Kirby
Image: Nintendo

The New York Videogame Critics Circle recently held the 2023 New York Game Awards, its 12th annual celebration of gaming. As expected, FromSoftware's Elden Ring took home the biggest prize of the night, winning the Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year.

Over on the Switch, however, Kirby and the Forgotten Land also got a nod, winning the Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game. We could argue all night over whether the game is solely for kids (hint: it's not), but instead we'll just congratulate HAL Laboratory on another solid recognition. Well done!

Otherwise, there's not much here for Nintendo fans to be concerned with. The excellent Signalis won the Chumley’s Speakeasy Award for Best Hidden Gem and The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe won the Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake, but everything else appears to be on other platforms.

Here's the full list of winners:

  • Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year
    Elden Ring
  • Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game
    Vampire Survivors
  • Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game
    God of War Ragnarök
  • Statue of Liberty Award for Best World
    Elden Ring
  • Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game
    Metal: Hellsinger
  • Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game
    Manon Gage as Marissa Marcel in Immortality
  • Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game
    Moss: Book II
  • Central Park Children’s Zoo Award for Best Kids Game
    Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • A-Train Award for Best Mobile Game
    Marvel Snap
  • Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake
    The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
  • Joltin’ Joe Award for Best Esports Player of the Year
    Masaya "aMSa" Chikamoto (VGBootCamp/Red Bull Esports)
  • Chumley’s Speakeasy Award for Best Hidden Gem
    SIGNALIS
  • NYC GWB Award for Best DLC
    Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
  • Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism
    Justin Heckert, Vanity Fair
  • Elizabeth Jennings Graham Award for Best Educator
    Ryan O'Callaghan
  • Andrew Yoon Legend Award Recipient
    Phil Spencer

What do you make of Kirby and the Forgotten Land's win in New York? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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