Damn, 2018 had a lot of really great indie games

Here are your Independent Games Festival finalists

That headline probably goes without saying, but it’s true! The indie scene brought some genuinely great games in 2018 that will continue to stick with us for years to come. Look no further than the 2019 Independent Games Festival, which rounded up its finalists this week. That’s a good starting point.

The list also serves as a gentle nudge for me to check out games I’m liable to foolishly let slip by. I need to pencil in Hypnospace Outlaw, a peculiar yet heartfelt ’90s internet simulator fever dream.

It seems remarkably likely that Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope will find his way back onto the award show stage. His latest title, the ship-bound murder-mystery adventure Return of the Obra Dinn, is up for awards in not only Audio, Design, Visual Art, and Narrative, but also the Seumas McNally Grand Prize.

We’ll see what’s what when the IGF Awards kick off at 6:30pm Pacific on March 20. The ceremony is the same night as the Game Developers Choice Awards and it’ll be led by 80 Days writer Meg Jayanth.

Here’s the full list of finalists and runners-up:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

Minit (Kitty Calis, Jan Willem Nijman, Jukio Kallio & Dominik Johann)

Opus Magnum (Zachtronics)

Noita (Nolla Games)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)

Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)

Honorable Mentions: Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley); Moss (Polyarc); Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games); Iconoclasts (Joakim Sandberg); Virtual Virtual Reality (Tender Claws); Beat Saber (Beat Games)

Excellence in Visual Art

Forgotton Anne (ThroughLine Games)

Alto’s Odyssey (Team Alto)

Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)

Just Shapes & Beats (Berzerk Studio)

Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Honorable Mentions: Beat Saber (Beat Games); Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Moss (Polyarc); Iconoclasts (Joakim Sandberg); Guildlings (Sirvo Studios); Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)

Excellence in Audio

ETHEREAL (Nonsense Arts – Nicolás Recabarren and Tomás Batista)

Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran)

Moss (Polyarc)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Alto’s Odyssey (Team Alto)

Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)

Honorable Mentions: Creaks (Amanita Design); Holedown (grapefrukt games); Pikuniku (Sectordub); The Messenger (Sabotage); Distance (Refract Studios); Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit); Wattam (Funomena)

Excellence in Design

What the Golf? (Triband)

Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)

Noita (Nolla Games)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Dicey Dungeons (Terry Cavanagh, Chipzel, and Marlowe Dobbe)

Opus Magnum (Zachtronics)

Honorable Mentions: Subnautica (Unknown Worlds Entertainment); Carto (Sunhead Games); Black Room (Cassie McQuater); JUMPGRID (Ian MacLarty); Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley); Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran); Beat Saber (Beat Games)

Excellence in Narrative

Wandersong (Greg Lobanov & A Shell in the Pit)

Genital Jousting (Free Lives)

Unavowed (Wadjet Eye Games)

Seers Isle (Nova-box)

Watch Me Jump (Jeremy Gable)

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

Honorable Mentions: Do Not Feed The Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios); The Hex (Daniel Mullins Games)

Speed Dating for Ghosts (Copychaser Games); after HOURS (Bahiyya Khan, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk, Abi Meekel); Fortune-499 (AP Thomson); Marie’s Room (like Charlie); Tango: The Adventure Game (Gualicho Games)

Nuovo Award

Circle0 (yesyes)

eCheese Zone (Seemingly Pointless)

Noita (Nolla Games)

Mirror Drop (Ian Lilley)

Black Room (Cassie McQuater)

Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric)

Do Not Feed the Monkeys (Fictiorama Studios)

Nth Dimension[al] Hiking (Zachariah Chandler)

Honorable Mentions: All Our Asias (Sean Han Tani); Hypnospace Outlaw (Jay Tholen, Mike Lasch, Xalavier Nelson Jr., Corey Cochran); Cyberpet Graveyard (alienmelon); levedad (solimporta); Subserial Network (Aether Interactive); macdows 95 (gamebra.in); The Norwood Suite (Cosmo D); Nerve Damage (Dennis Carr)

Best Student Game

It’s Paper Guy! (Paper Team)

Grace Bruxner Presents: The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game (Grace Bruxner)

After HOURS (Bahiyya Khan, Claire Meekel, Tim Flusk, Abi Meekel)

En Garde! (En Garde! Team)

levedad (solimporta)

Sole (Gossamer Games)

Honorable Mentions: We Should Talk (HeartBeetStudio); Coffin Rot Brewing Co. (Rosser-McGraw Studio); Fling to the Finish (SplitSide Games); Indecision. (Bilge Kaan); Seasons (David Su and Dominique Star); supertype (Philipp Stollenmayer); Atlas’ Fate: Between Light and Darkness (Baby Robot Games); Marbloid (Supyrb)

2019 Independent Games Festival reveals this year’s finalists! [IGF]