Debug Indie Game Awards 2025 nominees announced

The nominees for this year’s Debug Indie Game Awards has been unveiled.

Created by Debug Magazine, the awards ceremony celebrates the world of indie games with titles such as Harold Halibut, Botany Manor, and Gori: Cuddly Carnage earning multiple nominations. The full list of nominees can be seen below.

The awards ceremony, which will be hosted by Josh Strife-Hayes, will take place this Friday (February 21) at the Metronome in Nottingham. Tickets for the event are on sale to the general public here. The ceremony will air live on Twitch and YouTube starting at 2:15 p.m. EST/11:15 a.m. PST. More information about the event can be found here.

Debug Indie Game Awards nominees

Best Soundtrack

• A Park Full of Cats

• Drug Dealer Simulator 2

• Gatekeeper

• Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island

• Turbo Kid

• Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom

Best UK Indie

• Crow Country

• Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island

• Paper Trail

• Sociable Soccer 25

• Sorry We're Closed

• Valley Peaks

Best VR Game

• Airspace Defender

• Arcade Paradise VR

• DIG VR

• On Point

• Solara One

• Wall Town Wonders

Free Play Award

• A Park Full of Cats

• ColorCoordination

• Feud

• Pixelitos

• Please, Touch The Artwork 2

• Project Shoreline

ICYMI Award (Recognizing previously overlooked gems)

• A Hat in Time

• Little Misfortune

• Loop Gero

• Rivals of Aether

• Sable

• Tinykin

Innovation & Creativity

• Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure

• Death of the Reprobate

• Harold Halibut

• Paper Trail

• Rusty's Retirement

• SCHiM

Award for Mental Health (Games promoting mental health awareness and well-being)

• [Bober Bros] The Hole

• Back Then

• I'll be Brave, Tomorrow

• Spiral

• Spirit City: Lofi Sessions

• The Bear - A Story from the World of Gra

Most Anticipated

• Axyz

• Cairn

• Crescent County

• Dungeon Rampage Remake

• Promise Mascot Agency

• Vaporwave Pinball

Best Physical Release

• A Little to the Left: Extra Tidy Edition

• Cassette Beasts Deluxe Edition

• Escape Team

• Inspector Waffles Early Days

• PlateUp!

• VED

Retro World Award (Celebrating games inspired by retro aesthetics and mechanics)

• Courier

• Dragonyhm

• FLEA!2

• Goodboy Galaxy

• Kudzu

• Roguecraft

Subscribers' Choice Award (Voted for by the Debug community)

• Animal Well

• Gori: Cuddly Carnage

• Pacific Drive

• Paper Trail

• Thank Goodness You're Here!

• The Plucky Squire

Best Voice Acting

• 1000xRESIST

• Closer the Distance

• Farewell North

• Still Wakes the Deep

• The Holy Gosh Darn

• Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina)

Award for Accessibility (Recognizing outstanding accessibility features)

• Another Crab's Treasure

• Botany Manor

• Elsie

• Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island

• Pine Hearts

• Seasonspree

Best Art Direction

• #Blud

• Harold Halibut

• Puzzles for Clef

• SCHiM

• Sorry We're Closed

• Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom

Best Gameplay

• Arco

• Buckshot Roulette

• DROVA - Forsaken Kin

• Gori: Cuddly Carnage

• Shady Knight

• Shapez 2

Best Narrative

• 1000xRESIST

• Closer the Distance

• Copycat

• Farewell North

• Mouthwashing

• Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina)

Best New Studio

• BerserkBoy Games

• Halftone Gaming

• Hilltop Studios

• Not Suspicious

• Slow Bros

• Whalestork

Best Sound Design

• Botany Manor

• Hollowbody

• Lynked: Banner of the Spark

• Solara One

• Still Wakes the Deep

• The Operator