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With our very own Game of the Year list enshrined in history, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the jury's in on the best games of last year. However, apparently a panel of industry professionals called the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced their nominations for this year's D.I.C.E Awards, so we thought we'd better cover it.

Leading the pack is Horizon: Zero Dawn - which came third in our list, yet didn't win anything at The Game Awards - with 10 nominations, including Oustanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Story, and Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction. Surprisingly, it's the sole PlayStation 4 representative for the biggest prize of the night, competing against The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Cuphead, Super Mario Odyssey, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds for the Game of the Year award.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - which came seventh and second respectively in our list -  are also tied with six nominations each. The award ceremony, hosted by Kinda Funny's Greg Miller and Nerdist's Jessica Chobot, is scheduled for 8pm PT on Thursday 22nd February.

The DICE Awards 2018 Nominees

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

  • Cuphead
  • For Honor
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy 

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

  • Cuphead
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Little Nightmares
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 

Outstanding Achievement in Character

  • Assassin's Creed Origins - Bayek
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - Senua
  • Horizon Zero Dawn - Aloy
  • Star Wars Battlefront II - Iden Versio
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - Chloe Fraiser

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

  • Call of Duty: WWII
  • Cuphead
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • RiME
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus 

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design

  • Destiny 2
  • Injustice 2
  • Star Wars Battlefront II
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy 

Outstanding Achievement in Story

  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Night in the Woods
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus 

Outstanding Technical Achievement

  • Assassin's Creed Origins
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Lone Echo/Echo Arena
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 

Action Game of the Year

  • Call of Duty: WWII
  • Cuphead
  • Destiny 2
  • PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
  • Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus 

Adventure Game of the Year

  • Assassin's Creed Origins
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy 

Family Game of the Year

  • DropMix
  • GNOG
  • Just Dance 2018
  • SingStar Celebration
  • Snipperclips 

Fighting Game of the Year

  • ARMS
  • Injustice 2
  • Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
  • Nidhogg 2
  • Tekken 7 

Racing Game of the Year

  • DiRT 4
  • Forza Motorsport 7
  • Gran Turismo Sport
  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
  • Project CARS 2 

Role-Playing Game of the Year

  • Divinity: Original Sin 2
  • Middle-earth: Shadow of War
  • NieR: Automata
  • Persona 5
  • Torment: Tides of Numenera 

Sports Game of the Year

  • Everybody's Golf
  • FIFA 18
  • Golf Clash
  • Madden NFL 18
  • MLB The Show 17 

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

  • Endless Space 2
  • Halo Wars 2
  • Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
  • Total War: Warhammer II
  • XCOM 2: War of the Chosen 

Immersive Reality Technical Achievement

  • Lone Echo/Echo Arena
  • Robo Recall
  • Star Trek Bridge Crew
  • The Invisible Hours
  • Wilson's Heart 

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

  • Lone Echo/Echo Arena
  • Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin
  • Robo Recall
  • Space Pirate Trainer
  • Wilson's Heart 

DICE Sprite Award

  • Everything
  • Gorogoa
  • Night in the Woods
  • Pyre
  • Snipperclips 

Handheld Game of the Year

  • Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
  • Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth
  • Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
  • Metroid: Samus Returns
  • Monster Hunter Stories 

Mobile Game of the Year

  • Cat Quest
  • Fire Emblem Heroes
  • Gorogoa
  • Monument Valley 2
  • Splitter Critters 

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay

  • Call of Duty: WWII
  • Destiny 2
  • Fortnite
  • PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

  • Gorogoa
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

  • Gorogoa
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
  • What Remains of Edith Finch

Game of the Year

  • Cuphead
  • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Could Horizon collect its first major award of the year? Do you think other PlayStation properties deserved nominations? Establish an awards panel in the comments below.

[source interactive.org]