Madrid, December 23rd, 2020. Last night, Sony Interactive Entertainment España (SIE España) hosted the seventh edition of the PlayStation® Awards — an online awards ceremony where the company showed its support to the local scene and independent, original, quality-driven games. Amongst local celebrities, such as NBA Champion Marc Gasol, and SIE executives such as Liliana Laporte, CEO of SIE Iberia, Jorge Huguet, CMO of SIE Iberia, Roberto Yeste, Head of Communications for PlayStation® Iberia, and Shuhei Yoshida, head of Indies Initiative at SIE, the jury revealed the best indie games of the year, including 2020’s best game: Ugly, from Team Ugly.
Ugly is the PlayStation Awards Best Game of 2020. This 2D puzzle-platformer is a psycho-dark fairy tale with new mechanics where players will have to swap the main character with his own reflection to solve puzzles, defeat bosses and discover all the secrets in a palace where nothing is what it seems. Thanks to this award, the studio will have at its disposal their own office to develop the project for 10 months at one of the PlayStation® Talents Games Camp locations in Spain, as well as a monetary award of €10.000, PlayStation® development kits, mentoring from the PlayStation® Spain team and a marketing campaign valued in €200.000. This is the second major acknowledgement this game gets this year: as of recently it was also distinguished with the annual grant for indie games of AEVI, the Spanish games industry association. Last but not least, Ugly also got the Press Award.
THE OTHER PLAYSTATION®TALENTS AWARDS WINNERS
The Most Innovative Game was Hell of Fame, a survival game with lots of humor in which players will control William Von Famous, a celebrity that needs to escape from his fans while avoiding and pleasing them at the same time. Forgotten Fragments was awarded the Best Art prize (as you can see below). This 2D puzzle-platformer challenges players with short levels with a simple, yet challenging goal: light all the ancient torches using the power of magical orbs spread through the level.
Ikai, a first-person psychological horror game set in a feudal Japan steeped in poverty, got the Best Narrative award. This game explores Japanese folklore’s monsters, ghosts and spirits in a medieval setting. Frozen Out won the PlayStation Commitment Special Award aimed at games that showcase social topics. Players control popsicles in this dystopian adventure is set in a frozen world that will explore themes related to climate change. The VII Edition of the PlayStation®Awards also featured a new prize: the 3D hack ‘n slash Naamu: The Lost essence won the Best Original Soundtrack award.
MORE THAN 700 STUDIOS SHOWCASED SINCE 2014
Since its creation six years ago, more than 700 studios have opted for the PlayStation®Awards. Year after year, a jury composed of relevant figures in the Spanish and worldwide industry, such as Shuhei Yoshida, head of Indies Initiative at SIE, as well as journalists and celebrities has chosen the more innovative, creative and best games of the year. The goal of these awards is to give studios the opportunity to publish their games in PlayStation® thanks to the support and partnership of PlayStation® Spain and the PlayStation® Talents program.
You can check all the games that made it to the gala on the official website:
Premios PlayStation®
For further information, please visit:
Blog oficial de PlayStation®
ABOUT PLAYSTATION® TALENTS
Launched in 2015 by Sony Interactive Entertainment Spain, the PlayStation® Talents program aims to unify all the initiatives put together by the local Spanish branch in order to develop the Spanish creativity. The goal of the PlayStation Talents program is to support the local industry as well as to create video games fully developed in Spain to be sold around the globe. The PlayStation Talents program is formed by:
- Two educational areas: PlayStation® Futuros Talentos and PlayStation® First
- The PlayStation® Awards, aimed at independent studios.
- PlayStation® Games Camp, a business incubator that is present in Madrid, Sevilla, Bilbao, Valencia, Málaga, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
- PlayStation® Alianzas, where different projects with well-known local studios that have been sold overseas come together.
More information at: http://www.playstationtalents.es/
