Inscryption And Unpacking Lead In Independent Games Festival Award Nominations

The 24th annual Independent Games Festival is just around the corner and after a year filled with countless critically acclaimed indie games, the competition is pretty fierce. However, after sifting through a catalog of over 400 entries, the organizers behind the 2022 Game Developers Conference have revealed which independent titles are up for some of the festival's most prestigious awards.

Leading the pack in award nominations are Daniel Mullins Games' eerie deck-builder Inscryption and Witch Beam's heartfelt puzzle game Unpacking, two games very different in content but both celebrated for their unique mechanics and interesting narrative. Both titles have four nomination each in the same categories: excellence in audio, excellence in design, excellence in narrative, and, last but not least, the Seumas McNally grand prize.

In addition to Inscryption and Unpacking, Overboard!, Jett: The Far Shore, and The Eternal Cylinder all have multiple nomination across award categories. Up for the festival's grand prize--the Seumus McNally Award--are Inscryption, Unpacking, Loop Hero, The Eternal Cylinder, Cruelty Squad, and Unsighted.

You can read up on every game nominated for an IGF award--as well as all the honorable mentions--over on the festival's official webpage. Here's a list of the contenders for the showcase's top five categories:

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Loop Hero (Four Quarters)
• The Eternal Cylinder (ACE Team)
• Cruelty Squad (Consumer Softproducts)
• Unsighted (Studio Pixel Punk)

Excellence in Audio

• Toem (Something We Made)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Jett: The Far Shore (Superbrothers A/V + Pine Scented)
• Mini Motorways (Dinosaur Polo Club)
• Sable (Shedworks)
• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)

Excellence in Design

• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)
• Overboard! (inkle)
• Strange Horticulture (Bad Viking)
• Webbed (Sbug Games)
• Midnight Protocol (LuGus Studios)

Excellence in Narrative

• Last Call (Nina Freeman and Jake Jefferies)
• Neurocracy (Playthroughline)
• Closed Hands (Passenger)
• Overboard! (inkle)
• Inscryption (Daniel Mullins Games)
• Unpacking (Witch Beam)

Excellence in Visual Art

• The Eternal Cylinder (ACE Team)
• Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery (Silver Lining Studio)
• Papetura (Petums)
• Fuzz Dungeon (Jeremy Couillard)
• The Wild at Heart (Moonlight Kids)
• Jett: The Far Shore (Superbrothers A/V + Pine Scented)