Golden Joystick Awards 2021: see the full list of nominees and how to vote today

The 39th Annual Golden Joystick Awards Nominations are in and you can now officially vote for your favorite games of 2021.

Just below, you'll be able to see what games are in contention for the coveted Golden Joystick trophies. Voting will be open until Friday November 5th, and the winners will be revealed in the all-digital live broadcast on November 23rd.

Click here to vote in the Golden Joystick Awards 2021

Just click on the link above to visit our Golden Joystick Awards 2021 voting hub and have your say on the games of the year. Every vote makes a difference and you can help dish out these gongs to the games that deserve it most. 

Better yet, everyone who votes is eligible to receive a free gaming ebook worth $8.99  / £8.99, compatible with iOS, Android and PC. You can find more details about the free gaming ebook after the nominees shortlists below.

Golden Joystick Awards 2021 Nominations

Best Storytelling
Life is Strange: True Colours
Psychonauts 2
Wildermyth
12 Minutes
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Tales of Arise

Best Multiplayer Game
Deathloop
It Takes Two
Chivalry 2
Back 4 Blood
Valheim
NARAKA: BLADEPOINT

Best Visual Design
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Psychonauts 2
The Artful Escape
Little Nightmares 2
Hitman 3
Genesis Noir

Best Indie Game
Death's Door
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Old World
Wildermyth
Bonfire Peaks
Sable

Studio of the Year
Io Interactive
Arkane
Housemarque
Double Fine
Capcom
Draknek & Friends

Best Game Expansion
Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Episode Intermission
The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos
Sims 4: Cottage Living
Super Mario: Bowser's Fury
DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2

Mobile Game of the Year
Clap Hanz Golf
Fantasian
Overboard!
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
Cozy Grove
League of Legends: Wild Rift

Best Audio
Returnal
Jett: The Far Shore
Sable
Little Nightmares 2
Resident Evil Village
The Artful Escape

Best Performer
Jason Kelley - Colt Vahn, Deathloop
Erika Mori - Alex Chen, LiS: True Colors
Maggie Robertson, Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village
Ozioma Akagha - Julianna Blake, Deathloop
Jennifer Hale - Rivet, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Elijah Wood - Gristol/Nick the Post Guy, Pschonauts 2

Best Game Community
Final Fantasy 14
No Man's Sky
Dreams
Monster Hunter Rise
Destiny 2
Magic: The Gathering Arena

PC Game of the Year
Wildermyth
Chivalry 2
Old World
Hitman 3
Pathfinder
The Forgotten City

PlayStation Game of the Year
Returnal
Deathloop
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Resident Evil: Village
Death Stranding Director's Cut
Kena: Bridge Of Spirits

Nintendo Game of the Year
New Pokemon Snap
Neo: The World Ends with You
Monster Hunter Rise
Bravely Default 2
WarioWare: Get It Together
Metroid Dread

Xbox Game of the Year
Lost Judgment
The Ascent
Psychonauts 2
Microsoft Flight Simulator
The Artful Escape
12 Minutes

Best Gaming Hardware
PS5
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
Nintendo Switch OLED
WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD

Still Playing Award
Apex Legends
Call of Duty: Warzone
Final Fantasy 14
Destiny 2
GTA Online
Genshin Impact
Fortnite
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Rocket League
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Most Wanted Game
God of War: Ragnarok
Horizon Forbidden West
Halo Infinite
Marvel's Midnight Suns
GTA V: Enhanced Edition
Skate 4
Elden Ring
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Starfield
Gotham Knights

Ultimate Game of the Year
Deathloop
Psychonauts 2
Resident Evil Village
Ratchet and Clank
Wildermyth
Hitman 3
The Forgotten City
It Takes Two
Metroid Dread
Mass Effect Legendary Edition

This year's nominees were decided by a judging panel from Future gaming brands including GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, Edge Magazine, Retro Gamer, Play Magazine, and the Future Games Show. "We’re thrilled at the diversity of this year’s nominees, which reflect the importance of indie games and long-running service games during 2021 where a number of high-profile titles have faced unavoidable delays.", says Daniel Dawkins, Content Director, Future Games. "We’re thrilled to see Wildermyth and Psychonauts 2 leading the shortlist with four nominations each, alongside huge titles such as Call of Duty: Warzone, Resident Evil Village and Ratchet and Clank."

Vote in the Golden Joystick Awards and claim a free ebook

On top of that, everyone who votes will be able to snag one of these ebooks, which usually cost $8.99 / £8.99, for free. Yep, you read that right: free!

These are: 

• Retro Gamer Book of Arcade Classics
• Ultimate Retro PC Gamer Collection
• 100 Nintendo Games To Play Before You Die
• 100 PlayStation Games To Play Before You Die
• Greatest Gaming Icons

When does voting open and close?

Voting is officially open, and you have 4pm PDT / 7pm EDT / 11pm GMT on Friday, November 5 to cast your vote. 

While this year's line-up is packed fuller than the bunks in Squid Game, we'll also be celebrating 50 Years of Games as part of this year's show, so make sure you keep your eyes on GamesRadar+ for details for how you can vote on the Ultimate Game of All Time and Ultimate Hardware of All Time as well. 

For more on this year's show, visit Golden Joystick Awards 2021 or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.