Despite the ever-ubiquitous popularity of video games, gaming culture has faced a slow climb towards mainstream artistic and cultural acceptance. Founded a decade ago, The Game Awards is an important step towards achieving that goal. Yet another step was taken tonight as some of the biggest and brightest creators in the industry came together for a one-of-a-kind musical and visual experience in Los Angeles.
The Game Awards is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and what better place to celebrate than the Hollywood Bowl? And why not add in an even more dramatic element and team up with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra? Lorne Balfe, the decorated composer behind the Game Awards Orchestra for the last five years conducted the show.
2023 has been a big year for games; in fact, host Geoff Keighley specifically thanked the audience for coming out instead of staying home and playing all of the great releases from 2023 – from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Street Fighter. The night opened with a League of Legends score, featuring immersive animation from the game along with clips from the game’s esports champions.
God of War provided the first big “wow” moment of the night, bringing acclaimed singer Eivør onstage to add an element of Scandinavian authenticity to their premiere of a new suite of music. Along with dramatic footage of Kratos traversing frigid snowscapes, the vocals and percussion were raw and emotional, the perfect accompaniment to the visuals.
Next was a new overture from the recently-released Hogwarts Legacy. The overture alluded to the movie score. Blizzard presented their new release Diablo 4 with hellish visuals and a brand-new medley of theme music.
Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog announced the next set, perhaps the peak emotional moment of the night. Argentinian composer Gustavo Santaolalla performed the theme music from The Last of Us with beautiful accompaniment from the orchestra – but there was no doubt, Santaolalla stole the show. It was easily the most moving music of the night earning a standing ovation from many in the audience.
Elden Ring added a live choir that incorporated Gregorian-inspired chants to its segment. As the performance concluded, a massive drop of confetti descended as cutscenes were displayed on the big side screens.
One of the most hyped elements of this show was a performance by Jack Black and Kyle Gass as Tenacious D. While the performance itself lived up to the billing, the mere 90 seconds of the D performing their kick-ass new single “Video Games” wasn’t enough to satiate the audience. Luckily, there was a sweet surprise at the end of the night. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor took the kitchen-sink approach, while most of the score had an ominous tone, when the on-screen visuals showed a DJ the orchestra got a little funky with it, a nice small highlight of the night. Final Fantasy XVI was given a proper introduction and brought the orchestra back front and center.
Hades’ score was a powerful moment with songwriter and composer Darrent Korb and singer Ashley Barrett performing. In a night full of big studios, it was nice to see The Game Awards highlight a game from a smaller studio. Along with The Last of Us, it was a peak performance of the night. The soundscape for Starfield was a perfect match for the upcoming action role-playing game. With a rich, French horn-heavy arrangement, the visuals built hype for what might be one of the best games of 2023.
In the penultimate performance of the night, acclaimed composer John Paesano came on stage to talk about the final piece of music for the night. He alluded to the game’s Oct. 20th release date as the new suite of music from Spiderman 2 was debuted. Lastly, Balfe lead the orchestra in another debut, this time the 10-year anniversary theme music for the Game Awards set to fireworks.
And as it had been alluded to throughout the night, Jack Black did make another appearance. This time he wore a green body suit a la Bowser, singing his ever-more-beloved “Peaches” from The Super Mario Bros Movie to great revelry.
Here’s to the Game Awards arrangements becoming an annual tradition at the Hollywood Bowl. It only makes sense to put some of the best musical minds in the world together, whether or not they come from different types of media.