Favourite Indie Games of this Generation:

[Shareefruck]

I will admit this game has a ton of content, but I absolutely freaking despise the dark souls mechanics they put into this game. The walk back to soul master especially is an absolute freaking nightmare and theres so many boring empty hallways. Whats even more insulting is the devs claim they never played dark souls (lol). I also hate the flash art style.

Also, once you find out about the dreamers, I found it almost impossible to find where they were despite being marked on the map. I never bothered to look at a guide and just put the game down, I'm sure I'll pick the game up again at some point.

All that said, I would not dislike this game nearly as much if they have more benches and better fast travel.

I'd generally agree with that-- it's not as air-tight, progression-wise as Super Metroid, I feel, and I wish they limited the scope and just made it more elegant instead (the way that it allows you to get lost at the very beginning of the game and need to grind to get the basic map tools for the game to be functional is really stupid, IMO). That said, while I would never consider it a perfect game, the positives overwhelmingly outweighed the negatives for me and by the time I beat it, the flash animation style (which was my exact complaint) went from being the #1 thing keeping me from playing the game to something I find downright gorgeous now. I think I was just unfairly conditioned by all the cheap bad flash animation out there.

I still hate the flash animation style of that upcoming game that everyone says LOOKS like Hollow Knight, though-- ugly as sin (looked it up-- Gleamlight).

Ewww..

 

[RandV]

I'd generally agree with that-- it's not as air-tight, progression-wise as Super Metroid, I feel, and I wish they limited the scope and just made it more elegant instead (the way that it allows you to get lost at the very beginning of the game and need to grind to get the basic map tools for the game to be functional is really stupid, IMO). That said, while I would never consider it a perfect game, the positives overwhelmingly outweighed the negatives for me and by the time I beat it, the flash animation style (which was my exact complaint) went from being the #1 thing keeping me from playing the game to something I find downright gorgeous now. I think I was just unfairly conditioned by all the cheap bad flash animation out there.

You people are bad and you should feel bad, only a problem for noobs who need to git gud!

But really joking aside, this isn't a case of right/wrong good/bad but rather person preference. These are pure game design decisions that will be appealing for some and not so much for others. And where a lot of the indy magic can happen is they're not under the thumb of a big publisher pushing to homogenize everything towards the same common denominator, but rather can follow their own vision and make controversial choices like this.

Personally, I absolutely loved that part of the game design. Not just the very beginning but extending into new zones, I'd often intentionally skip past the map guy when I found him to keep the blind exploration going longer. And the non-linear design added on top of it was just brilliant. Normally I'd be happy to leave to each their own but considering how few games actually do this (the blind exploration part) I hate seeing people talk it down like its a bad thing.

The one thing I didn't really like, though I can see it being a big plus to others, is how once you've been everywhere the game switches gears to a very lengthy completionist and ultra hard combination. I kept playing because I was invested but my playtime ended up being something like 20 hours of blissful exploration and progression playing the 'main' game, then 20 hours of completionist back and forth and difficulty grind. And there was a lot on the difficulty end I just didn't do, but probably could have spent another 20 hours on. These are things I would have appreciated as a teen, so I can understand them adding that extra value to the game, but as an adult I don't really have the time for it.

 

[Shareefruck]

You people are bad and you should feel bad, only a problem for noobs who need to git gud!

But really joking aside, this isn't a case of right/wrong good/bad but rather person preference. These are pure game design decisions that will be appealing for some and not so much for others. And where a lot of the indy magic can happen is they're not under the thumb of a big publisher pushing to homogenize everything towards the same common denominator, but rather can follow their own vision and make controversial choices like this.

Personally, I absolutely loved that part of the game design. Not just the very beginning but extending into new zones, I'd often intentionally skip past the map guy when I found him to keep the blind exploration going longer. And the non-linear design added on top of it was just brilliant. Normally I'd be happy to leave to each their own but considering how few games actually do this (the blind exploration part) I hate seeing people talk it down like its a bad thing.

The one thing I didn't really like, though I can see it being a big plus to others, is how once you've been everywhere the game switches gears to a very lengthy completionist and ultra hard combination. I kept playing because I was invested but my playtime ended up being something like 20 hours of blissful exploration and progression playing the 'main' game, then 20 hours of completionist back and forth and difficulty grind. And there was a lot on the difficulty end I just didn't do, but probably could have spent another 20 hours on. These are things I would have appreciated as a teen, so I can understand them adding that extra value to the game, but as an adult I don't really have the time for it.

