Indie games seem to be popping up everywhere. Titles like ‘Celeste’ and ‘Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice’ have received both critical and commercial success, proving that game design innovation can still come from outside the big-budget, mainstream AAA space.
Developed by independent teams, these titles are characterized by their variety in art styles and gameplay mechanics that often diverge from established trends. But what exactly makes a video game indie?
2. Broforce
Indie games are a vital component to the gaming industry, pushing the envelope when it comes to innovation. Often, when successful enough, these games are adopted by bigger studios and become mainstream. However, many of these games also stand on their own and garner their own dedicated fanbases. Examples include the survival horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent and the platformer Penumbra: Black Plague, both developed by independent developers Frictional Games.
Generally speaking, indie games are developed by smaller teams and on a budget compared to their AAA counterparts. This allows them to experiment more freely with gameplay and narrative, and can even create a new video game genre. Despite being considered indie, titles like Nidhogg, Stardew Valley, and Undertale have achieved enormous success and widespread acclaim.
Broforce is a run-and-gun video game that lets players flex their patriotic muscles in the face of evil. Players can team up with up to four friends in the co-op mode and slay terrorism in explosive, bombastic action. Fully destructible environments open up a whole host of tactical options, and the game features a plethora of unique weapons that can unleash a chain reaction of fire, napalm, and limbs.
With its overtly jingoistic style, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the gameplay in Broforce is brilliant and brutal. The difficulty spikes early on, with the player quickly scouring levels for extra lives and ammo. However, this is made up for by the gleeful, carnage-filled fun of the run and gun mechanics. The game is a must-play for fans of the genre and a great example of the unique vision that can be brought to the video game industry by indie developers.
3. Celeste
A quiet revolution has taken place in the gaming world. Over the past few years, indie games — created by small teams or sometimes solo creators — have exploded in popularity, reshaping market dynamics and accounting for a substantial portion of overall sales. These titles are often experimental in their narratives and gameplay mechanics, offering players a unique experience that isn’t available anywhere else.
Unlike AAA (multimillion-dollar) games developed by large development studios, indie games are independently produced with small teams and budgets that can be as low as a few thousand dollars. As such, they offer developers more freedom to experiment with different narratives, aesthetics, and gameplay styles. In addition, indie games typically offer more diverse and inclusive gamer representation than their mainstream counterparts.
In Celeste, players control Madeline as she attempts to climb a treacherous mountain while confronting her inner demons. The game’s challenging gameplay and sensitive portrayal of mental illness have earned it a cult following. The game also explores the ways in which societal expectations of perfectionism can be damaging to one’s self-esteem.
While the game’s controls are simple – jump, air dash, and climb – they deliver layers of expressive depth that make each death an opportunity to learn from one’s mistakes. Additionally, the game’s physics-based climbing system is exceptionally well-crafted and fluid, making it an absolute joy to play.
While the likes of Hollow Knight and Hades 2 may be some of this year’s most well-known indie titles, there are many more hidden gems to discover if you know where to look. For starters, it’s worth checking out the work of specific Steam Curators and subreddits focused on indie gaming.
4. Kentucky Route Zero
In a year when most adventure games have struggled to recapture whatever it was that made them memorable in the first place, Kentucky Route Zero stood out for its ability to offer a different kind of story. The game focuses on outsider characters, like Henry in Firewatch, Chloe in Life is Strange, or Mave from Night in the Woods. And in doing so, it allows the player to feel confused and disoriented alongside them, but never patronizes them if they don’t understand what they’re seeing.
Kentucky Route Zero tells a story that blends surrealism and Americana, with ghosts who love tabletop games and lost boys who drive trucks down lonely highways at night. It’s sometimes been compared to a David Lynch film, but it lacks the inexplicable horror and dread that so many of those films produce. Instead, it’s more like playing a Haruki Murakami novel, albeit one set in rural America with the oddly glowing bones of distillery workers.
The most recognizable aspect of Kentucky Route Zero’s world is its system of overlapping space and time. The city is defined by a circular highway, the Zero, that intersects with other roads and overlapping buildings in a way that breaks the expectations of Euclidean geometry. Direction is never a simple choice, either; Conway’s journey through the Zero leads him to a place called Dogwood Drive that might be Pale Dogwood Drive, Himalayan Flowering Dogwood Drive, or anything in between.
These elements combine to form a narrative of economic dread that’s as beautiful as it is disturbing. It’s a tale of the future that’s simultaneously hopeful and melancholy, full of outsider characters trying to find new identities in this broken world.
5. Tacoma
In the realm of gaming, a quiet revolution has been brewing. Indie games — developed by small teams or even solo creators without the financial support of major publishers — have carve out a niche in the industry and captured hearts with their unique narratives and gameplay mechanics. With a focus on creativity and innovation, these independent titles have established themselves as an integral part of the industry, influencing market dynamics and accounting for a significant portion of overall sales.
The term “indie” can have broad and sometimes misleading implications. While it can signal a grassroots origin and a modest budget, the term is also often used to highlight a game’s artistic style or innovative gameplay. It’s not uncommon to see pixel-art games like Nidhogg or Dave the Diver nominated for game of the year, despite their modest size and scope. These games are indie by definition, but they’re also more than just games – they are cultural touchstones that challenge the status quo and resonate with players who seek a different experience.
The development of these games is a testament to the industry’s growing diversity and its ability to innovate at a rapid pace. In a massive global industry, the rise of indie games shows how developers are embracing creative risk and pushing the boundaries of gameplay and storytelling, ultimately influencing the future of the gaming world. Whether they are 2D platformers, roguelikes, or sheep-cult sagas, these independent games demonstrate the power of a single person’s passion to inspire change and innovation. This is the indie spirit at work, and it’s clear that the momentum behind this movement is only growing. With new releases popping up every week, it’s impossible to keep track of all the amazing titles on the horizon.
