Alrighty. Here’s the deal. We like games. A lot. We like indie games especially. And we play a lot of them. Like a lot, a lot. And while many of them didn’t make our Indie Game(s) of the Year List, it doesn’t mean that these titles are any less worthy of recognition.
Games I Should Be Playing Award: Marvel Snap, Vampire Survivors
Chosen By Andy Asimakis
I’m dumb because I haven’t played either of these games and EVERYONE on the team keeps raving about them. But that will change! Oh boy will that change…
The Bob Barker Award – Peglin
Chosen By Matt Murray
This game lets me live out my Plinko dreams and does fun things to my brain.
You Were So Close Award: Blind Fate – Edo No Yami
Chosen by Stephen Fontana
Oh, Edo No Yami, you nearly had me. Now, don’t let this discourage you – Edo No Yami is a good game, it’s just held back by its level design and how it handles enemy encounters. The idea of using your senses to navigate a post-apocalyptic Japan is pretty neat. It just needed a teeny bit of refinement to help push it over the edge. Speaking about being so close…
You Were So Close To Getting My $70 Award – The Callisto Protocol
Chosen by Andy Asimakis and Matt Murray
From the moment we first saw The Callisto Protocol we wanted it. Then the reviews came out. And we saved $70. We are definitely not ones to pass on a game based on a few negative reviews. But CP had a LOT of negative reviews – way too many to ignore. And with an actual Dead Space game around the corner, we decided to put this on the backburner, and hope that The Callisto Protocol could be patched and updated to something better than what we got at launch.
The Best RPG That None Of Us Talked About Award – Chained Echoes
Chosen by Andy Asimakis
You should all be playing Chained Echoes. This one-man, seven-year passion project is without a doubt one of the best RPGs to grace the medium in years. I also didn’t talk about it…like at all. But I’m going to rectify that in 2023. Expect me to talk about this game A LOT.
I Didn’t Know I Missed You So Much Award – Kao the Kangaroo
Chosen by Stephen Fontana
If there was a game that really made me realize how much I love 3D platformers, it’s Kao the Kangaroo. What an awesome comeback. Tate Multimedia cares an awful lot about this IP and it shows. Now do Croc next, you cowards.
The I Can Play Chess Award – Shotgun King
Chosen by Andy Asimakis
Shotgun King is a l lot like playing chess with a nine-year old that just makes up the rules as you go along, and I love it. It’s the most creative roguelike I’ve played. Period.
Best Game I Only Played The Demo Of Award – The Last Hero of Nostalgaia
Chosen by Stephen Fontana
It’s a souls-like. It’s a nostalgia-trip. It’s funny as fuck. The Last Hero of Nostalgaia has it all. And I got all of that just from the demo! Now I just need to buy it and give it the attention it deserves.
This Is Gross And You Should Play It Award – Forgive Me Father
Chosen by Matt Murray
I have a boomer shooter problem. Or is it a blessing? In any case, Forgive Me Father is a gross FPS with creepy double-head people. Need I say more?
The Only Game I Played On My Series X This Year Award – TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge
Chosen by Andy Asimakis
Had it not been for this game being on Game Pass, I don’t think I would have turned on my Series X at all in 2022. And that says a lot considering I had already beaten the game on PS5 and PC prior to booting up this nearly-flawless retro throwback on my Xbox machine and partaking in some multiplayer fun with the Duel Screens crew. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a love letter to the beat-em-up TMNT games of days past. It’s everything a grown-ass nerd like me ever would have hoped for. If you are a big label publisher and you are holding on to an IP that hasn’t seen a released in decades – give it to an indie developer now!
Man, that was a lot of games.
