Black Myth: Wukong an unexpected winner (Game Science)Despite having the lowest Metacritic score of any of the nominees its Black Myth: Wukong which has won out against Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Helldivers 2.As the year comes to a close, we begin to enter awards season and one of the first big events, and certainly the longest running, is the Golden Joystick Awards. This years the 42nd incarnation of one of the few award ceremonies that is voted on almost solely by the general public.Thats thrown up an unexpected winner this year, with Black Myth: Wukong being named Ultimate Game of the Year, despite having the lowest Metacritic score of all 12 nominees, at just 81. That means it beat other much more highly rated titles, such as Astro Bot, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Animal Well.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is another hot contender but that did at least walk away with four separate awards, for Best Storytelling, Best Soundtrack, Best Supporting Performer (Briana White as Aerith), and Best Lead Performer (Cody Christian as Cloud).Helldivers 2 also won four awards, for Best Multiplayer Game, Best Game Trailer, Console Game of the Year, and the Critics Choice Award.More TrendingOver 12 million public votes were apparently involved, across 21 different categories, with only three decided by critics: Critics Choice, Breakthrough Award, and Streamers Choice.Astro Bot won two separate awards, for Best Audio Design and Studio of the year for Team ASOBI. Balatro also got the double, with Best Indie Game and Breakthrough Award.The most wanted game of the year, for 2025, was, unsurprisingly GTA 6, which seems almost certain to win the same accolade at every other award ceremony this seasonThe awards were hosted in London by voice actor Ben Starr, best known as Clive in Final Fantasy 16. The nominations involved over 125 games, developers, formats, and TV shows across 21 categories. Did you vote? (Golden Joysticks)Golden Joysticks 2024 award winners Best Storytelling Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Best Visual Design Black Myth: Wukong Best Multiplayer Game Helldivers 2 Best Audio Design Astro Bot Best Game Expansion Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree Best Indie Game Self Published Another Crabs Treasure Best Indie Game Balatro Studio of the Year Team ASOBI Best Soundtrack Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Best Game Trailer Helldivers 2 Best Early Access Game Lethal Company Still Playing Mobile Honkai: Star Rail Still Playing Consoles & PC Minecraft Streamers Choice Award Chained Together Breakthrough Award Balatro Best Gaming Hardware Steam Deck OLED Best Game Adaptation Fallout Best Supporting Performer Briana White Best Lead Performer Cody Christian PC Game of the Year Satisfactory Console Game of the Year Helldivers 2 Critics Choice Award Helldivers 2 Most Wanted Game Grand Theft Auto 6 Ultimate Game of the Year Black Myth: Wukong Not a surprise winner (Golden Joysticks)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy