If the 2024 Game Awards has set quality bar for the show going forward, the gaming community is in for a lifetime of incredible year end gaming celebrations from Geoff Keighley, or for however long it sticks around. That's not to say that the prior Game Awards showcases have been subpar, this year's celebration was just that good. After all, it was the 10 year anniversary celebration, so Geoff had to do it up right, and boy did he and his team nail it. Mind blowing announcements, a creative and effective approach to addressing criticism from prior shows, and an instant classic of a performance from the Game Awards Orchestra, have in my opinion catapulted this show to a new level.

With Geoff Keighley's Game Awards aiming to be the gaming industry's definitive awards ceremony, a big part of judging the validity of that ceremony comes with the level of announcements he and his team are able to bring to the stage. Not that The Game Awards needed further validation in my opinion, but the announcements at this year's showcase were arguably some of the best and most anticipated the show has ever had to offer. Some of the big announcement included The Witcher 4, Elden Ring Night Reign, and an entirely new IP from Naughty Dog, Intergalactic, and many more. There were also a number of exciting announcements for sequels of classic titles like a new upcoming Okami Sequel and a new Onimusha game. Throughout the massive 3 and a half hour long show, it just felt like the hits kept coming, and by the end, I felt a level of optimism for the upcoming year(s) of gaming that I've yet to feel.

Here are some of the announcements I'm the most excited for:

Elden Ring: Night Reign - A co-op multiplayer rogue like set in The Lands Between.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on PC - I'll take any excuse to jump back into the world on FF7, especially given that I'll be starting my PC gaming journey soon!

Rematch - I loved SiFu, I loved Rocket League, and this looks like a mashup of the two with gameplay that looks totally unique!

Intergalactic - I'm mostly intrigued to see what this game has in store. The reveal trailer roped me in with it's undeniable style, now I want to see what else Naughty Dog has up their sleeves!

Every year, discussion surrounding Geoff Keighley's approach to addressing criticism about The Game Awards comes to a fever pitch when the show actually happens. This main critique from last year's show was about how award winners were not given enough time to speak, often times being cut off right at the point of getting into emotional territory. While this was a rather new critique, the age old criticism regarding the balance between the amount of commercials and announcements vs. time spent focusing on the actual awards has continued to be discussed.

This year, Geoff addressed the criticism head on in multiple creative and effective ways. The first being that award winners were not at any point rushed off stage, and were all given ample time to speak and express their emotions for winning an award. The second was with Geoff being roasted throughout the show by Statler and Waldorf, who would poke fun at him using the direct criticisms that he himself receives from the public including gripes about the show's length, the amount of trailers, and more. The puppet performance really helped the show, adding tons of much needed humor, so kudos to Geoff for taking the hits.

The third, and arguably most impactful change made was in regards to the introduction of the "Game Changer" award. Geoff has faced immense pressure to use his platform to address the staggering amount of recent industry layoffs, but in years past has struggled to find a way to do so. Last year, he had a short speech to acknowledge the issue, but this year, he took action. The Game Changer award seeks to award those in the gaming community who are taking tangible action to make it better, and this year's winner Amir Satvat has done just that. Wanting to take action to help those impacted by industry layoffs, Amir created a service that helps out of work developers find resources to help them get back on their feet. As of writing, Amir's service has helped around 3,000 developers find work, and his passionate speech at The Game Awards spoke directly to the heart of gamers and the industry at large in a very sincere way. A link to Amir's service can be found here: https://amirsatvat.com/.

As a musician, I always get excited to hear the Game of the Year orchestra medley. For the uninitiated, at each game award ceremony right before the game of the year announcement, the Game Awards Orchestra performs an orchestral medley featuring the main OST's from each of the game of the year nominees. The whole performance gave me chills, but when they got to the Astrobot theme, I nearly shed a tear. After that though, I couldn't help but give stank face (musician term for giving respect to another musician) to the Black Myth Wukong theme, and I haven't even played that game yet! Needless to say, this year's medley was an all-timer and an instant classic -- as I've been listening to it on repeat all week. It's a shame that the performance was only three and a half minutes long.

So, all in all, this year's game awards show was easily the best that I have ever experienced. With a plethora of incredible announcements, astonishing musical performances, award winners given their proper time in the spotlight, and a humorous approach to addressing show criticism, I really feel that Geoff Keighley nailed it. If this is the quality bar of The Game Awards going forward, then we are in for an unforgettable time. Also, congratulations to Astrobot and Team Asobi for a well deserved win for Game of The Year!