Topic: 2023 NWR Forum Awards - Best Indie Game

[M.K.Ultra]

The 2023 NWR Forum Awards

Best Independent Game

This award is for games developed by independent studios an released in 2023. The results of the poll will only be revealed once the voting is done (December 15). You should be able to change your vote until then. Make sure to sound off in the comments if the game is on your backlog as we have a separate award for that. Even though the official nominees list is closed, you can still reply with a write-in. Best of luck to all the nominees.

[M.K.Ultra]

This is a tough category. Not just because the definition of an indie game is nebulous, but the number of indie games is so great that many do not get reviewed anymore. I tried to comb through the NWR reviews and include anything with a 9 or higher to get this list. Some of these I have not even hear of otherwise.
I will say that Cocoon is on my wish list having loved Inside and Limbo. Rakuen is also on my wish list. I feel like as my backlog has gotten worse, these digital only games have seemed to fall behind compared with ones that get a physical version.
I tried playing the first Moving Out but it seemed to be so much harder than Overcooked. Maybe the second one is a more balanced experience.
Sea of Stars, Cocoon, Dave the Diver, Dredge, and Viewfinder comprise the nominees from The Game Awards. The Game Awards actually has two indie awards, with one specifically for new studios.

[NWR_insanolord]

The only thing that would keep me from picking Dave the Diver here is questions over the definition of indie. It's one of my favorite games this year period, and almost certainly in my overall top 5 alongside the big hits from Nintendo.

[M.K.Ultra]

The only thing that would keep me from picking Dave the Diver here is questions over the definition of indie. It's one of my favorite games this year period, and almost certainly in my overall top 5 alongside the big hits from Nintendo.

Yeah, after watching checkpoint from last week I realize that I should have listened to Evan_B and moved it to Multiplatform game. If the any mods want to magically make that happen    would not object.
Alternatively everyone can vote Dave the Diver and have it win best Indy just to spotlight my mistake further 

[broodwars]

I'm sure, as usual, I'll be the odd man out on this, but Lies of P is my pick, as it's easily my game of the year. Bloodborne was my first "Souls" game, and Lies of P gave me something I've wanted for the better part of a decade now: a sequel to Bloodborne, albeit in a spiritual sense only. But more than that, I think it improves on the Souls formula in fundamental ways, such as...

- making strategic guarding such an integral part of the strategy.
- the unique weapon customization system that lets you mix and match weapon parts to create the perfect weapon for your build.
- placing bloodstains from boss fights outside the boss wall so you not only aren't locked into the fight in order to keep your XP, but also makes it so you don't have to waste the start of every fight running over to get your Souls back.
- allowing the player to repair their weapon on the fly for free, so you don't have to constantly teleport back to repair it at a vendor.
- giving the player flexibility over buffing or healing AI Summons.
- and marking quests on the fast travel screen so you know when you have business to advance.

This game kinda revitalized my interest in the genre, as after completing it I finally went back and finished Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 2, and now Dark Souls 3 as of last night. It's just a superbly-made game from a small developer that completely nails that fierce combat, moody atmosphere, and rewarding exploration these games are known for. The story is also shockingly easy to follow for a game like this, as it doesn't dump its entire storytelling into item descriptions. And let's just say that Pinnochio isn't the only piece of classic literature that the game borrows from.

[M.K.Ultra]

In case you did not catch The Game Awards yesterday, here are some of the awards for nominees in this category:

• Cocoon won Best Debut Indie Game
• Sea of Stars won Best Independent Game

[Lemonade]

I loved both Oxenfree II and Cocoon. Im not sure of Oxenfree counts as an indie game though.

[M.K.Ultra]

The Award for Best Indie Game Goes To...

Cocoon

The unique puzzle adventure game released September 29, 2023 and was developed by Jeppe Carlsen, lead gameplay designer of Limbo and Inside. NWR gave the game a 9.5/10 and reviewer Alex Orona said "Crafting such a fantastically curious world of psychedelic shapes and inorganic life is a feat of its own but with this combination as a full package, I can’t recommend this game to enough people.".