Unmissable Indie Games

2ndcoming

Indie games have been some of the best released over the past five to ten years, titles like Papers Please, Super Meat Boy, Hotline Miami and VVVVV were hugely successful and restored some of the fun to gaming away from the super studios' annual updates of their monster franchises. They can usually be picked up for a lot less than their AAA cousins also.

So what indie gems have you come across that you think should be in every Steam library? Can be brand new or not, whatever you like.

I'll get the ball rolling...

Mental, simple, but highly addictive 2 player stabfest. Pair it with a few of your favourite beers for maximum effect.

phily2002

popular one but Limbo is brilliant, AVGN is good fun. Another one I play a lot(on vita but pretty sure it's on pc) is chasing the sun

Army_of_One

Mark of the Ninja was excellent along with the legend of Grimlock 1+2

EDIT:also Grim Dawn is brilliant if you like arpg's

Mr.Saturn

I think the Binding of Isaac (well, Rebirth by default. As it's a whole game) just succeeds on so many levels. It's got an interesting lore, vibe and aesthetic to hook you. Then it turns and hits you with its difficulty and "ah sure, one more go" and then you finally realize how much depth and customization and whatnot goes on underneath it. Then it's 50000000 hours later and you're wondering what you did with your life.

Digital Solitude

Mark of The Ninja and Legend of Grimrock are great!

My own recommendations are
Antichamber, an unusual FPS puzzler

Salt and Sanctuary, basically 2D Dark Souls

Furi, no idea how to describe Furi

Shiminay

Gotta give a shout to Minecraft even though it's no longer really an indie title since MS bought it.

Prison Architect is great fun and I've really enjoyed Stardew Valley too.

Vojera

I loved Mark of the Ninja too. Fantastic game. Must play it again.

Bastion is up there for me too. Great story and music, and the ability to customise the fighting with handicaps and rewards was great. Added a lot of longevity.

Edit: also, Dust: An Elysian Tale was great. Enjoyed the game play a tonne and the story surprised me. Another one to replay.

Patser

FTL — pretty much a strategy essential, subtly complex space strategy.

This War of Mine - depressing survival game of civilians in a war zone. One of those where your choices have an impact on the game but also your own feelings.

This is the Police - another depressing game, but with great arcing story line and multiple endings. The day to day routine is good for a while but becomes samey

VinLieger

Hotline Miami, sequel is good but the original is the best
Ori and the blind forest

Agree with others above about FTL and Mark of the Ninja

My new love that just came out last week is Heat Signature, kinda like Hotline Miami combat meets Monaco's heist's with an FTL style setting.

ShadowHearth

A few from my perspective:

Factorio - one of the best if not best games if you in to managment and building empire. Which starts like minecraft and ends up as massive automated factory, which makes you redundant. Fantastic and must play.

Prison architect - another managment game. Great style, cool setting and early acess done right.

Papers please - do I even have to say anything?

Rogues legacy - mini 2D dark souls with cute art style and can get very challenging.

gizmo

Thomas Was Alone - Not as mechanically complex as some other games listed but still an absolute joy to play today.

Fez - I was looking forward to this for years and it definitely didn't disappoint on release. Absolutely fantastic little puzzle platformer with a fantastic central mechanic.

CruelCoin

My current Favourite - Holdfast. Be a musketman. **** yourself laughing at the roleplaying.

Astroneer - Cute art style. Gather resources, Build a base.
Besiege - Build machines to drive around, fly, blow stuff up. Look for videos on the game by "Draegast" on youtube.
Blackwake - Run around a 1600's ship, load guns, repair leaks. Laugh at the over the top roleplay
The Escapists - Escape from prison
The Forest - Island full of cannibals. Gather resources, survive. BEST......GRAPHICS......EVAR.
Factorio - Indulge your OCD, build a machine industrial machine
Next Car Game Wreckfest - Destruction derby style racing. Amazing physics. Stunning Graphics.
Oxygen Not Included - Build a base underground. You WILL lose. Question is how long can you hold out for?
Paint the Town Red - Beat people up. Go "hory shet" when you take clumps out of someone skull with a pool cue. Gory as ****.
Rust - The Best of all the millions of Sandbox survival games.
Screeps - Kind of like command and conquer, except you control your stuff with programming code. The better your code, the bigger your empire, etc. CPU limits imposed by the game enforce efficient coding.
Unturned - Zombie survival open world.
Project Zomboid - Zombie survival. **** yourself when your character hears something go "thud" downstairs at nightime
Town of Salem - Collective paranoia meets cluedo

Digital Solitude

CruelCoin wrote: »

Town of Salem - Collective paranoia meets cluedo

Cheap plug, we play a game very similar to ToS here


http://touch.boards.ie/forum/1763

jaxxx

Prison Architect, one of if not THE best game to come from early access ever.

