Indie hit Chants of Sennaar leads the 2024 Gamescom LATAM Awards

A fresh look at the year’s best games

Rundisc

The 2024 Gamescom LATAM awards are in, as 40 judges picked the best video games of 2023, with a special focus on indie games. Gamescom LATAM is a growing annual event highlighting the work of talented developers across the world and particularly in South America in partnership with major publishers such as Sega and Bandai Namco and even institutions including the Bank of Brazil.

This year’s awards included 13 primary categories of the usual kind we see in award shows – best game, best mobile game, and so on – with a few unique ones as well.

• Game of the year: Chants of Sennaar
• Best game from Latin America: Arranger – A Role-Puzzling Adventure (debuted during Day of the Devs)
• Best Brazilian game: Momodora – Moonlit Farewell
• Best casual game: Station to Station
• Best audio: Dordogne
• Best art: Harold Halibut
• Best multiplayer: Extremely Powerful Capybaras
• Best narrative: Once Upon A Jester
• Best XR/VR game: Sky Climb
• Best gameplay: Pacific Drive
• Innovation award: Cryptmaster
• Best mobile game: What The Car?
• Best pitch from regional game development associations: Dark Crown 

Dark Crown debuted during Summer Game Fest’s LATAM showcase, and its unique blend of chess with roguelike deck-building certainly has promise. Meanwhile, Chants of Sennaar landed on our own best games of 2023 list, so there’s even more reason for you to go play it.

If you thought that was the end of the summer game glut, think again. Gamescom Cologne and Geoff Keighley’s Opening Night Live begins Aug. 21, 2024.