Creative Bloq Awards 2023: our gaming winners are in

By Joe Foley
published

Our judges have awarded best video game design, art direction, game innovation, UI and more.

The Creative Bloq Awards 2023 winners week comes to a close today with the announcement of our judges' choices in the gaming categories. These saw competition for best video game design, best art direction, best game innovation, best game UI and best retro console, all nominated by Creative Bloq readers.

Throughout the week, the Creative Bloq Awards 2023 has been recognising the best creative tech released in the past year, from laptops and drawing tablets to software (see below for the week's schedule and links to see the other winners). You can view all the competition on the CB awards shortlist and see the Creative Bloq Awards website for more information on the awards.

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First up in our gaming winners, best video game design went to the long-awaited The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The judges particularly praised the world-building element of the epic game - something some players have been taking perhaps a bit too far! 

Read our pick of the best Nintendo Switch games

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Turning to art direction, the panel loved the stunning art style of the VR shooter Synapse. Playing mainly in black and white might sound like a limitation, but we found this to be one of the best VR gaming experiences we've seen yet and wonderfully immersive.

Read our Synapse review

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The PSVR 2 won over our judging panel on several fronts, from its physical design, in keeping with the PS5's curves, to the performance and overall user experience. It's the virtual reality headset Sony has been promising, delivering the power and sensor tech that the original PSVR lacked.

Read our PSVR 2 review

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Goodbye Volcano High is an unusual low-key game that's more of a visual novel. The characters, including the hero Fang, are anthropomorphic dinosaurs on a journey of self discovery amid an impending global catastrophe. Our judges loved the way the UI reflects Fang's thoughts to the player.

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Our judges praises the Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 as a neat, well-designed little retro console that's much more than a gimmick. Packed with some of the greatest games of the late 80s and early 90s, it's a delight to play on but also a valuable tool for devs to learn from.

Read our Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 review

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Joe Foley
Joe Foley

Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.

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