Last night, the Aussie video game industry came together to celebrate the Australian Game Developer Awards (AGDA) for 2022, a magnificent celebration of Australian video games. The awards are judged by over 70 industry professionals (including some of your favourite Checkpoint Gaming crew members!), featuring a diverse range of awards worth applauding.
Given the amount of amazing talent down under, it was a hard fought victory for Game of the Year winner, Cult of the Lamb, which also snapped up awards for Excellence in Art, Excellence in Gameplay and Excellence in Music. In our review, we said “Cult of the Lamb doesn’t just surprise and delight with its visual prowess and unflinching cultist motifs, it also hooks you with its addictive and adaptive gameplay loop. There’s not a dull second as you move through two equally important and varied genres of game that mesh beautifully together to create a unique and captivating experience.”
Wylde Flowers snapped up the awards for Excellence in Narrative and Excellence in Mobile Games, while the gorgeous Lost and Hound picked up the gong for Excellence in Accessibility. The Lost and Hound gang (along with Wylde Flowers and Raw: Emotions Unite Us) didn’t get their Finalists showcase shown due to a technical glitch on the night of the awards, so here is what y’all missed:
“With such a high calibre of games nominated, shortlisted and crowned winners, we expect further global success for many of our Australian creators. Australia has a strong and well-deserved reputation across the world for developing innovative, unique, and fun games for all types of players,” says Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA. “The Australian games industry is thriving and with the long awaited, and still to be introduced DGTO, we are poised for future success. Coupled with the ongoing support from State governments and the new Games: Expansion pack from Screen Australia, our industry can continue to scale at a rapid pace.”
You can check out the full list of winners below – congratulations to everybody involved!
Australian Game Developer Awards winners and nominees
Game of the Year
- Cult of the Lamb (winner)
- Wylde Flowers
- Heavenly Bodies
Excellence in Art
- Cult of the Lamb (winner)
- Age of Darkness: Final Stand
- Heavenly Bodies
Excellence in Gameplay
- Cult of the Lamb (winner)
- Heavenly Bodies
- JUSTICE SUCKS
Excellence in Narrative
- Wylde Flowers (winner)
- You Will (Not) Remain
- Wayward Strand
Excellence in Sound Design
- Heavenly Bodies (winner)
- JUSTICE SUCKS
- Cult of the Lamb
Excellence in Music
- Cult of the Lamb (winner)
- Heavenly Bodies
- Age of Darkness: Final Stand
Excellence in Technical Design
- Age of Darkness: Final Stand (winner)
- Puzzle Quest 3
- Heavenly Bodies
Excellence in Accessibility – Presented by VicScreen
- Lost and Hound (winner)
- Wylde Flowers
- Raw: Emotions Unite Us
Excellence in Mobile Games
- Wylde Flowers (winner)
- Dream Hopper
- Hot Lap League
Excellence in AR/VR
- Table of Tales: The Crooked Crown (winner)
- Flush Back
- Raw: Emotions Unite Us
Excellence in Serious Games (Applied/Impactful)
- Kinder World (winner)
- Wayward Strand
- Raw: Emotions Unite Us
Excellence in Emerging Games (Student or Early Career)
- Queer Man Peering Into A Rock Pool.jpg (winner)
- Fantasy Town Regional Manager
- Born Punk
Excellence in Ongoing Games (Games as a Service)
- The Oregon Trail (winner)
- It’s Literally Just Mowing
- Crash of Cars
Rising Star Award
Raymond Corrigan
Ambition Award
Ryan McMahon
Adam Lancman Award
Clara Reeves
Studio of the Year
Gameloft
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
