Dragon Age: Inquisition may have bested it at the DICE Awards this year but Monolith’s Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor managed to snag the Game Developer Conference’s Game of the Year award for 2015.

Other noteworthy winners included Kentucky Route Zero: Episode 3 which won for Best Narrative; Bungie’s Destiny which bagged the award for Best Technology; Alien: Isolation which won Best Audio; and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft which was awarded Best Design. If some of those choices sound odd, you’re not the only one to notice.

Regardless, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor’s victory is well-earned seeing as the game rose above all initial hype and delivered an outstanding experience in both story-telling and gameplay. The open world design and Nemesis system has been routinely praised and suffice to say, this isn’t the last we’ll hear of the series in the coming years.

What are your thoughts on this year’s GDC Award winner? Let us know in the comments.