Astro Bot has dominated the Bafta Games Awards, picking up five gongs including the top prize for best game
The title's success is a cheerful reminder that sometimes games are just about having fun, our reporter at the ceremony writes
Other winners include Still Wakes the Deep and Balatro, which nabbed the debut game award
Meanwhile Best British Game went to Yorkshire breakthrough comedy Thank Goodness You're Here - you can read a full list of the winners here
Image source, BaftaKaren Dunbar has won for the role of Finlay in Still Wakes the Deep.
It's Dunbar's first Bafta award and the second win for the Scottish psychological horror game so far tonight.
Dunbar offers her thanks to various key supporters and figures in the development of the game before declaring "and thank you to Scotland!!"
This award goes to the actor who gave the best performance in a supporting role, from voice acting to motion capture. The nominees are:
Image source, BaftasVampire Survivors picks up the evolving game award!
It was a surprising winner of Bafta’s best game award back in 2023.
Originally developed by Luca Galante - aka Poncle - during a period of unemployment, this retro-tinged 2D game tasks players with surviving against waves of attacking enemies, unlocking new power-ups each time they die.
Since its Bafta win, the game has been released on PlayStation consoles and released expansions using characters from developer Konami.
These include characters from the game Castlevania - the legendary vampire-slaying franchise that partly inspired Vampire Survivors’ original aesthetic.
This one goes to the best updates to a game - it must have been released before 2024 and is continuing to receive substantial regular updates. The nominees are:
Image source, BaftaLooking away from awards for a moment, Freya Ridings is now taking to the stage to play her hit song I Can’t Hear It Now.
If you’re a fan of the Netflix show Arcane - the anime adaptation of League of Legends - you’ll certainly be familiar with this gorgeous ballad which opened the show’s second season.
Ridings is an English singer-songwriter who is known for the depth of storytelling in her lyrics and her rich vocals.
Image source, BaftasAnd the team at ATLUS and SEGA wins this one for Metaphor: ReFantazio!
It's the much-anticipated new release from the creators of the Persona 5, which is widely considered one of the best role-playing games coming out of Japan.
While the story is a fantasy, the game seriously tackles heavy themes like racism and politics.
It’s set in the United Kingdom of Euchronia, a medieval fantasy world where the king is assassinated and the prince is cursed.
The protagonist, from a tribe discriminated against in the kingdom, sets out on a quest to break the curse and compete in the tournament for the throne.
The game has also been a commercial hit, reporting one million sales on launch day.
The narrative award goes to the most captivating or engaging storytelling in game. The nominees are:
Actor Neil Newbon - who has voiced characters in Detroit: Become Human, Resident Evil and Baldur's Gate 3 - presents this one.
Image source, BaftaThe award goes to Thank Goodness You're Here!
The duo behind it, James Carbutt and Will Todd are on stage to accept the award.
They say the central thesis of Thank Goodness is the live of people in communities like the fictional Barnsworth - inspired by their hometown of Barnsley in Yorkshire.
To kids growing up in towns in the north, they say "we hope this inspires you to tell you own story".
"From a stupid idea we had one weekend all the way to the stage," they remark.
Thank Goodness You're Here is a “comedy slapformer”, more of an interactive cartoon than a game.
But its mixture of Monty Python/League of Gentlemen-esque surreal humour and quirky visual style made it a hit with critics.
The best British game is now being awarded - this one is open to any game led by a British studio and the majority of the development of which happened in Britain. The nominees are:
Image source, BaftasAnd it's number three for Astro Bot, as it picks up Best Animation!
On stage, developers dedicate the award to lead animator Jamie Smith who did "fantastic work" along with the rest of the animation team.
Critics praised the game's creativity and good, old-fashioned sense of fun.
It’s time to award the animators who best brought their game to life. The nominees are:
Image source, BaftasTales of Kenzera: Zau!
The debut game from Surgent Studios, a development company established by actor Abubakar Salim. He’s appeared in TV shows and Raised by Wolves, but is best known to gamers as Bayek, the lead character in Assassin’s Creed: Origins.
It takes inspiration from Bantu legends of Africa to tell the story of Zau - a young shaman who embarks upon a quest to revive his late father.
But what makes this game more than just entertainment is that it was inspired by his own experience of grief after losing his own father.
A tearful Salim takes to the stage to "shout out those who really supported me through this journey".
This one goes to the game with the most impact outside of its entertainment value - something which elicits some sort of transformational experience beyond pure entertainment.
It was introduced in 2018 to help better recognise the “unique and maturing medium of games” - such as those which aim to raise awareness of certain issues, have an emotional impact, or engage with real world problems.
Previous winners include Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, My Child Lebensborn and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
This year's nominees are:
Tom McKay, known for his iconic performance in Kingdom Come: Deliverance presents this one.
Image source, Sony/ Team AsobiAstro Bot wins its second award of the night with the family game award.
The dev team are back onstage, describing Astro Bot as a "generation bridge" connecting people who have grown up with PlayStation over its 30 years who might be playing Astro Bot with their kids today.
This award goes to the game that gives the best experience for a family audience with a PEGI rating of 12 or lower. The nominees are:
Image source, BaftasAnd the development team at Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios wins the award for their work on Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II!
The game is a sequel to Cambridge-based - and Microsoft-owned - studio Ninja Theory’s 2017 title (and multiple Bafta Games Award winner) Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
Hellblade II is a technical achievement, praised for its incredibly life-like graphics and clever use of immersive sound.
In the sound department especially, it follows in the footsteps of the original, using binaural audio to bring Norse warrior Senua’s psychosis to life.
The team worked closely with patients and academic experts to portray the condition with care.
This one considers the programming and engineering behind a game. The nominees are:
Star of Assasin's Creed Shadows, MASUMI is here to present the award.
Image source, BaftasHelldivers 2 picks up its first award of the night, winning best multiplayer game.
It's up for four other awards tonight.
Johan Pilestedt, from Arrowhead Game Studios says gamers have reached out to him to say that Helldivers 2 has brought them back together with their gaming groups from 10-15 years ago. "Thats' such an honour," he says.
Helldivers 2 was a smash hit upon its release. Launching players into a satirical universe inspired by 1990s sci-fi movie Starship Troopers, the game requires them to work in squads to take out giant, insect-like enemies.
Its success was so unexpected that Swedish studio Arrowhead had to race to boost its server capacity due to early player demand.
This award goes to the best multiplayer experience, whether social, online or local. The nominees are:
Image source, BaftasAnd it goes to Scotland-based horror game Still Wakes the Deep!
Set on a Scottish oil rig in the 1970s, the game was developed by Brighton-based studio The Chinese Room.
It was praised for its performances, which are largely delivered in thick Scottish or regional northern accents, its setting and sense of place, and its engaging storyline.