Indie
Indie is short for the English word independent, which means "not dependent." Independent developers usually create games without investments from publishers, and therefore have a very limited budget. As a result, the games do not feature AAA-level graphics, but in each of these projects, the developers strive to realize their boldest fantasies and apply risky ideas. Often, indie games are not well-received by hardcore players due to their experimental gameplay. The most prominent representatives of the indie game genre are: Minecraft, Super Meat Boy, Super Meat Boy , and perhaps Fez.
Years
Platforms
Statuses
Best Games in the Indie genre of 2016 (Game released)
Game released: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, Mac, Linux → 26 February 2016
Players:
8.8/10
Steam:
98/100
Metacritic:
88/100
Stardew Valley is a farming simulator with role-playing elements, an open-world sandbox with an isometric camera and the visual style of 90s arcade games. After...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch → 14 January 2014
Players:
8.9/10
Steam:
88/100
Metacritic:
81/100
Banner Saga is a tactical role-playing strategy with turn-based combat and a top-down view. The game combines amazing visual style and Nordic atmosphere. Banner...
Game released: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Mac, Linux → 1 November 2016
Players:
9/10
Steam:
85/100
Metacritic:
87/100
Owlboy is a side-scrolling arcade platformer with a pixel art style. The main character is an owl boy, capable of both running around locations and flying. In the...
Game released: PC, Mac, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, Linux → 15 October 2015
Players:
9.1/10
Steam:
93/100
Metacritic:
76/100
Human Resource Machine is an indie puzzle game from the developer World of Goo. We have to use office workers to solve the next puzzle and get promoted to the next...
Arcade, Role-playing game, Action, Adventure, Platformer, Indie, Simulation, Survival, Sandbox, Space
Game released: PC, Mac, Xbox One → 22 July 2016
Players:
8.5/10
Steam:
88/100
Metacritic:
81/100
Starbound is an indie adventure role-playing arcade game with platformer and action elements. You are forced to flee your planet by hijacking a ship. Fleeing from...
Game released: PC, iOS, Mac, Android, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 → 14 November 2014
Players:
8.5/10
Steam:
92/100
Metacritic:
82/100
This War of Mine is an atmospheric adventure with survival elements and a side view. The game allows you to plunge into the life of ordinary civilians trying to...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS → 5 April 2016
Players:
9.2/10
Steam:
95/100
Metacritic:
85/100
Enter the Gungeon is a top-down arcade shooter from the developers at Dodge Roll. The roguelike takes place in the ever-changing fortress of Gungeon, which is a...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS → 31 March 2016
Players:
7.6/10
Steam:
93/100
Metacritic:
82/100
Hyper Light Drifter is a top-down action-adventure RPG. The main character of the game suffers from a strange disease and goes to amazing countries to find a...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch → 9 February 2016
Players:
9/10
Steam:
89/100
Metacritic:
81/100
Firewatch is an indie adventure with a first-person view, developed by former developers of The Walking Dead and BioShock 2. The action takes place in the forests...
Game released: Mac, PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Android, Linux → 18 November 2011
Players:
8.3/10
Steam:
93/100
Metacritic:
87/100
Super Meat Boy is a hardcore 2D side-scrolling platformer. You have to help the meat cube save his beloved, who was kidnapped by the evil scientist Dr. Fitus. The...
Game released: Xbox 360, PC, iOS, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Linux, Mac → 20 July 2011
Players:
8.7/10
Steam:
96/100
Metacritic:
89/100
Bastion is an action-adventure RPG with an isometric camera view in a fantasy setting. You will go to a fairy-tale world, which, by the will of fate, is gradually...
Game released: Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 4, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S → 29 June 2016
Players:
8.9/10
Steam:
96/100
Metacritic:
91/100
Inside is an arcade side-scrolling indie platformer with survival elements from the creators of Limbo. The plot centers on a lonely boy who is hiding from...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, Xbox One → 23 April 2015
Players:
8.7/10
Steam:
95/100
Metacritic:
86/100
Crypt of the NecroDancer is a unique indie game where everything moves to the rhythm of the music of Danny Baranowski, the composer of Super Meat Boy and the...
Game released: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, Mac, Nintendo Switch → 19 April 2016
Players:
6.7/10
Steam:
90/100
Metacritic:
81/100
Banner Saga 2 is a turn-based role-playing game with tactical elements and an isometric view. You must lead your Viking clans through a hostile country on the verge...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S → 24 June 2011
Players:
8.4/10
Steam:
96/100
Metacritic:
80/100
Kerbal Space Program is a sci-fi simulator with well-developed physical laws. You have to manage the space program of a certain planet. Everything needed to build a...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch → 15 August 2013
Players:
5.6/10
Steam:
77/100
Metacritic:
86/100
Gone Home is an atmospheric adventure with a first-person view. The game tells the story of Caitlin Greenbriar, who returned home from a trip to Europe. She soon...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS → 2 August 2016
Players:
8.4/10
Steam:
73/100
Metacritic:
67/100
This Is the Police is an adventure strategy game with management game elements and an isometric camera view. Scandals, intrigues, investigations are commonplace for...
Role-playing game, Action, First-person view, Third-person view, Futurism (Future), Indie, Free game, Cooperative (co-op), Sandbox, Open world, Survival
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux → 8 November 2016
Players:
5.2/10
Steam:
59/100
Planet Explorers is a free-to-play action role-playing game with a third-person view and survival elements in a sci-fi setting. The plot tells about the distant...
Indie, Arcade, Strategy, Tactics, Top-down view, Futurism (Future), Cyberpunk, Tower Defense (Tower Defense)
Game released: PC, Mac, iOS, Android → 22 June 2019
Players:
5.5/10
Steam:
90/100
Data Defense is a minimalist top-down arcade strategy game with tower defense elements in a cyberpunk setting. In the game you have to protect the server from the...
Game released: PC, Mac, Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Linux → 13 December 2013
Players:
7.7/10
Steam:
83/100
Metacritic:
79/100
Teslagrad is an arcade quest with platformer elements and futurism style. In this game, you use the power of electromagnetism to solve puzzles and battle horrors as...
Game released: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 → 8 October 2015
Players:
8.7/10
Steam:
98/100
Metacritic:
81/100
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a co-op VR puzzle game about defusing a bomb. One of the participants has an explosive device with a timer on the screen, but...
