There are so many amazing indie games out there, but some of them stand out as must-play experiences. What are your favorite indie games of all time?
Subnautica. One of the best experiences I’ve had in gaming.
Outer Wilds. One of the most creative and thought-provoking games I’ve played. Definitely go into this one knowing as little as possible about it.
Hollow Knight also deserves a spot here, but personally I preferred Salt and Sanctuary.
Outer wilds is ridiculously good, it’s such a crazy unique experience. But you have to go in without spoilers, it’s not nearly as fun if you know where things are.
Perfect list! I have two things to add
Astroneer Minecraft, but with a space vacuum cleaner that makes digging holes addictive
Brawlhalla a smash Brothers clone that gave me hours of fun.
FTL, Into the Breach, Celeste, Hollow Knight, Banished
Oh disco elysium for sure. Fantastic crpg.
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I saw it here on this thread now a couple of times. Seems worth a look. What makes it so special?
I would say Hades.
The gameplay loop, the art direction and the story are all very good.Can’t wait for Part 2!
Disco Elysium blew me away with the writing, absolutely a must-play.
Have you also played Divinity? Most specifically Divinity Original Sin 2. It is much more gameplay oriented but I feel like the writing is also good.
Stardew Valley
There are a lot I’d recommend, but I think the only must-play for me is Cave Story.
When I was growing up, Cave Story was like the paragon of games as art, and was a major inspiration behind me making games as a hobby and getting into software development professionally. Cave Story was made by a single talented auteur, not for profit, and released for free. And it was as good as Metroid and Mario, or maybe even better. It proved to everyone that such a thing was even possible.
I think the only indie game that could possibly compete with Cave Story for the title of “most influential” would be Minecraft. Though Minecraft should probably be disqualified from that title for having sold out to Microsoft as soon as it started to get big…
The original Cave Story is truly a piece of art. I could not believe back then how good this game is that was created by a single person. He did everything. In an Interview Pixel(?) said that he learned composing music while creating the game. He had no knowledge in that field and just tried and stocked to what sounded nice to him. He created one of the most memorable soundtracks I ever heard! What an unbelievable talented and creative person. So inspiring!
It was the first game I bought when I got my Nintendo Switch. I had played it several times on my computer previously. Love the music tho.
Any game of yours you want to share?
There is this little hidden gem called The Witcher 3.
Ok, real answer: To the Moon and Doki Doki Literature Club are two indies that really left a mark on me, specially the former. Both games are fantastic.
The games that stuck with me are (in no special order) Paradise Killer, Sable, Disco Elysium, Gris and of course What remains of Edith Finch.
The Return of the Obra Dinn.
Subnautica
Tunic
The Legend of Grimrock 1 and 2 (I’ve convinced 0 people to try these)
Subnautica is horror in its most subtle form.
"Detecting multiple leviathan class lifeforms in the region. Are you certain whatever you’re doing is worth it?”
Don’t care too much about Grimrock 1… But the sequel? Fantastic. (Though I don’t particularly care for the hunger mechanics)
Edit: missed that you included Tunic… That’s one of my top games of recent history.
I loved LoG, the 1st one even more than the 2nd.
Valheim - especially if you fork out for a dedicated server. I was playing with family and friends across the Atlanic, so we’d log on the next day and find new bases and bridges built, etc.
I just wish you could modify and expand the boats!
Airships: Conquer the Skies - a great little 2D airship builder and combat game
Songs of Syx - a fun city builder even if combat is largely unfinished still
Yeah, building in Valheim is mad fun. Adding meaning and difficulty to the acquisition of resources made it so much more satisfying to make things.
Not posted here yet: Hades. Though, all of Supergiant’s games are worth playing.
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I’m not sure what the cutoff is for indie these days, but I think the Ori games are perfect.
Hades, though I don’t know if it’s a must-play for everyone. I like it a lot and is probably my most-played game on the Steam Deck.
