Bafta Games Awards 2022: It Takes Two and Returnal lead nominations

The British Academy's game awards will reward titles with a social message as well as the year's best acting performances

Innovative science-fiction shooter Returnal and creative co-operative platform game It Takes Two lead the nominations for Bafta's 2022 Games Awards, with eight nominations each in categories from best animation to best game.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, a flagship PlayStation 5 game from last summer, is in the running for seven awards, while driving-tourism racer Forza Horizon 5 and surreal psychological adventure Psychonauts 2 have six nominations each. In total, 39 games have been nominated across the awards' 16 categories, celebrating excellence in everything from sound design and animation to narrative.