In brief: The 41st Golden Joystick Awards took place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London this week, and it should come as no surprise to learn that one game absolutely dominated proceedings: Baldur's Gate 3, winner of seven awards including the coveted Ultimate Game of the Year. There was also a big award for Starfield, which won Xbox Game of the Year.
2023 has been one of the best years for game releases in recent memory – here's some PC titles you should be playing. But Baldur's Gate 3 has stood above the rest as the highest-rated PC game ever on Metacritic, the best overall game ever on OpenCritic, PC Gamer UK's best-scoring game of all time, and the list goes on.
The Golden Joystick Awards is also known as the People's Gaming Awards as the winners are voted for by the general public. Five million people showed their love for Baldur's Gate 3 by crowning it winner in the storytelling, best visual design, studio of the year (Larian), best game community, best-supporting performer (Neil Newbon as Astarion), PC game of the year, and the ultimate game of the year categories. You can see the entire list of nominees and winners at the bottom of the page.
Only one other game secured multiple awards during the event: Final Fantasy 16, for best audio and best lead performer - Ben Starr for his performance as Clive Rosfield.
Some other notable winners included the once-hated No Man's Sky. Thanks to its amazing turnaround in fortunes since being released in 2016, the space/survival game secured the Still Playing award. Another unsurprising win went to the amazing Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty for best expansion, while the critics' choice award went to another top title of 2023, Alan Wake II. As for the most wanted game among voters, that was Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
One game that hasn't been as universally loved as Baldur's Gate 3 is Starfield. Bethesda's massive adventure RPG was one of the most anticipated games in years, but it's fair to say that the reception didn't live up to the hype in many cases. However, despite a user score of 7.0 on Metacritic, voters still chose Starfield as the Xbox game of the year. Its category wasn't the strongest, admittedly - Chants of Sennaar, Hi-Fi Rush, Planet of Lana, Dead Space Remake, and Pentiment – but while this writer is a big fan of the last two, I'd still have expected Starfield to win here.
Full list of nominations and winners:
Best Storytelling
- Baldur's Gate 3 (winner)
- The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood
- Armored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicon
- Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals
- Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Still Playing
- No Man's Sky (winner)
- Genshin Impact
- The Sims 4
- Fortnite
- Naraka Bladepoint
- GTA Online
- Warframe
- Valorant
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive / Counter-Strike 2
- Apex Legends
- Dota 2
- Call of Duty
Best Visual Design
- Baldur's Gate 3 (winner)
- Starfield
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Viewfinder
- Lies of P
- Street Fighter 6
Studio of the Year
- Larian Studios (winner)
- Digital Eclipse
- Nintendo EPD
- Mimimi Games
- Remedy Entertainment
- CD Projekt Red
Best Game Expansion
- Power Wash Simulator DLC
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (winner)
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom
- The Case of the Golden Idol Mysteries: The Lemurian Vampire and Spider of Lanka
- Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
- A Little to the Left: Cupboards & Drawers
Best Indie Game
- Dave the Diver
- Pizza Tower
- Dredge
- Cocoon
- Viewfinder
- Sea of Stars (winner)
Best Multiplayer Game
- Exoprimal
- Diablo 4
- Street Fighter 6
- Remnant 2
- Mortal Kombat 1 (winner)
- We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip
Best Audio
- Stray Gods
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
- Starfield
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Final Fantasy 16 (winner)
Best Game Trailer
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Official Cinematic Trailer (winner)
- Alan Wake 2 - The Dark Place Gameplay Trailer
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Official Trailer #3
- Baby Steps Reveal Trailer
- Mortal Kombat 1 - Official It's In Our Blood Trailer
- Dave the Diver - Official Release Month And Accolades Trailer
Best Game Community
- Final Fantasy 14
- Warframe
- Baldur's Gate 3 (winner)
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Dreams
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Best VR game
- C-Smash VRS
- Horizon Call of the Mountain (winner)
- Synapse
- Vertigo 2 VR
- F1 23 VR
- The Light Brigade
Best Gaming Hardware
- PlayStation VR2 (winner)
- Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Headset
- Alienware 34 AW3423DWF
- Nitro Deck
- ASUS ROG Strix Scope II 96
- Samsung 990 PRO
Breakthrough Award
Cocoon / Geometric Interactive
Critics' Choice Award
Alan Wake 2
Best Streaming Game
Valorant
Best Lead Performer
- Ben Starr - Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy 16 (winner)
- Yuri Lowenthal - Peter Parker in Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- Cameron Monaghan - Cal Kestis in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Ilkka Villi and Matthew Porretta - Alan Wake in Alan Wake 2
- Nadji Jeter - Miles Morales in Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- Ellise Chappell - Kathy Johanson in Deliver Us Mars
- Melanie Liburd - Saga Anderson in Alan Wake 2
Best Supporting Performer
- Laura Bailey - Mary Jane in Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- Neil Newbon - Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3 (winner)
- Cissy Jones - Andreja in Starfield
- Amelia Tyler - Narrator in Baldur's Gate 3
- Ralph Ineson - Cidolfus Telamon in Final Fantasy 16
- Patricia Summersett - Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Idris Elba - Solomon Reed in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Nintendo Game of the Year
- Pikmin 4
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (winner)
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- Octopath Traveller 2
- Fae Farm
PC Game of the Year
- Baldur's Gate 3 (winner)
- Diablo 4
- Dave the Diver
- Tchia
- System Shock
- Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
PlayStation Game of the Year
- Final Fantasy 16
- Resident Evil 4 (winner)
- Street Fighter 6
- Humanity
- Armored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicon
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Xbox Game of the Year
- Starfield (winner)
- Chants of Sennaar
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Planet of Lana
- Dead Space
- Pentiment
Most Wanted Game
- Death Stranding 2
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (winner)
- Tekken 8
- Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
- Hades 2
- Fable
- Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Everywhere
- Frostpunk 2
- Ark 2
- Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater
- Persona 3 Reload
- Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles
- Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
- Pacific Drive
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin
Ultimate Game of the Year
- Baldur's Gate 3 (winner)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Alan Wake 2
- Resident Evil 4
- Cocoon
- Starfield
- Final Fantasy 16
- Diablo 4
- Forza Motorsport
- Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
- Assassin's Creed Mirage
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Street Fighter 6
- Metroid Prime Remastered
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Lords of the Fallen
- Dead Space
- Sea of Stars