In general, independent studios have more freedom and drive to experiment and take risks in order to create something that the usual AAA developers would find inconceivable. Forgotten genres could be brought back, legendary IP from the past could be revived. That is the power that indie studios hold: infinite possibilities – bring changes to the medium that bigger studios never could.
In this list, you would find the best indie games available on PC and other systems.
Into the Breach
Released: 2018 | Developer: Subset Games
Turn-based games are pretty time consuming – your opponents more than often take forever to make their turn. There will be many turns in which nothing will happen – even the animations played on actions would be so slow that you can write an essay while playing. Into the Breach, however, does not waste your time – and it is rather apt because the game is about time travel.
In the world of Into the Breach, the human world is threatened by giant bugs. The only hope of human are giant mecha pilots traveled back from the distant future. You will control a team of them to fight the aliens – the main gameplay is turn-based strategy in which you would push the bugs into the water, dodge so that they will attack each other, or prevent them from destroying a building. It is like a dance, but with monsters and giant robots.
The game is also super small. The maps are tiny, turns process very fast, and each round only last for a few turns. Into The Breach feels easy to play even if you have no time to spare. Furthermore, after you have completed a run, your favorite pilot could be taken into the next playthrough.
Enter the Gungeon
Released: 2016 | Developer: Dodge Roll
Enter the Gungeon is an arcade-style shoot 'em up with roguelike elements. One of the best thing that you get to do in this game is intercepting the enemy’s bullet with yours. Play as one of four unique character – you will dodge-roll, kick objects out of the way, blast enemies with hundreds of weapons in your arsenal. There are a lot of unique weapons available, from an arrow and bow to guns that shoot actual bees.
Frostpunk
Released: 2018 | Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Frostpunk is a city builder that has an end – with limited resources available, you just can’t tinker with your city over and over. It’s a beautiful game – the base gameplay is a mix of survival and problem management. You will have to make tough decisions, sometimes unthinkable ones, in order to keep your city alive. The most challenging thing in the game is not just to keep your average citizens warm and feed, you have to keep them hopeful. Restricting laws might have to be passed, sawdusts might have to be mixed with gruel to feed to the people. Every single moment in the game is riddled with tensions, with every choice being a one time deal.
Don't Starve / Don't Starve Together
Released: 2013 / 2016 | Developer: Klei
Klei is one of the best indie developers out there, and among their games, the 2013 Survival Don’t starve might be the best they have made to date. From simple things like building a fire pit to keep warm, to taming the wild buffalo herd… and even fighting monsters, Don’t starve has it all.
You will probably die a lot while starting, but don’t be discouraged. The gameplay is simple and fun – you would get used to it in no time.
Don't Starve Together has everything above, but this time, they bring your friends into the mix. It can obviously be played competitively with multiple camps trying to step to each other to be on top. However, cooperating with other players is way more fun. Pooling your resources, making a village, and finally, taking down bosses together. Don’t Starve Together has it all if you are up for some good old jolly cooperation.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Released: 2017 | Developer: Larian Studios
A lot of developers have been trying to resurrect the Classic genre of Role-playing games, with an isometric point of view. However, only a few managed to strike gold. Divinity Original Sin 2 is one of those games. It manages to be a reminder of the old days and still being a great RPGs that people from the newest generation can play and enjoy.
Side quests are also a strong point of Divinity. Despite the occasional immersion-breaking dialogues, they are still really fun and interesting. Each member of your party also has their own quest going on, their own mission and purpose in life and not just “being your subordinate”. The party members can even be selected as the lead in a conversation, and with the fully voiced dialogues, you can fully imagine what their personalities would be like. Furthermore, one of your companions is a literal skeleton, so just saying hi using him would open up a lot of hilarious dialogues
About the main quests: Divinity Original Sin 2 is definitely an improvement over the first game, with fluent writing and cleverly designed quests. The main characters are fully voiced and designed separately with arcs that follow the main quest (which lasts nearly a hundred hours), which is leagues better than what we got from the first game, with two cardboard cutout protagonists.
The best thing about Original Sin 2 is that there are an extreme amount of options that you could explore. Make use of the Save function and experiment – you might find a lot of hidden depth unexplored. Some quests can be unlocked when you unknowingly kill a character or sneak into locations that are not supposed to be open – Larian has definitely been really successful in building an open RPG in which you can pretty much do anything imaginable – the good combat system and a great story are just a bonus!