Last year, Supergiant Games released a game called Hades, which was inspired by Greek mythology about a son escaping the Underworld. It was praised for being an inviting step into the roguelike genre, but it was also praised for its characters and narrative. It was for the music if it wasn't for that. The game won a Hugo Award this weekend, making it the first video game to do so, and it will surely grow again because it has a large impact over a year later.
The Hugo Awards recognize the best literary works of science fiction and fantasy. In recent years, they have branched out to include categories such as Best Fanzine or Best Fancast. The Best Video Game category was created for the year 2021, after being floated around as an idea for years. A lot of people had time to play video games this past year.
Greg Kasavin, the writer and creative director of Hades, was unable to attend the Hugo Awards, but he did post an acceptance speech on his social media accounts. He said that they were grateful that their work on Hades stood out, and that they hoped the Hugo Awards continued to recognize the amazing work being done in the video games space. He gave a shout out to the Greek gods for inspiring people like us for several thousands of years now, and may they continue to do so.
The Last of Us Part II was one of the best bets to beat out, along with Final Fantasy VII Remake. The beloved management darling Spiritfarer and a fake baseball sim were on the afterlife side. This award was created as a one-off, but hopefully it will stick around since video games are a big part of sci-fi and fantasy.
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