Here you’ll find the cream of the crop of New Zealand & Australian games for the year 2023! This year we received around 50 submissions from studios and indies across New Zealand and Australia, which our judges and jury whittled down to the below very deserving winners.
To see the full list of finalists for 2023, click here.
Slice of Heaven
Grand Prize
DREDGE by Black Salt Games
DREDGE is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. Sell your catch, upgrade your boat, and dredge the depths for long-buried secrets. Explore a mysterious archipelago and discover why some things are best left forgotten.
PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 / 5, Xbox One / S / X | Adventure, Lovecraftian, Fishing, Mystery
The Accessible Ambrosia
Excellence in Accessibility
DREDGE by Black Salt Games
DREDGE is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. Sell your catch, upgrade your boat, and dredge the depths for long-buried secrets. Explore a mysterious archipelago and discover why some things are best left forgotten.
PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 / 5, Xbox One / S / X | Adventure, Lovecraftian, Fishing, Mystery
The Diverse Delight
Excellence in Representation
Small Town Emo by Fnife Games
A story-driven GameBoy game about an emo teen in 2007 with a HUGE gay crush on his best friend! Explore, puzzle-solve and button mash your way through gratuitous dialogue in this GameBoy adventure about awkward teens!
PC, Browser, Gameboy Color | Walking Simulator, Adventure, Narrative Game
The Perfect Recipe
Excellence in Design
DREDGE by Black Salt Games
DREDGE is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. Sell your catch, upgrade your boat, and dredge the depths for long-buried secrets. Explore a mysterious archipelago and discover why some things are best left forgotten.
PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 / 5, Xbox One / S / X | Adventure, Lovecraftian, Fishing, Mystery
The Decorative Piece
Excellence in Visual Art
Neon Knives by Cookiecrayon
Blend into the crowd, and take out the other. Trust no one.
Local multiplayer with a friend on the same keyboard.
PC, Mac, Browser | Multiplayer Action Stealth
The Poetic Serving
Excellence in Narrative
Small Town Emo by Fnife Games
A story-driven GameBoy game about an emo teen in 2007 with a HUGE gay crush on his best friend! Explore, puzzle-solve and button mash your way through gratuitous dialogue in this GameBoy adventure about awkward teens!
PC, Browser, Gameboy Color | Walking Simulator, Adventure, Narrative Game
The Composed Segment
Excellence in Audio
Animal Tracks by Spookysoft Games
Create sweet tunes out of animal sounds!
Ever heard a tūī, an elephant seal, and a cicada making music together? No-one has... until now!
Create the wildest super-group imaginable and save your tracks to the in-game library.
Browser | Sandbox / musical toy
The Tactile Taste
Excellence in Physical Games
Ovation by Looking Glass Workshop
Ovation is an engine building game in which you become one of the greatest classical composers of all time!
In Ovation, 1 to 4 players become real Western European composers from the late 18th and early 19th century competing to achieve the greatest legacy. As you gain experience, the single action you take each turn becomes more and more effective, helping you to build your legacy, allowing you to perform even greater pieces of music, and leading you to become a Maestro.
Tabletop game
the guest plate
Amarantus by ub4q
Roadtrip across the country. Confront a tyrant. The revolution will be messy—but the relationships will be messier.
PC, Mac | Visual Novel
the student slice
The Ugly Club by Aspic Studios
You have just transferred to the University of Otago.
The Bird of the Year Ball -- the biggest night of the year -- is in three days.
Who will you bring as a date?
PC | Dating simulator, Education
And congratulations again to all our 2023 finalists!
To see the full list of finalists for 2023, click here.