As a huge supporter of the indie game scene, I love a good success story. This is mainly because it takes a little bit of luck and a whole lot of creative brilliance for an indie game to stand out from the crowd.
10 Best Cozy Game Hidden Gems You Need To Play
Cozy games are usually plucky little indies, but even within the cozy game community there are some underrated gems,
By that logic, it would be fair to say that every successful indie deserves to be celebrated without fail, but even within the indie scene, there are a few outliers who achieve commercial and critical acclaim but perhaps don’t deserve it as much as others.
It’s always nice to see the little guy come out on top, but on occasion, there will be an indie that rides a cultural wave or achieves beyond its means, earning the label of ‘overrated’.
So, in the hope of tempering your expectations and calling it as we see it, here is a list of ten indie games that, while great, perhaps get a little more credit than they should.
10The Artful Escape
Style Over Substance
The Artful Escape
We begin with the surreal acid-trip rock opera that isThe Artful Escape. This is a classic case of a game using eye-candy to fool the masses and convince critics across the board that this game has more substance than it actually does.
Credit where it’s due: The game is a visual masterclass and easily the sharpest-looking game on this list. It also has a sublime audio assortment. But that’s where the remarkable traits attached to this game begin and end.
The game’s story is unremarkable for the most part, with visual effects bridging the gap, the musical sections aren’t rhythmically in time with the player inputs, which is deeply unsatisfying, and the platforming is as basic as it gets.
It’s a short and sweet little outing that has its moments and looks the part, but why this game achieved such unanimous critical success, I will never understand. Truly proof that looks can be deceiving.
Far FromPurr-fect
Next, we have what many of you will know as ‘that cat game,’ but those more attuned to the indie scene will know it asStray.
This is an example of a good game that inexplicably achieved reverence through nothing more than catching the wind and achieving beyond its means.
Don’t misunderstand.Strayhas some great qualities, such as a surreal dystopian setting and a story that is more emotionally charged than it has any right to be. But it’s also a game with plenty of drawbacks.
For example, considering this is a game about cats, animals known for their agility, it’s rather ironic that the platforming in this game is so rigid and limited. Plus, it has to be said that the game has rather limited gameplay with a lack of variety overall, with awkward chase scenes, forced stealth sections and more.
Again, it is a solid title, but one that wouldn’t have achieved what it did without the focus on a cute feline protagonist.
Plays Second Fiddle To Its Predecessor
Always good to have a little bit of recency bias thrown in there to keep things spicy, and the recent follow-up toGRISis how we intend to spice things up.
This is yet another somewhat controversial one, as I felt very much on an island on my ownwhen I reviewed this oneslightly more negatively than my peers. But, even with the power of hindsight, I stand by my opinion wholeheartedly.
Neva is a wonderful game that is artisticallyas stylish as they come. It offers endless eye candy throughout its short runtime. However, the problem withNevais that it fails to build on the strong foundation of its predecessor,GRIS.
This title fails to tell as poignant a story as its predecessor. In terms of puzzles and platforming, it plays things safe rather than trying to innovate.
The addition of combat was novel, but sadly, it wasn’t a strong enough addition to truly elevate the gameplay. So overall, while undeniably good,Nevais not the world-beater many made it out to be.
7What Remains of Edith Finch
A Game That Needed A Harsh Edit
What Remains of Edith Finch
In the next chapter of ‘games journalist rumbles the indie community’, I go after a beloved walking simulator of worldwide acclaim.Here’s the thing about Edith Finch.
It’s a visually striking game with a lot of interesting ideas that are used masterfully to tell short, emotive stories through gameplay. However, when you look at the holistic final product, it’s also a game that’s unpolished, with lofty highs, and disappointing lows.
At its best, it’s a game that will tug at the heartstrings and provide interesting experimental vertical slices that are worth their weight in gold. But at its worst, it’s a game where you tumble down a hill controlling a laughably janky shark.
If the game had taken even half the ideas presented through gameplay and refined them beyond more than a base concept, WROEF would have been so much better than it currently is.
But in the end, it’s a decent walking sim that perhaps gets a little more credit than it warrants.
6Viewfinder
Shake It Like A Polaroid Picture
Viewfinder
Speaking of amazing concepts that fail to achieve their true potential, we have one of several breakout puzzle games from the class of 2023,Viewfinder.
This game isa photography-based gamewhere using images to alter the world around you is the aim of the game.
This novel idea has oodles of potential and is used to great effect in various stages of the game. However, the problem is that these stages are too few and far between.
For every intriguing picture within a picture puzzle, there is a dull battery puzzle. For every perspective-based mind-boggling puzzle, there is a puzzle lacking in any difficulty whatsoever.
