Summary
Today, indie games have a sterling reputation thanks to the creative genius and style displayed by the creme of the self-funded crop. However, not all indie games are guaranteed future classics, and many of these games ship with more scuffs than most gamers can handle due to a lack of funds to cover the costs of playtesting and polishing.
Because they do not have the same amount of resources that AAA games (so named to signal reliably large profits to investors), indies tend to be small, focused, and good at what they do, but some games have come out of the gate with all the luster usually only afforded tostudios with massive allowances: astounding visuals, wide scope, and long playtime.
Most people would be surprised to learn thatKena: Bridge of Spiritsis an indie product, given its high level of polish, presentation, and Pixar-like character design and animation. The game follows Kena, a young spirit guide, as she helps restless spirits move on while making a sacred pilgrimage.
Kena: Bridge of Spiritscomes between two worlds in more ways than one. Ember Lab had cut its teeth in character design and animation, which is how many of the characters in the game come off with such fluid liveliness.Kenawas independently financed and developed, but its design and world are more reminiscent of old-school, big-named platformers and action-adventure games of the sixth console generation.
Death’s Doorproves that the classic dungeon crawler still has a lot of life left in it, even when its themesrevolve around the reaping of souls. With games like TheLegend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Nintendo clearly hasn’t abandoned the traditional top-down format, but they don’t have a monopoly on it either.
Death’s Doormixes tightly designed combat, clever puzzles, and an eerie yet charming world where crows act as reapers of lost souls. Every stage feels meticulously crafted, with secrets and challenges that reward exploration and persistence.
The indie (and ironically named) Supergiant Games redefined the roguelike genre in 2020 withHades, blending relentless action, rich storytelling, and a flair of Greek mythology and style. Stunning art direction and fluid combat work in tandem while Zagreus traverses the ultimate, never-ending dungeon: the underworld itself.
Every escape attempt is as much about uncovering family secrets and divine rivalries as it is about survival, making every inevitable defeat still feel like progress. With its razor-sharp mechanics, unforgettable characters, and dynamic narrative,Hadesis a prime example of indie excellence easily rivaling the moneyed grandeur of AAA development.
Open-world games with base-building mechanics are usually the domain of the big boys in gaming, butSubnauticasomehow manages to makedeep-ocean explorationfeel satisfyingly vast without overstaying its welcome while stripping away many of the tedious elements that can make crafting in similar games feel like a chore.
However,Subnauticaalways strives to make players feel like they are pushing for progress with every fathom deeper they go into the ocean. Base building is not just a side feature but feels like a way to escape to a vital sanctuary in an ocean of pressure and dangerous monsters.
When working on a budget, time is hardly an infinite resource. This is not so inOuter Wilds, where the bite-sized solar system resets every twenty-two minutes, both hindering and aiding the player in their quest to unravel the time-locked mystery. Players are limited by time, but they arenot as limited by space, thanks to their rustic spacecraft, which they are free to fly around basically from the get-go.
Although the system is miniaturized, explorable space, with each of its planets and satellites, still feels wonderfully vast. The technology underThe Outer Wilds’hood is a testament that sometimes it only takes a good idea and clever coding, not necessarily a publisher with deep pockets, to realize an amazing game.
While 2D animation has practically disappeared since the 2000s, the appetite for it has not, as evidenced by the popularity of a game likeHollow Knight. Its stellar presentation, with its hand-drawn visuals and haunting sound design, makes it look and feel like something from a powerhouse studio. However, Team Cherry is made up of a handful of people.
Despite the studio’s tiny size, they managed to produce adeadly underground game worldbrimming with melancholic atmosphere, well-hidden secrets, tight controls, and some of the best Metroidvania level design for games in general, not just from the indie crowd.
The astounding level of detail inHellblade: Senua’s Sacrificeisn’t just confined to Melina Juergens' excellent face-captured performance and the overall haunting environmental design. What could be mistaken as a cinematic indie slasher uses dark fantasy tropes torecreate the harrowing experienceand unseen suffering often experienced by those with mental illness that can often feel impossible to convey through written or spoken reportage.
It is unlikely that this kind of risky subject matter would be laid out as a full AAA game, and indeed,Senua’s Sacrificewas not put together and funded by a large publisher but by the twenty or so people at Ninja Theory, who, conscious of the extremely polished presentation mixed with the delicate and intimate subject matter, describedHellbladeas a “AAA indie.”
