Ion Fury has been named the 2019 Indie Game of the Year. This honor was given by none other than IndieDB.com, one of the largest independent game communities in the world.
Released in August of this year, Ion Fury is a cyberpunk first-person shooter video game that serves as a prequel to Bombshell, which released back in 2016. The game includes a healthy dose of nostalgia as it runs on a modified version of the Build engine. This is the same engine that powered the likes of Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Blood, and a string of other hits of the 90s. Ion Fury marks the first original commercial game to make use of this engine in two decades. The last game to do so was World War II GI back in 1999.
In the game, players take the role of Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison, a bomb disposal expert with to the Global Defense Force. Dr. She is tasked with fighting through an army of cybernetically-enhanced soldiers unleasehed by the transhumanist cult leader Jadus Heskel.
With this win, Ion Fury joins the likes of Minecraft, Terraria, Foxhole, and last year's winner Sally Face.
Other games in the top 10 include:
- Notia (2nd)
- Daymare: 1998 (3rd)
- Flashing Lights: Police - Fire - EMS (4th)
- Disco Elysium (5th)
- Levelhead (6th)
- WRATH: Aeon of Ruin (7th)
- Green Hell (8th)
- Descenders (9th)
- Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (10th)
IndeiDB also revealed its Honorable Mentions. These were games that were polling strongly in the awards, but were ineligible either because they placed higher in the previous year, or if a significant update was not released in 2019. These are:
- 0 A.D. Empires Ascendant
- OpenRA
- War Clicks
- Verdun
Best Upcoming
It's not just about the games that have already been released. IndieDB also has an award for the Best Upcoming Indie Game. For this year that honor goes to none other than The Forgotten City. The Forgotten City is a mature narrative-driven game and is a re-imagining of the critically acclaimed mod that won a national Writers’ Guild award and racked up over 2.5 million downloads.
Other games in the top 10 are:
- Starmancer (2nd)
- Raji: An Ancient Epic (3rd)
- Alder's Blood (4th)
- NEOTOKYO° Kshatriya (5th)
- Car Chase Simulator (6th)
- The Riftbreaker (7th)
- Trepang2 (8th)
- Playground Heroes (9th)
- Global Conflagration (10th)
