What are the best indie games you've ever played?

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Submitted ⁨⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Magik11v@ani.social⁩ to ⁨games@lemmy.world⁩

Show some love to some fantastic indie titles.

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BenLeMan@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Return of the Obra Dinn. City Game Studio. Until the Last Plane and Full Metal Sergeant (by the same dev).

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ExtraMedicated@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I feel like people must be tired of me recommending the same few games (you know, if anyone cared enough to read all my comments), but I’m the type of guy who is pretty much only interested in finding the more hidden gems, and I generally ignore the stuff that keeps showing up on the front page of Steam.

The Upturned - A cartoony horror-comedy game with a great sense of humor.

Withering Rooms - The story is interesting and the atmosphere is great.

Your Spider - This one is possibly my favorite indie horror game.

Exanima - Read about the features. This one is more impressive than the screenshots make it look (at least for me).

Lunacid - I love the visual style and atmosphere of this. I also enjoyed Lost in Vivo by the same developer.

Praey for the Gods - This one is for anyone who’s looking for more games like Shadow of the Collossus.

8Doors: Arum’s Afterlife - This is a decent metroidvania with a charming story. If you enjoyed Hollow Knight, then you may also enjoy this.
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- Ironfacebuster@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I was looking for someone recommending The Upturned, it’s great. Also made by the same guy who made Lethal Company
  
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- Skwisgaar@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  +1 for Exanima
  
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poissonDistribution@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Disco Elysium. Best writing and storytelling I’ve ever played.

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- wide_eyed_stupid@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Agreed 1000%. That game is phenomenal. It has made me laugh so hard I ended up crying, well and sometimes I was just crying. An emotional roller coaster, superb writing.
  
  My husband was playing it and I thought the game looked terrible, but he kept saying I should try it and I can’t put into words how fucking happy I am that I chose to try it. Can’t believe I almost missed out on it. Truly a masterpiece.
  
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  - poissonDistribution@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Visuals are great too. A blending of a noir movie, a psychedelic trip and an abstrac painting. A rare beast.
    
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tighthead_lock@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Off the top of my head:

Against the Storm - I find the loop of those first 30-40 minutes of city building very satisfying.

Ultimate General Series - I love the land battles, it scratches that gun powder Total War itch.

Mount & Blade Series - Playing the Viking Conquest expansion while watching or listening to the Last Kingdom (Saxon Stories) might be one of my favourite gaming memories.

Sea of Stars - Reminds me of Golden Sun. And the soundtrack is just fantastic.
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Yn37@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Cave story the og … man what a game

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Pacmanlives@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
To the Moon - gonna have my partner play it here soon so they can cry from it too

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De_Narm@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Bug Fables It’s a really well done RPG in the spirit of the original Paper Mario games. Charming and fun to play. Got some depth to the build choices using a similar badge system as Paper Mario or even Hollow Knight.

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- OftenWrong@startrek.website ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I don’t know why Nintendo won’t just give us a proper Paper Mario again. What is their problem? It’s so annoying. Bug Fables was fantastic though definitely hard agree.
  
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B0NK3RS@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Citizen Sleeper, one the the best games, not just indie.

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- SuperSynthia@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Played this on Gamepass. It had a wonderful story, and getting each unique ending was so satisfying <3.
  
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PotentialProblem@sh.itjust.works ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Since everyone’s mentioned the standards.

I’ve really enjoyed playing Tails of Iron (metroidvania with a focus on learning bosses attacks) lately. For programming games, I really liked Shenzhen IO (You create hardware with something resembling an Assembly language and a printable manual) and Human Resources Machine (drag and drop assembly programming)

I also have a soft spot for anything from Ska Studios (I maed a game with zombies in it, salt and sanctuary, salt and sacrifice, dishwasher, Charlie murder, and a bunch of older games that are probably not playable anymore)

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j4k3@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
The Oregon Trail, Pong, Myst, Doom, Worms, Transport Tycoon, Tetris…

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Pixelnugget@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Shattered pixel dungeon Many hours put into this game

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jtk@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead (ASCII mode) and Neofeud hold a special place in my heart

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Hotzilla@sopuli.xyz ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Valheim is one of the best, especially with frends

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synthllama@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Factorio, Don’t Starve Together

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CileTheSane@lemmy.ca ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Incryption

You are in a weird cabin in the middle of the woods playing a card game with your fate on the line. Some of your cards are talking to you and comment on how you play.

Then things get weird.

For those that like Inscryption, honorable mention for Hand of Fate 1 & 2

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- Weirdfish@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’m not any good at deck building games, but my girlfriend is pretty close to platinuming it on PS4 and I have to say, that game just gets weirder and weirder.
  
