Given the swathes of posts about bad behavior from big companies, I figure we could counterbalance that with some positivity about stuff the smaller guys made that often costs us less too.
Celeste or Hades
What is your favorite indie game?
Submitted 14 hours ago by Elevator7009@lemmy.zip to games@lemmy.world
Comments
LandedGentry@lemmy.zip 11 hours ago
Flagstaff@programming.dev 11 hours ago
Slice & Dice is the best dice-building roguelite ever and has a free demo that is only content-limited and allows you to already play an infinite amount of runs. I literally played the demo as much as a paid game for a month until I bit down—so hard that, once, when I had my phone in hand and intended to take a shower, I ended up crouching on the bathroom floor furthering a run for an hour before finally pausing to return to the real world.
Clone Drone in the Danger Zone offers awesome online co-op. Noita’s world is just endless (people are still discovering new spell permutations years later). I will never turn down someone’s offer or request to watch a run of FTL: Faster Than Light.
The AAA world is not impressive to me at all, and if anything gets deprioritized in my book; graphics or a third-person view do not a fantastic game make.
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Not just my favorite indie game, Skullgirls is my favorite game. That game is 13 years old, and there are still killer strategies that no one has even found yet, due to how flexible defense and team synergies are.
Vagante is probably my favorite roguelike, trailed closely by Streets of Rogue. As a bonus, both are playable in online and local co-op.
Sadly, the team behind Cannon Brawl never got to make another game together after making one of the best RTS games I’ve ever played, but to be fair, it wasn’t exactly super similar to the likes of C&C and StarCraft. Tooth and Tail is another great indie RTS game that I felt could be a future for the genre, but it didn’t really take off either.
There are also a handful of indie games that I’ve played that very few have. The Masterplan is just shy of being the perfect heist game, including a bunch of mechanics built around holding people at gunpoint. Mind Over Magnet is a clever magnetic platformer that deserved more attention. And most recently, I finally gave up hope that Cloak and Dasher, a fast paced platformer like Super Meat Boy or N++, will ever get another update and leave early access, but what’s there, while kind of thin, is pretty great.
Flagstaff@programming.dev 11 hours ago
Vagante’s negative reviews criticize its too-numerous insta-death traps. What would your reply be to that?
ampersandrew@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
I would say it’s a game that requires you to play tactically rather than rushing through it. Especially early game, the traps are very reminiscent of Spelunky, and it’s clear where a lot of their inspiration came from, but Vagante gives you even more mechanics to deal with traps, like magic rings that let you go through walls and floors, for instance, but you won’t necessarily find them every run. Noita has caught my attention here and there, but I just never made time to try it.
thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 9 hours ago
Vampire Survivors
It might be because I was actually early aboard the hype train for this one; but this onejust scratched that “one more go” itch until 2am.
Enter the Gungeon
Randomly came across this via a YouTube short, and the art-style just meshed with me. Absolutely love the messy bullet-hell quick-play genre in general… Hades being another great example of this.
nawa@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
Sayonara Wild Hearts is a magical experience that can’t be described honestly. On difficult stages, it engages all your senses and you’re just 100% inside, enthralled by the visuals, music and rhythm. This is probably the most focused and most precise game ever, everything it has, works. It’s not just my favorite indie game, it’s one of my favorite games ever.
Also, Night in the Woods and Keep Driving. Both resonated with me emotionally in a lot of ways, touching the things I care about. Keep Driving also has a really fun gameplay loop and an incredible music selection (which works as a boost for that emotional factor).
Aielman15@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
whostosay@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
I can’t say it’s my favorite, but after checking out all of these games, I’m just gonna post one I think all you guys would love.
NOITA
bizarroland@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Cave Story, the original 2004 version.
I played it a long time ago and I still think about that game from time to time.
Flagstaff@programming.dev 11 hours ago
Cave Story is undoubtedly the greatest Metroidvania made to date of which I know.
Broadfern@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Slime Rancher, though most of my library is indie so I could list like ten others.
I won’t list out the “big” famous ones since those get covered anyway (Stardew, Undertale etc.)
There are plenty I love that have a little less polish but charm their way through, like Calico and Yonder. I also just played through Tunic and quite enjoyed it.
A solid indie publisher is Reddeer games - about half my switch titles are by them. Finji is another.
async_amuro@lemm.ee 13 hours ago
Brotato
Nalivai@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Judging by the playtime, Rimworld. It is such an important part of my life at this point, it’s not even funny. I’ve played thousands of hours, and don’t regret it
stm@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 hours ago
super meat boy
mesamunefire@piefed.social 14 hours ago
It's probably between stardew valley, rivals of aether, or cheaper world.
There's also a number that are almost perfect like wargroove, peglin, and kingdom rush.
whostosay@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
Rivals was such a fun/approachable platform fighter. Still is
MyDarkestTimeline01@ani.social 14 hours ago
Cult of the Lamb.
Elevator7009@lemmy.zip 14 hours ago
Most of what I play is indie and choosing a favorite is too hard, so instead I’ll go with biggest playtime. Antimatter Dimensions, also on Steam, has quickly shot to having the highest playtime of my Steam library. It is an idle/incremental game.
Not counting that, I’d probably have to go with Stardew Valley.
Flagstaff@programming.dev 11 hours ago
free in the browser without IAPs
Like what else?
