The new and improved Indie thread

[Purkake]

I have vague memories of promising to make a new Indie game thread in the modern FPS whine thread. The basic premise was that instead of being grumpy old grognards spending your rapidly decreasing lifespans cursing the menace of crappy overpriced AAA games that may or may not also be buggy/consolified and generally not for the audience you represent, take a gander at the burgeoning downloadable Indie market that represents some of the most innovative, fun and challenging games available today. Using my meager knowledge, I'll try to categorize the standouts and give a short description. Feel free to add discuss the games, and only the games. Most of these have demos as well, so no need to spend money blindly.

 

(I have not actually played a portion of these, especially outside of demos, so you're getting second-hand impressions and hearsay a lot of the time)

 

Strategy:

• Frozen Synapse - A turn based tactical game, the battle system resembles the UFO: Afterlight series. Focus on scenarios and multiplayer. You get a free game to give away with every Steam purchase.
  
• Gratuitous Space Battles - A diversion from the classical RTS, you design,equip your spaceships and give them basic commands and then watch the battle unfold without any further input.
  
• Flotilla - A 3D turn based strategy where you control a small squad of space ships. The combat system is similar to the one used in Frozen Synapse with a timebar instead of strict turns. Randomized campaigns.
  
• Space Pirates and Zombies - A more actiony space strategy where you equip, build and manage and small squad of ships in a giant randomized campaign. Technically still in beta, but the demo is available.
  
• AI War: Fleet Command - A very large scale and technical RTS, gets pretty crazy/confusing at times.
  
• Defcon - An awesome Wargames style global thermonuclear war simulator. Good for killing an hour in the office. Also really striking atmosphere once you get into it.
  
• Darwinia - Crazy stuff, try the demo, I don't have a clue what this is about.
  
• Harvest: Massive Encounter - Another large-scale RTS focusing on resource management and everything on a giant scale. Check the trailer.
  
• Massive Assault - A relatively standard PC RTS, make of that what you will.
  
• Star Ruler - A very complex 4X-style game with a giant procedurally generated galaxy and minute control over every little detail
  
• Achron - The only RTS that uses time travel as an active game mechanic. Create paradoxes and acquire nosebleeds from just watching the trailers! Not out yet, but you can play the beta if you preorder.
  
• APOX - Basically a squad based RTS where you have fewer units, but much greater control over them, Ground Control style.
  

Adventure:

• Gravity Bone - A free concept game based on the Quake engine. Try it, it's free and only ~30 minutes long.
  
• Machinarium - A beautiful hand-drawn point and click adventure.
  
• Amnesia: The Dark Decent - The newest game from the Penumbra guys, amazing atmosphere and great horror.
  
• Hacker Evolution - Hard to classify under anything, it's basically Uplink with some extra bells and whistles added on. There's also one sequel out and another coming soon.
  
• Minecraft - A world simulator, you cut down trees, make houses, fight zombies, mine and do a billion other things.
  

Action:

• Trine - Kind of like Lost Vikings, you have three characters who each have unique abilities that you need to advance, plus it looks pretty.
  
• Osmos - A gravity-based arcade-style thing, try it.
  
• Gish - An old platformer with some fun physics and style.
  
• Terraria - Taking the Minecraft forumla, making it 2D and shifting the focus on combat and leveling.
  
• Zeno Clash - Don't even ask, but the combat system is supposedly pretty awesome.
  

Puzzle

• World of Goo - You build bridges and stuff out of gooballs. Very nice aesthetics and especially music.
  
• SpaceChem - Never managed to figure it out, advanced puzzle game.
  
• Audiosurf - Make your own puzzle game out of any mp3 you have. Basically an interactive visualizer.
  

RPG

• Torchlight - ARPG from some of Diablo II's team. A little short and without multiplayer, but lots of fun.
  
• Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness - A hilarious RPG with an active-participation JRPG battle system, a Lovecraftian tilt and pretty good writing(if you like the Penny Arcade stuff). Unfortunately missing its last installment.
  

Edited July 5, 2011 by Purkake

[Tigranes]

Ooh, a reboot. Good stuff.

 

I have a tempered enthusiasm for indie games - I love the growth of indies and think esp. gamers like ones in this community should spend as much attention on them as AAA titles, but I also think many of them are overly praised because they are indie - i.e. not that good. Recently I've bought:

 

Fate of the World - Macro-level turn-based policy game where you control economic, scientific, etc direction to avert (or cause) global warming and related disasters. It's very not-dumbed-down. Your Earth asplodes. A lot. You won't spend 50 hours on it but it kept me up at night for a couple of weeks, and it IS quite educational.

Gamebiz 3 - Lone Swedish programmer makes pretty much a bloody ugly spreadsheet simulation about running a video game company from 1980. There's competition, GOTY awards, employees (including Sid Meier, etc), you can release your own consoles, become a publisher. It's not particularly complicated but pretty fun and there's really no mainstream competition.

