Predicting the Best Independent Game Winner

Predicting the Best Independent Game Winner



Indie games are always a big highlight of The Game Awards ceremony. Their place in various categories strewn throughout the show acts as an annual reminder that there are always teams out there who are dedicating their lives to making video games purely because it’s their passion, and not because it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. As such, Indie games tend to have some of the biggest hearts in the entire gaming ecosphere.




That’s certainly true for this year’s line-up for The Game Awards‘ Best Independent Game category. Five Indie games have been nominated this year, all of which have a genuine chance of winning, and all of which arguably deserve that win. But unfortunately, just one game can walk away with the Game Awards trophy.

The Game Awards 2024 Best Independent Game Nominees

  • Balatro
  • Animal Well
  • Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
  • Neva
  • UFO 50

Related
Why Persona 5 Fans Should Tune into The Game Awards

Persona 5 fans have a big reason to watch The Game Awards this year, as a major announcement tied to the series may finally be revealed.

Balatro

Over the last few years, the video game industry has continued to see at least one Indie game become something of a sensation, becoming a hot topic in the gaming world for a little while. Balatro is this year’s breakout Indie hit.


A roguelike deck-builder that was created by just one person, Balatro has earned widespread critical acclaim since its release back in February. Balatro has also continued to receive free content, with its most recent “Friends of Jimbo” updates bringing a wealth of crossover cards to the game based on Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher, The Binding of Isaac, Stardew Valley, and more.

Balatro has been nominated for an impressive total of five categories at this year’s Game Awards, and while the odds are stacked against it winning Game of the Year, it’s in with a strong chance of walking away with the Best Independent Game trophy on December 12.

Animal Well


A critical darling in every sense of the word, Animal Well is the debut title from videogamedunkey’s publisher, Bigmode. Though the Metroidvania genre has been explored thoroughly in the last few years, Animal Well goes above and beyond to offer a completely new type of Metroidvania experience, one that puts a stronger emphasis than ever on player-led exploration and puzzle-solving. While Animal Well can be enjoyed at its base level by anyone, those looking for a deeper challenge will have so much fun discovering everything that the game has to offer.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

The latest project from Sayonara Wild Hearts‘ Simogo studio, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a third-person puzzle game set in a vast hotel. Along with a striking black-and-white art style and Resident Evil-inspired camera angles, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes stands out from the crowd with its bite-sized, compelling puzzles, of which there are over 150 in the game. And without spoiling too much, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes‘ surreal undertones are the cherry on the cake.

Related
The Game Awards 2024: Predicting the Best Art Direction Winner

There have been plenty of gorgeous and aesthetically innovative games this year, but only one can win Best Art Direction at The Game Awards.


Neva

A puzzle-platformer from Gris developer Nomada Studio, Neva is arguably one of the most beautiful video games of all time. In Neva, players control a young woman named Alba who’s tasked with ridding the world of a mysterious dark force. The eponymous wolf-like companion fights right alongside Alba throughout the game’s four seasons, each one bringing with it a breathtaking art style change and some fresh puzzle-platforming challenges. Neva‘s hard-hitting, emotional narrative and equally expressive music puts it in a great position for this year’s Game Awards.

UFO 50


One of the most objectively impressive Indie games of 2024, UFO 50 is a collection of 50 original, individual video games, all bundled together in one nostalgic package. Created by Spelunky developer Mossmouth, UFO 50 takes players on a journey through a fictional gaming company’s history, allowing them to experience the 50 games that were fictitiously released between 1982 and 1989. Each game looks and sounds authentic to the era it’s trying to imitate, and control schemes and gameplay mechanics become more complex the further along in the timeline players progress.

UFO 50 is a love letter to the NES and SNES eras of gaming, and while not all of its games are worth seeing to completion, a surprising number are. And with sports games, shooters, open-world adventures, beat-em-ups, fighting games, and even fully-fledged RPGs all contained inside, UFO 50 has something for everyone.


Final Prediction

New Balatro Update

The Game Awards 2024’s Best Independent Game category is a really difficult one to predict. All five nominees are genuinely brilliant games that excel at what they set out to do. UFO 50 is a variety bucket of nostalgia. Neva is an emotive spectacle. Animal Well raises the bar for the Metroidvania genre. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a riveting puzzle game with a distinct sense of style. And Balatro is an addictive amalgamation of some of the hottest genres in gaming right now.

But only one game can win. With it being the only game also nominated for Game of the Year, and with it retaining such a strong player-base for almost the entire year, it seems highly likely that Balatro will win The Game Awards 2024’s Best Independent Game category.

MORE: The Game Awards 2024: Predicting the Best RPG Winner

Source link