Top 50 Indie Games

Here you go--my personal ranking of the best indie games ever made! The last decade or two have seen an explosion of innovative and memorable indie games, and these are some of the most enduring standouts. This is all in good fun, so feel free to weigh in with thoughts, recommendations, and rankings of your own!

Here's a few other videos on the channel about indie stuff:

Katana Zero vs. Hotline Miami:

Top 10 Mystery Indie Games:

[ProfessionalRacist]

*TIMESTAMPS :*

1:59 Superhot
2:39 Limbo
3:39 Firewatch
4:49 The Stanley Parable
5:59 Hotline Miami
6:48 Sifu
7:57 Transistor
9:11 Oxenfree
10:40 Kena: Bridge of Spirits
11:54 Unpacking
13:43 Gris
14:43 Super Meat Boy
15:46 Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy
17:01 Braid
18:29 Soma
20:04 The Witness
21:34 Overcooked 2
22:53 To The Moon
24:17 Fez
25:27 Gorogoa
26:37 Inside
27:48 Untitled Goose Game
29:13 Shovel Knight
30:32 Celeste
31:57 Golf Story
33:43 Her Story
34:57 Disco Elysium
36:54 Katana Zero
38:18 Gone Home
40:18 Slay The Spire
42:01 Minecraft
43:28 Subnautica
45:32 Death's Door
47:08 Baba Is You
48:23 Into The Breach
50:02 Towerfall
51:13 Tunic
53:27 Binding Of Isaac
55:02 Hyper Light Drifter
56:37 Papers, Please
58:24 A Short Hike
1:00:21 What Remains Of Edith Finch
1:02:35 Return Of The Obra Dinn
1:04:14 Night In The Woods
1:05:51 Dead Cells
1:07:41 Hades
1:10:10 Hollow Knight
1:11:57 Stardew Valley
1:14:20 FTL: Faster Than Light
1:16:56 Outer Wilds

[_Abdo.]

1:59 Superhot #50
2:39 Limbo #49
3:39 Firewatch #48
4:49 The Stanley Parable #47
5:59 Hotline Miami #46
6:48 Sifu #45
7:57 Transistor #44
9:11 Oxenfree #43
10:40 Kena: Bridge of Spirits #42
11:54 Unpacking #41
13:43 Gris #40
14:43 Super Meat Boy #39
15:46 Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy #38
17:01 Braid #37
18:29 Soma #36
20:04 The Witness #35
21:34 Overcooked 2 #34
22:53 To The Moon #33
24:17 Fez #32
25:27 Gorogoa #31
26:37 Inside #30
27:48 Untitled Goose Game #29
29:13 Shovel Knight #28
30:32 Celeste #27
31:57 Golf Story #26
33:43 Her Story #25
34:57 Disco Elysium #24
36:54 Katana Zero #23
38:18 Gone Home #22
40:18 Slay The Spire #21
42:01 Minecraft #20
43:28 Subnautica #19
45:32 Death's Door #18
47:08 Baba Is You #17
48:23 Into The Breach #16
50:02 Towerfall #15
51:13 Tunic #14
53:27 Binding Of Isaac #13
55:02 Hyper Light Drifter #12
56:37 Papers, Please #11
58:24 A Short Hike #10
1:00:21 What Remains Of Edith Finch #9
1:02:35 Return Of The Obra Dinn #8
1:04:14 Night In The Woods #7
1:05:51 Dead Cells #6
1:07:41 Hades #5
1:10:10 Hollow Knight #4
1:11:57 Stardew Valley #3
1:14:20 FTL: Faster Than Light #2
1:16:56 Outer Wilds #1

[MissEvieYT]

If you haven't played "Before Your Eyes, " I really recommend it based on this list. A really wonderful, moving narrative told in a remarkably unique way: the game connects to your webcam, and time skips forward when it detects your blinks, like your life is flashing before your eyes.

[danytalksmusic]

This might be one of my favorite videos on gaming ever. It's very special to celebrate the diversity and charm of so many amazing games. Sometimes it's the smaller games that suck you in the most and have the longest lasting emotional impact on the player.

[zvennn]

Some other games you guys might like if you like this video:
- The Beginner's Guide
- Journey
- Unfinished Swan
- Call Of The Sea
- The Last Door
- The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter
- Life Is Strange
- Torn (VR)
- Invisible Hours (VR)
- Wanderer (VR)

[denizy]

Great list overall, it was really cool to see so many overlaps with my favorite indie games as well, some others that I think would be good contenders to be among these 50 are (sorry if there are duplicates): LISA: The Painful, Norco, Citizen Sleeper, OMORI, Undertale, Ori Series, Rain World, Hypnospace Outlaw, Kentucky Route Zero, Inscryption, Dusk, Chicory, Stephen's Sausage Roll, Terraria, Journey, The Cat Lady

[John-yicz]

It’s great to see A Short Hike get the recognition it deserves. For sure one of my favorite games!

