Finding the perfect indie game to dig your claws into is difficult. Fortunately for you, we did the hard work, all you have to do is make a decision.
Getting Over It
This game will make you sick with anger. You will spend hours making the same mistake over and over, just to fall the same distance as soon as you get past the point that you were stuck at. This game will have you coming back for more and more punishment, in an effort to prove Bennett Foddy that you can, in fact, climb that mountain.
Jazzpunk
This is such a cool game, it’s a shame that so few people have played it. Humor is the core of the experience for Jazzpunk. This game gives the player a significant amount of options to interact with the world around them, and they all end up being the most outlandish and abstract conclusions you could think of.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
If you have a significant other that likes to play video games, or you’ve just met a person that you’d like to be your significant other, lock them into playing this game with you. This game is cute, fast-paced, and collaborative. You’ll find yourself dumping hours into finding the perfect spaceship configuration for you and your buddy, but at the end of the day, it’s just nice to spend time with someone special while screaming at a screen.
Outlast
Outlast is a truly memorable horror title. This game looks like it was developed by a AAA studio, but it was really put together by a small team of hobbyists that just so happened to make one of the most intriguing 3D horror titles of modern times.
Nidhogg
Get a bunch of your friends together, grab some beers, sit down, and duel one another to the death. This is like Super Smash Bros for people who have always wanted to take up fencing as a hobby. Square off against your buds and see who gets to get eaten by the giant worm first.
SUPERHOT
You will have SO much fun playing this game. If you don’t know anything about it yet, this was the premier title that came out on the Oculus rift right when it hit the market, and it has become available on every console and PC since then. Manipulate time, dodge bullets, throw bottles and decapitate enemies as you dig deeper into the mystery that is SUPERHOT.
Furi
Furi is an outstanding title that has enormous potential for replayability. This rhythm-based boss-rush style game combines bullet hell and combo-based gameplay that will have you thinking about Devil May Cry, and Galaga at the same time. Oh, and the soundtrack is absolutely outrageous.
Owlboy
This is probably the most mechanically unique of all of the platformers on this list. In Owlboy, you play as an owlboy named Otis. This game is similar to Metal Slug, in the sense that you have a wide variety of weapons to choose from, but it differs in the theming and physics. This game is hard to explain, but it is absolutely worth your time.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
This game is up there as a contender for one of the scariest games ever made. PT is a close second, but this one is significantly more accessible. Ask anyone who’s played this one, and they’ll likely give you an hour-long explanation as to why you shouldn’t get this game (but really, you should).
Enter the Gungeon
Just thinking about this game gives me heart palpitations. Enter the Gungeon is a gauntlet for people who consider themselves “good” at video games. This game looks like it was created by a former Newgrounds developer that just got so fed up with people beating his games that he wanted to create the most difficult game of all time. Play this title, if you dare.
Ori and the Blind Forest
Just in case you haven’t heard of this game, it is slowly reaching legacy status in the indie game ranking system. This game is just as challenging as it is atmospheric and pleasant. Plus, the music is absolutely STUNNING and there is a sequel that totally doubles down on the concepts from the first one.
Hyper Light Drifter
Think “The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past,” but replace Hyrule with a wartorn hellscape that has pockets of beauty and your character is slowly dying from an unknown illness. Aside from the dark themes, Hyper Light Drifter is an artistic masterpiece, and it is absolutely worth the $17 price tag that it has on both steam and switch at the moment. This game is also available on PS4 if you want to play it there instead.
The Stanley Parable
This game is weird, like really weird. It was released in 2013 originally, and then saw a re-release a year later, The Stanley Parable essentially makes you question why you do anything, and you’ll feel like more of a slave to capitalism than ever while playing this strange title. Oh, and it’s widely regarded to be one of the best indie games of all time.
Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight may not have revolutionized the indie game market, but it sure did bring a lot of media attention to it. Shovel Knight got popular because of its massively successful Kickstarter campaign, raising over $320,000 in just one year. That, however, did not necessarily do the team justice, as they were still in the financial hole for nearly 5 years after the game was made. Don’t worry though, there have been 10 continuations to the Shovel Knight series following the original that brought them a ton of profit.
Return of the Obra Dinn
From the creators of Papers, Please, Return of the Obra Dinn is the only indie game that has been seriously nominated for more than one award. Basically, you’re hired by an organization to investigate some murders that occurred on a pirate ship, but wait, there’s more. This game is so much more than that summary. Plus, the art style is very unique and charming, and you can switch it to look like different .dos platforms that it’s inspired by.
