Summary

  • Kena: Bridge of Spirits offers Pixar-like graphics and Pikmin-style gameplay.
  • Stray lets you play as a cat; stunning visuals blur indie and Triple-A lines.
  • Disco Elysium skill-based RPG with oil painted visuals; sets apart as influential indie game.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Indie games fill the gap betwe♑en Triple-A releases and, at ti🦹mes, offer the perfect alternative to paying $70 for a major title. However, there are moments when the line between indie games and Triple-A games start to blur, and some just look so good or run so smoothly that the idea that they are indie goes over your head.

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168澳洲幸运5✤开奖网: Some Of The💛 Best Indie Games Of All Time

What are some of the beཧst indie games of all time?

Indie doesn’t just mean that a game has pixel graphics or can only be found on itchio; it just means that they are made by inde💛pendent studios. So let's take a moment to look at these surprising titles that just happen to be indie games.

10 Kena: Bridge Of Spirits 🃏

Pixar-Like Animations

kena sitting with rots in Kena Bridge of Spirits.
via Ember Lab

Released
September 21, 2021 ✤
ESRB
T for Teen: Fantasy ⛄Violence
Developer(s)
Ember Lab
Publisher(s)
Ember Lab

Despite releasing as a PlayStation exclusive and having some very Pixar-like graphics, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is actually an indie game. This is because Ember Lab used to focus more on animation; one of their more iconic shorts is base🦹d on The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Kena Bridge of Spirits has si🔜milar gameplay to Pikmin with the element of instructing little creatures known as The Rot to perform taskᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚs for you, such as distracting enemies in a fight or moving objects across the world.

9 Stray

If You Wish You Were A Cat

The cat looking into a brightly-lit alley in Stray.
5.0/5

Released
🙈 July 19, 2022ဣ
ESRB
E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence ♐
Developer(s)
꧋ BlueTwelve Studio
Platform(s)
PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

From meme culture to just being downright cute, cats have a special place in the hearts of gameꩵrs everywhere. Stray lets you take con💝trol of a cat in a cyberpunk world who is looking for a way home. From toppling objects over to scratching your enemies, you’ll need every cat skill to navigate through the world.

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The Nintendo Switch welcomes indie games with open arms, and s𝓡ome ofꦫ them are must-plays.

The world of Stray is filled with neon lights and robotic denizens that inhabit the city. The game is also stunning ওto look at, with a quality of polish that often blurs the line between an indie game and a Triple-A title.

8 ♓ Subnautica 💧

Exploring The Vast Ocean

Subnautica: Swimming through an otherworldly ocean.

Released
Jan🔜uary 23🧜, 2018
ESRB
𓂃 E🐠10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
Developer(s)
Unknow🔯n Worlds Entertainment
Publisher(s)
ꦺ Gearbox Publishing 🍨

Subnautica has been around for so long that it is easy to forget that it was once an indie game still in early access. However, it is now one of the best games to feature underwater gameplay and168澳洲幸运5开奖网: capture both the horror and beauty of the dee🌊p.

With each new update, Subnautica has added new arꦛeas to explore, new biomes, and new tools to build as you expand your base. The more you expand, the easier it becomes to go on deeper journeys. However, at the end of the day, this is still an indie success story.

7 Cuphead

Fluid 2D Animation

Cuphead and Mugman flying planes while dodging bullets fired by Cala Maria and her eels in Cuphead.

Released
S𝓰eptember 29, 2017 𝄹
ESRB
🌊 E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Vi🎉olence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
Developer(s)
𒁏 Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc. 🦩
Publisher(s)
෴ Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc.
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

Cuphead has168澳洲幸运5开奖网: fluid 2D animation with a rubber hoꦜse style. Originally released as an Xbox exclusive🍷, Cuphead delivered on its promise to take players back to a vintage era or animation. Triple-A titles aren’t just defined by realistic graphics but also by the quality of their presentation.

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Indie horror video games have carved out their own niche in the industry. According to Metacr𒉰itic, t🅰hese are the best ones on the market.

1

Running and gunning is onl❀y half of the fun of Cuphead. Every boss is an homage to vintage cartoon characters and shorts. They also have unique animations for their attacks and transformations the closer you get to beating them.

