We already know the games in Brazil’s Independent Games Festival 2021 – the BIG Festival 2021 – that ran for Best Game, Best Art, Best Sound, and Best Gameplay. After discovering the games nominated in each of these tech categories, it’s time to know the titles running for a more subjective prize. This prize recognizes games with the best story, the motivation behind your adventure.
Here are the games that ran for Best Narrative.
Best Narrative
Helheim Hassle
Helheim Hassle is a narrative adventure game with puzzle platforming elements where you play as Bjørn, a dead Viking who has been brought back from Valhall to the world of living to retrieve a particular magical item. Use his ability to detach his limbs to solve puzzles in his way and earn his permanent residence in Helheim in this adventure filled with humor!
The game has been released on Ago 2020 and is now available on Steam (where it has a free demo), Switch, and Xbox.
Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived
Become the lead investigator tracking down a dangerous terrorist organization in this detective thriller. Manage the special police department assigned for this task while you interrogate suspects using a complex conversation system. Be mindful about the police reputation with politics, the public, and the press as you deal with suspects trying to find the truth. Especially when your suspects don’t cooperate with you, and you need to resort to questionable tactics.
Released in Dec 2019, the game is available for mobile, Switch, and PC, where you can try a free demo available on Steam.
Interrogation: You Will Be Deceived also ran for Innovation and Best Game.
Journey of the Broken Circle
A game about life, love, fulfillment, and existentialism, where new powers come from new relationships. On a quest to complete the imperfect Circle, you will meet fascinating characters that give you unique abilities that allow you to continue your journey. A playful and rewarding journey, where the Circle will learn more about itself – and you will learn more about yourself.
The game is available for Xbox, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. There’s no free demo available for it, though.
Liberated
Liberated is a cyberpunk graphic novel set in a dark future where, under the pretext of ensuring order and security, authorities freely violate civil rights and use technology to manipulate people.
Liberated has been released for Switch and PC in July 2020. You can try its free demo on Steam.
Liberate was also running for Best Game and Best Art.
Lost Ember
The exploration game from Mooneye Studios was acclaimed the game with Best Narrative of the Festival! Kudos to the team!
Our Tiny Potato (I love Maui’s new nickname) reviewed this game back in 2020, saying she fell in love with it within minutes of playing. And it’s not for nothing: Lost Ember is enchanting! Product of a successful Kickstarter campaign, in this game you play as a wolf who will unveil a story of loyalty, despair, and betrayal that led this world to fall.
This beautiful game was released back in Nov 2019 and is available for Xbox, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC.
Neo Cab
In Neo Cab, you will be the last human cab driver of the Los Ojos looking for a lost friend. To find him, you will investigate leads you acquire from your passengers, each one with a backstory and secrets to tell. Drive them around, take care of your evaluation and earn some money at the end of the day. After all, we all have bills to pay – even in this interactive story, it seems.
Released in May 2019, this interesting game is available for PC, mobile, and Switch. You can have the whole experience buying it on Steam.
Pathologic 2
Pathologic 2 is a survival game where you play as the surgeon Artemy Burakh in a quest to find a cure for a disease that plagues his homeland in Russia within 12 days. The game presents beautiful graphics and a creepy atmosphere that will leave even the bravest of players in some distress…
First released in May 2019 for PC, we reviewed its Xbox version in early 2020. The game is available for Xbox and Steam.
Pathologic 2 was also running for Best Game, Best Gameplay, and Best Sound.
The Signifier: Director’s Cut
The Signifier is a first-person mystery adventure where you control a psychologist and AI specialist in a mission to solve a murder investigation using a technology that allows you to delve into the subconscious of people to solve this crime.
The game is available for PC since Oct 2020 and has a free demo available on Steam. The Signifier will also be released on consoles in 2021. So, I’ll sit here waiting for my Xbox version of the game.
The Signifier: Director’s Cut was also running for Innovation, Best Game, Best Art, and Best Game: Latin America.
Welcome to Elk
Welcome to Elk is an adventure game set on a fictional island where true stories and tales blend in a particular way told to the player. Our friend Toto pointed out in his review how well the game captures these stories and recreates them, allowing you to have an idea of the emotions and sensations felt by the original characters of such stories.
Released in September 2020 and available for PC (with a free demo available on Steam) and Xbox.
Welcome to Elk was also running for Best Art.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest
Reviewed by our Chief Editor in Feb 2021, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Heart of the Forest is the first game to bring to consoles the experience from the tabletop RPG of the same name from the World of Darkness universe. In this mix of Adventure / RPG / Visual Novel, you will explore the myths and monsters of Europe’s last primeval wilderness.
The game is available since Out 2020 for PC, Switch, Xbox, and PS4.
And this is it for today’s list of finalists.
There are still a few more games to present to you in our following articles about BIG 2021.
See you soon!
With a history of gaming that goes from his old man’s Atari 2600 to his Xbox One, Rafael or RAF687, our Brazilian editor, has a love for games as old as he can remember. He has already spent countless hours in many consoles (Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Saturn, PS1, PS2 and Xbox 360) and is always ready for more (as long as his wife is asleep). Raf has been writing for LifeisXbox since 2017, with a passion for games of almost all genres – though we know he has a special place in his heart for RPGs, racing games and anything that includes pixel art. Writing about games has always been a childhood dream to Raf, dream that he has fulfilled reviewing games for you here. You can drop him a message at Twitter, Facebook or Xbox Live at any time.