Hotline Miami
Hotline Miami was one of the first highly critically acclaimed indie games. This game set the stage for a lot of other developers, proving that a successful title doesn’t have to be incredibly complex, or expensive to make to be a truly impressive game. Hotline Miami tells a surreal and immersive story all while using simple pixel art. The gameplay is twitchy, anxiety-inducing, and genuinely difficult. You might want to play this one a few times, just to get a handle on how difficult it truly is.
Hollow Knight
There aren't enough words in the dictionary to explain how much I love this game. If you were a kid when I was, you probably have at least seen an advertisement for a Metroid game at some point. Hollow Knight is the leading example of what a “Metroidvania” should be. Metroidvanias are games that were inspired by Super Metroid, they offer vast expansive maps, loads of upgrades, skill barriers (places that you cannot access without a certain item or ability), they reward the player for exploration, but they punish the player massively for playing sloppily. Hollow Knight is a near-perfect game, and you should play it right now. For only $14, you get hundreds of hours of available gameplay, and all the DLC is free, AND Team Cherry is actively working on a new game as you read this.
Celeste
Celeste deserves every ounce of praise it gets. This game has more character than any AAA title that has come out in the past 5 years, the art style is outstanding, the character development is beautiful, and the plot is absolutely addictive. Celeste was up for a nomination for game of the year in 2018, but it unfortunately missed the mark and came as a runner up.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley was made by one singular person over the course of 4 years. Eric Barone worked roughly ten hours a day, every day, to complete this passion project of his. He even placed a representation of himself into the game as a romance option. He plays a gothic introvert that blossoms when your characters meet.
Cuphead
Cuphead is one of the highest critically acclaimed games of all time. It’s praised for its creativity, level of difficulty, and the painstaking process that it took to hand draw every single frame in the entire game. The art style is called “rubber hose style,” it was popular throughout the 40s all the way into the late 1980s. There would likely never be a video game in true rubber hose style animation without Cuphead.
Papers, Please
This game is a bit unorthodox (some might not even call it a game), but its impact is undeniable. You play a border agent in post-cold war Communist regime (likely Russia). All you do is approve and turn away individuals at the gate. This game is technically genreless, but it is one of the most encapsulating games ever made. Additionally, the degree of difficulty is pretty complex for a game that has nothing to base itself on.
Spelunky
This game came out in 2008 on PC and Xbox 360, and at first, it didn’t seem like it had much to offer. Based on the graphic quality and style of game it was, people didn’t really latch onto it at the time, except for those who were interested in MAKING games. Spelunkey was an early example of a “roguelike.” Roguelikes are games that take elements from Metroidvania style games and add different levels of replayability based on permadeath and standardized progression.
Undertale/ Deltarune
This abstract indie RPG came out in 2015 and is regarded to be one of the coolest RPGs ever made. Undertale may not be the most complex game in the world, but it has so much personality and character that you'll find it makes you laugh and warms your heart at the same time. Toby Fox (the creator of Undertale) released the first chapter of his next game, “Deltarune,” for free on all platforms. Go give it a shot.
Braid
Braid was another one of the OG indie games that got a ton of hype for being what it was. Released in 2008, Braid separated itself from other indie platformer titles by allowing the player to manipulate time and movement, getting more complex as the game goes on. Braid genuinely holds up in the echelon of indie games still to this day, 11 years after its release.
Gone Home
Gone Home is a modern twist on the classic point and clicks adventure titles that you may have played when you were younger. This game starts with you, the daughter of a normal family, returning home from being away and discovering your family is nowhere to be found. This game is similar to ones like LA Noire, Heavy Rain, and other personal discovery adventure games, just without the text. It also shares similarities with Half-Life and Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
Firewatch
Firewatch is a confusing title. One minute, you’re exploring the wilderness without a care in the world, the next, you’re desperately trying to relocate yourself before the darkness creeps in and kills your character. Play this game, really, it will surprise you.
Minecraft
Minecraft was originally a single-pixel augmented sandbox game that was used as a testing ground for other games created by Markus Persson. Now, Persson is worth $2.5 billion, and Minecraft is valued at $5.5 billion, making it the highest-grossing independent title of all time.
Limbo
This game was released in 2010 and was immediately recognized for its unique art style and black and white color scheme. Limbo is beautifully atmospheric, and the plot development gets more and more absurd and surreal as you plow your way through the game. Limbo can take you between 2-15 hours to finish, and we recommend you put as much time into it as possible.
