FromSoftware sent Ranni the Witch to collect Elden Ring's latest GOTY award

Elden Ring GOTY
(Image credit: New York Videogame Critics Circle)

Elden Ring has bagged another Game of the Year award, and FromSoftware sent the one and only Ranni the Witch to collect its latest trophy. 

The New York Videogame Critics Circle crowned Elden Ring the best game of 2022 at the recent New York Game Awards. FromSoftware's open-world epic was also nominated for best writing, best music, and best world. It ended up winning best world as well, and Bandai Namco representatives were joined by an impressively dressed Ranni (Charlotte Wells, or Charlottew1tch on Twitter and Instagram) for their acceptance speeches (around 53 minutes and 2 hours and 36 minutes in). 

"I am the witch Ranni. I accept this award as it was written in the stars," Ranni said of the best world award, apparently doing just fine after ushering in the Age of Stars in my playthrough. "My thanks, Tarnished. This is mine." 

Returning to the stage to collect the show's ultimate prize, the Big Apple Game of the Year award, Ranni said: "My thanks. Finally, all the pieces are in place. This is mine. All mine." 

To the surprise of no one, Bandai Namco's representatives were a bit less self-centered than Ranni, dedicating the award to their colleagues at Bandai and the developers at FromSoft: "It's an honor to receive this prestigious award, and from an organization that not only recognizes the best in our medium, but helps move it forward mentoring young students, some of whom might be standing up here someday accepting this very same award." 

Even before this show, Elden Ring was already the most-awarded GOTY recipient of all time, mopping up at the Golden Joystick Awards 2022 and surpassing even The Last of Us Part 2's impressive track record. It also gave God of War Ragnarok a run for its money as the best-selling PlayStation Store game of 2022, though Kratos got the win in the end.  

As it happens, Elden Ring was also one of Naughty Dog's favorite games of 2022

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.