gaming Favorite Indie Games

[Soundgarden 2,757]

I've been enjoying indiegames like FTL, Hotline Miami and The Binding of Isaac lately, so I wonder if you know any really good indiegames? Any favorites?

Edited April 10, 2013 by Artemis
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[Bohtty 1,775]

Minecraft, S&S, Cave Story, Amnesia, Bastion, Legend of Grimrock, LIMBO, Super Meat Boy, etc.

 

I highly recommend Cave Story. It's the best on that list.

[Kamarat 103]

There is an indie game called "Depth" which I found quite interesting. But I'm not sure if it can be completed. It is not dead but also not completed or continuing. It is about sharks and divers, pretty gory game.

Also there was an indie horror game called Ib. It is cool too.

Amnesia is awesome and also minecraft too like Bohtty said.

[Ron Jeremy 2,032]

These days "Indie" is a very loose term for games. For cryin' out loud, Bastion is called "indie" and it was published by Warner Bros. Indie doesn't mean anything anymore. /end microrant

 

Anyways, Cave Story, The Binding of Isaac, Super Meat Boy, LIMBO, Trine 1 and 2 would be on my list. Like Bohtty, I'd have to emphasize Cave Story due to its excellent gameplay.

 

The Binding of Isaac, as I always say, is an excellent game. Gameplay, replay value, all that. Super Meat Boy is a good, balls-to-the-wall challenge, which is rare in this age of coddled auto-aim-magical-hide-behind-cover-healing-fairy gamers. LIMBO shows you that a lot can be conveyed artistically even in black and white (Insert joke about FPSes with glossy sepia-tone men here), having great atmosphere and saying a lot despite the fact not a single word is spoken.

 

Trine 1 and 2 are on my list because they're physics-based platformers, and have some of the prettiest scenery out there, with good gameplay to back it.

 

And Cave Story... possibly the granddaddy of what people consider the modern indie game. No business suits published it, wasn't made by an "indie" 30-man team, didn't have tie-in promos with a AAA shooter. Just a Metroidvania-ish-styled shooter combining elements from many great retro games, with tons of different ways to play the game each time. Different weapons, endings, etc.

[jackleapp81 456]

I own all of those games! I just got a Microsoft wireless receiver for my computer too, so I can play The Binding of Isaac and Hotline Miami with my Xbox controller, which feels a lot better than using the keyboard. Not FTL though, I don't think it supports xbox controls.

 

As for my favorite indie games, Hotline Miami is pretty high up on the list. I also really enjoy the Amnesia and Penumbra series (made by the same dev).  But my favorite one of all would have to be an indie horror game called 'The Path'. It's the story of Red Riding Hood with a philosophical twist. You start off by picking from 6 different representations of little red riding hood. Each one is a different age, the youngest being 10 or so, while the oldest is 26. Depending on their age, different cut-scenes will trigger in certain areas of the world map which represent the internal struggles of red riding hood at each point in her life.

 

When the game starts out, the game flashes a message on the screen:

 

"Go to Grandmother's house. Stay on the Path."

 

Going to grandmother's house is how you beat the game, but if you choose to stay on the path (which is quite serene and beautiful), when you reach grandmother's house, the inside of the house will be dark, ominous, and absolutely horrifying (think lots of red and black colors, disturbing sounds here and there, etc.)

 

If you choose to stray from the Path, red riding hood will discover things about herself in the forest where various objects and locations are scattered about that have significance to each character. But exploring the forest is not without consequences. The closer red Riding Hood gets to spiritual enlightenment, the more likely it is for her to run into the only enemy in the game. The wolf. It's a bit like the Slenderman concept come to think of it. This is where it gets weird, because there's a lot of debate on whether or not the wolf is "bad" in the traditional sense. Sure, his appearance signals the end of the game, but the wolf's behavior towards red riding hood is...odd. As you can probably tell by now, this game is unique in that in can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. It also has quite a bizzare array of descriptive factors: beautiful, serene, horrifying, strange, unsettling, peaceful, and mysterious all come to mind.

 

Sorry if my description is a bit confusing, but the game's concept is very difficult to describe. It must be played to be fully appreciated.

[Soundgarden 2,757]

Yea, enjoyed LIMBO and Super Meat Boy (Even though SMB drived me insane). Definitely gonna check The Cave and also The Path, sounds interesting

[Champion RD92 8,654]

LIMBO is an absolutely fricking incredible game. It was extremely fun and also quite challenging at times. The art design was also very unique and amazing.

[Pokota 28]

As far as indie games go, I'm not that big on it. I play Cave Story, Immortal Defense and Audiosurf, and the occasional fangame of something or other.