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- mods_are_assholes@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Daniel Mullins will be recognized as a true artist in the coming generations.
  
  Literally never have I seen such detailed, years pre-planned and perfectly delivered mind fuckery.
  
  Across ALL of his games.
  
  He’s insane in the best way.
  
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dlpkl@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Are Journey and Outer Wilds considered indie games?

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- Okami_No_Rei@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Outer Wilds certainly was. It was started as a college project and the devs stayed together to finish it after they graduated.
  
  Journey I’m not so sure. I don’t think it’s indie? If it is indie, then I’d put The Pathless up for consideration. That game finished what Journey and Abzu started, and it has some of the best feeling overworld movement of any open world exploration game I’ve ever played. Flawless.
  
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  - dlpkl@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Oh good shout, I remember being intrigued by The Pathless when it came out but never got around to trying it!
    
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cmbabul@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Stardew Valley by a wide margin, probably dumped close to 1000 hours into it overall

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Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Binding of Isaac. When it finally came out on the switch, I played it more than Breath of the Wild.

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Hadriscus@lemm.ee ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I played A Short Hike recently, and I was transported. It’s a painterly little adventure in which you walk and glide your way through an archipelago, meeting people and solving small puzzles, mostly around platforming. It’s amazingly soothing. First game my wife actually enjoys too, and she’s not into games at all.

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AllToRuleThemOne@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Hotline Miami. Would appreciate recommendations of similiar games.

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dpkonofa@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Not technically in their bedrooms but made by students - Narbacular Drop. It was the game that spawned Portal. It’s not a great game, per se, but I’ll never forget the paradigm-shifting moment I had when I realized what was happening.

Valve ended up hiring the entire team to work on Portal.

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Tolstoshev@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Spelunky. My Vita was basically a Spelunky machine.

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Aatube@kbin.melroy.org ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Orwell, the first one

Fall Guys, back before the vaulting fiasco

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ConditionOverload@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Dishonored, when it first came out.

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- Brokkr@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’m not sure Arkane and Bathesda could be considered as indie devs at the time of release. Bathesda had released Skyrim the year before.
  
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  - ConditionOverload@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    That’s true, I was just talking about Arkane.
    
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mellowheat@suppo.fi ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Undertale.

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- Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  +1 for Insurgency. It’s more “mid shelf” than “indie”, but either way it’s an absolutely superb military shooter, and one that actually does a really good job of avoiding the usual MURICA bullshit that is so endemic to the genre. Combat is portrayed as genuinely scary. The voice actors all do an amazing job of displaying fear and panic in their line reads. Even the Russian voice is very obviously masking his fear behind a veneer of machismo, which is a refreshering change from the usual image of the macho badass soldier that these games present.
  
  I also really appreciate that female characters are present, but only on the security forces, because the insurgents are clearly intended to be ISIL, and they’re not gonna whitewash how shitty those guys are to women. OTOH, the insurgents are still portrayed as (shitty) human beings who look out for each other, and react in very genuine ways to the scary situation they’re in. No one ever yells “Allah akbar” or whatever.
  
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lemba@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Battle Brothers: Battle Brothers is a turn based tactical RPG which has you leading a mercenary company in a gritty, low-power, medieval fantasy world. You decide where to go, whom to hire or to fight, what contracts to take and how to train and equip your men in a procedurally generated open world campaign. The Godfather of Squad-Management-Games!

Songs of Conquest: If you like Turn-Based-Strategy and know HoMM3, you will love this game! Songs of Conquest is a turn-based strategy game inspired by 90s classics. Lead powerful magicians called Wielders and venture to lands unknown. Wage battle against armies that dare oppose you and hunt for powerful artifacts.

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refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
OMORI is incredible. The gameplay is okay (typical JRPG stuff), the music is okay (I’ve heard better in other games), but the storytelling is some of the best in all of video games, up there with Silent Hill 2 and 3.

The Binding of Isaac is an incredibly addicting game. It’s basically rougelike 2D Zelda dungeons, and upgrades stack on top of each other. It’s the game that I have the most hours in on Steam (specifically the much better-programmed remake, Rebirth). The DLC is great as well, adding a ton of content.

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sag@lemm.ee ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
POST VOID and Brotato

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EarMaster@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Several hundred hours of Oxygen not included…

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yamanii@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Fight N Rage was my favorite beat’em up before Streets of Rage 4 released, made by mexicans I think, very stylish and manga influenced, tons of juggling and branching paths.

Valdis Story was the hollow knight of it’s generation, awesome metroidvania with great bosses and combat with good combos, but it didn’t got tiresome like castlevania mirror of fate because regular enemies weren’t health sponges, bosses were where you let loose.

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