At the end of last year, the Hugo Awards announced that he would honor a video game for the first time. This week, he revealed the list of six finalists for the community to review before announcing a final winner at the 79th World Science Fiction Convention in August.
The list is interesting to say the least. The Hugo Awards are known for honoring the best in science fiction and fantasy writing, so it’s something scratchy to see a game like Animal Crossing: New Horizons make the shortlist. That does not mean it’s not a great game, but there were plenty of genre characters from 2020 that could have been on the roster instead, including Half-life: Alyx, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim or Generation Umurangi. Yet between the finalists like Underworld, Spiritfarer and The Last of Us: Part II, it will be interesting to see which one comes out on top.
Despite calls in progress For the Hugo Awards to recognize the medium, the World Science Fiction Society decided to experiment with a video game category only after so many of its members ended up playing a lot during the coronavirus pandemic. There is no guarantee that there will be an interactive experience category in the future, but at least that’s something the Hugo review committee will consider making a permanent addition.