Wolfenstein II, Echo lead Nordic Game Awards 2018 finalists

MachineGames’ Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and Danish studio Ultra Ultra’s Echo show the range of blockbusters and indies earning nominations from the Nordic Game Awards. The event has revealed its list of finalists, and it will announce the winners during the Nordic Game Conference from May 23 to May 25 Malmö, Sweden. It’s the 15th year the event has celebrated developers from that region.

Wolfenstein II is up awards in five categories and Echo is up for six — and they’re both jockeying for the bragging rights of Nordic Game of the Year. Other big titles like EA Dice’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 stand to win awards, but the list is mainly comprised of independent titles. The voxel flyer Fugl from Team Fugl, Tarsier Studios’ creepy platformer Little Nightmares, and Flamebait Games’ quirky painting game Passpartout: The Starving Artist all make multiple appearances.

Despite their reputation for icy climes, the Nordic countries have been a hotbed for games innovation. It features mobile chart-toppers like Rovio, Supercell, and King, alongside studios like Mojang, developer of the cultural phenomenon Minecraft. Smaller indie darlings have also emerged from the region, like Starbreeze Studios’ Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and Arvi Teikari’s Baba Is You, which took home two awards at the Independent Games Festival earlier this year.

Here is the full list of nominees for the 15th annual Nordic Game Awards:

Nordic Game of the Year

• A Hat in Time, developed by Gears for Breakfast, Denmark
• ECHO, developed by Ultra Ultra, Denmark
• Little Nightmares, developed by Tarsier Studios, Sweden
• Nex Machina, developed by Housemarque, Finland
• SteamWorld Dig 2, developed by Image & Form, Sweden
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, developed by MachineGames, Sweden

Nordic Game of the Year: Small Screen

• Milkmaid of the Milky Way, developed by Machineboy, Norway
• OCMO, developed by Team OCMO, Finland
• Pako 2, developed by Tree men games, Finland
• Returner 77, developed by Fantastic, Yes!, Denmark
• SteamWorld Dig 2, developed by Image & Form, Sweden

Best Art

• ECHO, developed by Ultra Ultra, Denmark
• Little Nightmares, developed by Tarsier Studios, Sweden
• Milkmaid of the Milky Way, developed by Machineboy, Norway
• Nex Machina, developed by Housemarque, Finland
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, developed by MachineGames, Sweden

Best Game Design

• A Hat in Time, developed by Gears for Breakfast, Denmark
• ECHO, developed by Ultra Ultra, Denmark
• Little Nightmares, developed by Tarsier Studios, Sweden
• SteamWorld Dig 2, developed by Image & Form, Sweden
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, developed by MachineGames, Sweden
• World to the West, developed by Rain AS, Norway

Best Technology

• ECHO, developed by Ultra Ultra, Denmark
• Fugl, developed by Muunluun, Norway
• Sparc, developed by CCP, Iceland
• Star Wars Battlefront 2, developed by EA DICE, Sweden
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, developed by MachineGames, Sweden

Best Audio

• ECHO, developed by Ultra Ultra, Denmark
• Figment, developed by Bedtime Digital Games, Denmark
• Little Nightmares, developed by Tarsier Studios, Sweden
• Nex Machina, developed by Housemarque, Finland
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, developed by MachineGames, Sweden

Best Fun for Everyone

• A Hat in Time, developed by Gears for Breakfast, Denmark
• Fugl, developed by Muunluun, Norway
• Little Police, developed by Filimundus, Sweden
• OCMO, developed by Team OCMO, Finland
• Passpartout: The Starving Artist, developed by Flamebait Games, Sweden

Best Debut

• A Hat in Time, developed by Gears for Breakfast, Denmark
• ECHO, developed by Ultra Ultra, Denmark
• Milkmaid of the Milky Way, developed by Machineboy, Norway
• OCMO, developed by Team OCMO, Finland
• Passpartout: The Starving Artist, developed by Flamebait Games, Sweden