March 6, 2025, Berkeley, CA – The DIGY (Dope Indie Games of the Year) Awards today reveals finalists, which include amazing 2024 standouts like UFO 50, Animal Well, Arranger: A Role Puzzling Adventure, Thank Goodness You’re Here, Balatro and many more – as well as the show’s broadcast time of noon Pacific / 3 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central Europe time on Thursday, March 13, 2025 on Twitch, YouTube, IGN, GameSpot and Steam. Organized by a team of seasoned game industry and event production veterans, this new awards show focuses on indies, celebrating the games and the talented people behind the craft of game development for games released between January and December, 2024.
Without further ado, the DIGY Award finalists!
Dope Indie Game of the Year: Will be awarded to the game of the year as selected by the judging panel, along with a game of the year voted by gamers.
Finalists: Animal Well, ANTONBLAST, Arco, Balatro, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Mouthwashing, MULLET MADJACK, Tactical Breach Wizards, Thank Goodness You’re Here!, UFO 50
Most Innovative: Will be awarded to the game that shattered the status quo and brought players completely new and fresh experiences
Finalists: Balatro, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, Pacific Drive, The Plucky Squire, UFO 50
Best Hidden Gem: Will be awarded to the best game that came out of nowhere and blew your face off with its awesomeness
Finalists: Arranger: A Role Puzzling Adventure, Minishoot Adventures, SKALD: Against the Black Priory, Sorry We’re Closed, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom
Best Character: Will be awarded to the most memorable character that stayed with gamers through the year and likely into the future
Finalists: Another Crab’s Treasure, ANTONBLAST, INDIKA, MULLET MADJACK, Nine Sols
Best Action: Will be awarded to the best game that allowed for the most enjoyable explosions and ferocious combat after a long work week
Finalists: Anger Foot, I Am Your Beast, Kill Knight, MULLET MADJACK, Nine Sols
Most Challenging: Will be awarded to the game providing overwhelming challenges that broke many keyboards or controllers
Finalists: Another Crab’s Treasure, MULLET MADJACK, Nine Sols, Slave Zero X, UFO 50
Best Tactical: Will be awarded to the game that forces you to think about every move carefully and strategically to beat it
Finalists: Arco, Children of the Sun, Shogun Showdown, SteamWorld Heist II, Tactical Breach Wizards
Most Cozy: Will be awarded to the game that provides uplifting experiences for players to sit back, smile, chill, and relax
Finalists: Botany Manor, Flock, Little Kitty, Big City, Paper Trail, Wilmot Works It Out
Best Horror: Will be awarded to the game with the most scary or suspenseful gameplay experience that left a mark
Finalists: Crow Country, Fear The Spotlight, Mouthwashing, Murky Divers, Still Wakes The Deep
Best Retro: Will be awarded to the game that stirs nostalgia for days gone by with its pixel-rich world
Finalists: The Crimson Diamond, Crow Country, Kitsune Tails, UFO 50, Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom
Play with Friends: Will be awarded to the best game that forces you to have friends and never be alone
Finalists: Buckshot Roulette, Content Warning, Core Keeper, Murky Divers, UFO 50
Best Game with a Message: Will be awarded to the game that truly hits home in players’ every day lives and makes a powerful statement
Finalists: 1000xRESIST, Arco, Minds Beneath Us, Neva, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU
Best Laughs: Will be awarded to the game that brought uncontrollable moments of laughter to your gaming experience
Finalists: Another Crab’s Treasure ANTONBLAST, Squirrel with a Gun, Thank Goodness You’re Here!, WHAT THE CAR?
Most Beautiful: Will be awarded to the game where players can’t look away from the art, world, and overall game visuals
Finalists: 30 Birds, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, MULLET MADJACK, Neva, Pacific Drive
Most Replayable: Will be awarded to the game that kept you saying “one more time,” causing you to be late for everything
Finalists: Balatro, Ballionaire, Core Keeper, Peglin, UFO 50
Best Early Access: Will be awarded to the game that provided an amazing quality experience through Early Access prior to full release. Eligible for games that entered Early Access January through December 2024 and have not had full release within that time.
Finalists: Enshrouded, Hades II, Liar’s Bar, Manor Lords, Supermarket Simulator
Micro Indie: Will be awarded to the best game that has your wallet in mind, giving you an amazing experience for under $10
Finalists: Arctic Eggs, Buckshot Roulette, Halls of Torment, Murky Divers, Rusty’s Retirement
Best Soundtrack: Will be awarded to the game with the best soundtrack, which you can put on your Spotify playlist
Finalists: Another Crab’s Treasure, Beat Slayer, Nine Sols, Robobeat, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU
Cultural Impact: Will be awarded to individual or team that shines a light on a culture and community in compelling and meaningful ways
Finalists: Kitsune Tails, Nine Sols, Tavern Talk, Sorry We’re Closed, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU
Most Poppin! Will be awarded to individual or team with breakout marketing that helped build visibility for the game in interesting ways
Finalists: Animal Well, Another Crab’s Treasure, Balatro, Content Warning, Squirrel with a Gun
The DIGYS have also established an Indie Hero category as well as a Hall of Fame for special contributions in this part of the industry.
The show hosts will announce the first Indie Hero and Hall of Fame inductee in the March 13 broadcast.
DIGY Awards Production Team and Judges
With decades of industry and indie category expertise, the team organizing the DIGYS brings experience from The MIX (Media Indie Exchange), South by Southwest, DreamHack, Devolver, IGN Plus, Good Shepherd, Saber Interactive, 3D Realms, DICE Summit, Black Voices in Gaming, LucasArts and Telltale Games to the DIGYS.
The DIGY Awards judging panel includes a variety of representatives from the industry and indie community – developers, publishers, channel partners and more.
Additional details are posted at digyawards.com.
About the DIGY Awards
The DIGY Awards (Dope Indie Game of the Year Awards) focuses on indies, celebrating the games and the talented folks behind the craft of game development.
Thanks to partners and sponsors at Xbox, Wilson Sonsini, The MIX and Loadout Entertainment that have helped to make this first DIGY Awards possible.
Learn more at digyawards.com and @digyawards on X / Twitter.
