Elden Ring is the Ultimate Game of the Year at the 2022 Golden Joystick Awards

Elden Ring has won the Ultimate Game of the Year Award at this year's Golden Joysticks - and, let's face it, are you surprised?

2022 has essentially been dominated by FromSoftware's latest title, with Elden Ring taking the studio's challenging gameplay formula to an open-world setting for the first time. 

This is Elden Ring's fourth award win at this year's Golden Joystick Awards, with the title also taking home the gongs for Best Visual Design, Best Multiplayer Game, and Critics' Choice.

You can check out all of the Golden Joystick Awards 2022 winners here, including Most Wanted Game, Best Gaming Hardware, Best Indie Game and many more.

The full list of nominees for this year's Ultimate Game of the Year award was as follows:

In our Elden Ring review from Joel Franey, we could believe how much it was " both a refinement and evolution of the Dark Souls formula, presenting an expansive world that's as hostile as it is inviting", before admitting that "suffering has never been as much fun". 

"When Elden Ring hits the rails, the momentum carries it forward and refuses to slow down. My peaks of rage at being stomped on by towering titans never stopped being fun despite that, with that very particular form of masochistic joy you get from wrestling with FromSoftware games. It might not be as groundbreaking as its inspirations, but taken on its own terms, Elden Ring might be the best of its brethren - and that's something I'm still struggling to believe has actually happened."

Discover the best games of 2022 at the best prices by checking out the Golden Joystick Awards Steam sale page

Sam Loveridge
Global Editor-in-Chief, GamesRadar+

Sam Loveridge is the Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar, and joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.