you’re a music fan, you get the Emmys. If you’re a film or television fan, the Academy Awards and Oscars is your event to have a party over. For gaming fans, however, we have Geoff Keighley’s big annual event, The Game Awards. Just like any awards show, the nominees are among the finest of the previous year. While the nominations are chosen by a panel, votes are tallied from fans. Unlike the other awards shows, they also turn it into a great way to tease what’s to come in the future with World Premiere trailers, so anyone can pop onto Twitch or pull it up on the TV via YouTube during the event. In any case, there are a ton of various categories and a single Game of the Year award at the very end. This year seems to have a pretty hefty lean toward a couple of games in particular, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2. But, the Starfield fans may have something to say about that, with only a single nomination. All three got very high marks on GameCrate. Another game that got a bunch of nominations is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which is also up for that Game of the Year Award as well. One thing worth mentioning is that a lot of games to make it to the lists are sequels to major franchises. Remakes of older games, such as Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space, also made their way into the nominations, which feels almost like cheating if it’s remaking a much older game. Meanwhile, indies really shined, such as Goodbye Volcano High and Dredge, both of which we reviewed earlier this year. Another title that got onto the list is Sea of Stars, a title worth playing if you have Game Pass. Check out the full list of nominees below and go vote for your favorites on the official The Game Awards website. The Game Awards Nominees Game of the Year Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Resident Evil 4 (Capcom) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Best Game Direction Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2(Insomniac Games/SIE) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Best Adaptation Castlevania: Nocturne (Powerhouse Animation/Netflix) Gran Turismo (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures) The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination/Nintendo/Universal Pictures) Twisted Metal (PlayStation Productions/Peacock) Best Narrative Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red) Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Best Art Direction Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Best Score and Music Alan Wake 2, Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Baldur’s Gate 3, Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios) Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix) Hi-Fi Rush, Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Composed by Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Best Audio Design Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA) Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Resident Evil 4 (Capcom) Best Performance Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI Cameron Monaghan, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Melanie Liburd, Alan Wake 2 Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3 Yuri Lowenthal, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Innovation in Accessibility Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment) Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios) Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games) Street Fighter 6 (Capcom) Games for Impact A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio/Toge Productions/Chorus) Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc/Focus Entertainment) Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP) Tchia (Awaceb/Kepler Interactive) Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital/Netflix) Venba (Visai Games) Best Ongoing Game Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA) Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red) Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix) Fortnite (Epic Games) Genshin Impact (HoYoverse) Best Community Support Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red) Destiny 2 (Bungie) Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix) No Man’s Sky (Hello Games) Best Independent Game Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive) Dave the Diver (MINTROCKET) Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17) Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio) Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing) Best Debut Indie Game Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive) Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17) Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza) Venba (Visai Games) Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing) Best Mobile Game Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix) Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse) Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment) Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom) Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver/Netflix) Best VR/AR Game Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE) Humanity (tha LTD/Enhance Games) Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games/Firesprite/SIE) Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom) Synapse (nDreams) Best Action Game Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver) Ghostrunner 2 (One More Level/505 Games) Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) Remnant 2 (Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing) Best Action/Adventure Game Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Resident Evil 4 (Capcom) Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment/EA) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Best RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games) Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio) Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks) Best Fighting Game God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil/Modus Games) Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games) Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill Entertainment) Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio/PQube) Street Fighter 6 (Capcom) Best Family Game Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios/Disney) Party Animals (Recreate Games) Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Sonic Superstars (Arzest/Sonic Team/Sega) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Best Sim/Strategy Game Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward/Nintendo) Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive) Company of Heroes 3 (Relic Entertainment/Sega) Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo) Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Best Sports/Racing EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports) F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports) Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios) Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone) The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft) Best Multiplayer Presented by Discord Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment) Party Animals (Recreate Games) Street Fighter 6 (Capcom) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Most Anticipated Game Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) Hades II (Supergiant Games) Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega) Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft) Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco/Arika) Content Creator of the Year IronMouse PeopleMakeGames Quackity Spreen SypherPK Best Esports Game Counter-Strike 2 (Valve) Dota 2 (Valve) League of Legends (Riot Games) PUBG Mobile (LightSpeed Studios/Tencent Games) Valorant (Riot Games) Best Esports Athlete Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends) Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (CS:GO) Max “Demon1” Mazanov (Valorant) Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez (Call of Duty) Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk (League of Legends) Phillip ”ImperialHal” Dosen (Apex Legends) Best Esports Team Evil Geniuses (Valorant) Fnatic (Valorant) Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2) JD Gaming (League of Legends) Team Vitality (Counter-Strike) Best Esports Coach Christine “potter” Chi (Evil Geniuses - Valorant) Danny “zonic” Sorensen (Team Falcons - Counter-Strike) Jordan “Gunba” Graham (Florida Mayhem - Overwatch) Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Team Vitality - Counter-Strike) Yoon “Homme” Sung-young (JD Gaming - League of Legends) Best Esports Event 2023 League of Legends World Championship Blast.tv Paris Major 2023 EVO 2023 The International Dota 2 Championships 2023 VALORANT Champions 2023 You can join the official The Game Awards Discord server and go vote on your selections on their official website.

