The video game industry’s awards season was dominated this year by adulation for French turn-based roleplaying game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It’s easy to see why so many people loved it, AI usage and controversial status as an “indie” game aside, but my personal game of the year was a much smaller project that garnered a lot less attention: Baby Steps. Fortunately, at least one awards show is finally giving it the respect a bunch of us weirdos believe it deserves.

The 2026 Independent Games Festival Awards released its list of nominees on January 8, showcasing the incredible work of developers outside the AAA space. Baby Steps managed to pick up nominations in five categories, including Excellence in Audio, Excellence in Design, Excellence in Narrative, the Nuovo Award (for “experiences that make the awards jurors think differently about games as a medium”), and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize.

Baby Steps tells the story of Nate, a man transported from living in squalor in his parents’ basement to a magical world inhabited by long-dicked donkey men and Australians. Navigating this strange setting, at least on PlayStation 5, revolves around using the controller’s triggers to independently control Nate’s feet by lifting them off the ground, and the control stick to have Nate lean in whatever direction you intend on traveling. Even simple walking requires maintaining a rhythm, and things get even more difficult as you climb slippery slopes and awkward rockfaces.  

I’m so happy to see Baby Steps get this kind of recognition. Not only does it advance the nascent genre of physics-based “rage games” practically invented by co-developer Bennett Foddy (who previously made QWOP and Getting Over It), but it also manages to interrogate the very concept of challenging video game mechanics through both gameplay and narrative. Please play this game, and remember, Baby Steps doesn’t want you to rage, it wants you to love yourself.

Offbeat local TV broadcast simulator Blippo+, surreal strategy game Titanium Court, and the bafflingly controversial Horses also received multiple nominations. After seeing the Game Awards, the Game Developers Choice Awards, and the DICE Awards focus almost exclusively on Clair Obscur and other mainstream, AAA fare, it’s refreshing to know there are still shows dedicated to plumbing the depths of the medium rather than remaining at surface level. 

Furthermore, this year’s show features a new category honoring games made by women and other gender-marginalized developers in collaboration with investment fund Wings Interactive. Each award comes bundled with a $2,000 bonus, apart from the grand prize which awards $20,000.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Best Student Game

• BubbleBeast DigiDungeon (EchoLane)
• Kiloton (Jack Morehart)
• Poco (Whalefall, Micah Boursier)
• Prší (Herdek)
• Sip Fisher (Syphon Software)
• SPRKLS.exe (PesiiDom)

Excellence in Audio

• Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
• BALL x PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends, Devolver Digital)
• Blippo+ (YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, Noble Robot, Panic)
• Eclipsium (Housefire, CRITICAL REFLEX)
• Morsels (Furcula, Annapurna Interactive)
• Wheel World (Messhof, Annapurna Interactive)

Excellence in Design

• Angeline Era (Analgesic Productions)
• Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
• Öoo (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi)
• Skin Deep (Blendo Games, Annapurna Interactive)
• Titanium Court (AP Thomson, Fellow Traveller)
• Time Flies (Playables, Panic)

Excellence in Narrative

• Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
• Perfect Tides: Station to Station (Three Bees)
• Promise Mascot Agency (Kaizen Game Works)
• Titanium Court (AP Thomson, Fellow Traveller)
• Type Help (William Rous)
• Wednesdays (The Pixel Hunt, ARTE France)

Excellence in Visual Arts

• Blippo+ (YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, Noble Robot, Panic)
• CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs (Bastinus Rex, CRITICAL REFLEX)
• Eclipsium (Housefire, CRITICAL REFLEX)
• Loco Motive (Robust Games, Chucklefish)
• Morsels (Furcula, Annapurna Interactive)
• Skate Story (Sam Eng, Devolver Digital)

Nuovo Award

• Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
• Blippo+ (YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, Noble Robot, Panic)
• HORSES (Andrea Lucco Borlera, Santa Ragione)
• Mini Mini Golf Golf (Three More Years)
• Plum Road Tea Dream (Reveal Game Studio)
• Titanium Court (AP Thomson, Fellow Traveller))
• kevin’s PLAYING in berlin (Kevin Du)
• Wednesdays (The Pixel Hunt, ARTE France)

WINGS Award

• Ambrosia Sky (Soft Rains)
• Backpack Battles (PlayWithFurcifer, IndieArk)
• The Wandering Village (Stray Fawn Studio, Stray Fawn Publishing, Whisper Games)
• Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall (Brave at Night)
• 13Z: The Zodiac Trials (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd)

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

• Baby Steps (Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy, Devolver Digital)
• Angeline Era (Analgesic Productions)
• Blippo+ (YACHT, Telefantasy Studios, Noble Robot, Panic)
• HORSES (Andrea Lucco Borlera, Santa Ragione)
• Titanium Court (AP Thomson, Fellow Traveller)
• Perfect Tides: Station to Station (Three Bees)

The 2026 Independent Games Festival Awards is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. PST. It will be broadcast live on Twitch.