Typically, major gaming awards ceremonies, such as the BAFTA or The Game Awards, take place at the end of the current year or the beginning of the next. But Develop: Brighton doesn’t seem to care too much about tradition, as it has already announced its nominations and presented awards in categories such as Best Storytelling, Best Sound, Best Game Design, and Best Game of 2022. And Horizon Forbidden West received several awards at once.
The Develop: Brighton Conference is an event dedicated to game developers, and awards are decided by a jury made up of representatives from various studios. This means that game creators get the opportunity to define the best games from their own perspective. In addition to the Best Game award, Horizon Forbidden West also won the Best Visual Style award. Thus, Guerrilla Games has received two major trophies long before other gaming awards ceremonies take place.
Most of the games were released in 2021, as the conference celebrated games that were released in the last 12 months, and did not specifically give awards to releases in 2022. Sony Receives Another Ratchet & Clank Award: Rift Apart received the award for Best Technical Innovation. Deathloop won the award for Best Original IP. Unpacking, in which the player slowly opens boxes to learn more about the characters and their lives, was not accepted at The Game Awards, but the game won the award for best game design at the Develop: Brighton conference.
Horizon Forbidden West is available on PS4 and PS5.
