Ive been trying some indie developed games this past year, more than ever and I’m in awe what lone devs or small teams can accomplish.
So, what are some games that you think don’t have the recognition they deserve, need a bigger audience or you would like the community to try.
I myself for example have played Monster Sanctuary, which at this point I think is not that hidden anymore and played a rougelike game called Elona, haven’t played RimWorld or Dwarf Fortress but I might in the future.
Sorry if a similar post already exists haven’t checked.
Dredge is pretty recent but it definitely impressed me with how it conveyed fear/paranoia in an eldritch horror setting. The fishing was also pretty fun!
My wallet hurts, but my steam library might be able to help.
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The Dungeon Beneath is a turn based party building roguelite. Easy to understand but can get pretty challenging. Also the music slaps.
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20 Minutes Till Dawn has a spin on the Vampire Survivors formula that I quite enjoy. Merging the crazed progression of items and swathes of enemies, with a twin stick shooter.
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Rodina was what I played when elite and nms were disappointing, and star citizen was still pretending to aim to deliver a final product. For a 1 person team, it really impressed me.
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Get to the Orange Door is a rougelite spin on Titanfall 2 in a weird cyberspace world. The biggest missing feature is a grappling hook.
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Sun Haven is a little buggy but a more rpg and combat focused Stardew Valley. I used to play a lot of rune factory 3, so I enjoyed it.
I tried to recommend some stuff I thought other people wouldn’t have played, so I hope you enjoy!
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night in the woods!
Noita. It’s just so good. Easily in my top 5 games of all time.
Distance is an arcade racing game with a neon cyberpunk aesthetic. And the main campaign has elements of horror.
It’s one of the most unique games I’ve played - it’s almost more of a platformer than a racing game. And the main campaign is worth the asking price alone, but there’s 2 other campaigns, a bunch of standalone maps, a level editor with workshop support, a random track generator and multiplayer. Even as someone who really doesn’t care for racing games, I absolutely adore this game, and it’s criminally underrated.
Does Tunic count?
Best to jump in without spoilers, but it’s way more than a Zelda/Souls like. So. Many. Layers.
And at a similar depth, but from many years ago. The Ur-Quan masters (space game) https://sc2.sourceforge.net/
Tunic review https://youtu.be/KlzsF4HAm2U
Uqm review https://youtu.be/3klJJ5mBDKU
Spelunky HD
A roguelike platformer. While it lacks any meta-progression (like the similar Rogue Legacy games), the core platforming keeps me coming back again and again. The systems-based nature of the game keeps things fresh through many play-throughs.
Umurangi Generation
A photography game that’s more cyberpunk than the game titled Cyberpunk. It gradually introduces you into its neon-soaked, Neon Genesis Evangelion-inspired world where humanity fights the good fight against kaiju.
spoiler
Except the kaiju, born from global warming, have already won, humanity is doomed, and you’re there to document the end of everything. The game takes a clear political position, inspired by the Australian bushfires and protests following George Floyd’s murder in 2020, that neoliberalism and conservatism can’t solve society-level issues, and will instead use the power of the state to sell non-solutions to delay or hide problems while violently stifling any real dissent.
Florence
A story of love, loss, and moving on.
I really enjoyed Songs of Syx. It’s a city builder and economy game, but with a lot of extra detail that you don’t often see.
I don’t know what’s considered a “hidden gem” so I’m just going to shout out all the indie games that I think are at least 8/10 and recommend:
Rimworld
Dead Cells
Dredge
Inscryption
7 Days to Die
Mount and Blade: Warband
Factorio
Mordhau
FTL: Faster than Light
Raft
Gunfire Reborn
Into the Breach
Hollow Knight
Dome Keeper
DUSK
Golden Light
Vampire Survivors
Void Bastards
If you were ever a fan of Rollercoaster Tycoon, check out Parkitect. It’s a phenomenal and fun themepark game!
The Return of the Obra Dinn is one of my favourite games. It’s an indie game but quite well known so I’m not sure if it counts as a hidden gem.
I really liked The Case of the Golden Idol too, and its DLC.
You can see I like detective games haha…
Return of the Obra Dinn was such a crazy experience. I remember my first playthrough I got super stumped and resorted to walkthrough’ing my way through. But when I replayed it I promised myself not to use the walkthrough and ended up getting it almost completely perfect, although it did take ages to do.
I wish I could play this game for the first time again, it’s that good
Cassette Beasts! It’s a monster collecting game. It adds a lot to the genre (definitely not a clone) and the music is awesome. It got amazing reviews so I’m not sure how hidden it actually is, but I really enjoyed it!
If you like space, you should play Homeworld and its sequels. Incredible game.
If you like chill strategy, try Terra Nil, Islanders, and Terrascape – they’re all really fun and Terrascape has turn-based multiplayer!
If you like puzzle games like Myst, Cyan has Obduction and the slightly controversial Firmament, which I thought was a lot of fun. Quern - Undying Thoughts is in the same vein and feels a lot like Myst or Riven.
If you like Halo’s multiplayer with an added Portal gun, try Splitgate. The developer isn’t going to be adding more content as they are shifting focus to a new game, but it’s still really fun.
If you like boomer shooters, try Amid Evil it feels like Quake, Unreal, and Hexen/Heretic. It’ll get your heart racing for sure.
Also “DUSK” is really great and very similar to Amid Evil. I believe it’s from the same publisher.
Thanks for the super complete answer, gonna be checking a lot of the listed games
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Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages is a 2D top-down space shooter with RPG text-adventure elements outside of the combat scenarios. I found it a super fun game with an insane amount of content. Probably over a hundred hours worth. There’s a bunch of weapon and defense customization when it comes to combat, and there’s probably thousands of varieties of ship you can build for whatever duty you need it to do.
If you like MOBAs or MMOs you’ll also probably enjoy this game, because when customizing a ship you can choose which key on your keyboard to bind the weapon to, and towards the end of the game you’ll end up with a whole row of keybindings on your keyboard.
I believe if you play with a controller it has twin-stick controls, but on PC the controls are more like Elite: Dangerous or No Man’s Sky, just in a 2D environment.
