This Year’s Indie Game of the Year Nominees Present a Strong Showing
With the nominees now being announced for Geoff Keighley’s 2024 Game Awards, many are discussing online which game deserves to win in each category. Of course, while there does have to be only one winner per award, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pay attention to all those that got nominated. It’s a huge feat to be in the running for most of these categories and shows just how competitive this year has been for games.
Image by BIGMODE
One of the most interesting and diverse line ups is (as always) Indie Game of the Year. These five nominees are some of the bests we’ve seen in a long time and each of these projects are worth checking out. Kicking off the nominees is, of course, Balatro. This rogue like was made by only one person and released at the beginning of the year to acclaim from all sources. An addicting poker game where you could bend the rules with jokers, new cards and deck crafting in what may be one of the greatest games its genre has ever seen. It being available on every platform under the sun (including mobile) only did even more to spread the popularity of this release.
Image by Mossmoth LLC
The next nominee is another by a solo developer. Animal Well was the first game to be published by VideoGameDunkey’s ‘Big Mode’ studio and its quite the opening act. This low-key retro style Metroid Vania unleashes you into an alien world that is as mysterious as it is creepy. This is one of those special experiences that you really should go into blind since, surprise is so much of its appeal. This also holds true for another nominee for this category: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. This third person puzzler sees you traverse a dreary manor and solve a bunch of puzzles in a non-linear fashion. The artstyle and aesthetic set this release out from the crowd and make it more than worthy of a nomination.
Image by Annapurna Interactive
The next nominee may be the most ambitious. UFO 50 is a collection of 50 games made by a fictional game developer. The games each take inspiration and mechanics from a bunch of 80s and 90s releases but with their own spins. Each of these 50 games could be their own releases (with some taking upwards of 50 hours to beat on their own) so, if you decide to pick this one up, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.
Image by Nomada Studios
The final nominee is Neva. This is an incredibly artistic release by the same team as Gris and, taking one look at its visuals, it shows. This game tasks you with travelling across a world through four seasons side by side with your wolf companion. While it has combat, the strong suit of Neva is its gorgeous environments, storytelling and music that creates an incredibly memorable experience. Make sure to try each of the five nominees out and vote on the Game Awards Website ahead of the ceremony on December 12th.
