A nomination like "Best Indie Game" at The Game Awards 2024 indeed managed to be a real arena for present-day most gifted independent developers who amaze players with their outstanding ideas combined with bold decisions. An indie game is always notable for its novelty because small teams or even just single enthusiasts, though without big budgets, invest all their soul into their projects. This year, the competition for the title of the best indie game was promised to be really tough: the winner would take home not just a prestigious award but well-deserved global recognition. Who took the prize home, and what made this game stand out from the crowd?

So, here are the announced nominees for "Best Indie Game" at The Game Awards 2024, of which quite a few took different approaches to genre and gameplay style.

Balatro

Developer: LocalThunk | Publisher: Playstack

Balatro is a game that includes in itself the essences of card strategy and role-playing games. Much depends on the choices taken by the player and the way he manages resources. Also, the nomination for "Best Mobile Project" and "Best Debut Indie" testifies to all-round versatility and a new approach to game processes.

Animal Well

Developer: Shared Memory (founded by Mike Last) | Publisher: Bigmode, Limited Run Games

This is a mysterious and atmospheric game in which the main task is to explore a strange and enigmatic world. Animal Well has gained a lot of popularity for its unique graphics and deep mechanics. 

Manor Lords

Developer: Slavic Magic

Studio: Manor Lords is a strategy game with city-building and real-time elements, developed by Retro Forge Games, with a central focus on medieval themes.

Pacific Drive

Developer: Ironwood Studios Studio: Pacific Drive is the title of an out-of-the-box survival driving game, as devised by Ironwood Studios, and immediately drew a lot of attention towards the indie community.

The Plucky Squire

Developer: All Possible Futures Studio: All Possible Futures developed The Plucky Squire, a mixture of 2D and 3D action-adventure with an interesting world to plunge into. Winner: For reimagining the wheel anew in both the roguelike genre and reinterpretation of card games, Balatro won "Best Debut Indie Game" at The Game Awards 2024. It seamlessly combined poker gameplay with deck-building aspects, adding twists in "Joker" abilities that make each run unpredictable and different. This approach gave Balatro high replayability and earned it widespread acclaim among players.

Winner  

Balatro won the "Best Debut Indie Game of 2024" at The Game Awards thanks to its innovative approach to the roguelike genre and a fresh interpretation of card games. The game skillfully combines poker mechanics with deck-building elements, adding unique "Jokers" abilities, which makes each run unpredictable and engaging. This approach has ensured Balatro's high replayability and earned it the recognition of players.