Informa Tech, the organisers behind the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) have officially revealed the finalists for the 2024 Independent Games Festival (IGF) Awards, which celebrate the artistry and storytelling of independently-created games.
Leading the nominations for this year’s show is Venba from Visai Games, a narrative adventure exploring the importance of family and cooking from the perspective of an Indian mother. Other games which nabbed multiple nominations include 1000xRESIST by Fellow Traveller, A Highland Song by Inkle, Anthology of the Killer by Thecatamites, COCOON by Annapurna Interactive, and Mediterranea Inferno by Santa Ragione.
Here’s the full list of finalists for the 2024 Independent Games Festival Awards.
Independent Games Festival Awards 2024: Full list of finalists
BEST STUDENT GAME
- goodbye.monster (Monster Team)
- Once Upon a Jester (Bonte Avond / Crunching Koalas)
- Pile Up! (Remoob / Catoptric Games, IndieArk)
- Planetka (TeTerka)
- RAM: Random Access Mayhem (Xylem Studios)
- TRY AGAIN (the Rejects)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
A Day With Mochi (San Felicete Studio / Rubika Supinfogame), Barkane: The Folds of Calamity (Chase O’Brien & VGDev), Birds Aren’t Real: The Game (USC Games), Cyberside Picnic (Michael Luo / Cathode Radiator), Entangled (Fibula Studio), Lime Juice (Benbees), Re:Fresh (Merge Conflict Studio)
EXCELLENCE IN AUDIO
- A Highland Song (Inkle)
- COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- Nour: Play With Your Food (Terrifying Jellyfish / PANIC)
- Rhythm Doctor (7th Beat Games / 7th Beat Games, indienova)
- Tchia (Awaceb / Kepler Interactive)
- Venba (Visai Games)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Anthology of the Killer (Thecatamites, Tommy Tone, A. Degen / Thecatamites), El Paso, Elsewhere (Strange Scaffold), Let’s! Revolution! (Antfood, BUCK / Hawthorn Games, BUCK), Planet of Lana, (Wishfully / Thunderful Publishing), Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studios / Humble Games)
EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN
- Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc / Focus Entertainment)
- Cobalt Core (Rocket Rat Games / Brace Yourself Games)
- COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- Cryptmaster (Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games / Akupara Games)
- Final Profit: A Shop RPG (Brent Arnold)
- Isles of Sea and Sky (Cicada Games, Jason Newman, Craig Collver / Cicada Games, Jason Newman, Gamera Game)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
20 Small Mazes (FLEB), Peaks of Yore (Anders Grube Jensen / TraipseWare), Price of Flight (WATERBOX), Timberborn (Mechanistry)
EXCELLENCE IN NARRATIVE
- 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)
- A Highland Song (Inkle)
- Mediterranea Inferno (Lorenzo Redaelli, Eyeguys / Santa Ragione)
- The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood (Deconstructeam / Devolver Digital)
- The Wreck (The Pixel Hunt)
- Venba (Visai Games)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP), Saltsea Chronicles (Die Gute Fabrik / Die Gute Fabrik), Slay the Princess (Black Tabby Games), Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Summerfall Studios / Humble Games) The Archivist and the Revolution (Autumn Chen)
EXCELLENCE IN VISUAL ARTS
- Anthology of the Killer (Thecatamites, Tommy Tone, A. Degen / Thecatamites)
- Clash: Artifacts of Chaos (ACE Team / Nacon)
- Darkest Dungeon II (Red Hook Studios)
- Little Goody Two Shoes (AstralShiftPro LDA, AstralShift / Square Enix)
- Phonopolis (Amanita Design)
- Venba (Visai Games)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
30 Birds (RAM Games, Ram Ram, Business Goose Studios / Ram Ram, ARTE France), Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc / Focus Entertainment), Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP), NIDUS (Caleb Wood), SLUDGE LIFE 2 (Terri Vellmann, DOSEONE / Devolver Digital)
NUOVO AWARD
- 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)
- Anthology of the Killer (Thecatamites, Tommy Tone, A. Degen / Thecatamites)
- Cryptmaster (Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games / Akupara Games)
- Kevin (1997-2077) (Kevin Du)
- Mediterranea Inferno (Lorenzo Redaelli, Eyeguys / Santa Ragione)
- NIDUS (Caleb Wood)
- The Forest Cathedral (Wakefield Interactive LLC, Brian Wilson / Whitehorn Games)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
BlueSuburbia (alienmelon), goodbye.monster (Monster Team), In Stars and Time (insertdisc5 / Armor Games Inc.), Nour: Play With Your Food (Terrifying Jellyfish / PANIC), The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood (Deconstructeam / Devolver Digital)
SEUMAS MCNALLY GRAND PRIZE
- 1000xRESIST (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller)
- A Highland Song (Inkle / Inkle)
- Anthology of the Killer (Thecatamites, Tommy Tone, A. Degen / Thecatamites)
- COCOON (Geometric Interactive / Annapurna Interactive)
- Mediterranea Inferno (Lorenzo Redaelli, Eyeguys / Santa Ragione)
- Venba (Visai Games)
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc / Focus Entertainment), Final Profit: A Shop RPG (Brent Arnold), Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP), In Stars and Time (insertdisc5 / Armor Games Inc.), Rhythm Doctor (7th Beat Games / 7th Beat Games, indienova), Tchia (Awaceb / Kepler Interactive), The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood (Deconstructeam / Devolver Digital)
In addition to these prize categories, the Independent Games Festival also has an Audience Award. You’re now able to cast your vote for your favourite independent game of the year.
The winners of each prize category will be announced during the Independent Games Festival Awards, which are currently set to take place on 20 March 2024, during the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC). The ceremony will be livestreamed for global audiences via the GDC Twitch channel.
