The Baftas have confirmed what we already knew: Returnal was the best game of 2021, as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart also wins two awards.
We felt strangely alone last year, in our praise for PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal, as while we named it game of the year in our Top 20 of 2021, it didn’t get much recognition elsewhere… until Thursday night’s Bafta Game Awards.
Returnal won not just best game, but also awards for music, audio achievement, and Jane Perry for performer in a leading role.
Fellow PlayStation 5 exclusive Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart won awards for animation and technical achievement, which together with Returnal’s success will no doubt make Sony very happy.
It Takes Two, which was named best game at The Game Awards in December, also won two awards, for multiplayer and original property.
Apart from Unpacking, no other game won more than one award but Psychonauts 2’s Kimberly Brooks got a well-deserved nod for performer in a supporting role.
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Fellow Microsoft-published game Forza Horizon 5 won best British game, while Chiocry: A Colorful Tale won the Family award – which seems an odd category to be nominated in but at least it won something.
Indie favourite Inscryption won the award for best game design and Unpacking won best narrative and EE game of the year, the latter being the only category voted on by the public.
Bafta Game Awards 2022 winners
Winners are indicated in bold
Animation
Call Of Duty: Vanguard – Sledgehammer Games/Activision
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Kena: Bridge Of Spirits – Ember Lab
Life Is Strange: True Colors – Deck Nine Games/Square Enix
Psychonauts 2 – Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios
Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart – Insomniac Games/Sony
Artistic Achievement
The Artful Escape – Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Psychonauts 2 – Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Insomniac Games/Sony
Resident Evil Village – Capcom
Returnal – Housemarque/Sony
Audio Achievement
The Artful Escape – Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
Call Of Duty: Vanguard – Sledgehammer Games/Activision
Deathloop – Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Halo Infinite – 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy – Eidos-Montréal/Square Enix
Returnal – Housemarque/Sony
Best Game
Deathloop – Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Forza Horizon 5 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Inscryption – Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Insomniac Games/Sony
Returnal – Housemarque/Sony
British Game
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure – Ustwo Games/Plug In Digital
Death’s Door – Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
Fights In Tight Spaces – Ground Shatter/Mode7
Forza Horizon 5 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Overboard! – inkle
Sable – Shedworks/Raw Fury
Debut Game
The Artful Escape – Beethoven & Dinosaur/Annapurna Interactive
Eastward – Pixpil/Chucklefish
The Forgotten City – Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers
Genesis Noir – Feral Cat Den/Fellow Traveller
Maquette – Graceful Decay/Annapurna Interactive
TOEM – Something We Made
Evolving Game
Among Us – Innersloth
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
Apex Legends – Respawn Entertainment/EA
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut – ZA/UM
Fortnite – Epic Games
No Man’s Sky – Hello Games
Family
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure – Ustwo Games
Chicory: A Colorful Tale – Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji
Forza Horizon 5 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Mario Party Superstars Development Team – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Insomniac Games/Sony
Unpacking – Witch Beam/Humble Games
Game Beyond Entertainment
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure – Ustwo Games
Before Your Eyes – Goodbyeworld Games/Skybound Games
Chicory: A Colorful Tale – Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji
Game Builder Garage – Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Psychonauts 2 – Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios
Game Design
Deathloop – Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Forza Horizon 5 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Inscryption – Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Insomniac Games/Sony
Returnal – Housemarque/Sony
Multiplayer
Back 4 Blood – Turtle Rock Studios/Warner Bros. Games
Call Of Duty: Vanguard – Sledgehammer Games/Activision
Forza Horizon 5 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Halo Infinite – 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
Hell Let Loose – Black Matter/Team17
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Music
Deathloop – Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Far Cry 6 – Ubisoft Toronto/Ubisoft
Halo Infinite – 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios
Psychonauts 2 – Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Insomniac Games/Sony
Returnal – Housemarque/Sony
Narrative
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Life Is Strange: True Colors – Deck Nine Games/Square Enix
Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy – Eidos-Montréal/Square Enix
Psychonauts 2 – Double Fine Productions/Xbox Game Studios
Returnal – Housemarque/Sony
Unpacking – Witch Beam/Humble Games
Original Property
Deathloop – Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
Death’s Door – Acid Nerve/Devolver Digital
Inscryption – Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Returnal – Housemarque/Sony
Unpacking – Witch Beam/Humble Games
Performer in a Leading Role
Ozioma Akagha as Julianna Blake in Deathloop
Jason E Kelley as Colt Vahn in Deathloop
Jennifer Hale as Rivet in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Jon McLaren as Star-Lord In Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy
Erika Mori as Alex Chen in Life Is Strange: True Colors
Jane Perry as Selene Vassos in Returnal
Performer in a Supporting Role
Laura Bailey as Polina Petrova in Call Of Duty: Vanguard
Kimberly Brooks as Hollis Forsythe in Psychonauts 2
Jason Cavalier as Drax in Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy
Maggie Robertson as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village
Han Soto as Gabe Chen in Life Is Strange: True Colors
Alex Weiner as Rocket in Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy
Technical Achievement
Forza Horizon 5 – Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios
Hitman 3 – Io Interactive
Psychonauts 2 – Double Fine/Xbox Game Studios
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Insomniac Games/Sony
Resident Evil Village – Capcom
Returnal – Housemarque/Sony
EE Game of the Year (voted for by the public)
Chicory: A Colorful Tale – Greg Lobanov, A Shell In The Pit, Madeline Berger, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine/Finji
Deathloop – Arkane Lyon/Bethesda Softworks
The Forgotten City – Modern Storyteller/Dear Villagers
It Takes Two – Hazelight Studios/EA
Metroid Dread – MercurySteam/Nintendo
Unpacking – Witch Beam/Humble Games
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