Another indie I've spent many an hour over is Banished. A very simple medieval city building game. No combat, the only dangers are the elements and basic food/warmth. But it's a really nice looking game, has some decent mods and it was created by a single person, excluding the sounds.

Speaking of city building, there's a game on the horizon (forget the name) that lets you build your city throughout the ages. Starting off with a tents, etc and progressing through time and technology. Looks absolutely amazing. Not sure if it's indie but certainly worth a lookout.

Edit: The name of of the game is "Ancient Cities", just found it when scrolling through my youtube favourite vids.

Mr.Saturn

Undertale. The non-stop hype for it might be tiring, but I'd very much consider it unmissable. It does a whole lot with a little and not just on that slightly patronizing "excellent......for an indie game" level.

Cave Story is also worth a mention. If you're ever wondering why every second prestige indie is a metroidvania, I feel you're looking at this guy as to why. It sort of set off a spark with indie devs, I feel.

2ndcoming

gizmo wrote: »

Thomas Was Alone - Not as mechanically complex as some other games listed but still an absolute joy to play today.

Fez - I was looking forward to this for years and it definitely didn't disappoint on release. Absolutely fantastic little puzzle platformer with a fantastic central mechanic.

Picked up Fez last night for a few quid and put a few hours into it. Love it so far. One I always meant to but never got around to playing.

2ndcoming

Mr.Saturn wrote: »

Undertale. The non-stop hype for it might be tiring, but I'd very much consider it unmissable. It does a whole lot with a little and not just on that slightly patronizing "excellent......for an indie game" level.

Cave Story is also worth a mention. If you're ever wondering why every second prestige indie is a metroidvania, I feel you're looking at this guy as to why. It sort of set off a spark with indie devs, I feel.

A true indie classic and definitely unmissable. A love letter to Super Metroid with great story and level design.

Vojera

2ndcoming wrote: »

A true indie classic and definitely unmissable. A love letter to Super Metroid with great story and level design.

And a final boss that is kicking my arse no matter how hard I try :mad:
Love the game, though. Must give it another go. Maybe this time!

2ndcoming

Vojera wrote: »

And a final boss that is kicking my arse no matter how hard I try :mad:
Love the game, though. Must give it another go. Maybe this time!

Only got past herself a couple of times and by then I was so weakened I didn't stand a chance. Rock hard ending alright!

Mr.Saturn

2ndcoming wrote: »

Only got past herself a couple of times and by then I was so weakened I didn't stand a chance. Rock hard ending alright!

Recall it's still a marathon even on the easier difficulties too. Game kinda makes you regret not flying off and taking the bad ending offered before you ascent to the end game. Soundtrack's an absolute whopper too.

ShadowHearth

Was Darkest dungeon mentioned already? Thats another one to add to the list. Can make you burst a testicle though. So if you got any anger issues, then its better to be skiped.

Kerbal space program supposed to be great. I got it a while ago, but didn't gave it a spin yet.

Killing floor 2 is fantastic. When it comes to gun feel it blows triple A stuff out of the water.

CruelCoin

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Kerbal space program supposed to be great. I got it a while ago, but didn't gave it a spin yet.

It's great, really very good.

Shiminay

All I can say is thank the gods for Scott Manly or I'd never have gotten any sort of big rocket off the launchpad in KSP.

Sephiroth_dude

Not sure if you would call it an indie game or not but ruiner is well worth a punt!

bigphil2

picked up Shovel Knight in a sale earlier in the year.. its pretty much essential if you played platformers in the 80's or anytime really..

Patser

Playing a new one, fairly addictive if a little too intense at times

Bomber Crew

Ignore the cutesy graphics, it's pretty much FTL on a Lancaster bomber with no fecking pause button. So ordering crew about, managing and prioritising tasks and perma death when it all goes wrong.

CruelCoin

Patser wrote: »

Playing a new one, fairly addictive if a little too intense at times

Bomber Crew

Ignore the cutesy graphics, it's pretty much FTL on a Lancaster bomber with no fecking pause button. So ordering crew about, managing and prioritising tasks and perma death when it all goes wrong.

Is it as chaotic as FTL when the **** hits the fan? because i love that

Patser

CruelCoin wrote: »

Is it as chaotic as FTL when the **** hits the fan? because i love that

Even worse due to no pause button and slightly overlapping crew positions - so yes when you've an engine on fire, me109s everywhere and some wounded crew - but you're on a bombing run and really have to concentrate on that position, yes, yes it's chaotic

SeantheMan

bigphil2 wrote: »

picked up Shovel Knight in a sale earlier in the year.. its pretty much essential if you played platformers in the 80's or anytime really..

Best indie game ever !