IGF Awards: Mutazione, Untitled Goose Game, Slay The Spire among Grand Prize nominees

Mutazione, one of five nominees for the 2020 IGF Grand Prize. — AFP Relaxnews

The Independent Games Festival has released its list of nominees for 2020's March awards ceremony, with island-bound mutant soap opera Mutazione on four nods, and being joined by Untitled Goose Game, A Short Hike, Eliza, Slay The Spire and Anodyne 2 in the Grand Prize grouping.

Released in September 2019 for iOS, PlayStation 4, and PC, Mutazione goes into the 2020 IGF Awards with a pack-leading four nominations.

It's under consideration for awards in Visual Art, Audio, and Narrative, as well as the overall Seumas McNally Grand Prize.

Joining it in contention for the Grand Prize is one of 2019's biggest breakouts, the mischievous Untitled Goose Game, which caught the attention of everyone from social network meme-makers to supermodel celebrities.

Untitled Goose Game, which debuted on Nintendo Switch, Mac and PC before releasing later in the year on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, is also nominated for Excellence in Audio.

Likewise, adorable nature park exploration jaunt A Short Hike (PC, Mac, Linux) is nominated for both the Grand Prize and Excellence in Design, as was card-dealing action game Slay The Spire (Switch, PS4, XBO, PC, Mac, Linux), while impactful visual novel Eliza (PC Mac Linux) – from the developer credited with inspiring Minecraft – picked up a second nomination for Narrative; retro-style action adventure Anodyne 2 (PC, Mac, Linux) is also in the running for the Grand Prize.

Two other nominees merited multiple nods: childhood adventure ramble Knights And Bikes (Visual Art, Audio; PS4, PC, Mac, Linux), and engaging Hamlet character reversal Elsinore (Design, Narrative; PC Mac Linux).

A full rundown of finalists across all seven categories, including honorable mentions, is available from the IGF website.

The 2020 IGF Awards will take place March 18, just prior to the GDC Awards, both of which are part of the annual Game Developers Conference held in San Francisco and broadcast via twitch.tv/gdc. – AFP Relaxnews