Into the Breach
This game’s plot couldn’t be simpler, you command a fleet of giant robots, and you’re fighting a bunch of giant bugs. This game targets your emotional center, and it challenges you to think about your own ethical barrier and why you feel the way you do about war and civilization. If anything, this game about war will make you question war more than reading Time magazine.
Death Stranding
Technically this game is an indie title because Konami fired Hideo Kojima and he released this game through his own production company. Although critics have given mixed reviews about this title, it is impossible to ignore Kojima’s ambition to create a truly unique gaming experience, and as an audience, we think he is one step closer to creating what he truly wants in a video game, a cinematic experience that is truly unique to anything else.
Guacamelee 1-2
Have you ever looked deep inside yourself and asked “do I like to have fun?” Well, Guacamelee is really, truly fun. You’ll find yourself laughing out loud and screaming in frustration at the same time. This game merges humor, light hearted themes, and actual pure evil platforming that will leave you stunned and impressed, just like how I was when I finished this game.
Super Meat Boy
This beautiful success story game started on Newgrounds and made it all the way to the top of the indie game hall of fame. This game is truly challenging in a way that hasn’t been seen by a video game audience in quite some time. The pixel perfect maneuvers that you need to pull off are not just extremely difficult, they’re necessary if you want to finish the game, or just beat a single level. This title is not for the unskilled gamer.
World of Goo
When World of Goo was released in 2008, it didn’t really shake the market up at all. This simple game requires the player to make structures out of goo balls present in the environment to move other goo-like creatures and vehicles across, and that’s it. The art style, simplicity, and attractiveness that this game presented won it a ton of media attention, and for good reason. After 11 years, this game still deserves a play.
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
This game is a roguelike without any of the things that hold you to a roguelike. The Binding of Isaac is truly infuriating and difficult, and somehow people have been able to speedrun this title in under 30 minutes, go figure.
Dead Cells
Dead Cells is a truly unique gaming experience. It’s a roguelike with a fixed map that will shock you with how expansive it really is. The only thing that might hold a player away from this game is its degree of difficulty. Truly, this game is brutal. Do not go in empty-handed, or do, you’re not spending my money.
Subnautica
Subnautica is like if Minecraft and the crafting elements from Fallout 4 crash-landed on a deserted island and suddenly got cell-shaded graphics. This game is truly unforgettable, and its ability to make the player feel actually immersed in its semi-aquatic world is really unique.
SOMA
SOMA is thematically similar to Bioshock, in the sense that you’re trapped in an underwater civilization that has collapsed and you’re trying to find your way out of it. Just like in Bioshock, you’ll find that your existence in that world was not a mistake, and more things are out of your control than you would think.
Rocket League
Rocket League is one of those titles that you simply wouldn’t think was independently made. Nearly 10 years after its release, the competitive scene is just as strong as when it started, and this game just keeps getting better with each update.
Inside
Released in 2016, Inside is the spiritual successor to Limbo, developed by Playdead studios. Inside follows the framework of Limbo, but it adds more layers of complexity to the standalone move and jump mechanics. You’ll find yourself sprinting, driving submarines, and even controlling zombified versions of yourself throughout this magnificent experience.
Crypt of the Necrodancer
Crypt of the Necrodancer is a game like no other. The team behind this title wanted to create a rhythm-based dungeon crawler, and they succeeded with flying colors. This title was so exciting, that Nintendo sanctioned the team (without wanting the rights to the game) to make a Legend of Zelda version of this game, and it is EXTRAORDINARY.
Night in the Woods
This game is just as much a criticism of capitalism as it is a spooky ghost story. Without giving anything away, you play as a cat that has lost her job in the big city and was forced to move back to the small town she grew up in. Something is amiss, but mostly it's about her favorite restaurant closing. This game is charming and witty, and definitely worth your time.
Sundered
Dude, if you’ve ever wanted to play a game that has the coolest bosses (possibly) in video game history, play this game (and Shadow of the Colossus). Sundered has a degree of difficulty that is unparalleled by any other title in its style. You should play this game. Really. Give it a shot.
A Hat in Time
Oh, buddy, this game has been praised to the highest degree, and for good reason. What starts out as a seemingly mundane platformer, this game adds levels of complexity that weren’t even utilized in the highest budget 3D platformers (cough, cough, MARIO). If you like 3D Mario games, you’ll love A Hat in Time.
The Witness
The team (person) that brought us Braid brought us The Witness. This is a puzzle game that you would never expect to actually be a puzzle game. Additionally, there are 650 puzzles in the game, and it would take you roughly 80 hours (this is the average playtime on Steam) to 100% finish this title.
