2022 was a great year for indie titles and we had great titles that were overshadowed despite being surrounded by AAA heavyweights like God of War Ragnarok y Elder Ring. We are going to find out which were the best independent games of the year thanks to the Independent Games Festival or IGF 2023 Awards and here we have the nominees.
Last year, the big winner of the night was the peculiar card game Inscryption —whose review you can read here— which even won the Seumas McNally award for best game of the year.
When are they and how to watch the IGF Awards 2023?
The award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 9:30 pm (Colombia, Peru and Ecuador time) during the Games Developers Conference and will be presented by Marina Díez, designer of Dordogne.
We can watch the ceremony live on GDC’s Twitch channel
Independent Games Festival (IGF) Awards 2023 Nominees
best student game
- Gevaudan (Nicholas Bernard)
- Mind Diver (Indoor Sunglasses)
- Presenter Slides (Mathias Schifter & Brin Zvan)
- Shutter (ARTFX 2022)
- Scale (Gustav Almström)
- Slider (randomerz)
honorable mentions: A Mallard’s Song (Ducky Elford), Error134 (Jenny Vi Pham), Paper Planet (Doodlegames), The Longest Walk (Alexander Tarvet), zenosyne (Ezra Santon)
audio excellence
- Dome Keeper (Bippinbits)
- Paradise Marsh (LazyEti)
- South of the Circle (State of Play)
- The Forest Quartet (Mads & Friends)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team)
- We are OFK (Team OFK)
honorable mentions: Betrayal at Club Low (Cosmo D Studios), Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster), IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid), Melatonin (Half Asleep), Neon White (Angel Matrix), Tinykin (Splashteam)
design excellence
- Against the Storm (Eremite Games)
- Betrayal at Club Low (Cosmo D Studios)
- Mr. Sun’s Hatbox (Kenny Sun)
- Neon White (Angel Matrix)
- Stacklands (Sokpop Collective)
- The Case of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games)
honorable mentions: Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age), Cursed to Golf (Chuhai Labs), Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator (niceplay games), Swordship (Digital Kingdom), Terra Nil (Free Lives), Tinykin (Splashteam)
excellence in narrative
- Butterfly Soup 2 (Brianna Lei)
- Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age)
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games)
- IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid)
- NORCO (Geography of Robots)
- South of the Circle (State of Play)
honorable mentions: Eternal Threads (Cosmonaut Studios), Queer Man Peering Into a Rock Pool.jpg
Excellence in Visual Arts
- Afterglitch (Vladimir Kudelka)
- How Deep Is the Dark Water? (Rhett Tsai)
- Potionomics (Voracious Games)
- RPG Time: The Legend of Wright (DeskWorks Inc.)
- To Hell With the Ugly (The Black Hen, ARTE France)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team)
honorable mentions: I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games), Melatonin (Half Asleep), NAIAD (HiWarp), Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator (niceplay games), Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox), Swordship (Digital Kingdom), Terra Nil (Free Lives), Voodoo Detective (Short Sleeve Studio LLC)
New Award
- Afterglitch (Vladimir Kudelka)
- An Outcry (Quinn K.)
- Betrayal at Club Low (Cosmo D Studios)
- He Fucked The Girl Out Of Me (Taylor McCue)
- Queer Man Peering Into a Rock Pool.jpg (Fuzzy Ghost)
- Sylvie Lime (Love♥️Game)
- Time Bandit (Joel Jordon)
- Titanic II: Orchestra for Dying At Sea (Flan Falacci)
honorable mentions: atuel (Matajuegos), Ib (run), Not For Broadcast (NotGames), Of Moons and Mania (Absurd Walls), RPG Time: The Legend of Wright (DeskWorks Inc.)
Grand Prix Seumas McNally
- Betrayal at Club Low (Cosmo D Studios)
- TUNIC (TUNIC Team)
- The Case of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games)
- IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid)
- Neon White (Angel Matrix)
- Not For Broadcast (NotGames)
honorable mentions: Tinykin (Splashteam), Terra Nil (Free Lives), RPG Time: The Legend of Wright (DeskWorks Inc.), Roadwarden (Moral Anxiety Studio), Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive), Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over the Age).
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