Independently developed (indie) games are one of the most important parts of the gaming industry. Without being restricted by corporate goals and pandering, they’re able to be far more creative and unique. While there is a broad spectrum that indie games cover, here are five indie game recommendations.

Celeste
Starting off with a pretty well known indie game, “Celeste” is one of the greatest 2D platformers of all time. This alone is incredibly impressive considering how many incredible 2D platformers exist, but “Celeste” is mechanically impressive. The game takes an idea and really stretches it as far as it can go.

“Celeste” also features a very heartwarming story about a girl named Madeline going off on what seems to be a perilous journey to climb a mountain. The game can be taken as a metaphor for many things in life, and the player meets several likable characters in their journey up the mountain.

Animal Well
“Animal Well” is the newest game on this list, having been released on May 9, 2024 and being the first game published by BIGMODE. “Animal Well” is super unique as it contains absolutely no combat. Instead, the player has to find other creative approaches to getting around enemies and obstacles.

“Animal Well” also excels in its atmosphere and sound design. A lot of its soundtrack is filled with environmental sounds instead of typical music. The visual style in this game greatly enhances the mystery that “Animal Well’s” world invokes.

The Ori games
Both “Ori and the Blind Forest” and “Ori and the Will of the Wisps” have incredible visuals and art styles. The environments the player explores have so much attention to detail that it’s awe-inspiring. While “Ori and the Blind Forest” is a bit weak with its combat, “Ori and the Will of the Wisps” makes up for it with its well designed boss fights and player freedom.

The games also make great use of visual storytelling. There isn’t very much dialogue as the games more relies upon characters animations and environmental details. This works to great effect as the two games tell very gripping and emotional stories.

Into the Breach
“Into the Breach” completely nailed turn-based strategy, a genre plagued by confusing menus and overly long tutorials. However, “Into the Breach” presents all the information the player needs to succeed clearly and concisely. Even with that, the game is still tough and the player will need to be smart to find victory.

“Into the Breach” is also very replayable as the enemy encounters are mostly randomly generated, and there are also multiple difficulties to play on. Not only that, but there are different squads to unlock that the player will commandall of which play differently from one another.

Blasphemous
“Blasphemous” is another indie game with a striking art style. “Blasphemous” features some of the most impressive pixel art in any game, with even the cut scenes being animated with pixel art. This lends to “Blasphemous’s” disturbing and oppressive atmosphere.

It has some pretty engaging combat as well, however where it really shines is in its world design and boss fights. The bosses, as with the rest of the game, have superb designs and also have fun and difficult mechanics. “Blasphemous 2” is also certainly worth playing, however it’s a bit weaker than the first game.