The mental health of gamers, and the people who make games, is a very important cause for Debug
We have teamed up with the charity Safe in our World to celebrate the games from 2023 which feature positive representations of mental health
AWARD FOR ACCESSIBILITY
Making gaming accessible for all is an important cause for Debug
In partnership with Everyone Can, we are celebrating how indie studios have made video games more accessible to more people in 2023
BEST SOUNDTRACK
This one is pretty self explanatory… We want to find the very best soundtrack to an indie game in 2023!
BEST SOUND DESIGN
This category is all about sound design – we have a separate category for soundtrack. Here we aim to highlight indie games with fantastic sound effects, voice acting and/or atmospherics
BEST ART DIRECTION
There’s much more to a great looking game than high polygon counts…
Whether a game looks photo realistic, cel shaded, low-poly, pixel art, or even 1-bit, if the art direction is great we want to showcase it!
BEST GAMEPLAY
If an indie game has a fun gameplay loop which engages the player, and was released in 2023, you might see it here!
BEST NARRATIVE
Narrative can mean a lot in a game, and an indie doesn’t have to be story-driven to weave a good narrative
BEST VR GAME
Virtual reality is growing year on year, with the release of new headsets and the introduction of mixed reality
VR gives us brand new ways to enjoy existing games, but also a whole new language with which to create new ones
Indies, as ever, are at the forefront of writing this language, and we want to celebrate the best examples of indie VR titles here!
Innovation & Creativity Award
What makes something innovative or creative? Is it a new way to play games? Perhaps it’s cutting edge mechanics? Or maybe something way out the box graphically speaking? Whichever it is, you’ll find it here…
PHYSICAL RELEASE OF THE YEAR
We love physical games! We want to celebrate indies getting physical releases, so we’ll be highlighting the best ones committed to disc or cart in 2023
Free Play Award
This category is exclusively for free-to-play games. If it costs nothing to play, and was released in 2023 for any platform, you’ll find it here…
RETRO WORLD AWARD
The Retro World Award celebrates a new game that released in 2023 for an older, unsupported platform. The game could have been ported from another system, or subsequently to another modern device, but if it’s playable on a legacy system this is where you’ll find it!
ICYMI AWARD
We want to celebrate indie games that released prior to 2023, since there are so many amazing ones out there! This could be a hidden gem, or a well-regarded title, so long as it’s still worth playing today. We don’t want anyone to miss out on incredible indies!
BEST NEW STUDIO
The Best New Studio category celebrates newcomers to the industry. It doesn’t matter if the studio was set up prior to 2023. If they released their first game in 2023, this is the category you’ll find them in…
SUBSCRIBERS CHOICE AWARD
If you’re a subscriber to Debug magazine (thank you!) then this category is just for you. Here you vote for your personal indie game of the year for 2023
Following a shortlisting process, the six nominees have now been put back to you for a final vote, meaning the winner of this award is decided by YOU!
MOST ANTICIPATED AWARD
A surprise bonus category, created with the intention of showcasing some of the best indie games scheduled for 2024 and beyond. For this reason the Most Anticipated category has a whopping 24 nominees!