 

World of Goo and Machinarium above are also highly recommended. On the other hand, I'd say don't waste your money on Torchlight and Penny Arcade Adventures. Torchlight is polished and well made, but is pretty much exactly like Diablo 1 without the atmosphere or multiplayer - i.e. pointless after a few hours. (Crafting was also broken - unless they fixed that, loot balance is way out the window.) Torchlight 2, on the other hand, might be awesome. PA Adventures has a completely irredeemably bad gameplay of a boring grindy JRPG - its saving grace is meant to be the lulzy story/writing, but I found it crap even though I enjoyed reading the PA comic at the time. It's sort of like a Simpsons novella or something - the gags just aren't funny in this particular medium.

[Slowtrain]

Thanks, Purk.

 

I'll check some of those out.

[Purkake]

I found the interactive turn based combat in PA Adventures pretty fun and engaging, but it's certainly not for everyone. This also reminds me of another gem.

 

Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden - This is THE JRPG parody/deconstruction featuring your typical post-apocalyptic JRPG spiel, except it's all about basketball and Space Jam is considered a canonical part of the storyline. You'll run up against all the typical JRPG clich?s only they're turned on their heads. To top it off, it's free. Unfortunately the official site is dead, but a few of the mirrors from the link should still work.

.

 

The PST of JRPGs, if you will.

[Hurlshort]

Don't Forget Project Zomboid!

 

I think it would fit in adventure.

 

http://projectzomboid.com/blog/

[Purkake]

Yup, that looks promising as well.

 

Oh and don't wait too long to check them out, the majority are half off or more on Steam for the Summer Sale.

Edited July 5, 2011 by Purkake

[Tale]

Wanted to post a recommendation of Spacechem. Intellectually challenging to a significant degree. Part of this is due to a bad tutorial, but a lot of it is due to it being a very complicated puzzle game. It's great if you want hard puzzles.

[Mamoulian War]

Thank you purkake

[vault_overseer]

Yay!!! Took you long enough, even for an Estonian.

 

*bookmarked the **** out of it.

[Zoraptor]

Lazy lazy, though typical, links to Steam for non-steam exclusive titles (Amnesia, Torchlight immediately obvious).

 

At least they aren't referrer links, I guess.

[Gorth]

What requirements does a game need to fulfill to be classified as 'Indie'?

[Vilhelm]

I can highly recommend the BIT.TRIP games. BIT.TRIP BEAT and BIT.TRIP RUNNER are both available on Steam (50% off!) and the rest of the series is available on the Nintendo Wii. Great games (although the difficulty can be a tad brutal) from a small developer in California.

 

VVVVVV is another excellent indie platformer from Terry Cavanagh with excellent soundtrack by Magnus Palsson aka SoulEye. Check the demo here, get the rest of the game on Steam.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Vilhelm

[Tale]

What requirements does a game need to fulfill to be classified as 'Indie'?

Generally it's a small development team not financed by a publisher. Though it's kind of taken on a pseudo-genre appearance. If Activision made a short $5 game with 8-bit graphics, I'm sure people would call it indie as well, even when it's not.

[Hell Kitty]

If Activision made a short $5 game with 8-bit graphics, I'm sure people would call it indie as well, even when it's not.

Yes, same goes for a "big" game from a small development team not financed by a publisher. They might be independant, but it wouldn't be called "indie".

[Purkake]

What requirements does a game need to fulfill to be classified as 'Indie'?

It needs to be in this thread, I believe in subjective classification.

 

As for lazy Steam links, they're on mad discount and you can easily see trailer/screenshots there. Everyone is welcome to acquire the game directly from the official website should they so desire and the opportunity exist. I am in no way affiliated with Steam or any subsidiaries.

[Nightshape]

You're missing a bunch of XBLA titles... Such as:

 

Dishwasher : Dead Samurai

Fortress Craft

I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1

[Purkake]

I was going for a PC list. There's a ton of awesome console-exclusive indie games

[Bos_hybrid]

I am in no way affiliated with Steam or any subsidiaries.

 

Pfft, I know that's you Gabe, from your Estonian fortress, where you plot to conquer the world.

[Purkake]

Your accusations are as baseless as they are false.

[Nightshape]

Your accusations are as baseless as they are false.

 

The Russians have been living in fear of having to hear the Estonian sonic weapon again!

[Purkake]

I can neither confirm nor deny such accusations.

 

• Spelunky - A procedurally generated 2D cave explorer, the Roguelike meets a platformer. Free.
  
• Armadillo Run - A 3D physics puzzle game. Oldish, but fun.
  

 

Oh and this GAF thread has a lot of the weirder stuff, a lot of which is free.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Purkake

[Malcador]

AI War does look interesting

[Oner]

You want me to link Master of the Wind again? If you insist...

http://www.solest.org/games

It's a superhero deconstruction in a fantasy setting. 7 arcs long, the last one is coming soon.

[Maria Caliban]

Amnesia: The Dark Decent.

[Oner]

Ben there Dan that & Time, Gentlemen

A point & click adventure game + sequel with black humor. First game is free, 2nd is cheap.