Thanks to Xbox Live on Xbox 360 and PSN on PS3, indie games started to become more popular outside of the PC market in the late 2000s. They sell better and each console has some killer exclusives. Over time, indie games kind of overtook the AAA experience and helped fill the year with console game releases.
10 indie games that redefined gaming
Indie games often have more freedom to push the boundaries and explore possibilities, and the gaming medium has evolved because of them.
It was a win-win for everyone, and some indie games were even so successful that they created or popularized genres. Which were among the many indie games that have come out over the last decade or so the most original at the time, or are they still original today? For anyone who loves indie games, these are all worth a play. They will be ranked according to how original the games are.
10
All
Space Life Sim
All it's not so much a game as a surreal experience. The big trick is that everything in the game is playable, from an amoeba in the water to an animal like a cat. Players can move between objects or creatures as they explore without being guided by objectives or plot.
Also, the physics are not completely accurate in the real world, which makes the game fun no matter what happens. For example, watching a wild herd of deer practically somersault over itself is worth the entrance fee alone.
9
Shark tab
Cheaters ARE winners
Shark tab rewards players for being good cheaters in card games. Players will be recruited into a grifter's traveling carriage where each chapter contains a different set of rules on how to trick the privileged at cards.
For example, players can be a signaler and help their mentor by pouring wine or polishing the table in a certain way. As a gambler, players will then learn various tricks to count cards or play with advantages such as shuffling with bent corners, all useful techniques used by real grifts in the past.
8
Rogue Legacy
Family business
Rogue Legacy is another roguelite and one of the first to have a satisfying reward system. Players can go into dungeons to find blueprints (which they can use to craft new gear at home), abilities like the dash that can help them get to new areas, and loads of gold. After death, players must spend as much gold as they can get home to rebuild their family castle, which serves as a permanent upgrade tree.
The wildest thing is that once players die with their hero, that's it for them. On the next run, they will have to choose a new line in the family tree to play as, all afflicted with some disease or superpower. Getting wings to fly is a positive, but walking on the ceiling is more of a negative effect, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
7
What Golf
Everything Is A Ball
Golf games seem to be the most enticing sport for designers to use to twist the game in clever ways. What Golf is a funny golf game where the experience is more about putting objects into holes and not so much about putting golf balls into holes.
It's a miniature golf game that includes everything from driving cars to sneaking into a hole like a stealth game. The gameplay never lets up and most levels should only take a few minutes to complete, making it an addictive game that's hard to put down.
6
Monthly
Legend of the merchant
Monthly is a roguelite at its core, and there are plenty of them on Steam and other marketplaces. However, what sets this game apart is that players can take back the loot they find in dungeons and choose to either use it for crafting or sell it in their shop. With their hard-earned cash, players can choose to rebuild the city, opening up new vendors and other opportunities.
The progression system will make players feel great after each run, and the trade mechanics can also be interesting as players try to find the best prices for items or bargain with guests. It's a fun dynamic—part merchant sim, part dungeon crawler—that turns the traditional roguelite formula on its head.
5
Mean
One minute to win
Mean is a Zelda– as an action-adventure game with a twist: players only have one minute before they have to restart where they last slept. Fortunately, as players progress, they can unlock new homes that serve as checkpoints.
In each run, the goal is to find shortcuts or get equipment that will help in the next run. The entire experience from start to finish will only take a few hours, but that depends on how savvy players can piece together the best way to overcome the puzzles. It can be frustrating at times, but there's no game like it, and it's pretty fun too.
4
Cuphead
Is it really a game?
Cuphead
9/10
- Released
-
September 29, 2017
When Cuphead was first revealed in 2013, the internet lost its mind because while there were many games based on cartoons, none of them looked like this one. It didn't seem possible and even after playing it Cupheadit can still look like witchcraft because the animations are super smooth, just like real hand-drawn cartoons.
This boss rush game is brutally difficult, but the gameplay is solid enough to handle if players are patient enough. Thanks to the game's success, there are other indie games that borrow this 1930s animation aesthetic but do things differently. For example, Mouse: PI For Hire is an upcoming first-person shooter that owes its upcoming success Cuphead.
3
Ball X Pit
A roguelike arcade game
Ball X Pit is one of the newest indie games and its popularity is growing every day. At its core, it can be compared to a brick smashing game or even pinball. Players choose their hero and move along a linear path, fighting enemies and gaining power-ups. Each power-up represents or enhances their ball types. These balls can also be connected together or developed to create even wilder combinations.
Since everything is on rails, it never feels demoralizing to die during a match as characters are constantly leveling up and blueprints can be found in the village to do all sorts of things. The ultimate goal is to rebuild Ballbylon, and players can do this with a mini-city builder game that takes place between runs. This combination of game types may seem strange, but every aspect Ball X Pit he is fun to engage with.
2
rocket league
If only cars really worked
rocket league is another game that twists the rules of ball sports. Instead of running to goals and kicking soccer balls with human characters, players drive rocket-powered cars in larger arenas and try to knock a giant ball into the goal. Everything is physics-based, meaning there are no winning cars to make things easier; players just need to hone their skills to improve. It's hard to handle at first, but with practice these iron competitors will start to feel lighter.
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rocket league has become wildly successful as an indie game, creating tie-ins from giant franchises such as Scooby-Doo, Back to the futureand Metroid. Co-op is fun, but the game wouldn't be what it is without a solid football experience backing it up every game.
1
Grandma is you
Word puzzles
Baba is you is a puzzle game about changing the meaning of words. In each level, of course, the goal is to win, and this usually involves a flag as a victory condition. However, players can move objects around to have different definitions, which changes how the game works.
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For example, Baba is a controllable animal protagonist who represents “You”, the player. If players replace Baba in this formula, players can control something else, such as a rock (i.e. “Rock is You”). In some ways, it's a crash course in coding and gaming languages, because players have to think about the rules by which each object behaves, rather than just the object itself. It sounds more complicated than it is, and after a few puzzles everything starts to click.
7 games that are basically independent GTA
Blow things up, plan and execute epic heists, or drive around causing mayhem in these miniature indie adventures that are surprisingly similar to GTA.
