The Indie Informer

A warning that the end of the gaming year will soon be upon us, The Game Awards nominations have been announced. While it, unsurprisingly, isn’t the indie-studded list that the Indie Game Awards‘ nominations will be tomorrow, there are still games to root for. Check out the categories indie fans should be showing up for — including Game of the Year!

Game Of The Year

ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Game Direction

ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)

Best Art Direction

ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
Metaphor: ReFantazio (Studio Zero/Atlus/Sega)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)

Games For Impact

Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios/Skybound Games)
Indika (Odd Meter/11 Bit Studios)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine/Square Enix)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios)
Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios/EA)

Best Independent Game

Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo/Annapurna Interactive)
Neva (Nomada Studio/Devolver)
UFO 50 (Mossmouth)

Best Debut Indie Game

Animal Well (Shared Memory/Bigmode)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios/Kepler Interactive)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Mobile Game

AFK Journey (FARLIGHT/Lilith Games)
Balatro (LocalThunk/Playstack)
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Creatures Inc/TPCI)
Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)
Zenless Zone Zero (miHoYo)

Best Family Game

ASTRO BOT (Team Asobi/SIE)
Princess Peach: Showtime! (Good-Feel/Nintendo)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo Cube/Nintendo)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo/Nintendo)
The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures/Devolver)

Best Sim/Strategy Game

Age of Mythology: Retold (World’s Edge/Forgotten Empires/Xbox Game Studios)
Frostpunk 2 (11 Bit Studios)
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (Capcom)
Manor Lords (Slavic Magic/Hooded Horse)
Unicorn Overlord (Vanillaware/Sega/Atlus)