When it comes to value-based gaming, nothing compares to the indie scene. These hard-working devs sometimes spend countless years toiling away on their dream project, then sell it for $19.99 on Steam. Sometimes less! And you know what, they’re usually quite fun. Just look at some of these indie games, and you’ll find a handful you can play for tens of hours in your spare time. Here are the ten best indie games everyone should play once!
Best Indie Games We Can’t Recommend Enough
If you’re not a graphics snob and don’t mind pixel or out-there aesthetics, then the indie gaming scene has much to offer. Here are a few you should pick up on the next Steam Sale!
Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lamb features such a thrilling and borderline addicting gameplay loop. You’ll spend short bursts in the various dungeons, known as Crusades, before returning with critical resources to build your base. Here, your Followers will workshop you, providing Devotion and Loyalty, and you may recite Sermons, chop trees, mine stones, scoop poop, plant berries, and decorate to your heart’s content.
You can spend 20+ hours on a single playthrough, but then you’ll likely want to start a second to test out different weapons, find new Follower Forms, and choose to live a life of Sin instead of Faith.
Dredge
A handful of titles over the years have completely blown me away, and they remain staples in my library or on my Steam Deck to this day, and one of them is Dredge. It’s an impressive indie game with a lot of depth, lore, and satisfying gameplay mechanics that, despite being relatively short, keeps me returning for yet another playthrough.
In Dredge, you’ll take command of a down-and-out fishing trawler as the local fisherman, feeding a colony of people and satisfying their desires for mutated sea life and mysterious books. It’s very Eldritch, with spooky, scary monsters lurking beneath the surface and blight creeping into your cargo hold for a quick visit.
Stardew Valley
After countless years spent toiling away on a virtual farm across the Harvest Moon franchise, I hung up my straw hat and ignored most farming sims. That is until Stardew Valley. On day one of its release, I happily planted parsnips and met the townsfolk. Back then, it was a pure nostalgia trip. But these days, Pelican Town feels more like an old stomping ground, a place where I can kick back and relax after a long week.
In Stardew Valley, you’ll manage an old farmstead left behind by your grandfather. It’s run down and in dire need of maintenance. You’ll chop down trees, mine stones, plant crops, tend to animals, become friends with the townspeople, and eventually fall in love and marry one of them. After many hundreds of hours spent in the game, I’ll happily return for another playthrough the moment my wife asks.
Sea of Stars
Is there anything as nostalgic or relaxing as an old-school, turn-based RPG? Sea of Stars is a love letter to the genre, telling the tale of two Children of the Solstice as they utilize the power of the Sun and Moon to fight evil across the land. It’s an iconic tale that many fans dove headfirst into with gusto.
Despite its old-school aesthetic, Sea of Stars offers a lot of room regarding movement, combos, and storytelling. You can climb, vault, and jump off ledges to traverse the world alongside a small party of unique characters, each with their dialogue and stories to tell.
Return of the Obra Dinn
I love a good “lost at sea” mystery, but I fully understand if you can’t look past the graphical style of Return of the Obra Dinn. It’s odd. If you can, well, you’re in for an exciting ride focused on mystery and exploration as an abandoned ship drifts into port without torn sails and a missing crew. You play an insurance investigator for the East India Company, looking to board the vessel and assess the situation. That’s easier said than done, of course.
It’s a slow-burn style indie game and relatively short; you can finish the entire story in under 10 hours, and, as such, I typically recommend scoring it on sale unless you genuinely want to support the developer and buy the game at full price.
Undertale
By now, chances are that you’ve heard of Undertale. It took the internet by storm, garnering hundreds of thousands of reviews, and became a cult hit on social media for its whacky gameplay and storytelling.
Unlike most other RPGs, Undertale does not ask you to beat up anyone. You can finish the entire game without partaking in combat, oddly enough. You can befriend the game’s various boss enemies, data a skeleton, interact with dogs, negotiate your way out of trouble, and play in a pile of leaves…if that’s your thing. It’s an odd and memorable adventure that you’ll want to play through multiple times to see and do everything.
Valheim
If you’re the type who enjoys freedom as a core gameplay mechanic, then Valheim should scratch more than one itch for you. It’s an indie third-person survival, crafting, and building game that places you in the leather boots of a Viking sent to purgatory. You must build a base, don your armor and axe, and take down various bosses to win Odin’s favor.
It’s rare to find someone who has yet to hear about or play Valheim, as everyone seems to own the game. But if you don’t and have a few friends who want to join you on this journey, it’s the perfect game to no-life for a week or two with a competent party of adventurers. That said, the game is still in Early Access and receives regular bug fixes and content updates to expand its world and gameplay.
Vampire Survivors
There is something addicting in the simplicity of Vampire Survivors. Besides moving your character through the level, you don’t interact with much else in the game. Sure, you’ll acquire various power-ups and passive buffs to help you take down foes. Still, it’s the simple act of becoming so powerful that tens of thousands of enemies fall by the wayside as you crush them beneath your magical abilities.
You’ll start slow and weak, taking down a few hundred enemies before becoming overwhelmed by a massive wave. But as you progress and grow, your abilities deal additional damage, you move faster and heal passively. Then, you’ll wipe the floor with many thousands of monsters as you unlock new achievements, heroes, and abilities with every run. Before you know it, two hours have passed.
Limbo
I’m not usually a fan of the side-scrolling platformer, which is so common in the indie scene, but Limbo drew me in and refused to let go for the entire duration of its story. And speaking of story, it’s short. If you’re committed, you can finish one of the best indie games in a single setting, with just under four hours of content available in a single run.
But length aside, Limbo is heartwrenching. It’s the tale of a young boy who ventures into limbo searching for his sister and discovers a world of creepy darkness and terrifying beings who want nothing more than to harm him. You must run, jump, clamber over obstacles, and keep ahead of the looming evil within the realm. Despite playing as a child, it’s a tense experience.
Cocoon
Of all the best indie games we’ve mentioned here, Cocoon is the one I have the least amount of time in. It’s not because the game is terrible. It wouldn’t be listed here if it was. But it’s one of the more recent indie releases, launching in September of 2023, which was a chaotic period for new video games.
Still, Cocoon is every bit worthy of your time. It’s a short puzzle-centric adventure game in which you traverse varying worlds to interact with alien technology and environments to uncover a connection. Each world hosts a guardian, a mighty boss-type enemy that culminates in a challenging battle of wits and determination.