The full list of 2020 Independent Games Festival finalists was revealed today, the nominees for the $10,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize including games such as Slay the Spire, Mutazione, and Untitled Goose Game.
The process behind choosing the 2020 Independent Games Festival finalists included an initial screening process in which over 300 judges took part, after which “a diverse set of expert jurors” chose the finalists for each category from more than 550 titles “after playing, discussing and meticulously evaluating them”.
2020 Independent Games Festival Finalists
Here is the full list of 2020 Independent Games Festival finalists, grouped in their own categories:
Seumas McNally Grand Prize
- Eliza (Zachtronics)
- A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House)
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Slay the Spire (Mega Crit Games)
- Anodyne 2: Return to Dust (Sean Han Tani & Marina Kittaka)
Honorable Mentions: Katana ZERO (Askiisoft); Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries); Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer); Wide Ocean, Big Jacket (Turnfollow); Elsinore (Golden Glitch); Astrologaster (Nyamyam); Heaven’s Vault (inkle)
Excellence in Visual Art
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Knights and Bikes (Foam Sword)
- Void Bastards (Blue Manchu)
- Creature in the Well (Flight School Studio)
- Eastward (Pixpil)
- Stone Story RPG (Martian Rex / standardcombo)
Honorable Mentions: LUNA The Shadow Dust (Lantern Studio); Eastshade (Eastshade Studios); Minute of Islands(Studio Fizbin); Katana ZERO (Askiisoft); Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer); A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu); Creaks (Amanita Design)
Excellence in Audio
- Observation (No Code)
- Vectronom (Ludopium)
- Astrologaster (Nyamyam)
- Knights and Bikes (Foam Sword)
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Untitled Goose Game (House House)
Honorable Mentions: Afterparty (Night School Studio); Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to) (Popcannibal); Manifold Garden (William Chyr Studio); Alt-Frequencies (Accidental Queens); Don’t Look (Don’t Look Team); Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries); Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 (Cosmo D)
Excellence in Design
- Katana ZERO (Askiisoft)
- Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Megagon Industries)
- Slay the Spire (Mega Crit Games)
- A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu)
- Elsinore (Golden Glitch)
- Patrick's Parabox (Patrick Traynor)
Honorable Mentions: Guildlings (Sirvo Studios); Nauticrawl (Andrea Interguglielmi); Blabyrinth (Sleeping Beast Games); Children of Morta (Dead Mage); Void Bastards (Blue Manchu); Untitled Goose Game (House House); Creature in the Well (Flight School Studio)
Excellence in Narrative
- Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
- Heaven's Vault (inkle)
- Elsinore (Golden Glitch)
- Wide Ocean, Big Jacket (Turnfollow)
- Eliza (Zachtronics)
- LIONKILLER (Sisi Jiang)
Honorable Mentions: American Election (Greg Buchanan); Night Call (Monkey Moon, BlackMuffin); Astrologaster(Nyamyam); A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu); Adventures With Anxiety! (Nicky Case); Observation (No Code)
Nuovo Award
- Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 (Cosmo D)
- Infini (Barnaque)
- The Space Between (Christoph Frey)
- Life Tastes Like Cardboard (Demensa)
- Promesa (Julián Palacios)
- Song of Bloom (Philipp Stollenmayer)
- The Longing (Studio Seufz)
- PAGAN: Autogeny (Oleander Garden)
Honorable Mentions: Astrologaster (Nyamyam); Elsinore (Golden Glitch); Fit for a King (Brent Ellison & Tanya X. Short); My Exercise (Atsushi Wada, Ryoya Usuha, Nobuaki Doi); Where the Bees Make Honey (Brian Wilson); Smile For Me (Gabe Lane and Yugo Limbo / LimboLane)
Best Student Game
- Orbital Bullet (SmokeStab)
- A Juggler's Tale (kaleidoscube)
- Forgotten (Mutiny Games)
- Neon Beats (OKYO Games)
- BORE DOME (Goblin rage)
- Nothing In Sight (Nothing In Sight Team)
Honorable Mentions: Unhatched (Filip Loster); Du Rejser (You Travel) (Victor Selnæs Breum + Katinka); Trail Mix(Puzzsoft); Where the Bees Make Honey (Brian Wilson); Northbound (Johannes Köberle & Arno Justus); Evergreen Blues(David Su and Dominique Star)
The 22nd annual Independent Games Festival Awards will take place during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on March 18. The event will be streamed on the GDC’s official Twitch channel. You can find more info about the finalists on the IGF’s website.
