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Post feature Report RSS Players Choice - Indie of the Year 2021

It's now time to announce the winners of the 2021 Indie of the Year awards - as chosen by you!

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Indie of the Year Awards
Players Choice

2021 COUNTDOWN


Welcome to the 2021 Indie of the Year results! After 10 days of top 100 voting, the results have been tallied and it's now time to announce this year's winners. Below, you will find the Top 10 Indie Games of 2021. Additionally, you can check out the Top 10 Mods of 2021, or register with IndieDB to add your indie game to the site and be eligible for participation and voting in the Indie of the Year awards for 2022.




Embark on a perilous journey across a realm forsaken by the gods and devastated by an arcane cataclysm. Accompanied by a hardy crew, you are free to discover a dark fantasy world and its secrets. Trade, fight, or explore your way to success as the leader of a traveling company in Vagrus, a post-apocalyptic fantasy RPG-strategy hybrid developed by Lost Pilgrims Studio.


9TH PLACE

Gamedec

From: Anshar Studios


Gamedec is a single-player cyberpunk isometric RPG. You are a game detective, who solves crimes inside virtual worlds. Use your wits to gather info from your witnesses and suspects, getting to the bottom of deceptive schemes. The game continually adapts to your decisions and never judges.



From the creator of Pony Island and The Hex comes the latest mind melting, self-destructing love letter to video games. Inscryption is an inky black card-based odyssey that blends the deckbuilding roguelike, escape-room style puzzles, and psychological horror into a blood-laced smoothie. Darker still are the secrets inscrybed upon the cards...


7TH PLACE

Dread Templar

From: T19 Games


Dread Templar is a new retro FPS inspired by 90s shooter like Quake1, Blood, tells the story of a Demon Hunter entering hell for revenge. Lots of classic elements such as key cards, secret areas, no health regeneration, a large arsenal would be in it. Meanwhile, Dread Templar also has a modern skill-based FPS mechanic, such as powerful attack abilities, special movement abilities, upgradable weapon systems, etc.


Rise of Humanity is a strategic roguelike deckbuilding game. You take control of a band of odd heroes who so far have survived a sentient AI's onslaught that started 50 years ago. They have discovered that the robots the AI uses to do its bidding are getting weaker and this is the time to strike back. Each hero (and enemy) is controlled by a deck of cards. This deck gives your characters actions during a mission. Missions are procedural so no mission is ever the same.


Created and written by lifelong fans of Pen & Paper RPGs, comes Solasta: Crown of the Magister. Bring the authentic Tabletop gaming experience to your PC! Roll for initiative, take attacks of opportunity, manage player location and the verticality of the battle field. Set yourself up for the finishing strike and possibly roll a natural 20 at that key moment of battle.


4TH PLACE

Forgive Me Father

From: Byte Barrel


As the only one left with full senses, you embark on a journey in search of answers and relief in this FPS game that is created in a distinctive retro horror comic book style and feels as if it came straight out of Lovecraft's books. Be aware of your madness level which dynamically changes during gameplay and gives you additional power. Choose your active skills depending on your play style and use them to fight against the eternal evil.


Travel 2,000 years into the past and relive the final days of a cursed Roman city, where if one person sins, everyone dies. Combat is an option, but violence will only get you so far. Only by questioning an intertwined community of colourful characters, cleverly exploiting the time loop, and making difficult moral choices can you hope to solve this epic mystery. Here, your decisions matter. The fate of the city is in your hands.


2ND PLACE

Hedon Bloodrite

From: Zan_Hedon



Hedon Bloodrite merges Hedon I and II into an entirely hand crafted 20+ hours singleplayer experience inspired by not only the best retro FPS games of the 90s, but also games like Arx Fatalis and Thief. Hedon mixes high octane action with exploration and puzzle solving, creating a challenge that encourages creativity and wit.


1ST PLACE


Our 1st place winner for Indie of the Year 2021 is Chernobylite, a Science Fiction Survival Horror RPG from developers Farm 51. Set in the hyper-realistic, 3D scanned wasteland of Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, you’ll take on the role of Igor, a physicist and ex-employee of the Chernobyl Power Plant, returning to Pripyat to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, 30 years prior. With such raw attention to detail and fantastic atmosphere, it's no wonder that players enjoyed this deep-dive into the ominous horrors lurking in Chernobyl.


Honorable Mentions

It's been an incredible year for indie gaming, and while the Top 10 winners are locked in, we want to take a moment to bring your attention and recognition to some games which warranted a honorable mention. A honorable mention is given for polling strongly in the awards, but being ineligible due to placing higher in a previous year, or if a significant update was not released in 2021:


Supported by Tripwire Presents

The 2021 awards are proudly supported by Tripwire Presents. Since developing and self-publishing successful franchises like Rising Storm/Red Orchestra, Killing Floor and Maneater, developer Tripwire Interactive set its sights on an exciting new venture. Tripwire Presents, Tripwire's indie publishing label, leverages the studio's experience and resources to provide independent developers with the tools and mentorship needed to fully realize their game's potential. With the recent release of Chivalry 2 from Torn Banner Studios, plus other notable titles such as Espire 1: VR Operative from Digital Lode and Road Redemption developed by EQ Games and Pixel Dash Studios - and many titles yet to be released - Tripwire Presents is quickly becoming known as one of the brightest new faces in Indie Publishing.

Tripwire Presents



A huge congratulations are in order to all the indie developers, and community voters, for participating in the 2021 Indie of the Year awards! IndieDB would like to wish you all the best for your continued indie development efforts through to 2022, and we hope to see you again for next year's awards!

Continue Reading: Editors Choice | Best Upcoming


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RenRD
RenRD

Congrats to all winners and happy holidays!

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
SweetRamona
SweetRamona

Congrats to you all! 😸

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Grasp_Games
Grasp_Games

Congrats to all.

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XenoBits
XenoBits

Congratulations to all the winners!

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NoraBla
NoraBla

Congratulations everyone! :)

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INtense! Staff
INtense!

Love the story of The Forgotten City - awesome game. Great mix of titles from puzzle, retro FPS, card games and 4X. Plenty to try over the festive break

Reply Good karma+1 vote
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