Hellblade 2 leads the way at Bafta Games Awards

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II has picked up the astir nominations astatine this year's Bafta Games Awards.

The action-adventure game, developed by Cambridge-based workplace Ninja Theory, is up for awards successful 11 retired of 14 categories astatine the yearly ceremony.

It's successful the moving for champion crippled alongside 3D platformer Astro Bot - up for 8 awards - which clinched top prize astatine the US-based Game Awards successful December.

The event, considered 1 of the astir prestigious successful the games manufacture calendar, volition beryllium held successful London connected 8 April.

The different contenders successful the champion crippled class are:

• Balatro - a poker-inspired paper game
• Black Myth: Wukong - an action-adventure made successful China and inspired by a fashionable myth
• Helldivers II - a multiplayer co-operative shooter
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - the archetypal crippled successful Nintendo's fashionable bid to prima the princess it's named after
• Thank Goodness You're Here! - a wacky cartoon escapade crippled developed by 2 friends from Barnsley

Bafta hands retired prizes each twelvemonth successful a scope of categories, including acting, euphony and crippled design.

Three of the six most-nominated games this twelvemonth were made successful the UK.

Still Wakes the Deep, from Scottish workplace The Chinese Room, is up for 8 awards, portion Thank Goodness You're Here! is up for seven.

Lego: Horizon Adventures, based connected the PlayStation bid and mostly developed by London-based Studio Gobo, is nominated successful 4 categories.

Indie hits Animal Well and Balatro, each person 4 nominations, arsenic does Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is simply a sequel to Senua's Sacrifice - which picked up 5 awards astatine 2018's gaming Baftas.

Its 11 nominations mightiness astonishment immoderate - the crippled was an awesome method showcase and received affirmative if not outstanding reviews.

However, similar the archetypal game, it was praised for its delicate depiction of the main character's psychosis.

Bafta Games committee seat Tara Saunders tells BBC Newsbeat it represents "a beardown twelvemonth for British-made games".

She says the voting sheet is made up of members crossed the satellite who instrumentality the awards "very seriously" and ballot based connected a scope of features.

"It's each astir excellence," she says.

"Excellence successful the crafts and possibly immoderate of those games person nailed each of those trade areas."

Bafta CEO Jane Millichip agrees, and wants to clasp the information they person a British crippled category.

"Our members are planetary and they're the radical who choose," she says.

The Bafta Games Awards are nary alien to the unusual upset.

In 2023, Vampire Survivors - made by a tiny British workplace - beat Sony's God of War: Ragnarök to the apical prize.

This year's champion crippled tract has a akin premix of big-budget blockbusters and indie hits.

"I emotion that Bafta tin surprise, I emotion that it's not a fixed and we tin get to that nighttime and we don't cognize what's going to travel retired connected top," Tara says.

"It's putting a spotlight connected immoderate truly tiny games that mightiness person slipped by."

Metaphor: Refantazio and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, 2 games that featured prominently successful nominations elsewhere, lone picked up 3 nominations betwixt them.

Times stay pugnacious for radical moving successful the games manufacture worldwide, with wide layoffs, workplace closures and cancelled projects continuing to marque headlines.

Tara says awards similar the Baftas are "a beacon of airy successful the acheronian times".

"It's truly important to intermission and observe the teams and individuals that person crafted these standout games experiences," she says.

And Jane, who besides oversees Bafta's events crossed film, TV and different originative industries, says the gaming awards are a spot for radical to enactment each other.

"I've ne'er seen a assemblage cheer truthful overmuch erstwhile they lose, it's a superb happening to behold," she says.

"It's truthful fantastic to spot the full games assemblage being truthful supportive of each different and determination to observe the sector, not themselves.

"It's benignant of devoid of ego and that's great."

You tin find a afloat database of Bafta Games Awards nominations for 2025 here.