An ode to the pixel art-driven nominees and winners of IGF Awards

Following the announcement of this year’s Independent Games Festival finalists, pixel art aficionado Retronator Magazine has shared a watchlist that compiles images from the many games nominated this year that created stunning worlds and experiences through pixel art. 

In addition to a rich gallery filled with both still and animated images, the Retronator post offers a brief history of past IGF winners that made use of the distinctive art style and shares short profiles of games like Bamboo Heart, Hyper Light Drifter, Kingdom: New Lands, Dropsy, Replica, and The Lion’s Son that are up for recognition this year.

“The visual styles chosen to illustrate indie games are as diverse as gameplay, from lovely hand-drawn art to low-poly 3D, from abstract shapes to colorful renditions with lush detail,” reads the post. “Pixel art represents only a tiny fraction of games featured in the IGF, but they are nonetheless strongly represented among the winners.”