Baba is You
This fun puzzle game incorporates soft coding exercises to help you push your way through its puzzles. Not only is this game refreshing, but it’s also challenging, charming, and has enough personality to make you think it was developed by Toby Fox.
Katana Zero
If you had to compare this game to any other one, it would be most similar to Hotline Miami. Katana Zero is incredibly challenging, some compare it to how the original Ninja Gaiden was on the Super Nintendo, but with a steady hand and an unwavering will, you might just finish this game before throwing your computer out of your 4th story apartment window.
The Red Strings Club
This game partners bartending with information brokering in a unique and refreshing twist on the classic text-based RPG adventure style genre. Your character works as an information broker, but he also just so happens to be a bartender. Test your drink-making skills while making your patrons get drunk enough to spill the beans (and sometimes, their lunches).
Rise and Shine
This game was sanctioned by Adult Swim at first, but the developers broke off to create their own larger version of the original title. You play as Rise, a young boy with unlimited lives and a stomach of iron, and his trusty magical gun named Shine. Plow through this post-apocalyptic world together in this unapologetically difficult title.
Divinity: the Original Sin 2
This game is widely regarded as one of the best and most comprehensive RPG’s ever made. Seriously, this indie title rivals that of Final Fantasy, the Witcher, all of the Elder Scrolls games, Fable, and many many more. Please, give this title a try if you dig RPGs.
Oxenfree
This game is beautiful, confusing, and charming all at the same time. Think of the plot of Chronicle, but everyone is evil, and you’re an outsider to a tight-knit group of friends. In the end, this game gets wholesome and the plot develops to something that you likely haven’t ever seen before.
VA-11 Hall-A
This game is kind of like being a bartender in real life, but you’re a robot bartending at a robot bar. Get drunk off of robot-grade hooch, fall in love, fall out of love, intercept top secret information, die and come back to life. You’re going to have a good time if you get into this one.
Chuchel
The art style in Chuchel is unlike any other, but that’s not all it has to offer. This short and witty game has you solving puzzles that you wouldn’t even know how they worked until enough trial and error might give you a couple of ideas. This game has roughly 15 hours of content, but for that duration, you’ll be locked into its charming, yet confusing world.
Ape Out
Ape Out is pretty much just Hotline Miami but you play as a gorilla that escaped from his cage. There is no room for error in this intense title, one wrong move and you get shot dead and have to start over. This is a great palate cleanser if you just finished playing a serious game.
Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress is unbelievably involved and complex for the style of game that it tries to be. The entirety of this game is procedurally generated, yes, that’s right, even the plot is procedurally generated. Build up your homestead and expand the Dwarven race through this D&D inspired world builder.
Fez
Fez is a very cool platformer/puzzle style game that takes a lot of influence from Paper Mario, without the RPG elements. This game makes you solve 2D puzzles, but you have access to a Z-axis within the screen. One dimensional puzzle become 4 dimensional in the blink of an eye, and boy does that complicate things.
Rogue Legacy
You know, this game almost doesn’t hold up when compared to other roguelikes, but this was the first game to truly define the genre. Rogue Legacy is a little clunky, a little confusing, and a little outdated, but what it lacks in modern sensibility, it makes up for in complexity and character. Give this game a shot if you respect the genre.
Cave Story
Cave Story is arguably the most important indie game ever made. This title came out in 2004 and it inspired the indie game market to expand. Although this title is old, solid mechanics and interesting plot make it feel like a modern indie title, just with a smaller production budget.
Path of Exile
This game really wants to be Diablo, but the developers decided to take that idea and ramp it up by 1000%. This game has the highest level of customizability in any video game, ever. This does come to the game’s detriment though because it is so complex, you rarely feel like you’re progressing until you hit a magic upgrade that will provide the player with an “Ah-Ha!” moment.
Rain World
This game is one of the most creative and atmospheric titles to ever hit the indie circuit. However, it has been harshly criticized for its shaky controls and its unfair degree of difficulty. That being said, this game is unbelievably gorgeous, and if you can handle dying a few times, give this a shot.
Moonlighter
This game is like the Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past if Link had parents and they owned an armour shop. Work as a shopkeeper during the day to upgrade your gear and make enough cash to go on adventures at night. It’s crazy! This guy doesn't sleep at all!
Doki Doki Literature Club
This game is strange, it’s unique, and it is truly terrifying. If you’ve ever wanted to play a text-based railroaded RPG horror game that doesn’t seem like a horror game, this one's for you. Not for me though, this title is too scary, I’m not going to play it again.