Tonight’s Game Awards was probably one of the more entertaining showcases in the event’s 10-year history and it has nothing to do with any of the games that swept the awards and everything to do with a guy and his flute.
Al Pacino started the show, not with a bang but with a poorly legible whimper as the celebrated actor struggled to read the no-doubt tiny words of the teleprompter. Then Christopher Judge, in accepting the award for Best Performance for his incredible, soulful, and heartening performance as Kratos, rambled for a good handful of minutes longer than he should have. Though his speech was a bit awkward and long-winded, I firmly believe Mr. Keighley let Judge go on for as long as he did in order to keep the rest of the show blessedly brief and to potentially cut off Josef Fares if he decided to get all curse-y again.
Al Pacino wasn’t the only aged acting legend to take the stage. Michael Madsen, who I’m sure a lot of the younger Gen Z-ers in the audience probably won’t even recognize, came out to promote 505 Games newest title Crime Boss. The crime action game features not only Madsen but — get this — Kim Basinger, Danny Trejo, Michael Rooker, Daimon Poiter (no relation), Danny Glover, and, curiously, Vanilla Ice.
During the last performance of the night, The Game Awards orchestra played a medley of all the main theme’s of the games nominated for Game of the Year. During Elden Ring’s section, the camera cut to Eustache who was rocking the hell out pumping his fist in the air as he played a funny looking curved flute. (An alto flute for all my fellow band nerds out there which was, ironically, not the weirdest instrument of the event since Bear McCreary got on stage with a hurdy-gurdy earlier in the night.) This guy was awesome! He had just the most delightful and inspired performance by a flautist since Jethro Tull or Will Ferrel’s bit in Anchorman. Eustache became an instant hit on social media with Twitter flooding with comments praising Eustache’s breakout performance.
Sure, Elden Ring won this year’s Game of The Year award, but we at Prima like to award different talents. Here at Prima, we are taking away the award from Elden Ring and giving it to the flute player. May you rock on in everything you do. We love you and the fleeting moment you gave us at the end of this year’s Game Awards ceremony.
Many people will be talking about the Final Fantasy XVI trailer, or maybe even the announcement of Armored Core VI, but we will be around the water cooler, holding up a weird photo of this human we don’t know. Telling everyone we know to just watch this quick performance. Hoping to captivate them the way this flute player did to us. Sharing the joyous yet fleeting moment of a simpler time.
If you rewatch the performance, you will see this human going absolutely sicko mode on multiple instruments. Serenading us with tunes from Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, and many others. Maybe this man loves Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Who’s to say? It’s been a good year for music, and while the orchestra did a fantastic job as a whole, you’ve always got to have the one person who stands out.
There’s a minor whiplash in seeing your favorite game Elden Ring, and then a man wailing on a small Piccolo at the highest pitch only dogs could hear it.
At the end of the ceremony, Geoff Keighley announced a performance at the LA Bowl; maybe you can catch the flute guy there, but who knows? More information on that will happen later next year.
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