Top 10 Best Indie Games

Team Cherry's 2017 Metroidvania delivered 60+ hours of content for $15, embarrassing AAA studios charging four times as much for a quarter of the content. Its hand-drawn art, tight controls, and brutally difficult Pantheon bosses built one of gaming's most devoted fanbases.

Matt Thorson and Noel Berry's 2018 precision platformer used punishing difficulty as a metaphor for climbing out of depression and anxiety. Its assist mode proved that accessibility options and hardcore challenge can coexist without compromise.

Toby Fox's 2015 RPG subverted every genre convention by making pacifism the most rewarding path and punishing players for genocide runs across save files. Its fourth-wall-breaking narrative and iconic soundtrack launched a cultural phenomenon from a one-person project.

Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone single-handedly developed this 2016 farming sim over four years, creating a game that outsold and outscored the Harvest Moon franchise that inspired it. It has sold over 30 million copies with free content updates still coming a decade later.

Motion Twin's 2018 roguevania coined its own genre by merging Metroidvania exploration with roguelike permadeath. Its fluid combat, procedurally generated levels, and years of free post-launch content made it the gold standard for action roguelikes.

ZA/UM's 2019 RPG eliminated combat entirely and replaced it with a thought cabinet system where skills like Electrochemistry and Inland Empire argue inside the protagonist's fractured psyche. Its writing is the most literary in gaming history.

Mobius Digital's 2019 space exploration game trapped players in a 22-minute time loop and made knowledge the only form of progression. Its handcrafted solar system is one of the most ingeniously designed spaces in gaming, and it cannot be experienced twice.

Studio MDHR's 2017 run-and-gun drew every frame in the style of 1930s Fleischer cartoons, a process so labor-intensive it took seven years to complete. Its boss rush design and jazz soundtrack created one of the most visually distinctive games ever made.

Yacht Club Games' 2014 platformer nailed the NES aesthetic while delivering three free expansion campaigns that each rivaled the original in quality. Its Kickstarter success helped legitimize crowdfunding as a viable path for indie development.

Team Cherry's 2017 Metroidvania delivered 60+ hours of content for $15, embarrassing AAA studios charging four times as much for a quarter of the content. Its hand-drawn art, tight controls, and brutally difficult Pantheon bosses built one of gaming's most devoted fanbases.

Matt Thorson and Noel Berry's 2018 precision platformer used punishing difficulty as a metaphor for climbing out of depression and anxiety. Its assist mode proved that accessibility options and hardcore challenge can coexist without compromise.

Toby Fox's 2015 RPG subverted every genre convention by making pacifism the most rewarding path and punishing players for genocide runs across save files. Its fourth-wall-breaking narrative and iconic soundtrack launched a cultural phenomenon from a one-person project.

Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone single-handedly developed this 2016 farming sim over four years, creating a game that outsold and outscored the Harvest Moon franchise that inspired it. It has sold over 30 million copies with free content updates still coming a decade later.

Motion Twin's 2018 roguevania coined its own genre by merging Metroidvania exploration with roguelike permadeath. Its fluid combat, procedurally generated levels, and years of free post-launch content made it the gold standard for action roguelikes.

ZA/UM's 2019 RPG eliminated combat entirely and replaced it with a thought cabinet system where skills like Electrochemistry and Inland Empire argue inside the protagonist's fractured psyche. Its writing is the most literary in gaming history.

Mobius Digital's 2019 space exploration game trapped players in a 22-minute time loop and made knowledge the only form of progression. Its handcrafted solar system is one of the most ingeniously designed spaces in gaming, and it cannot be experienced twice.

Studio MDHR's 2017 run-and-gun drew every frame in the style of 1930s Fleischer cartoons, a process so labor-intensive it took seven years to complete. Its boss rush design and jazz soundtrack created one of the most visually distinctive games ever made.

Yacht Club Games' 2014 platformer nailed the NES aesthetic while delivering three free expansion campaigns that each rivaled the original in quality. Its Kickstarter success helped legitimize crowdfunding as a viable path for indie development.