Pixel Awards Europe 2021: nominated games and studios Announced

This year, the jury of the Pixel Awards Europe 2021 selected the finalists from a record number of 133 submitted games from around the world. Pixel Heaven 2021 Games Festival will be a unique event for independent video game developers and the entire gamedev industry, as well as for gamers themselves.

The final choice was very tough and the nominations were determined by minimal differences in jury average ratings. The creators of the nominated games will have the opportunity to present their productions to players, media, investors and publishers in the Pixel Expo zone at the Warsaw Film School during the Festival.

Invites for interested media to submit their accreditation for participation in Pixel Heaven 2021: https://www.pixelheavenfest.com/en/media/ 

BEST ART CATEGORY NOMINEES


PAPETURA

Petums

Atmospheric point & click adventure game, handcrafted entirely out of paper. Little creatures Pape and Tura will face monsters that will try to burn down their beloved paper world.


TAILS OF IRON

Odd Bug Studio / United Label


Set in a grim land plagued by war, Tails of Iron is a hand-drawn RPG Adventure with punishingly brutal combat. As Redgi, heir to the Rat Throne, you must restore your broken Kingdom by banishing the merciless Frog Clan and their ferocious leader, Greenwart. As you explore the deceivingly charming world, you’ll encounter a cast of unique companions, ready to aid you in your adventure. You’ll need all the help you can get, whether that’s new meal recipes or blueprints to forge deadly weapons.


THE MEDIUM

Bloober Team


The Medium is a third-person psychological horror game that features innovative dual-reality gameplay. Players assume the role of Marianne, a medium gifted with several psychic abilities, and explore the real and spirit world both alternatively and simultaneously to uncover a dark mystery masked by disturbing secrets, sinister spirits, and devious puzzles only a medium can solve

BEST AUDIO CATEGORY NOMINEES

PAPETURA

Petums

Atmospheric point & click adventure game, handcrafted entirely out of paper. Little creatures Pape and Tura will face monsters that will try to burn down their beloved paper world.


SNIPER: GHOST WARRIOR CONTRACTS 2

CI Games

Modern warfare shooter set in the Middle East. Play as Raven, Contract Sniper Assassin, as you take out a series of targets across a dramatic single-player campaign. With extreme-range shots exceeding 1000m, gear up for the most challenging entry to the series yet.


THE MEDIUM

Bloober Team

The Medium is a third-person psychological horror game that features innovative dual-reality gameplay. Players assume the role of Marianne, a medium gifted with several psychic abilities, and explore the real and spirit world both alternatively and simultaneously to uncover a dark mystery masked by disturbing secrets, sinister spirits, and devious puzzles only a medium can solve.

BEST GAMEPLAY CATEGORY NOMINEES

AGAINST THE STORM

Eremite Games

Roguelite city builder set in a fantasy world where it never stops raining. As the Queen’s viceroy, you’re tasked with building and managing new settlements inhabited by intelligent beavers, lizards, and humans.


ORBITAL BULLET

Smokestab
Fast paced 360° action-platformer with rogue-lite elements, where all actions take place in a circular pattern. Fight your way through a variety of procedural planets and use body modifications, crafting and heavy weaponry. Kill. Die. Modify.


SNIPER: GHOST WARRIOR CONTRACTS 2

CI Games
Modern warfare shooter set in the Middle East. Play as Raven, Contract Sniper Assassin, as you take out a series of targets across a dramatic single-player campaign. With extreme-range shots exceeding 1000m, gear up for the most challenging entry to the series yet.

BEST STORY CATEGORY NOMINEES

LACUNA

DigiTales

A murder. A hack. A bombing. All it takes to plunge the solar system into war – unless you do something about it. Help CDI agent Neil Conrad make a string of increasingly difficult decisions in this modern dialog-driven adventure set in a gorgeous 2D sci-fi noir universe.


