This is my second year judging in IGF, and like Aura, I wanted to highlight some of the most interesting stuff I've played this year.
I'm just one of judge out of hundreds, so this isn't a list of games that are necessarily winning anything - just things I think deserve more attention. I'm mostly focusing on games you can play now, whether that means they're out or have a public demo.
Anthology of the Killer
@thecatamites at his best. Nine short comedy horror games and nine weird little worlds to explore. The only modern game to understand the joy of the Sonic Adventure 1 camera and the inherent tension of the camera being too slow to turn to catch up with your movements. Also intensely quotable; it was hard to pick just one screenshot.
Compared to 10 Beautiful Postcards, his previous walkaround game, the spaces are a bit more literal just by virtue of being built in 3D, but it manages to be continually confusing and delightful in all the best ways. The squigglevision flat sprites in a 3D world is just such a great look.
This isn't out yet, but the first eight are free downloads on Gamejolt; the ninth game and the anthology come out sometime next year. You can find links to all eight released games on the itch page.
Misericorde
"Renaissance-era murder mystery" is what I want every single game to be. A locked-room mystery where the player character, an anchoress, is the only person in the abbey who couldn't have committed a murder.
The slow-burn mystery is great, but the real strength is the character writing. It's incredibly difficult for a modern audience to put ourselves in the mindset of these characters, but Misericorde goes in incredible depth to probe how they're thinking and how they relate to the world.
The Price of Flight
What if Mario Party was a death game? What if Mario Party had turn-based RPG combat? What if the bosses mourned your deaths in elaborate gameplay sequences? Price of Flight has so much going on at all times, so many mechanics and things to get surprised by. You won't care about losing or understanding the next bevy of weird systems, you'll just come along for the ride.
The devs are here on cohost if you want to give em a follow - @kkdream, @catmap, @contentdeleted.
Wandering Sword
Co-winner of "I can't stop thinking about wanting to play this game" award 2023. A wuxia RPG that's simultaneously a love letter to classic Chinese RPGs and to Live a Live, and one that absolutely nails the feeling of clashes of epic heroes with near-godlike martial arts powers. The over-the-top story is incredibly charming; at one point, upon receiving a forbidden sutra, you meditate so hard it blows open a prison door. The HD2D art is gorgeous too, as is the music - especially the very catchy battle theme.
The gameplay mechanics tie in great with the theming; instead of traditional level ups, you're able to freely allocate upgrade points to any of your martial arts abilities, with certain abilities upgrading your stats as they grow. Decide to stay at functionally level 1 but with godlike sword magic? Go for it. It also has a system where almost every single character in the game can be recruited, or sparred with, with unique spritework and stats. I can't begin to imagine how much work it took.
Crypt Underworld
What if Morrowind was a walking sim? Incredible use of surreal low-fidelity 3D spaces as otherworldly dreamscape. Piss is a weapon. McDonalds is in a dungeon. You don't have 25 golds to buy the products. Finally, at long last, the Final Videogame™ is here.
Final Profit
The queen of the elf kingdom takes on the Bureau of Commerce by beating them at their own game. Incredibly silly shop RPG that shocked me by just how deep and well-thought-out it is. Since it doesn't have any RPG combat, it instead puts that complexity everywhere else in the world - explore the towns, convince the townsfolk to shop with you, uncover new products in side quests. It could all have been a surface-level joke, but instead it's both deep and incredibly compelling.
Small Saga
The vibes are incredible. There's a lot I like about this game, but the way it absolutely sells the world it takes place in makes the entire game. The artwork is great, and the isometric perspective in particular sells the scale it's all taking place at. Some very good writing and unbelievably great music.
Goodboy Galaxy
Appreciate the audacity to enter a GBA game into IGF. The version I played is an actual ROM file I put on a 3DS. This is a level-based metroidvania, a bit like Metroid Fusion, with each area being a genuinely huge explorable zone of its own. Some smart ideas about how to gate progress, and just a joy to play.
Not out yet, but a demo's available from the official site.
Little Goody Two Shoes
RPG Maker-esque horror meets Angelique. The intense time and resource management during the day is almost scarier than the actual horror scenes at night. I wish there were some kind of game award for UI because it's unbelievably great.
Isles of Sea & Sky
CD-i fans rejoice: finally, there's a second game in the same genre as Nobelia.
Open-world puzzle game, or Zelda with one puzzle per screen. It starts out seeming like it'll just be sokoban, but it just keeps developing new ideas and never becomes stale. The open world design, and each screen's puzzle being self-contained, means you're never bashing your head against a single puzzle too long; it's easy to just set it aside to come back to and try something else. Exploration also means you can just rove around the island finding your way to new puzzles, which is satisfying in and of itself. The soothing 90s new age music gives it PC CD-ROM vibes.
Comes out sometime early next year, but has a demo now.
