Once upon a time, there was the littlest developer that could. Working many long hours, and even through a house fire, he managed to create an incredible shooter with hand-molded clay graphics called Platypus that took the indie world by storm. After finishing it, he proceeded to drop off the face of the earth, popping back every once in a while to reassure people about what he was doing. The game he was working on all that time has finally been finished, though, and has been entered into the IGF competition. Cletus Clay is that game, and it has had a long trek to reach the point it is at now.

Cletus Clay follows the adventures of a mountain man who suddenly finds himself in the middle of an alien invasion. With no other course of action, he proceeds to fight and shoot his way through horde after horde of enemies on his way through the game. Playing much like Contra or Metal Slug, it's a fast-paced action game for one or two players. The graphics are the real eye-catcher, though, as they are all handmade clay graphics enhanced with 3D modeling and effects. There's not many games that do actual clay graphics, and seeing one is a refreshing change of pace. Especially since it's a good one.


We mentioned FEIST already late last year, but it has made a reappearance in the IGF finalists. For good reason, too. FEIST is one of the finest Unity games we've ever seen, and that's going up against the likes of Flashbang Studios. FEIST has got a lot going for it., and who are we to argue with high quality? It would be downright foolish of us!

FEIST is a realtively simple game, consisting of platforming, physics puzzles and the like. Where it really excels is in its striking graphical style. Consisting mostly of black and white imagery, FEIST is very subdued. However, the character designs and animation are both extremely beautiful despite the limited palette, drawing you into this strange world. The animation is always smooth and fluid with a very dynamic edge to it, making the world organic and believable. By contrast, the character and environment designs fall into the realm of the subdued fantastic. When combined, these two elements form FEIST into a game with a magic realist feel. Something that is not quite right, but in a good way.


Samorost is a land of surreal imagery and endearing characters that are all accessed through your browser. We should know: we mentioned it as one of our essential indie games for the 2008 holidays. Now comes Machinarium, which, while not surreal in quite the same way, still manages to confuse and please at the same time. Its combination of simple adventure gameplay and highly detailed graphics mark Machinarium with the seal of quality, and the IGF judges definitely took notice.

Machinarium is, at a glance, a game about robots and the mechanical world they live in. It wouldn't be a game by Amanita Design, though, without the intricate graphics and smooth, modular animation. Machinarium does not disappoint in this regard. Everything looks like a painting or a photo, and is so well designed that you can't help be feel charmed by the characters and the environment that they live in. Rock solid art design in every aspect cements machinarium as one of the prettiest 2D games we've seen around.


Oh my! Pixeljunk Eden seems to have popped up on this list again! Well, it's not without reason. Pixeljunk Eden is a fantastic game, from gameplay design to the audio, and the graphics are no exception from this masterpiece. Everything is crafted so superbly that you'll easily lose yourself in a world of swinging silk and sprouting plants as soon as you start up the game. Not that it is a bad thing to be lost in Pixeljunk Eden.

Pixeljunk Eden, as has been said before, is about swinging around and collecting bits of... well, whatever they are. The method of moving around and interacting with the environment has already pegged it as a finalist in the Technical Excellence category, but what about the graphics? With a sleek style and some extremely effective use of simple shapes and colors, Pixeljunk Eden is extremely entrancing in graphics as well as gameplay and music. Smooth animation, airy lines, and intricate-yet-simple plants help define Pixeljunk Eden as a visually pleasing game.


Funnily enough, Zeno Clash is the only true 3D game as a finalist in the Visual Arts category this year. Where the 2D contenders get by with crisp graphics and engaging designs, Zeno Clash drags the player into a fully realized steampunk fantasy world and doesn't let go for anything. It's a first-person fighting game, which is unusual in of itself, but the world that it is set in is also quite strange.

Zeno Clash is all about the crazy fantastic designs. Where FEIST is fairytale sort of art, Zeno Clash is much more alien and bizarre, and it's extremely eye-catching. In a good way, for course. The monster designs are appropriately strange, the characters are identifiable instantly, and the entire game has a glossy sort of fantasy woprld feel to it. Not the super realism of Lord of the Rings, but not the cartoony nature of Warcraft either. Sort of a happy in-between, where the fantastic collides with the mundane. It's quite nice!