Since 2014, The Game Awards ceremonies have been putting a spotlight on video games as a medium and celebrating the best titles of a given year. While The Game Awards is a big event on the gaming calendar due to the major reveals that are associated with the show, the main purpose of the ceremony is to praise the outstanding achievements of a given year. Already, it looks like Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok are going to be battling it out for many awards at The Game Awards 2022.

However, neither of these games cater to a family audience. God of War: Ragnarok does feature a father and son relationship, but some titles allow the whole family to get involved, regardless of the platform or genre they belong to. The Best Family category looks to celebrate those releases at The Game Awards this year, and with Kirby and the Forgotten Land, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Nintendo Switch Sports, and Splatoon 3 all being nominated, the competition looks to be stiff.

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Kirby and the Forgotten Land

The first mainline platform game in the series with full 3D gameplay, Kirby and the Forgotten Land builds on the traditional experience longtime fans of the franchise would expect, adding in two new copy abilities in the form of Drill and Ranger. Alongside going from level to level and saving more Waddle Dees, players can also unlock new minigames by building up the size of Waddle Dee Town. The game proved to be incredibly popular, breaking the Kirby franchise sales record recently.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land can be completed as a solo adventure, or a friend can join in throughout the game, playing as a Waddle Dee. The game isn’t necessarily tied to its co-op functionality, but a lot of Nintendo platformers only benefit from the possibility of a friend joining in on the adventure. With fans seeing it as a good sign for the future of the Kirby franchise, it makes sense why it is on the list for Best Family game.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

LEGO Star Wars is a name that will send a lot of gamers back to a nostalgic time when all they cared about was getting True Jedi on every level and finding as many Minikits as possible. Returning to the cartoonish, stylistic gameplay often associated with the LEGO games, and allowing players to run through all nine major Star Wars movies was bound to be a formula for success, as proven by the sales figures for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

As with Kirby and the Forgotten Land, co-op isn’t required to beat LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, but it is enhanced by having a friend to play alongside with. Utilizing the many characters available in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, a pair of players can easily accomplish all they need to beat every level, and then through unlocking more heroes and villains from Star Wars they can go back and grab every collectible.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Crossing over Super Mario with the Raving Rabbids known for appearing in some later Rayman games seemed somewhat of a strange idea at first, but when Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle released in 2017, fans were pleasantly surprised to see the game doing well, which meant that there were some high expectations for its sequel, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Marking a major improvement from its predecessor, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope received strong review scores upon its release.

The gameplay remains similar to Kingdom Battle, but the scope has been expanded, with Mario now having to go out into the galaxy to rescue the Sparks scattered throughout it. There are already DLC expansions for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope in the works, with one bringing Rayman into the game. Despite the success of the turn-based strategy and adventure game, it only features single-player modes at the time of writing, meaning the whole family can’t sit down and enjoy Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope together.

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Nintendo Switch Sports

Nintendo fans often request that the company makes more games in iconic franchises or sequels to titles that proved to be outstanding successes. Earlier in 2022, Nintendo released its long-awaited return to sports titles with Nintendo Switch Sports. Including some classics from Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort such as Tennis, Bowling, and Chambara while also adding some new game modes such as Volleyball and Badminton, Nintendo Switch Sports has a lot for players to dig into.

Just as it was with the Wii Sports games, Nintendo Switch Sports provides fun for the whole family with simple motion controls making use of the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers. With new game modes, such as Golf, on the way to Nintendo Switch Sports in future updates, it seems Nintendo is hoping to make its latest foray into sports gaming last for a while.

Splatoon 3

Combining vibrant and cartoonish visuals with tight gameplay mechanics, the third entry in the Splatoon franchise has proven to be incredibly popular in the months since it released. With plenty of classic features from the previous games and new weapons for gamers to use in multiplayer, Splatoon 3 immediately became a big hit in Japan, becoming the best-selling game of 2022 in the country in a matter of weeks.

The hype hasn’t died down much following Splatoon 3’s release either, as consistent updates have brought extra balance to multiplayer as well as giving fans reasons to hop back online. The most recent Splatfest in Splatoon 3, for example, which tied the game to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, gave players a bunch of new content to enjoy and split them between the types of the games’ starter Pokemon.

Final Prediction

While all of these games are looked on fondly by fans and critics, there is one title that fits the definition of a family game better than any other on the list of nominees, and it is Nintendo Switch Sports. Creating an equal playing field by having each sport played through simple motion controls, Nintendo Switch Sports allows the whole family to gather around a console in a way that is fairly rare to see in modern gaming.

The title might not be as defining as Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort, but it marks a strong return to Nintendo for sports games, and hopefully with more game modes being added in future updates, Nintendo Switch Sports can only improve over time. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga also has a similar sense of nostalgia to it, and could feasibly take the award as well, but in terms of getting the whole family into gaming, Nintendo Switch Sports stands out.

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