Hellblade 2 will get most nominations

Tom Richardson

BBC Newsbeat

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II has been praised for its depiction of the primary character’s psychosis

Ninja Theory Screenshot shows an incredibly life-like character staring impassively at the viewer as flames rage behind her. Marks and dirt on her face suggest she's recently been involved in some sort of fight — Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II has been praised for its depiction of the primary character’s psychosis

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II has picked up essentially the most nominations at this 12 months’s Bafta Video games Awards.

The action-adventure recreation, developed by Cambridge-based studio Ninja Idea, is up for awards in 11 out of 14 classes on the annual ceremony.

It is within the operating for finest recreation alongside 3D platformer Astro Bot – up for eight awards – which clinched prime prize on the US-based Sport Awards in December.

The occasion, thought of one of the crucial prestigious within the video games trade calendar, will probably be held in London on 8 April.

The opposite contenders in the very best recreation class are:

Balatro – a poker-inspired card recreation
Black Fable: Wukong – an action-adventure made in China and impressed by a well-liked fantasy
Helldivers II – a multiplayer co-operative shooter
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Knowledge – the primary recreation in Nintendo’s widespread collection to star the princess it is named after
Thank Goodness You are Right here! – a wacky cartoon journey recreation developed by two associates from Barnsley

Bafta palms out prizes annually in a spread of classes, together with performing, music and recreation design.

Three of the six most-nominated video games this 12 months had been made within the UK.

Nonetheless Wakes the Deep, from Scottish studio The Chinese language Room, is up for eight awards, whereas Thank Goodness You are Right here! is up for seven.

Lego: Horizon Adventures, primarily based on the PlayStation collection and largely developed by London-based Studio Gobo, is nominated in 4 classes.

Indie hits Animal Nicely and Balatro, every have 4 nominations, as does Name of Obligation: Black Ops 6.

Thank Goodness You are Right here! is a weird comedy journey closely impressed by its creators’ Yorkshire roots

Coal Supper A colourful cartoon scene from Thank Goodness You're Here shows a ragtag cast of characters gathered in a town square. A young girl wearing yellow over-ear headphones is seen tugging at the arm of a man wearing a waistcoat and bow tie. He's lying down, his other arm stuck between the holes of a stormdrain cover. — Thank Goodness You are Right here! is a weird comedy journey closely impressed by its creators’ Yorkshire roots

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is a sequel to Senua’s Sacrifice – which picked up 5 awards at 2018’s gaming Baftas.

Its 11 nominations may shock some – the sport was a formidable technical showcase and obtained constructive if not excellent critiques.

Nonetheless, like the primary recreation, it was praised for its delicate depiction of the primary character’s psychosis.

Bafta Video games committee chair Tara Saunders tells BBC Newsbeat it represents “a powerful 12 months for British-made video games”.

She says the voting panel is made up of members the world over who take the awards “very critically” and vote primarily based on a spread of options.

“It is all about excellence,” she says.

“Excellence within the crafts and possibly a few of these video games have nailed all of these craft areas.”

Bafta CEO Jane Millichip agrees, and needs to embrace the very fact they’ve a British recreation class.

“Our members are worldwide they usually’re the individuals who select,” she says.

Most-nominated video games

Organized by variety of classes:

Senua’s Saga: 11
Astro Bot and Nonetheless Wakes the Deep – eight
Thank Goodness You are Right here! – seven
Black Fable: Wukong – 5

Learn extra concerning the nominees:

The Bafta Video games Awards aren’t any stranger to the odd upset.

In 2023, Vampire Survivors – made by a tiny British studio – beat Sony’s God of Struggle: Ragnarök to the highest prize.

This 12 months’s finest recreation discipline has the same mixture of big-budget blockbusters and indie hits.

“I really like that Bafta can shock, I really like that it isn’t a given and we will get to that evening and we do not know what is going on to return out on prime,” Tara says.

“It is placing a highlight on some actually tiny video games which may have slipped by.”

Metaphor: Refantazio and Last Fantasy VII: Rebirth, two video games that featured prominently in nominations elsewhere, solely picked up three nominations between them.

Nonetheless Wakes the Deep – a horror recreation set on a Scottish oil rig – is up for eight awards

The Chinese Room Screenshot shows a man with large glasses holding an old rotary phone handset to his ear in a dimly lit office. He wears a grave expression as he listens to the person on the other end. — Nonetheless Wakes the Deep – a horror recreation set on a Scottish oil rig – is up for eight awards

Instances stay powerful for folks working within the video games trade worldwide, with mass layoffs, studio closures and cancelled initiatives persevering with to make headlines.

Tara says awards just like the Baftas are “a beacon of sunshine at nighttime occasions”.

“It is actually essential to pause and have a good time the groups and people which have crafted these standout video games experiences,” she says.

And Jane, who additionally oversees Bafta’s occasions throughout movie, TV and different artistic industries, says the gaming awards are a spot for folks to help one another.

“I’ve by no means seen a neighborhood cheer a lot once they lose, it is a good factor to behold,” she says.

“It is so fantastic to see the entire video games neighborhood being so supportive of one another and there to have a good time the sector, not themselves.

“It is type of devoid of ego and that is nice.”

You could find a full record of Bafta Video games Awards nominations for 2025 right here.