The Game Awards 2018 Nominations: 4 Ups & 6 Downs

Ups...

4. No Man's Sky's Incredible Comeback

Back when No Man's Sky launched in the summer of 2016, few could've anticipated how the game would grow and flourish following its initial, justifiably angry fan response.

Taken out of the oven too soon and released in relatively piecemeal form, the sci-fi exploration game has been lavished with consistent updates over the last two years, and in late 2018 actually feels like a complete, well-rounded title.

To that end, it received a Best Ongoing Game nomination, sitting alongside Destiny 2, Fortnite, Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege.

While some might argue that those initial questionable business practises shouldn't be rewarded like this, or that Splatoon 2 was more deserving of the nomination, it's nevertheless impressive how drastically the game has changed since launch.

Furthermore, it's proof that with a high level of dedication, developers can overcome a bad start to make even troubled games genuinely great.