The indie scene has grown in the past few years, before Steam and other gaming stores on PC, it was hard for small development teams to get indie games out the public without a publishing deal, making it rare to see a true indie game.
Nowadays, Steam is bursting with indie titles from all different types of development teams, there’s even a few one-man jobs that turn out to be as good as games made by big development houses, full of unique stories, mechanics and features.
We take a look at the top 10 indie games to check out that are available on Steam right now.
Starbound
The world of two-dimensional pixel art games is back, Starbound is a procedurally generated adventure game, taking the player from world to world, playing various quests, building a home and fighting off enemies.
Starbound’s team continuously adds more objects and challenges for players and similar to many indie developers, they listen to what the community says and implement it into the game, making it a more fun experience every time you return.
Banished
City builders have been around for some time, Sim City is the common favorite, but Banished takes everyone back to an age before electricity, to build a town for folks to survive and potentially thrive.
Built by one man, Banished is an excellent town building simulation game and uses common problems like disease and lack of food to make continuing and growing even harder than it already would be, definitely a pickup for people who enjoy a challenge.
Stanley Parable
This game may have been torn to the ground by various Let’s Play channels, but for those that have kept away from YouTube and want to try something unique out, Stanley Parable is about as unique as a video game can get.
Waking up in an office to find all the employees have gone, you follow the voice of the narrator as he guides you through the many twists and turns the game has to offer, always ending in a different way.
Papers Please
Another weird twist on the norm, Papers Please is an indie game about immigration in the glorious land of Arstotzka. Being an immigration officer isn’t easy, especially when running the fine line between time and making sure no troublesome characters get into the country.
Papers Please tackles a lot of tough issues in Russian style, including trying to get to relatives, getting away from dangerous people and making the choice between enough money to live happily or keeping terrorists out of the country.
Monaco
Rated one of the best co-op indie games of 2013, Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine is a top-down action game, where you and other thieves help out one another to create the perfect heist.
The game has a very unique art style and the different characters all have specific trades that make them good. In co-op, each player has their own role and can be useful at certain points in the heist, making it an ideal game to play with friends.
Don’t Starve
Survival games have become very popular in the past few years, but Don’t Starve is a unique take on the whole idea of surviving. Landing on a new world, the player must collect and stock food and survive many lonely nights, while fighting horrors that comes from the woods, the darkness and the player’s insanity.
The developers of Don’t Starve have been updating the game constantly with some new DLC out that adds giants into the game. Every game is different since it is all procedurally generated and the game loosely filters in story and challenges, while allowing the player to free roam.
The Swapper
Two dimension platforms are normally done in pixel art, but the developers of indie game The Swapper created a unique style using clay motion, building the characters and background out of clay. The end result is one of the most impressive indie games we have seen in a long time.
The Swapper doesn’t just rest on its looks, it actually brings some new features to the classic platformer, like being able to switch between clones to get through puzzles. The game has a curious story told in short video logs of people who were on the ship before the crash.
Outlast
This is one for the horror fans, another first person scare experience. Outlast breaks out of the norm by using new tools to scare the life out of players, as they progress through an abandoned asylum, trying to find the awful secrets of its past.
In Outlast, the atmosphere may haunt you more than the actual enemies. The developers created an experience where every corner, every open door and every whisper should be taken as a sign of immediate danger.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Indie games have often times took previously successful tactics and implemented them into their own games. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons brings a new experience to the gamer, making them take control of both sons at the same time.
Brothers manages to make playing as two characters at the same time fun and challenging, as the two brothers try to get their father to a Doctor and go on a journey together, one that will make even the strongest gamer a little wet eyed.
Democracy 3
Thinking about running a country can be fun, but when faced with the harsh realities of everyday life inside Parliament, will you rise to the challenge and fix the issues or will the country throw you out of leadership?
Democracy 3 is a smart simulation game that has a lot of features, making it rather hard for the casual gamer. Setting laws, spending limits and restrictions, while maintaining budget and keeping people happy will drive gamers to the edge and only the best will survive a full term unscathed.