Then, just as the game offers a time-based puzzle with difficulty and stakes, the game ends, killing the momentum the game finally establishes.
Undoubtedly, this is a killer idea, but sadly, I feel there was a lot more than could have been done here, and criminally, we’ll never know what more this puzzle format could have offered.
5Cult of the Lamb
Wake up, Sheeple!
Cult of the Lamb
As someone who loves pretty much everything that Devolver Digital puts their stamp of approval on, this one stings a little.
But, if I’m being truthful to myself, I have to say that while creepily cute and solid as a concept,Cult of the Lambis far from the world-beater many view it as.
It’s a game with a lot of solid gameplay formats done decently, but it’s also a game that doesn’t excel at anything. The combat is a vague imitation ofHades, the cult management is unbalanced and falls to pieces after you gain a certain amount of followers, and the Roguelike formula is rather shallow.
The game has found mass success due to its blend of cute and taboo themes and the inherent humor that comes with that, not to mention the wonderful cartoonish visuals.
But all in all, it’s a game that I feel flatters to deceive, and when you look a little deeper, you find that everything that makes this game ‘good’ has been done better by other games within each respective genre.
4Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
A Second-Rate Shropshire Story
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
As someone who regularly defendsDear Estherdespite its rather antiquated experience because it is the grandfather of walking sims, I have a lot of respect for what The Chinese Room can do as a studio. However, no matter how many times I return toEverybody’s Gone to the Rapture, I always come away feeling disappointed.
What can’t be disputed is that this game absolutely nails the Shropshire village aesthetic with visuals that still look impressive today. Plus, the game manages to pull off an ominous, horror-adjacent feel through its atmosphere. But sadly, that’s where the praise for this one ends.
Due to the slow, plodding pace, even for a walking sim, the lukewarm story, and the fact that so much of the story can be completely missed through no fault of your own.
This remains one of the weakest walking simulator experiences I have ever played, and as a self-professed walking sim enthusiast, it ranks low on a long list.
A Major Dropoff
I often praiseDredgefor giving me a chance to relive my childhood and play as a boat again, as I did in the PS1 game,Overboard. For that, I am eternally grateful for this title, but despite this, I cannot deny that, despite a very strong opening, this fishing mystery epic tails off dramatically as time rolls on.
The game opens with a staggeringly satisfying risk and reward system, interlinking with a series of mysterious Lovecraftian horror mechanics that keep you on your toes.
But sadly, as time goes on, the horror fades, the perils of the sea are trivialized by the upgrades you unlock, and the game becomes an attritional ‘dad game’ as you sail across the finish line.
I wish the game had managed to maintain the tension of its opening throughout. I wish the game had made upgrades a little less impressive to maintain a sense of tension and peril, and I wish the game had offered a less predictable ending.
All in all, it’s a game that is worth playing, but it fails to stick the landing as an all-time great.
2Five Nights At Freddy’s
Animatronic Ambivalence
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Before all the Scott Cawthown stans come after me, let it be known that perhaps I am simply old and don’t get the FNAF phenomenon as a result.
But be that as it may, you cannot deny that, as a game and nothing more, there isn’t one FNAF title that stands up to scrutiny and could be called an outstanding indie game.
Whether referring to the OG outing that set the wheels in motion, or more recent outings likeSecurity Breach,the general synopsis is that these games are rather light on refined gameplay and rely heavily on lore and fanfare to get by.
It’s undisputable that the series' lore and complex story, which have been spawned across various forms of media, are incredibly impressive, to say the least. But as a standalone gameplay experience, it’s a rather average horror experience at best that relies on cheap jump scares and shock value to stay relevant.
Which, among a slew of actually incredible indie horror games in recent years, doesn’t quite cut the mustard.
1The Stanley Parable
Boring Office Droid
The Stanley Parable
Finally, we have what I would classify as the most overrated indie game of all.The Stanley Parableis essentially a fleshed-out version of a Half-Life mod.
A common story for mods turned games, The Stanley Parable has become a revered gaming title almost solely for its fourth-wall-breaking meta commentary on the medium.
Putting my cynical nature to one side, I see the appeal and get that the game is clever, funny, and thoughtful in spells. But to view this game as seminal is a bit rich.
The Deadpool-adjacent fourth wall breaking feels a little conceited and obnoxious at times. The variety of short branching narratives leads to replaying sections with no guarantee of a new outcome, and the limited gameplay conducive to a walking simulator naturally limits this game’s appeal further.
So, all in all, it’s a game that’s worth checking out if you fancy a laugh, but one of the best all-time indie games? I think not.
10 Underrated Action Games You Need To Play
For those who love eradicating everything that stands in their way, we list several amazing underrated games with high-octane action.
