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.
You’ve already got a bunch of great suggestions, but I’ll throw my two cents in too. I think of these as indies or games that have a niche audience, but some of them probably have bigger teams involved.
That ended up being a lot more than I intended to share, but if this convinces anyone to give any of these games a shot, I think they’re in for a treat.
I don’t know if I’d call most of these “hidden”.
Outer Wilds, Slay the Spire, Undertale, Return of the Obra Dinn, Papers Please, Disco Elysium, Stanley Parable, Hollow Knight, Deep Rock Galactic and the The Witness are all award winning games that have massive recognition.
The rest of the list is great though, I think I’ll check out Wildermyth.
Thanks for the recommendations!
You have excellent taste (in games and youtubers)! A ton of my favorites of all time are on this list (especially Citizen Sleeper, which hit me in ways that I didn’t expect at all). As someone similar:
Exo One: A chill game about rolling an alien space ship through insanely pretty worlds.
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist: A free game a lot like The Stanley Parable, by the same developer.
Cultist Simulator: Completely defies description. A masterfully-written Lovecraftian survival exploration game, but it’s made of cards.
Torment: Tides of Numenaria: A great top-down RPG with a unique sci-fantasy universe and de-emphasized combat.
Forager: The methadone to Factorio’s heroin.
Black Book: Like Slay the Spire, but story-driven and based on Russian Folklore and history in the transition to industrialization.
Scorn: If H. R. Giger had been the art director on Amnesia, it would have looked like this.
Inscryption: Another incredible horror game with cards as the core mechanic. More great exploration and plenty of “what the fuck” to go around.
Uplink: On the older side, but holds up. A great light hacking game with solid mechanics and not too much excess complexity.
Jazzpunk: Probably the hardest I’ve laughed from a game since Portal 2.
The Last Door: A 2D point and click adventure with excellent music and atmosphere.
Primordia: A dark point and click about a world populated by robots. Has stuck with me for a long time, mostly because of the jaw-dropping pixel art and voice acting.
Darkside Detective: A point-and-click about investigating the supernatural. Absolutely hilarious.
The Old City: A dark and surreal walking simulator that stands on an incredible soundtrack.
Evergarden: A Chill match-3 puzzle in a soothing garden.
Astroneer: No Man’s Sky-esque, but focused on base building and engineering in a finite solar system.
Slime Rancher: The Chao garden, but a full game. A large world to explore with a diverse array of cute slimes to ranch.
Into the Breach: Not sure if this is too mainstream, but it’s a really awesome take on a tactics game. Fight aliens, but think more chess than Xcom.
Ascension: Made by a former MTG pro player who was frustrated that the original was pay-to-win. Imagine MTG’s complexity with Dominion’s mechanics. The digital version is amazing. The physical version is a bit clunky because the mechanics can get pretty complex.
That got longer than I expected too lol. Thanks for these. I’ll definitely check out the ones I don’t kno.
I’ll have to stick these on the old to-do list! Already played and love Cultist Simulator, Forager, Inscryption, Into the Breach, and Ascension. Thanks for the recommendations!