The Game Awards: winning title is Dragon Age: Inquisition.

During the Game Awards being held in Vegas the show’s Game of the Year for 2014, selected by a panel of industry and press veterans, has been announced.

The Game Awards are being broadcast tonight from Las Vegas.

The winning title is Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Nominees for this year’s Game of the Year are:

• Bayonetta 2
• Dark Souls II
• Dragon Age: Inquisition
• Hearthstone
• Shadow of Mordor

Bayonetta 2 is an astonishingly solid action game, no matter what critics of its sexually charged protagonist might say. Nothing comes close to it in terms of sheer, fast-paced action goodness. The level design and art direction are every bit as good as the first Bayonetta, if not better, as is the rest of the game. It’s a strong contender, though a controversial winner. It’s also nice to see a Wii U exclusive make the cut, even if it’s not a Nintendo first-party. Perhaps especially because of that.

Dark Souls II was a letdown for many fans of the Souls games, but it’s still a tremendously accomplished action-RPG. If you figure in the DLC trilogy, it contains some of the best moments in any of the three Souls games. Still, as far as sequels go, Bayonetta 2 may be a stronger contender for the crown, no matter how much I love Dark Souls. If the base game had been as high quality as the DLC, this would be a no-brainer GOTY.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the best thing BioWare has made in years, a solid and expansive RPG with rousing characters and one of the most gorgeous open-worlds I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, the game is held back by a few too many MMO-style elements, an abundance of tedious busy work, and a garbled War Table map. Combat is good but never as tactical as Dragon Age: Origins. As a comeback story, Inquisition is pure gold. As a GOTY contender, I think it’s not quite up to the task.

Hearthstone is sort of a funny, surprising entry in the GOTY field, but it’s a worthy enough little game. Blizzard’s Warcraft-themed collectible card game isn’t just hugely popular, it’s extremely well-designed. It’s the ultimate “easy to learn, hard to master” style game, and raises the bar in the genre considerably. It’s also a great example of Free-to-Play games done right. And it can hook you for many long hours. This may not be your traditional GOTY title, but it’s very much worthy of the honors.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is going to ruin Assassin’s Creed games for years to come, just as the Arkham Batman games have already done. The similarities to Ubisoft’s flagship franchise are fair, but Shadow of Mordor is a far better game, with terrific combat and gorgeous graphics. Its limited scope and somewhat silly tie-in to the broader Lord of the Ringsmythos are its only detractions. Beyond that, the unique and innovative Nemesis system make it one of the most interesting games to come out in years. I can think of few gaming experiences as fun as this in 2014.