20 Great Indie Games That You Need to Be Playing
1. Journey
Picture an immersive world with a big mystery: What is happening on that mountaintop way off in the distance? Not a bad start to an adventure, right?
2. Braid
Layered with clues on top of puzzles on top of maddeningly inventive brain-stumpers, this platformer (of sorts) also features the best-dressed hero ever.
3. Gone Home
A house filled with albums, magazines, and plenty of notebooks help a woman unravel the secrets of her dysfunctional family.
4. Limbo
Stark black-and-white visuals lure players into a world where nothing is just black and white.
5. Fez
What an amazing concept: a 16-bit 2D puzzler becomes 3D. Let that sink in for a while.
6. Minecraft
This bona fide cultural phenomenon sprang from the mind of programmer Markus Persson, better known as (1) Notch, and (2) a billionaire.
7. The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series
The Walking Dead might be a TV juggernaut, but indie developer Telltale Games certainly wasn't a household name before debuting this title inspired by the AMC series.
8. The Swapper
This 2D side-scroller makes us feel for clones, all while marveling at an incredibly detailed '70s sci-fi world.
9. Outlast
This found-footage genre title reinvigorates the survival-horror genre. Play in the dark, and always keep those camera batteries stocked.
10. Bastion
This action role-playing game rewards players who take a risk. Smart writing is the icing on the proverbial cake.
11. Child of Light
A hand drawn-art style is rare for a video game. Even more rare is a princess who does all the adventuring and rescuing.
12. Home
The concept seems simple (a survival spookfest in a pixelated world) but the game is really anything but.
13. Guacamelee!
When an evil charro skeleton kidnaps el Presidente’s daughter, a humble agave farmer must become a champion luchador to save both the night of the living and the day of the dead.
14. The Unfinished Swan
A storybook tale charmingly comes to life when a boy discovers his deceased mother’s artwork. Forget guns, forget swords. Your only weapon: a paintbrush.
15. Spelunky
Whips! Snakes! Treasures! It’s exactly like Pitfall, except more adorable.
16. Flower
We’re talking beauty on top of gorgeousness, all in a lush, 3D world where the PS3’s motion controls feel completely intuitive.
17. Super Meat Boy
This game was created by two dudes who set out to make a 2D side-scroller as hard as the old school ones. Mission accomplished.
18. Transistor
In this sci-fi action role-playing game with stunning neon colors, you play a sword-wielding singer on a mission.
19. Hotline Miami
A love letter to the blood-drenched '80s action films, this game has a simple goal: Kill everyone all the time.
20. World of Goo
If you love games that use gravity as a tool (or an obstacle), you’ll want to check out this gooey, sloppy 2D puzzler.
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