6 Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice 💛

Fighting Against The Unknown

Senua stands in a burning field from Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Action
Adventure

Released
August 16, 2017 🔴
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due to Blooಌ✅d and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice is168澳洲幸运5开奖网: a dark fantasy game that is actually more rooted in reality♋ than it initially appe🐼ars. It follows Senua as she fights supernatural beings in an effort to revive her dead lover. Graphically, the game is gorgeous to look at with a dark and gritty tone.

Bec♏ause of its visuals, Hellblade can be mistaken as non-indie. However, it just shows that the indie genre can encompass🌌 many unique styles. From swordplay to puzzles, Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice tackles mental health topics in a time period where the concept is not fully understood.

5 The Outer Wilds ꦚ 🦋

22 Minutes To Save The World

Landscape showing a forest, observatory, and sunset in the Outer Wilds.

Released
♈ May 28, 2019
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violenc൲e, Alcohol Reference🍌
Developer(s)
🍌 💟 Mobius Digital
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, PC

The Outer Wilds is an emotionally impactful game which follows the last 22 minutes of a planet’s existence. However, despite having 3D graphics and often being mistaken for The Outer Worlds due to the orange text, it is an indi🍃e game through and through.

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The kind of creative gameplay you can only get fro🌠m a nightmare.

Travel through space and learn the secrets of your civilization before the sun explodes. While everything resets at the end ღof each time loop, you keep all the info you have learned. Some areas will also on🍨ly be accessible during specific times.

4 Indika

The Devil Speaks

Indika walking along a snowy road, with some NPCs seen in the distance.

Released
May 8, 2024
ESRB
♈ M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Theme꧙s, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Odd Meter
Publisher(s)
ꦅ ꦓ 11 Bit Studios

Indie horror games love the old Playstation aesthetic. So it’s surprising when an indie game has 3D graphics and resembles a Triple-A game.🎃 The story follows a⛄ nun named Indika who has made a connection with the Devil.

Whꦐile she struggles to fit in with her Monastic setting, her world continuously gets darker a🅘s she encounters sinful characters and even begins to question her own faith. The presentation of this game and film-like qualities makes it easy to mistaken for a Triple-A game.

3 Firewatch

A Walking Simulator With A View

The player holds a picture of a man and a woman in Firewatch.

Released
✨February 9, 2016 🐠
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due to S🤪uggestive Themes, Nudity, Drug ﷽and Alcohol Reference, Strong Language
Developer(s)
ꦆ 🀅 Campo Santo
Publisher(s)
⛦ Campo Santo, Panic
Platform(s)
PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One

With Firewatch’s heartbreaking story and stylized setting within the woods🗹, it’s easy to get so caught up in the aesthetic that you forgღet you’re playing an indie game. This walking simulator lets you patrol the wilderness as a park ranger, picking up items along the way that will help you on your journey.

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You will also be in constant communic🍷ation with Delilah, another ranger, as your interactions reveal more about your backstory. The forest also becomes more dangerous as time goes by as you witness a natural disaster start to unfold before your very eyes.

2 ꧅ಞ Disco Elysium

An Impactful Indie Game With Style

 Harry and his partner, Kim, are trapped in Ruby's pale latitude compressor, rendered physically incapacitated and vulnerable in Disco Elysium.
4.5/5

Released
October 15, 2019 🍸
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence 🌃
Developer(s)
ZA/UM
Publisher(s)
ZA/UM

Disco Elysium is one of the most influential games to come out in the 2010s. ꦆWith well written dialogue and unique gameplay that revolves around skill checks, Disco Elysium sets itself apart from many indie games.

It also has an oil painted aesthetic which makes it visually unique and rolling the dice almost makes ꦐit feel like you’re playing a tabletop game. These elements elevate the experience but also make it easy to be mistaken for a Triple-A game. In reality, it is one of the best crafted indie games of all time.

1 ꧋ Baldur’s Gate 3

What Is An Indie Game?

Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3.

Released
August 3, 20🥀23 🔯
ESRB
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual🌟 Content, Strong Language, Violence ♛

It is often debated whether or not Baldur’s Gate 3 is an indie game or not. Not only is the game 🎃based on a much bigger IP, but the graphics, release, and price tag all make it seem l💞ike it must have come from a much larger studio.

By definition, Larian is an indie studio that self-published the game. However, the scope of Baldur’s gate 3 falls into the triple-A category. This is one game that blur🍌s the line between two worlds, yet it checks all the boxes needed t🌳o be indie while throwing other criteria into question.

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: ꦿ 8 Great Ind𝔉ie Games With Unique Art Styles

These indie game gems have unique art styles.