Err... I'm usually the guy who argues in favor of the inaccessible, uncompromising, non-hand-holdy approach and scoffing at the safe populist approach as inferior (in other mediums too), but at the same time, not every exercise in creative freedom necessarily needs to be viewed as a good one-- a creator's vision and ambition can still be criticized for whether or not you think it works in certain instances. I don't want to cheapen instances where a stubborn creative proves overly safe AAA approaches wrong by automatically treating every attempt at that as successful or admirable.

Hollow Knight is one of my all time favorite games, and I think that letting you get lost in certain areas without holding your hand is generally a good creative decision throughout the game, but the way that it's handled at the very beginning felt kind of crummy to me, personally, especially considering how deeply you can get lost without even realizing that the idea of a map exists. If I'm not forgetting, you could even miss Cornifer and the mention of a map altogether and find yourself stuck in that black zone where a lantern is required, and respawn deep in an area where you'll likely remain lost. I would view that as questionable game design.

Also, I wouldn't view this as as big of a deal if it was just hard to find, and once you find it, you get it, but I don't see much value in having you grind for the individual items that all add up to one basic function (grinding to pay for a map and then later a compass and then later a quill, and only after that ending up with something usable so that you can finally start the game feels alot like pointless busywork to me). It brings the pace of the game to a screeching halt, and I don't know that mindlessly grinding for gold adds anything valuable to the sense of immersion, survival, or exploration, personally. That feels more cheap rather than uncompromising to me, personally.

I'm not sure I understand your last criticism, either. That point where the game switches gears to that is completely optional, isn't it? So who cares?

 

[RandV]

Err... I'm usually the guy who argues in favor of the inaccessible, uncompromising, non-hand-holdy approach and scoffing at the safe populist approach as inferior (in other mediums too), but at the same time, not every exercise in creative freedom necessarily needs to be viewed as a good one-- a creator's vision and ambition can still be criticized for whether or not you think it works in certain instances. I don't want to cheapen instances where a stubborn creative proves overly safe AAA approaches wrong by automatically treating every attempt at that as successful or admirable.

Hollow Knight is one of my all time favorite games, and I think that letting you get lost in certain areas without holding your hand is generally a good creative decision throughout the game, but the way that it's handled at the very beginning felt kind of crummy to me, personally, especially considering how deeply you can get lost without even realizing that the idea of a map exists. If I'm not forgetting, you could even miss Cornifer and the mention of a map altogether and find yourself stuck in that black zone where a lantern is required, and respawn deep in an area where you'll likely remain lost. I would view that as questionable game design.

Ah I was a little confused by that. I didn't know you could mess up like that at the beginning so assumed the comment was about the broader game design.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Some other indies I rate.

I recently played Katana Zero, its kind of a combination of Celeste and Hotline Miami, about 4-5 hour game with steady progression and challenge, I rate it extremely high.

Celeste - I liked this one a lot, it didn't hit me like a lot of other people but I still rate it very high.

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight - This one is one of my favorites, Its one of those first wave of dark souls influenced 2d metroid games along with salt and sanctuary (which I should get around to), but imo this one is the most dense and polished. It did it right. For some reason people just do not know about it despite its quality.

Ah I was a little confused by that. I didn't know you could mess up like that at the beginning so assumed the comment was about the broader game design.

You know I admit I might be more forgiving with some of the more inaccessible mechanics if I was younger, so I see your point there.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I'm not much of a gamer any more, but I thoroughly enjoyed SteamWorld Dig 2.

 

[RandV]

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight - This one is one of my favorites, Its one of those first wave of dark souls influenced 2d metroid games along with salt and sanctuary (which I should get around to), but imo this one is the most dense and polished. It did it right. For some reason people just do not know about it despite its quality.

I played that one a while back, thought it was solid but nothing really too standout in it's genre. Two other notables I played during quarantine last year:

Phoenotoptia: Awakening. I suppose this was an old flash game that got a master version released on Steam. It has the "Metroidvania" tag by default but really it plays like Zelda 2 but with more of an Earthbound aesthetic/story. Really solid game, some great puzzles, and a lengthy play time without feeling too stretched out. Some people are turned off by the combat though, which is more slow and deliberate and not really the focus.

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. Not sure if it really counts as indy, but this is a new modern sequel to the classic Wonder Boy III and although occasionally frustrating they do a damn good job. It's kind of a shame seeing the "Metroidvania" tag on it because Wonder Boy was also an original founder of this genre, basically Sega's contribution to it. It's not like Metroid or Castlevania, it's just always been Wonder Boy. Some games follow it more than the other two as well like the Shantae series.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

Hades is possibly the greatest game I’ve ever played.

 

[blue425]

Hades is possibly the greatest game I’ve ever played.

I keep hearing this from lots of people. Haven't tried it yet.

I swear there are five games I looking forward to. Four of them are upcoming Devolver titles.

