For its sixth year running Latin America’s largest independent game event, BIG (Brazil’s Independent Games) Festival, paid tribute to the amazing work created by Latin American independent developers, as well as games from around the world.
From Best Latin American Game to Best Student Game, this festival aims to strengthen the Brazilian video game ecosystem, provide industry-related lectures, and business meetings and workshops.
Rather than focusing on just the games, the festival delves further into game development, holding workshops that look into music, animation, VR and AR, and a career’s centre that helps ambitious job hunters.
Best Game
This year, it was Frostpunk that managed to snatch the big prize of the weekend, which won Best Game, beating the likes of 39 Days to Mars and Unsighted.
The Polish game, by developers 11Bit Studios, is a strategic survival game mixed with colony simulation set in an alternative dimension of 1886 England. After the eruption of Krakatoa and Mount Tambora, drastic climate change and fatalities, it is the job of the player to rebuild this city from rubble into a thriving community.
It’s a clever game that challenges the player through totalitarianism, making your own decisions and affecting the character’s way of living, and making you think about how a passing decision can actually have a big impact.
The International Jury praised Frostpunk’s “ingenious gameplay [that] achieves a new benchmark by combining strategy, emotional connection and fantastic art style”.
It’s a gritty game that can turn even you into the most heartless player. If you want to find out more about Frostpunk, have a look at their Steam page for more information.
Best Brazilian Game
Looking a little more closer to home, the winner of the Best Brazilian Game happens to be the developers’ (Mad Mimic Interactive) first developed game, No Heroes Here. The game also managed to win People’s Choice Award, voted by BIG Festival’s goers.
Another strategic simulation game that centres on building and protecting your Kingdom against enemies and fight through battles. The International Jury hail it’s “frantic friendships and chaotic gameplay”. You can play this on your own, or with up to four players, or with local and online multiplayer.
Offering 54 levels amongst three worlds, increase in difficulty the more you play, and an interesting quest to save the kingdom, the game is a more light-hearted winner in contrast to Frostpunk.You can check out the Steam page here.
What about 39 Days To Mars?
The most nominated game from the event managed to receive no wins, which happened to be a New Zealand-based game called 39 Days To Mars. You can find a link to the Steam page here.
Nominated for four awards, such as Best Game and Best Narrative, this adventure game is a co-op/single player puzzle game with a steampunk flourish. Playing two 19th century characters, your goal is to pilot the HMS Fearful on a challenging journey to Mars.
The illustrated art of the game creates a relaxing feeling to the gameplay, and the bizarre story sounds like this game should have had some wins at this festival.
Done For Another Year
Last year’s festival managed to attrach over 20,000 attendees and 3,500 speakers, and it’s likely that similar numbers showed up this year. This festival is a great way to praise the games that have slipped under the radar, to hail the work of students, and to bring forth games that make a significant social comment. If you missed following the festival this year, it’s worth making a note in your calendar for next year.
You can find a summary of the winners below:
Best Game
Frost Punk (11Bit Studios, Poland)
Dead Cells (Motion Twin, France)
39 Days to Mars (It’s Anecdotal, New Zealand)
Semblance (Nyamakop, South Africa)
Cultist Simulator (Weather Factory, U.K.)
Galaxy of Pen and Paper (Behold Studios, Brazil)
Unsighted (Studio Pixel Punk, Brazil)
Best Brazilian Game
No Heroes Here (Mad Mimic Interactive, Brazil)
Rock & Rails (Black River Studios)
Unsighted (Studio Pixel Punk)
Galaxy of Pen and Paper (Behold Studios)
Hexarmonic (6 Side Studios)
Alkimya: Memories of the Last Alchemist (Bad Minions)
Radar Warfare (DreamRoad Productions)
Roguemance (Lucas Molina)
Until Dead – Think to Survive (Monomyto Game Studio)
In (Epopeia Games)
Best Latin American Game
Iron Marines (Ironhide Game Studio, Urugai)
Ship Ahoy! (OKAM Studio, Argentina)
Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder (ACE Team, Chile)
The Last Friend (The Stonebot Studio, El Salvador)
Darkestville Castle (Epic Llama, Argentina)
Best Art
Chuchel (Amanita Design, Czech Republic)
Dead Cells (Motion Twin, France)
39 Days to Mars (It’s Anecdotal, New Zealand)
Semblance (Nyamakop, South Africa)
Luna (Funomena LLC, U.S.)
The Gardens Between (The Voxel Agents, Australia)
Haimrik (Below The Game, Colombia)
Best Narrative
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (Dim Bulb Games, USA)
Geração Ãgua (Feevale University – LOA – Laboratório de Objetos de Aprendizagem, Brazil)
BIG Impact – Social Matters Category
Lenin The Lion (Lornyon, Brazil)
Fofuuú (Fofuuu Soluções Tecnológicas para Saúde e Educação LTDA, Brazil) -The Mooseman (Vladimir Beletskiy, Russia)
Florescer (PugCorn, Brazil)
Headliner (Unbound Creations LLC, U.S.)
Best Student Game
Motif. (Yeta Game, Turkey)
DYO (Developed by Team DYO at the HTW Berlin Institution, Germany) -Muddledash (Developed by Slampunks, at the University of Edinburgh Institution, U.K.)
At Sundown (Developed by Mild Beast Games, at the University of Southern California Institution, U.S.)
Impulsion (Developed by Driving Force Games, at the Institut de Internet et du Multimedia, France)
Best Brazilian Student Game
Wild Glory (LAJE Studios and Manalith Studios, Brazil)
Best Multiplayer Game
Muddledash (Slampunks, United Kingdom)
Arena Gods (Supertype, U.S.)
No Heroes Here (Mad Mimic Interactive, Brazil)
At Sundown (Mild Beast Games, U.S.)
Treadnauts (Topstitch Games, U.S.)
Best Game For Kids
Fofuuu (Fofuuu Soluções Tecnológicas para Saúde e Educação LTDA, Brazil)
Chuchel (Amanita Design, Czech Republic)
Alphabet (Spacefrog, Brazil)
Luna (Funomena LLC, U.S.)
St. Ives (StoryMax, Brazil)
Best VR Game
Luna (Funomena LLC, USA)
Ship Ahoy! (OKAM Studio, Argentina)
The Invisible Hours (Tequila Works, Spain)
Primordian (Stonepunk Studios, LLC, U.S.)
Rock & Rails (Black River Studios, Brazil)
BIG Starter – Best Educational For Social Impact Game
Mompas (Studio Nebulosa, Brazil)
Cleaver (Equipe CLEAVER)
Projeto Ticolicos (Lost DEVS)
Mompas (Studio Nebulosa)
AmbIA (Imersys)
Legally Addicted (Nonsense Bull Games)
BIG Starter – Entertainment
One Beat Minute (Pixjuice, Brazil)
Little Dude The Game (Initial Tape)
U.A.I (Umbu Games)
Epic Golf 2D (Estúdio Vaca Roxa)
Jamie’s Dream (Cartonbox Studio)
BIG Brands – Best Game
PSG Football Freestyle (Hermit Crab Studio, Brazil)
Steven Universe Beach City (Drifters Avix Games, for Cartoon Network)
Guardiões de Terradoce (Midnight Creators, for Florestal)
People’s Choice Award
No Heroes Here (Mad Mimic Interactive, Brazil)
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Sarah Johnson
Sarah ia a 20 year old Drama and Film student from Manchester, UK. Writing and reviewing video games is something that she enjoy's doing, particularly indie games. She's been playing games all her life, but when she played Bioshock in 2010, it got her back into gaming and since then, she's been playing a vast amount of games.