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DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing brings the entire family and your animated movie collection to the race track. Arcade racing games were a more crowded genre a long time ago with franchises like Burnout, Project Gotham Racing and Need for Speed. Now, players rely on GTA or a sim racing game (Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo) to get their fix. But kart racing games, thanks to the huge success of the Mario Kart series, are still thriving because they’re easy to play, social (online or in the same room) and accessible to almost any age. Play a game of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in the same room on a TV screen with just about anyone – a child or grandparent – and there’s going to be laughter and smack talk, even if one or both players are either far behind or far ahead from the pack. The popular kart racing genre now includes Sonic the Hedgehog, Disney, Nickelodeon Nick Toons, Garfield, Smurfs and Paw Patrol, among non-descript original franchises. Now, DreamWorks Animation has thrown its hat in the large ring with DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing, which pits disparate DreamWorks Animation characters against each other on tracks inspired by DreamWorks Animation settings. While it isn’t the first time that these characters have appeared together in a kart racing game, seeing the DreamWorks characters together in one place is always pleasant and welcome. We haven’t seen them together since 2011’s DreamWorks Super Star Kartz, and a lot of new faces made it this time around. Now, you can find characters like Po (Kung Fu Panda) and Mr. Wolf (The Bad Guys), among mainstays like Shrek and Hiccup. In a game all about characters, it feels like there could have been even more. The franchises are each good on their own but there’s a small taste of each, only two characters maximum (on average) appear as drivable characters. If you like How To Train Your Dragon, like my son, you get Hiccup and Astrid with inspired vehicles and race tracks, but there are no other Vikings or dragons. I would have at least liked to have seen Toothless driving a car. Shrek is probably the most popular character in DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing, even though it’s been over 12 years since we’ve had one of his films in a theater if you don’t count the Shrek Broadway play about a decade ago. Puss in Boots, the titular character of last year’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and friend of Shrek, also made it into the game. One of the most current animated film franchises, Trolls, is featured in every race. This is because you have to pick up 15 musical notes along a track, which opens a Trolls special ability which provides a weapon to take down other racers. Otherwise, the only two unlockable Trolls characters are Bridget and King Gristle. The game plays perfectly well and that’s because developer GameMill knows its way around a kart racer, having developed Nickelodeon Kart Racers 1, 2 and 3. For a game so focused on picking up musical notes along each track, the in-game and menu music is generic and disappointing. There are no familiar tunes from any of the animated properties. Trolls is all about music so you’d think they would focus on memorable songs. The game does give you quite a bit to do. Beating certain racing cups in Cups mode with specific characters opens up new car parts and additional characters. Beating challenges in Challenge mode is another way to unlock items. Those challenges make the game progress to a point where it’s harder and adds replayability. In addition to multiple racing modes, you can set the bots at four different difficulty levels: Relaxed, Regular, Turbo, and Lightning. Relaxed is for younger players while Lightning amps up the competition. Before setting off on most races, you get a choice of characters and then pick a kart chassis, engine, wheel type and spoiler to slightly modify your vehicle. These kart modifications adjust speed, turbo, handling, charisma and weight. In Single Player, the four modes are: Cups, four races to collect points on the circuit to win; Free Race, a single race with setting options; Challenge and Time Trial. Challenge mode opens a variety of single-race challenges. Complete the challenge to open more races with new challenges. Ascending each tier can be difficult but it adds variety. Multiplayer allows up to four players being about to race on the same console, letting you to race someone directly next to you. All 20 race tracks and environments are fantastic. You really feel like you’re driving within the specific DreamWorks Animation world on each track and the courses vary and offer shortcuts. It looks like GameMill may have spent the most time on creating great environments and it pays off. I feel like something could be said about what's being said. Voice acting is where this game really stumbles right from the opening Tutorial level. The Tutorial is the first thing you play and has you driving as Donkey from Shrek to learn the controls and gameplay. Sure, Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers weren’t available to voice Donkey and Shrek, respectively, but the voices for most characters are pretty far off the mark. Also, during races, characters repeat the same lines over and over to the point of it being a nuisance and distraction from the experience. The weapon pick-ups feature a DreamWorks logo (the boy fishing in a crescent moon) inside a box frame. It’s odd seeing the logo so much because it’s not as common as the Disney or Warner Bros. logos, but there aren’t really other options. Picking up music notes throughout each track triggers Trolls attaching to your vehicle and helping you with special moves to go faster. Running over a lyre (the musical instrument) in specific parts of the track opens new ramps called Magic Paths that lead to shortcuts above the track. There are 20 characters in total with eight available at the start. Shrek, Po (Kung Fu Panda), Mr. Wolf (The Bad Guys), Alex (Madagascar), Tigress (Kung Fu Panda), Fiona (Shrek), Hiccup (How to Train Your Dragon), and Puss in Boots are the starters. Unfortunately, there are no characters from DreamWorks Animations’ Croods, Ruby Gillman, Captain Underpants, Turbo, Bee Movie or Antz. Turbo, a movie about a racing snail, seems like a no-brainer. Licensed kids games have received a bad reputation based on the quality of games through the decades. But they can be done well, and DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing is among the higher-quality video games that use animated properties. Honestly, it's fun for all ages, especially for the kids. My kids liked the game but both said it’s not nearly as good as the Mario Kart games. They said the Mario Kart games offer more characters and better gameplay. Since the Mario Kart games are the gold standard for kart racing, finishing in second or third place is still admirable. Also, my son wanted to watch How to Train Your Dragon based on being reminded of that franchise from this video game. A really unfortunate issue/glitch was when I switched profiles in the main menu to another Xbox profile and then switched back – the original game save was no longer available and all racing progress was lost. The save still showed in the Xbox menu but it wasn’t accessible. I wanted to unlock Megamind but it’s not in the cards any longer. For a kart racing game, DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing can be a lot of fun. There’s enough variety packed in here to play for several hours and the tracks are all diverse and interesting. The DreamWorks animated characters and tracks through the years are often classics. It’s too bad the voice acting isn’t more on point and that there aren’t more characters to play at the start of the game or can be unlocked via progress. Do you have any thoughts about DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing? Tell us in the comments below, or talk about it on X, Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, Instagram, and HIVE Social. Don’t forget to tag us in the discussion! And keep an eye on more from GameCrate!