The other is Elden Ring.

 

[robertmac43]

At this point, I would mirror all the praise for Hades, it's definitely my favourite Indie game.

 

[Andrei79]

At this point, I would mirror all the praise for Hades, it's definitely my favourite Indie game.

Yes, it's pretty amazing.


I'm happy I took notice of this thread, as lately most of my gaming has been indie games. I've decided to take a much more cautious approach after having been burned with very disappointing AAA titles. Meanwhile, I rarely, if ever, regret buying from smaller studios that actually focus on gameplay.

 

[Shareefruck]

I've gotten really into Cyber Shadow lately, and it's easily the best game this year so far for me, personally. Really flew under the radar for some reason. I think it's far superior to The Messenger and I even started trying to casually speedrun personal bests with it. Some might consider the first half too slow and basic, but it's immaculately designed the same way that the best NES games were, and once you get the movement upgrades, it is an absolute blast to perfect, IMO.

 

[Metroid]

 

[MariaMoore]

You can try Risk of Rain or Risk of Rain 2 which is a significant addition of the sequel is the inclusion of traps and equipment that can slow down enemies or damage them based on your environment.

The idea behind all Risk of Rain games is something called action-roguelike - meaning that you have to do quick reactions in order to survive against much faster enemies (at least this game has easier ones, like a 3rd grader). It starts out pretty easy but eventually you'll face flying air panthers who leave literal electricity in their wake. All joking aside though, there's a difficult curve when you go from stage one to stage thirty - it becomes really hard and fast paced and then there are these big boss monsters at the end that used combos. You can also get new characters to play by unlocking them like Acrid, Commando, Huntress, Bandit, REX etc. I highly recommend you trying it out.

 

[KlausJopling]

Now that I’ve played Hades. It is Hades.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Astalon is actually a ton of fun. I don't think there's many people who have played it, it's definitely a hidden gem.

 

[Metroid]

Astalon is actually a ton of fun. I don't think there's many people who have played it, it's definitely a hidden gem.

Yuuup!
Good friend of mine was the main dude on this game. He has another game he did before called Castle in the Darkness. Does amazing job on the sound tracks as well

 

[Andrei79]

Has anybody tried Eastward ? Thinking of buying it as a next purchase. Debating vs Disco Elysium.

 

[Shareefruck]

Has anybody tried Eastward ? Thinking of buying it as a next purchase. Debating vs Disco Elysium.

Disco Elysium is an absolute masterpiece, especially if you're open to the style-- Have no doubt in my mind that it's the better and more inspired/substantive/flawlessly executed game.

I sampled a couple hours of Eastward. Some of the best sprite-work of the modern era, so that wins me over to a degree. However, not sure what I think of it overall yet-- there's some charm and cool things here and there, but the pacing of the storytelling seems a little odd and it's taking a while for a hook/inciting incident/general momentum (mostly just world building so far). Gameplay's basic but has a nice 2D Zelda feel that I tend to be into. Dialogue's somewhat quirky, but I find myself wishing it was half as funny/clever/striking as the Mother series-- probably unfair expectation, but it invites those comparisons.

Attention to detail in animations is clearly the star of the show. Tons of little details that they didn't need to include but did anyways (reminds me of Metal Slug).

My tentative feeling so far is that it's a solid, pretty tasteful game that I WANT to love more than I do because of one spectacular element and the general style basically being designed for me (to be fair, my expectations might have been unreasonably high), but that I'm now expecting to not exactly end up a favorite.

 

[Morbo]

Deep Rock Galactic

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Artful Escape was great, came out a few weeks ago.

 

[LukeSkywalker]

As a best indie game I've played, I would choose Pony Island. It's so creative and does things that you wouldn't believe games would be able to do.


I've been testing this indie game called PuckOff and it's really fun. I see it has potential to be one of my top indie games when it gets out.

 

[93LEAFS]

I've hardly played any indies, but I will say if anything tops Hades I should probably try it.

 

[blue425]

Steel Assault.

Thank you for not disappointing me like other side scrollers have. The Messenger and Cyber Shadow massively overstayed their welcome. You are perfect.

Made by someone who knows exactly what makes a great action game and easily my favorite side scroller since Ninja Warriors.

R2rkmf genre distilled to its absolute finest.

 

[Shareefruck]

I could understand someone thinking that Cyber Shadow takes too long to get going, but overstaying its welcome like The Messenger is a criticism that I don't understand. It's basically the opposite of The Messenger, where the appeal of one is front-loaded and the appeal of the other is backloaded. Some might even argue that only the last couple of hours so of Cyber Shadow is worthwhile (although I would disagree with that).

I am very interested in Steel Assault, though.