[jada]

Playing Outer Wilds changed my understanding of what a video game could be, in a way that I don't think happened since the switch to 3D with Mario 64

[Softlol]

So happy to see Outer Wilds slowly is getting all the recognition it deserves. Remember playing it back in 2019 and literally nobody knew about it

[mider-spanman]

I don't understand how you don't have more subscribers. You are a great reviewer with a good voice and such enthusiasm. You also articulate things quite well.

[KavCantCurve]

love the effort you put in these videos. you deserve more subscribers and I'm sure your channel will blow soon

[Casual_Curious]

Never been happier than right now, seeing Outer Wilds at the top spot.
It is by far the most unique and unconventional game i have ever played but nailed every part of it in the process. The only bad thing about is, that you cant talk about whats happening during your playtrough because knowledge is the only way to progess and discover the way to finish one of the best games ever made

[_Elliot]

I absolutely love the amount of work that went into this video. I adore the smooth script that always felt interesting, and somehow, for 80 minutes straight never missed a beat.

[darren]

This is a fucking excellent video. Hardly any YouTubers take the time to explain their thoughts and rankings in lists of this size. Also our tastes overlap a LOT - I absolutely loved Tunic. Please make more of these kinds of vids!

[WauwautosaTufGuy]

Here is my top 50(In order since I have been ranking every game I play and actually enjoy since college)

50-Monster Boy and The cursed Kingdom
49-Trials Rising
48-Katina Zero
47-Griftlands
46-Tunic
45-Mother Russia Bleeds
44-Life is Strange
43-Pentiment
42-I am Alive
41-Dark Pictures Ashes
40-Darkest Dungeon
39-Child Of Light
38-Nex Machina
37-RollerDrome
36-Hades
35-TMNT Shredders Revenge
34-Hotline Miami 2
33-Super Meat Boy
32-Streets Of Rage 4
31-Walking Dead Telltale Season 3
30-Salt and Sanctuary
29-Stray
28-Huntdown
27-Signalis
26-My friend Pedro
25-Slay the Spire
24-Ori and Will of the Wisps
23-It takes 2
22-Monster Train
21-Celeste
20-Inscryption
19-Walking dead season 2
18-Cult of the Lamb
17-Walking Dead Telltale season 4
16-Astral Chain
15-Neon White
14-Walking Dead Season 1
13-Wasteland 2
12-The Witness
11-Disco Elysium
10-Hellblade Senua Sacrifice
9-Rogue Legacy 2
8-Hollow Knight
7-Hotline Miami
6-Wasteland 3
5-Return of the Obra Dinn
4-Sifu
3-Enter The Gungeon
2-Nuclear Thone
1-Cuphead

I think we have in common that we dont look up answers. It took me 3 week to solve one of puzzles in the witness. Also I think you have convinced me to play Golf Story...Great list, Once I saw Obra Dinn I knew I was watching someone with excellent tastes. I think 2022 was an excellent year for indies, 6 of my top 10 games were indies. Also I need to play outer Wilds, you are the 4th person that that has told me that game is something special.

[ktsunex]

i was waiting for both outer wilds, and what remains of edith finch. Both games i wasnt expecting much but both resonated with me and felt like an experience rather than a time killer. Ironically enough, i just downloaded them one day assuming i would forget them a week later but nope, love them both. you have great taste.

[Uzgenouzmis]

Some classics that are not on this list and comes to mind are Guacamelee 1/2, Undertale, Enter the Gungeon, Ori 1/2, A Hat in Time, Cuphead, Dakest Dungeon, Axiom Verge 1/2, Blasphemous, Little Nightmares 1/2, Spelunky.

[petey]

I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned, but CrossCode is an absolutely fantastic action rpg that blends a fast paced and stylistic combat system with puzzle design that rivals old school Zelda games. It's one of those games that at a first look you might shrug off as "yet another retro inspired pixel art game" but it truly is fantastic. And it has a free standalone demo (which runs in your browser), which you should absolutely try if you're remotely interested.

[Jason-eoxo]

This is one of the best videos I've ever seen on YT. You can just FEEL the love for video games as a medium beyond the graphics and gameplay. Video games, like any other medium, is often a reflection of the current state of humanity as a whole. Amazing!

[pamplonica]

How did they forget Cuphead, Undertale AND TERRARIA???