Death Stranding is facing off against Control for even more awards, as they have both received the most nominations at the upcoming D.I.C.E Awards. Death Stranding received polarizing reviews from critics at launch, but it has been beating out much more acclaimed games for awards around the world.
Control received a positive reception at launch, despite the technical issues with the console versions of the game, but it hasn't fared quite as well in terms of winning awards. To date, Control has won Best Art Direction at The Game Awards and the Critic's Choice Award at The Golden Joystick Awards, while Death Stranding has won Best Narrative Design and Best Soundtrack at the Titanium Awards and Best Game Direction, Best Score/Music, and Best Performance (Mads Mikkelsen) at The Game Awards. The two games lost out to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for one of the biggest prizes of the year, as Sekiro won Game of the Year at the 2020 Game Awards.
The awards season isn't over yet and both Control and Death Stranding are still in the running for more honors. According to The Hollywood Reporter, both Control and Death Stranding have been nominated eight times at the D.I.C.E awards. D.I.C.E is an acronym that stands for Design Innovate Communicate Entertain and it's one of the longest-running video game award bodies, with its first Game of the Year Award going to Goldeneye 007 back in '97.
Control and Death Stranding will be competing against each other at the D.I.C.E Awards for Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Character, and Outstanding Technical Achievement awards. Death Stranding was actually nominated twice for Outstanding Achievement in Character, with both Cliff Unger and Sam Porter Bridges up for the award. Control has also been nominated for Action Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition, and Outstanding Achievement in Story, while Death Stranding has been nominated for Adventure Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Animation, and Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design.
The video game awards season still has more events to come, with the 2020 New York Game Awards and the Game Developers Choice Awards happening this year. Control and Death Stranding still have plenty of more opportunities to win awards in the months to come, including an elusive Game of the Year Award, which neither game has yet to claim.
The D.I.C.E Awards ceremony will be held during the D.I.C.E Summit conference on February 13, 2020.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter