I love this thread! I’ve been definitely shying away from AAA games towards Indies with lots of love. Here’s my contribution:
Venineth: One of the best entries in the niche “marble rolling” genre. You explore beautiful alien worlds, solving puzzles, and going very fast. Each world is incredibly unique, and has its own set of challenges to conquer. There is no dialogue and all text is in an alien language, which does an amazing job of immersing you into it’s landscapes store.steampowered.com/app/976500/Venineth/
Hypnospace Outlaw (Just above 3,000 reviews): Late 90s Internet simulator with a lot more to it than meets the eye. The game weaves a complex tale of people’s lives brought together by their community found on the Internet, and the havoc wreaked by a company in pursuit of profit above their users. The soundtrack is amazing, and I was genuinely surprised at how attached I got to the quirky Internet pages by the end. store.steampowered.com/app/…/Hypnospace_Outlaw/
Going Under: A rogue-lite adventure about unpaid intern Jackie treading through her startup’s basement to fight the monsters of former companies. The game’s tone and humor is amazing, and the “corporate marketing” art style works so well. The gameplay incorporates a lot of Breath of the Wild elements such as weapon durability, locking onto a single enemy, and throwing weapons. store.steampowered.com/app/1154810/Going_Under/
Distance is a criminally underrated racing platformer cyberpunk horror game. Worth it for the campaign alone IMO but there’s also multiplayer, a level editor with workshop support, two bonus campaigns, car customization, and a track generator.
I don’t have time to read all this just yet because I’m at work lol. But I LOVE this topic. I’ve always been so torn on indie games. Some can be awful, but others are genuinely the best thing ever.
I will have to write out a list of my favorites in a bit
Having a long commute has taught me the valve of going to bed on time. Despite having to wake up at 4am I can easily hit that 8.5 hour mark most nights, just by actually turning off electronics and such. I also sleep really well cause of it.
Before anyone comments I don’t have any children so yes I know it is easier for me but this post is for those who are on the same boat as me. You signed that right away once you had kids (which is the main reason I am waiting till I am a very good position in life to have them)
This game is an excellent example of conceptual horror and especially highlights how dehumanizing misogynistic and patriarchal attitudes can be. One thing that struck me as completely fucked was Jimmy begging for forgiveness from Curly even though his violence towards Anya caused him no guilt.
Not just that, but Anya is completely absent from any of Jimmy’s delusions - save from the disfigured womb creature. Curly, Daisuke, and even Swansea all appear, but Anya is not displayed even in the wall of company IDs that accompany Jimmy in one of his visions.
There is not point where he even considers her as a person.
To help give love to some games I think are underrated, here’s a list of my favorite games with 4,000 reviews or less on steam under $25 ranked by my personal play time.
Post apocalyptic survival sim, that reminds me a tiny bit of Oregon Trail. There’s a good chance a scratch will kill you, and finding a plastic bag so you can carry more than what you hold in your two hands makes you feel OP. I’ve put 74 hours into this game, have died and restarted countless times, and have hardly gotten anywhere in it, but it’s exactly my kind of survival game
Turn-based grid combat reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics, with just a splash of pokemon. The mechanics and setting I found really fun, although the difficulty can fluctuate a good bit at times.
If OG XCOM went more crunchy than streamlined, it’d be Xenonauts instead of Firaxis’s Enemy Unknown. The combat gives you a ton of control during combat, specifying how much time they should spend aiming before shooting, specific hours of overwatch, crouching, etc.
Roguelike turn based party RPG. It doesn’t do a crazy amount that’s new or novel, but it executes very well, and lining up a good combo with your build feels amazing.
Slay the Spire with some smart additions. Instead of one hero, you play two, which gives some extra possibilities to mix and match between runs. Instead of an overmap with a couple branching paths, there’s a hex overworld where you can use resources to reveal tiles.
Avatar the Last Airbender as a 2d stealth action game. The level layouts are great, and the ability upgrades strike a good balance between being impactful and not trivializing encounters.
A classic point and click adventure, except using human logic instead of insane Game Logic. Reminds me of a bunch of similar games I played at the height of Newgrounds. It’s a tight, solid experience that doesn’t over stay its welcome.
What if Slay the Spire had a hex grid system? I’ve seen other games ask this question, but Alina is the best I’ve played. There are some really clever design decisions they’ve made where certain builds very intuitively form some classic archetypes.
Roguelike XCOM themed as a crystalpunk version of Vermintide. Combat is solid, but the theme of running to the exit while shooting rats on the way with crystal powered machine guns sets it apart for me.
This one breaks my “4,000 or less” review rule by a little bit, so I’m putting it at the bottom, but it is one of my favorite games. I understand the love for Obra Dinn, but Golden Idol is better in my opinion. Each puzzle is a scene more or less frozen in time, which you can click on things for clues as what’s happening. What sets it apart is how you really do need to solve the mystery to progress; the game doesn’t walk you into it nor really lets you brute force it. Hands down the best mystery game I’ve ever played.
Case of the Golden Idol is a must have, I avoided sharing in my OP due to being fairly well known, but if someone also shares it then I have no choice! :D
I am playing Geneforge 1: Mutagen right now. You are a wizard that csn shape monsters into life to fight for you. Very oldschool-ish isometric rpg. It’s a lot of fun and very indie.
SpiderWeb games are really good! I’m particularly fond of Queen’s Wish where you deal with political factions and base building while attempting to reclaim (or liberate) an abandoned colony.
They look like they’d be bullshit hard games, but they tend to be actually quite smooth and well made, while still being simplistic
I have played some of the Avernum games. In my opinion it’s peak Jeff Vogel. If you’re fine with the graphics, you’re in for excellent writing, nicely done non linear exploration and original world building.
You’re welcome! Its a genuine gem, not just from a horror standpoint but also as a creative story in general. Playing, even knowing spoilers, would still be advised because the game does some very interesting tricks with the way it presents the narrative.
I’m still waiting for Steam to export my numerous reviews, then it’d be much easier to list a few great titles. But navigating through the Steam profile review pages is not viable with 10 per page for 477. I have one particular in mind I remember having praised a lot many years ago.
Rainworld - A beautiful, brutal survival platformer. This has become my favorite game. The game tells you almost nothing, and just tosses you into a world where all creatures are fighting each other to survive another cycle.
cdn.imgchest.com
Ważne