THE MEDIUM

Bloober Team

The Medium is a third-person psychological horror game that features innovative dual-reality gameplay. Players assume the role of Marianne, a medium gifted with several psychic abilities, and explore the real and spirit world both alternatively and simultaneously to uncover a dark mystery masked by disturbing secrets, sinister spirits, and devious puzzles only a medium can solve


THE TALE OF BISTUN

Black Cube Games

Story-driven action-adventure game inspired by the famous Persian tragic romance “Khosrow and Shirin”. A stone carver with no memory of who he is must traverse blighted lands to discover his identity and the source of a pleading, strangely familiar whisper.

RETRO ROOTS CATEGORY NOMINEES

ELDEST SOULS

Fallen Flag Studio / United Label

Fast-paced and brutally challenging, Eldest Souls is a unique Boss-Rush soulslike experience. In a final act of vengeance, the Old Gods have unleashed a great Desolation upon the world. Mankind's only hope lies with a lone warrior… and his greatsword of pure Obsydian.


LACUNA

DigiTales

A murder. A hack. A bombing. All it takes to plunge the solar system into war – unless you do something about it. Help CDI agent Neil Conrad make a string of increasingly difficult decisions in this modern dialog-driven adventure set in a gorgeous 2D sci-fi noir universe.


OKINAWA RUSH

Sokaikan ltd.

Retro-style arcade platformer with engaging story told with carefully crafted pixel-art cut-scenes. You take on the role of the martial arts master Hiro, Meilin, or Shin as they face off in a desperate fight for their lives against the Black Mantis clan.

BIG FISH GRAND PRIX NOMINEES

LUST FROM BEYOND: M EDITION

MOVIE GAMES LUNARIUM
Descend into madness inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and H.R. Giger. Solve the mystery of esoteric cults. Cross the gate to the blasphemous land of Lusst’ghaa. Lust from Beyond: M Edition is a new, more accessible cut of the fan-favorite survival horror Lust from Beyond. You are Victor Holloway, an antiquarian tormented by visions of a sinister land, where there's no difference between pain and pleasure. To unravel the true meaning of your dreams, you join the esoteric Cult of Ecstasy.


SNIPER: GHOST WARRIOR CONTRACTS 2

CI GAMES
SGW Contracts 2 is a modern warfare shooter set in the Middle East. Play as Raven, Contract Sniper Assassin, as you take out a series of targets across a dramatic single-player campaign. With extreme-range shots exceeding 1000m, gear up for the most challenging entry to the series yet.


THE MEDIUM

The Medium is a third-person psychological horror game that features innovative dual-reality gameplay. Players assume the role of Marianne, a medium gifted with several psychic abilities, and explore the real and spirit world both alternatively and simultaneously to uncover a dark mystery masked by disturbing secrets, sinister spirits, and devious puzzles only a medium can solve.

INDIE GRAND PRIX NOMINEES

AGAINST THE STORM

Eremite Games

Roguelite city builder set in a fantasy world where it never stops raining. As the Queen’s viceroy, you’re tasked with building and managing new settlements inhabited by intelligent beavers, lizards, and humans.


PAPETURA

Petums

Atmospheric point & click adventure game, handcrafted entirely out of paper. Little creatures Pape and Tura will face monsters that will try to burn down their beloved paper world.


TAILS OF IRON

Odd Bug Studio / United Label

Set in a grim land plagued by war, Tails of Iron is a hand-drawn RPG Adventure with punishingly brutal combat. As Redgi, heir to the Rat Throne, you must restore your broken Kingdom by banishing the merciless Frog Clan and their ferocious leader, Greenwart. As you explore the deceivingly charming world, you’ll encounter a cast of unique companions, ready to aid you in your adventure. You’ll need all the help you can get, whether that’s new meal recipes or blueprints to forge deadly weapons.

On top of the above-mentioned categories, a special prize was awarded in an additional category Blast from the Past! for the game DREAD by DevKK. This is a very surprising production for Amiga 500, presenting something that always seemed impossible on this hardware: smoothly working 3D FPS in the style of Doom!

The organizer of Pixel Heaven Games Festival is Idea Ahead, the publisher of Pixel and PSX Extreme magazines and the blog: www.pixelpost.pl.

More information: https://www.pixelheavenfest.com/en/