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Highlights
- The Game Awards’ Best Debut Indie category highlights brand-new Indie studios and their games, with Cocoon standing as the favorite to win.
- Cocoon, an innovative puzzle game by Geometric Interactive, is the frontrunner in the category due to its unique gameplay mechanics and impressive design.
- Other notable nominees include Dredge, a fishing game with a Lovecraftian twist, Pizza Tower, a throwback 2D side-scrolling platformer, Venba, a narrative cooking game with a focus on family and heritage, and Viewfinder, a puzzle game with reality-bending mechanics.
The gaming industry is a vast one that casts a wide net over countless different genres and experiences, and one of the biggest highlights of The Game Awards is its determination to try and highlight the best of it all. So, while most of The Game Awards’ categories are focused on highlighting the biggest and the best, which often ends up meaning AAA first-party titles, there are still a few categories dedicated to giving the spotlight to some smaller titles. That’s the express purpose of The Game Awards 2023’s Best Debut Indie category.
A category specifically designed to give brand-new Indie studios their time to shine, The Game Awards’ Best Debut Indie category gives a total of five truly superb Indie games a nomination this year. And while all five Indie games stand a solid chance at taking home the coveted Game Award, there are a few that seemingly have the edge this year, and there’s one particular favorite to win.
2023 Best Debut Indie Nominees
- Cocoon
- Dredge
- Pizza Tower
- Venba
- Viewfinder
The Game Awards 2023: Predicting The Best Sports/Racing Game Winner
The Game Awards is set to make its yearly appearance in just a few days’ time and its Best Sports/Racing game category is just as stacked as the rest.
Cocoon
Undoubtedly the front runner for The Game Awards’ Best Debut Indie category, Cocoon is a game that released a few months ago, which the industry hasn’t stopped talking about ever since. An incredibly innovative puzzle game that sees players hop between different worlds to fetch key items and solve puzzles, Cocoon is a game unlike any other this year, and perhaps any year before it as well. Cocoon is an incredibly impressive Indie game, and the fact that it’s Geometric Interactive’s first is astounding.
While this is Geometric Interactive’s first game, the studio is headed up by Limbo and Inside lead gameplay designer Jeppe Carlsen.
Dredge
Created by just four people in New Zealand, Dredge is another stand-out Indie game this year, and it’s received quite a few different nominations at The Game Awards. A fishing game with a dark Lovecraftian twist, Dredge is another wholly unique title that’s unlike anything else on the market right now, and that’s the telltale sign of an excellent Indie game.
Pizza Tower
Heavily inspired by unhinged 90s cartoons, Pizza Tower is an exceptional throwback 2D side-scrolling platformer that has both some serious style and substance. A game that’s been in the works since 2018, Pizza Tower is undoubtedly one of the most impressive Indie games released this year, and for fans of frantic 2D side-scrollers heavily influenced by Wario Land, it’s a must-play.
Venba
Marketed as a narrative cooking game, Venba is much more than first meets the eye. Centered around an Indian family who’s just immigrated to Canada in the 1980s, Venba sees players take control of the matriarch of the family as she tries to connect to her family and heritage through cooking. Also nominated for The Game Awards’ Games for Impact category, Venba is a truly special Indie game that’s clearly been made with a lot of passion and genuine heart.
Viewfinder
An incredibly unique puzzle game that doesn’t quite stick the landing and fully live up to its premise, Viewfinder sees players take photographs of the environment, and use those photographs to solve puzzles in a reality-bending way. For instance, players can take a picture of a bridge in the distance, and use that photograph to then place a bridge in front of them. Viewfinder is an excellent debut title from Sad Owl Studios, but its shorter length and a handful of other nitpicks might keep it from winning a Game Award this year.
Final Prediction
Though there have been some exceptional debut Indie titles this year, only one game can win The Game Awards 2023’s Best Debut Indie trophy, and Cocoon seems like the safest bet of the bunch. Cocoon not only has some top-notch presentation, but its core world-hopping gimmick is so innovative and well-integrated that it’s made the game one of the best hidden gems of the entire year. It seems like a safe pick for this category.
