The INDIE Live Expo Winter 2022, was hosted over the weekend and here are the indie games that managed to snag some prizes. The INDIE Live Expo Winter 2022 is the sixth entry in the biannual live digital showcase connecting indie game fans all over the world with more than 57.5 million total views.

 

Game Of The Year & Best Short Game Award: Unpacking (Witch Beam, Humble Games) 

Unpacking is a game about the familiar experience of pulling possessions out of boxes and fitting them into a new home. Part block-fitting puzzle, part home decoration, you are invited to create a satisfying living space while learning clues about the life you’re unpacking. Over the course of eight house moves, you are given a chance to experience a sense of intimacy with a character you never see and a story you’re never told.

 

Trailer of the Year Award: STRAY – Launch Trailer (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)

Stray is a third-person cat adventure game set amidst the detailed, neon-lit alleys of a decaying cybercity and the murky environments of its seedy underbelly. Roam surroundings high and low, defend against unforeseen threats and solve the mysteries of this unwelcoming place inhabited by curious droids and dangerous creatures.

See the world through the eyes of a cat and interact with the environment in playful ways. Be stealthy, nimble, silly, and sometimes as annoying as possible with the strange inhabitants of this mysterious world.

 

Most Addictive Game Award: Vampire Survivors (poncle)

Vampire Survivors is a time survival game with minimalistic gameplay and roguelite elements.
Hell is empty, the devils are here, and there’s no place to run or hide. All you can do is survive as long as you can until death inevitably puts an end to your struggles. Gather gold in each run to buy upgrades and help the next survivor.

Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you.

 

Most Stream Friendly Game Award & Best New Characters Award: Needy Streamer Overload (WWS playground, xemono)

NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD is a “multi-ending ADV” depicting daily life with “OMGkawaiiAngel”, a young girl with a rather extreme need for approval attempting to become the #1 “Internet Angel” (streamer). Gradually build up OMGkawaiiAngel’s number of followers as she spends her days streaming, using various ”stress relievers”, and generally being kinda messed up. Experience all the different crazy ups and downs and find out for yourself whether this story is even capable of having a happy ending.

Turn “Ame” – somewhat of a hot mess of a girl – into an OMGWTF-cute internet angel and jumpstart her career as a live streamer for the most hardcore nerds online!

 

Best Game Feel Award: Neon White (Angel Matrix, Annapurna Interactive)

Neon White is a lightning-fast first-person action game about exterminating demons in Heaven. You are White, an assassin handpicked from Hell to compete with other demon slayers for a chance to live permanently in Heaven.

You play as Neon White, an assassin plucked from Hell to compete with other demon slayers for a shot at redemption. Collect “Soul Cards” to attack your foes or discard them to use unique movement abilities. Compete for the best times by cleverly combining cards to discover massive shortcuts. Uncover Heaven’s mysteries by getting to know the other assassins… did you know them in a past life?

 

Theme Of The Year Award: OMORI (OMOCAT, LLC)

Explore a strange world full of colourful friends and foes. Navigate through the vibrant and the mundane in order to uncover a forgotten past. When the time comes, the path you’ve chosen will determine your fate… and perhaps the fate of others as well.

 

Rule of Play Award: 7 Days to End with You (Lizardry)

This game is a puzzle and novel game in a whole new genre, where you have to guess the language and decipher the story! The story is a short tale of only 7 days It is a short story that can be observed as early as within 5 minutes! Try to decipher this short story with your own hands! Like a puzzle, try to deduce one piece at a time.

You are the observer of this story. You observe the story by translating the words of the person.

The relationship between these two people is composed of the words you feel. The story of these two people is composed of the words you feel. Their world can be a short, mundane story or a long, strange story, depending on your understanding. Or both may exist at the same time, no wonder! The story is complete with your interpretation. Every story you feel and receive will be correct.

Until you observe, there is nothing wrong with all stories occurring simultaneously.

 

Local Cultural Representation Award: A Perfect Day (Perfect Day Studio)

Revisit the final moments of 1999 for eternity. Come face to face with your dreams and regrets. Explore a deep and interwoven narrative, solve perplexing riddles, and even play a few nostalgic minigames. Immerse yourself in happiness and sorrow with friends of ages past in your Perfect Day.

 

Rediscovery Award: Potato Flowers in Full Bloom (Pon Pon Games, PLAYISM)

Explore an underground labyrinth in search of mythical seeds in this 3D dungeon crawler RPG! Leaving things to chance will prove fatal. Explore underground labyrinths, expanding your range of actions as you go. Light up the path, defeat those in front of you, grow stronger, and unravel the mysteries

Play as part of an expedition crew looking for knowledge and magic items. Seeking special crop seeds that were left in a labyrinth by alchemists, your crew has travelled to a rustic island. These seeds are special in that they are said to grow in contaminated soil, which is a problem that has long plagued humanity. Setting up a base camp in a ruined town and led by the expedition chief, the player will enter the labyrinth time and time again in an attempt to reach the lowest level where the seeds are said to be stored.

 

Late Bloom Award: Raft (Redbeet Interactive, Axolot Games)

Trapped on a small raft with nothing but a hook made of old plastic, players awake on a vast, blue ocean totally alone and with no land in sight! With a dry throat and an empty stomach, survival will not be easy!

Raft throws you and your friends into an epic adventure out on the big open sea, with the objective to stay alive, gather resources and build yourself a floating home worthy of survival.

Resources are tough to come by at sea: Players will have to make sure to catch whatever debris floats by using their trusty hook and when possible, scavenge the reefs beneath the waves and the islands above. However, thirst and hunger is not the only danger in the ocean… watch out for the man- eating shark determined to end your voyage!