Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was nominated for seven categories at The Game Awards. But it won none of them, which has fans of the game voicing out their frustration on social media.
The recently concluded TGA 2023 held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, CA has received mixed reactions. Most video game fans were happy with the announcements and believed that most of the winners deserved their victories. But other fans of particular titles felt the event left much to be desired. And of the latter group, the fans of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are crying out the loudest.
Insomniac Games expressed their appreciation for the nominations Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 received at The Game Awards.
A major thank you to everyone who nominated Marvel's Spider-Man 2 in several categories at @TheGameAwards this year! It's an honor to have had your support.❤️
Congrats to all the winners and nominees – you all deserve it! #BeGreaterTogether #SpiderMan2PS5 pic.twitter.com/LT4D4sVzlS
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) December 8, 2023
However, the fans are vocally displeased with the results. On Insomniac Games’ official X.com (the artist formerly known as Twitter) feed, there are multiple comments from these angry Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 fans.
Most of the commenters felt that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 should have won one or more of the categories presented at The Game Awards. Some Reddit users have even gone so far as stating it deserves to be the Game of The Year instead of the actual winner, Larian Studios’ Dungeons & Dragons CRPG Baldur’s Gate 3.
In an effort to prove their point, a number of these fans shared clips of the cinematics and gameplay from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. These clips were then compared to clips of Baldur’s Gate 3, noting how slow the pace is and that the cinematics are mostly subdued. Some have even gone so far to say that Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game “for nerds” which did not deserve to be GOTY.
baldur’s gate 3 winning game of the year over this is crazy ☠️ pic.twitter.com/0MEwG38Aj9
— asc 🦥 (@ascinhiding) December 8, 2023
Still others are more emotional that the Sony PS5 exclusive failed to secure any of the other categories. Some of these fans pointed out that it should have taken home the Best Narrative category over Alan Wake 2. Meanwhile, other supporters of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 claim it should not have lost to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for the Best Action/Adventure category at TGA 2023.
Although there are very outspoken fans of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 who expressed their anger that the game did not win any of the seven nominations, others agreed with the results. The more level-headed fans mentioned the boring sections and side-quests in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 did more harm than good. Plus, these fans concur that while their beloved superhero game is good for what it is, it did not innovate or elevate the genre the way the competition did in theirs.
Baldur’s Gate 3, in particular, was a standout among the rest for this year in video games. Larian Studios revived turn-based and story-driven roleplaying games back from being an ignored niche. Their love letter to the CRPG genre drew the attention of Dungeons & Dragons fans, both old and new. And to hammer home the point: Baldur’s Gate 3 also won the Player’s Voice category (essentially the People’s Choice award based on fan votes).
But what do you think? Are the angry fans of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 correct that their favorite game was “robbed” at The Game Awards 2023? Did the PS5 exclusive deserve to be Game of the Year over Baldur’s Gate 3? Should it have at least won over the likes of Alan Wake 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the other categories?