Elevator7009@lemmy.zip 10 hours ago
- Idle Formulas
- Kittens Game
- untitled shark game, if you are stuck on which one to play I recommend at least starting with the original (bottom choice)
- PokéClicker
- The Idle Class, game was probably intended as cynical political commentary on problems with capitalism, but my oversensitive “dammit yes I agree with you but I want to enjoy a game without dooming about the world” self was able to play just fine without getting sad or angry or hopeless
- Swarm Simulator
Lots more I cannot remember off the top of my head
edgemaster72@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
I guess either Shovel Knight or Hades
RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
NaissancE
Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 1 hour ago
That game is something else. Music by Pauline Oliveros is half of the game’s magic.
FRYD@sh.itjust.works 8 hours ago
The Binding of Isaac is already a famous title that has influenced so much of the roguelike/twin-stick-shooter genre. This game has permanently altered my taste in video games.
The game I’ve enjoyed as much as TBoI is Tiny Rogues. It’s much smaller, but still fantastic with rich build variety while never losing the need for skill and good reactions.
Stolen Realm is a turn-based tactical RPG that takes place in procedurally generated dungeons that play like little roguelike runs with overarching character progression. It’s multiplayer, but you can also just control up to six characters on your own too. It does eventually feel pretty repetitive and there are point that seem impossible to win, but it’s a unique game where you continually build that roguelike power fantasy and just progressively become power to the point of it becoming game breaking.
Going Under is an adorable roguelite where you fight through various levels themed around a blend of corporate stereotypes and fantasy creatures like a crypto company run by skeletons or a delivery company run by goblins. The combat is a vaguely souls-like with an emphasis on weight and timing, but your weapons are office items found in each room with that break down very quickly.
Webbed is a cute puzzle/platformer where you play as a little spider on a quest to save your spider boyfriend. The main gimmick is that you can shoot webs to create platforms, pull things, attach things to each other and more. It’s a short and sweet game that’s still decently challenging. It’s the only non-roguelike indie I recommend and it’s that good that I love it despite it being in a genre I rarely play and almost never finish.
Omegamanthethird@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Rogue Legacy
viking@infosec.pub 14 hours ago
Tactical Breach Wizards
Nalivai@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
The whole defenestration trilogy is amazing
viking@infosec.pub 10 hours ago
Yep, agree. Heat Signature was also fun, but getting rather repetitive.
Carnelian@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Crosscode for sure! They have a new game in the works as well, it looks like it will be just as good. Great time to get into it
Flagstaff@programming.dev 11 hours ago
I really hope the sequel does more with dungeons than just ricochet/geometry puzzles. CrossCode’s incessant use of those in dungeon after dungeon was what made me stop playing.
Carnelian@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Not a sequel, just their next game! Combat and UI look similar so far. They’re doing dev streams on their discord
I thought crosscode had the best puzzles haha. The way they built it out with the elemental system, the enemies that required puzzle mechanics you had learned, the tight timing where you had to send a ball flying and then race it to various objectives, the myriad of subtle environmental puzzles in the overworld. Could go on and on, but yeah the VRP is the game’s central mechanic so if you simply don’t enjoy lining up your shots then I imagine the game would be pretty rough lol
jqubed@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
I haven’t seen it mentioned and feel like it should count, since it really just had a solo programmer working with a graphic designer and musician, but RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 took a big chunk of my gaming time.
proceduralnightshade@lemmy.ml 9 hours ago
Clonk Endevour is not my favorite game, but I played it a lot with friends when I was younger. You can play with 2 or even more people, with just a monitor and a keyboard! Also it’s so old it should run on any potato.
Stache_@lemmy.ml 9 hours ago
I remember playing an RPG back in the day called “Dink Smallwood” on my old Macintosh laptop, it was one of the few games that were Mac compatible. Really funny and self aware dialogue, pretty great! I found out there’s an app version of it for mobile
anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz 9 hours ago
Available for PC too: www.gog.com/en/game/dink_smallwood_hd
Altrex@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Most of my picks have been mentioned already, but I had a blast with Mullet Madjack. A tongue in cheek riff on 80s anime in a boomer shooter where you have 10 seconds to live, but each enemy kill gives you 2 more seconds of life.
Katana314@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Another Crab’s Treasure.
Oh, haha, a souls game but with crabs, funny parody haha!
Except, no, while it does seem like it would be compared to SpongeBob humor, and it does self censor “shit” to “ship”, the themes of the story go well beyond just “Crab must find his stolen shell!
It takes time to ramp up but in some ways it feels like a better-written game than most Soulslikes (to me, that’s not a high bar given the way many of them wrap their lore in many layers of obfuscation that you don’t get to enjoy in the moment)
Watching speedruns and trying NG+ is also a lot of fun.
yamper@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
i love its anticapitalist take on ocean pollution. unironically smart stuff
hal_5700X@sh.itjust.works 9 hours ago
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. If that doesn’t count. Will…HoloCure or Noita.
B0NK3RS@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Live for Speed
I’ve been playing it on and off for over 20 years now with some definite highs and lows but I have nothing but respect for the devs and community. It’s not on any store fronts and they just do their own thing.
SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 11 hours ago
I really like Isle Wars and Scorched Earth
orenj@lemmy.sdf.org 9 hours ago
Pyre is my all time favorite, it’s the only game i’ve ever platinumed and still kept playing to see a few more permutations. But by terms of sheer hours put in? Rimworld.