If I ever have doubts about indies’ place in the gaming space, big award ceremonies like Geoff Keighley’s end-of-year event remind me of just how large my favorite games loom in the industry. While not everything I think deserves recognition got it from this week’s nominee announcements, it is thrilling to realize that more than half of the most-nominated games are not triple-A titles. Games like my GOTY Tunic, Immortality, and Stray are here to represent — and you can vote for them here. Though not an exhaustive list of every indie in each category, I’ve put together some of the most exciting nominations to help make your choices.
Cutting to the chase, the Best Indie winner is always my most anticipated award of the night. It’s not hard to guess my preferred winner, but there’s no game on here that doesn’t deserve the title.
Though there are some repeats vying for this prize, the new contenders are heavy hitters. Norco and Vampire Survivors top many indie fans’ 2022 lists, and have a lot of support going into the ceremony.
Are you seeing a pattern in my first three must-watch contests? Tunic once again goes up against some big opponents. Typically this award goes to a AAA, but it would be a highlight of my night to see an indie walk away victorious.
This thoughtful category is almost always a strong showing for independent titles, and this year is no different. Seeing Citizen Sleeper on the list reminds me of how many more nominations it deserved. However, several titles make strong cases to win here.
Manon Gage’s performance in Immortality is stunning. Conventional wisdoms says God of War’s Christopher Judge is the favorite to take home the gold (and he did a fantastic job), but I want Immortality to snag this one so bad.
Not usually on the top of my list, I’m watching the best sports/racing category closely this year to support OlliOlli World. I also think we could have gotten Rollerdrome here at the very least, but what can you do.
Ya’ll, what if Stray won Game of the Year? It would truly be the most memorable moment of the ceremony ever.
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