 

Having said that, most of your shareware and freeware from the 1990s probably counts as indie games now, so all those two- or three-man operations that made one really good shareware game probably count as indie developers now.

[ReddyBear 1]

Awesomenauts is really fun. I love it. So is Bastion though I never finished it. But Bastion's soundtrack alone has brought me hours of pleasure. The small bit of Space Pirates and Zombies that I played was also good, and TotalBiscuit voices the narrator, so WIN! 

[The Milkman 186]

Bastion, Cave Story and Audiosurf.
God tier indie games, go play them now.
I find Bastion the best, because of the soundtrack, look for a song in youtube and you will see.

[Scootalove 10,684]

Blacklight Retribution, really heard a lot of good reviews about this game.

I really wish I made money to buy it for PC on Steam.

[Pony Joe 582]

It seems that I play a lot more indie games than most people on this forum.  Here are some excellent ones that haven't been mentioned yet:

 

World of Goo

This is one of my favorite games of all time.  Seriously.  On the surface, it seems like an ordinary physics puzzle game, but  fantastic variety and superb level design are complemented by some of the most funny and memorable writing I've seen outside of books. 

 

Braid

This is probably the most difficult puzzle-platformer ever conceived.  Its mechanics are nearly impossible to describe, so I'll just say that playing it requires you to completely reimagine the concept of time.  And the art style is just gorgeous.

 

Frozen Synapse

If you like strategy games, I would recommend this in a heartbeat.  If you don't, you should at least try to demo.  This is a turn-based strategy game with no grids, no army-building, and simultaneous turns, meaning you and your opponent each plan your moves out beforehand, and watch them play out at the same time.  If you tend to overthink things, I cannot imagine a better game for you.

 

Mark of the Ninja

The best example of a 2D stealth game out there.  The last 3 paragraphs have left me tired of writing praise, but rest assured that it's far deeper, more polished, and more fun than you'd expect.

[Zygen 6,065]

Hm, the only indie game that I can say I've played is Minecraft, other then that I haven't really played any others.

 

For raging purposes I have to play super meat boy sometime though . I just haven't got around to buying it.

[Betez 1,734]

I don't usually play that many Indie games. At least, not that I know of. I like to play minecraft, and I Wanna Be The Guy (This insanely hard and hilarious platform game), but other than that, I don't play many Indie games. At least not very many good ones.

[Pokota 28]

Betez: How far have you gotten in I Wanna Be The Guy? 

 

You know, now that I think about it, there's a whole host of indie games for the Official Hamster Republic Role-Playing Game Creation Engine... but most of them are about as good as you'd expect.

[Sketchi Inktip Quillwing 97]

Have you ever tried "World of Goo"?

 

It's an amazing puzzle/physics game where you use different goo balls to build structures and get to the end, where you must match a certain criteria of how many goo balls are left to advance. If you don't want to rage, don't try it.

[Blue Moon 6,336]

thomas was alone

This is an indie game I played recently, and I must say; it is amazing. It is a 2D platformer, but it actually has a narrative to it, and all the characters have unique personalities, and it tells you their thoughts, and opinions towards the other characters. Also, all the characters are quadrilaterals. Its story is very good, and you care for the characters. Also, the music is fantastic.

 

 

LIMBO

Well, this one is extremely difficult, but fun. I enjoyed the gruesome imagery, and the dark unique art style. It also has this nice vague story to it, and it's interesting to see everyone's theories on it.

[Twiliscael 3,958]

Dust: An Elysian Tail.

 

It's a sidescrollling platforming RPG completely designed and created by a single man. It's got a fairly simple combat system and story, but it's everything you could ask for. It's got some very good characters and development, as well as a combat system that never loses it's appeal. The exploration of the world is interesting enough to not even require any sort of reward for doing it besides the fact that you're out exploring this beautiful world. However, it's chock full of little rewards and surprises at every corner anyway. The highlight of the game is definitely it's art style, however. It's an entire world hand-painted and filled with unique and fuzzy little anthropomorphic creatures. Seriously, I'd recommend this game to anyone.

[QuirkyUsername 1,576]

Indie games are generally hit and miss for me....mostly miss but the one's I've enjoyed are Machinarium, Bastion, Minecraft,  Binding of Issac and Dwarfs?!

 

However the absolute best indie game i have ever played is as mentioned by Twiliscael; Dust: An Elysian Tail. Easily not only the best indie game I've ever played but one of the best games in general. If you haven't played it yet you really need to its fantastic and boy does it pull the heart strings at points