Here are the nominees for the Canadian Indie Game Awards 2023

On April 20th, the second annual Canadian Indie Game Awards (CIGA) are being held in Toronto. Celebrating the innovative and creative work of independent development teams across Canada, the industry will come together and dole out a number of awards.

Organizer Northern Arena is once again at the helm of spotlighting game titles released throughout 2022. As per the stipulations established during last year’s inaugural CIGA show, only smaller indie titles are eligible to be nominated and potentially win within their respective categories. 

Additionally, on April 21st, the Canadian Game Awards, which celebrates larger AAA games as well as indie games, esports players, hosts, etc. from Canada will be held in person. More information on the flagship award show can be found here.

Here are the nominees for the CIGA 2023:

Indie Game of the Year

• Nobody Saves the World (Drinkbox Studios)
• A Little to the Left (Max Inferno)
• Tunic (Andrew Shouldice)
• Rogue Legacy 2 (Cellar Door Games)
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive)

Studio of the Year

• Drinkbox Studios
• Silverstring Media
• TUNIC Team
• Cellar Door Games
• Blackbird Interactive

Best Debut Indie Game

• A Little to the Left (Max Inferno)
• Tunic (Andrew Shouldice)
• The Chant (Brass Token)
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive)

Best Mobile/Casual Game

• Knotwords (Noodlecake Studios)
• Pupperazzi (Sundae Month)
• INKS (Noodlecake Studios)
• Melatonin (Half Asleep)
• A Little to the Left (Max Inferno)

Best PC Game

• Nobody Saves the World (Drinkbox Studios)
• Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between (Silverstring Media)
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive)
• Tunic (Andrew Shouldice)
• Rogue Legacy 2 (Cellar Door Games)

Best Console Game

• TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games)
• Nobody Saves the World (Drinkbox Studios)
• Rogue Legacy 2 (Cellar Door Games)
• Infernax (Berzerk Studio)
• Tunic (Andrew Shouldice)

Best Audio Design

• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive)
• Tunic (Andrew Shouldice)
• Session: Skate Sim (Crea-ture Studios)
• Melatonin (Half Asleep)
• Paradise Marsh (LazyEti)

Best Technology

• Session: Skate Sim (Crea-ture Studios)
• Nerf Ultimate Championship (Secret Location)
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive)
• Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course (Studio MDHR)
• The Chant (Brass Token)

Best Narrative

• The Last Hero of Nostalgia (Over the Moon)
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games)
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive)
• Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between (Silverstring Media Inc.)
• The Chant (Brass Token)

Best Score/Soundtrack

• Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course (Studio MDHR)
• The Last Hero of Nostalgia (Over the Moon)
• Tunic (Andrew Shouldice)
• Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between (Silverstring Media Inc.)
• Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Blackbird Interactive)

Best Animation

• Tunic (Andrew Shouldice)
• Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course (Studio MDHR)
• Nobody Saves The World (Drinkbox Studios)
• Rogue legacy 2 (Cellar Door Games)
• Ember Knights (Doom Turtle)

Best Game Design

• Tunic (Andrew Shouldice)
• Nobody Saves The World (Drinkbox Studios)
• The Last Hero of Nostalgia (Over The Moon)
• Rogue Legacy 2 (Cellar Door Games)

Best Art Direction

• Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course (Studio MDHR)
• Nobody Saves the World (Drinkbox Studios)
• Mythforce (Beamdog)
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games)
• Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between (Silverstring Media Inc.)

The CIGAs will be held at the Artscape Daniel Launchpad in Toronto on April 20th. The event will be run in conjunction with the XP Game Developer Summit, which runs from April 20th and April 21st. Tickets to the CIGA are now available. Additionally, a livestream of the award show will be available on the Canadian Games Awards’ Twitch channel.

iPhone in Canada’s Steve Vegvari is on the judging panel of the Canadian Indie Game Awards 2023.