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[Arsic]

This year had some ridiculously strong indie titles. I know often people on here think indie titles > AAA and AA efforts every year, but this year it's hard to argue.

Some indie titles I personally enjoyed a lot :

Icarus

LoopHero

GTFO

Eastward

Inscryption

Edit: I had typed up blurbs for each game and what makes them so good, but some error deleted all my original post attempt. Just play these games.

Did an indie end up being your GOTY this year ? Any other recommendations?

 

[CitizenZ]

Most of what I played are usually 1+ old but here are the few from this year, easy recommends:

Chernobylite-could have been GOTY but the choice structure is very bad
Cryofall
Retro Machina
Journey to a Savage Planet(Epic exclusive for a yr)
DorfRomantik
Tainted Grail
Gas Station Sim
Dysmantle
Mini Motorways
Thunder Tier One

So many good ones I played all are perfect for laptop or when watching TV while playing

 

[Guilty_AI]

Forgot the goty

 

[bender]

Dusk on Switch and Moose Life of PS4 are in my top three games this year.

 

[Arsic]

Forgot the goty

The visuals for this make me want to throw up lol.

 

[hlm666]

Chernobylite-could have been GOTY but the choice structure is very bad

If your talking about trying to fix the timeline up for the good ending that did get confusing. I had played up to the end in early access then when it released and the ending was added going back and fixing things without really remembering all the choices and consequences became a game of wack a mole. Still enjoyed the game alot though.

 

[Strider Highwind]

It really was a special year. Some of my fave experiences of recent memory were from smaller teams and 2022 looks even better. Trek to yomi and Replaced are probably two of my most anticipated games right now

 

[GametimeUK]

It feels like I haven't played many new indies this year this thread is appreciated.

 

[VoteForPedro]

Eastward is my GOTY loved that game to bits! Also really enjoyed Inscription.

Honourable mention to Let's build a zoo, really cool theme hospital like sim but in a Zoo context where you can make some weird and kind of dark choices about how to treat the animals and you can splice their DNA.

 

[CitizenZ]

If your talking about trying to fix the timeline up for the good ending that did get confusing. I had played up to the end in early access then when it released and the ending was added going back and fixing things without really remembering all the choices and consequences became a game of wack a mole. Still enjoyed the game alot though.

My exact thought. The decisions you made throughout up to the final then would simply balance the difficulty of the end mission not go back and change every decision so you can finally complete the last mission. Worst game design I have seen in a while, but damn they really did phenomenal with the art direction, writing, voice acting and I liked the base building, but damn.

 

[SJRB]

Thunder Tier One is a better Ghost Recon game than Ubi has put out in over a decade.

 

[ButchCat]

No one has mentioned the real star in the indie scene this year, disappointed.

Little Nightmares II

 

[Fuz]

I think I only played indies this year, if we exclude Genshin Impact and DFFOO.
AAA for me are failing pretty hard at being good games. Homogenized products for mass markets don't have much to offer outside the initial appeal and marketing power. And there are some indies that are just amazing.
Right now I'm playing The Captain and it's an incredible game.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Ill give my indie of the year award to In Sound Mind.

it has some technical issue/janky animations but it was such a good thriller/horror game.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

I need to play Inscryption. When is it coming to console?

 

[STARSBarry]

I know it wasent released in 2021 but it did get a huge update.



Fuck halo infinite's forever lasting battlepass, this battlepass is completely free, no paid tier, no paid skips, designed purely around rewarding players for just playing the game. Also they will make sure once the pass ends that the cosmetics are put into the regular ingame loot pool as a reward in future.

I find myself playing more and more indie title's as they seem more than willing to deliver what gamers actually want these days. I am just consistantly finding myself disappointed by the AAA.

 

[VN1X]

Edit: I had typed up blurbs for each game and what makes them so good, but some error deleted all my original post attempt. Just play these games.

Pretend I have also given your post a like based on your original writing.

Haha but yeah indies as a whole, especially going forward, are whats keeping me enjoying this hobby to be honest. So many AAA releases these days launch in the most awful or broken states (or they just don't run well enough any more on my ageing rig) so I always resort to the indie side of things to keep me sane. Saying that though I didn't play a whole lot of new releases this year. A notable expection being Inscryption which started off great (GOTY material even) but ultimately left me underwhelmed what with the other parts of the game being such a different kind of experience compared to the initial roguelike shenanigans. Otherwise I've played a ton of older games in my backlog and bought even more lol.

Looking forward to giving Potion Craft a try ASAP though. Same goes for Vomitoreum, Before Your Eyes, Chorus and Age of Darkness: Final Stand. I've also finally gotten my hands on GTFO and am really enjoying that as well. Indies are the best!

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Eastward is a MUST play!! So good....currently playing Death's Door and that is fantastic too!!

 

[VN1X]

Oh yeah deffo' put Eastward and Thunder Tier One on my wishlist as well.

I've also played Loop Hero a bit this year I realized but it hasn't really clicked for me yet. I'll give it another go some time when I'm in the right mindset for it.

EDIT:

Ill give my indie of the year award to In Sound Mind.

it has some technical issue/janky animations but it was such a good thriller/horror game.

Never heard of this but I see that apparently it's very good! On the ol' wishlist it goes. Hopefully it'll also go on sale come 22nd during the Winter sale.

 

[swarley64]

Don't sleep on Griftlands y'all

 

[Roberts]

It must have been a great year for indies, because I have played none of the games listed in OP and still can namecheck a ton of indie games that I loved or really enjoyed this year:

The Ascent
Death's Door
Echo Generation
Archvale
The Artful Escape
The Wild At Heart
Narita boy
Little Nightmares 2
Rain on Your Parade
The Gunk
Backbone
Unpacking
The Forgotten City
Sable
Recompile
Lake
Exo One

 

[NeverYouMind]

Baldo: The Guardian Owls
It is an action RPG like 3D Legend of Zelda but with animation studio Ghibli's aesthetic and auditory style.



Them and Us
It is a survival horror game like Resident Evil Remake but adds its own ideas to the mix with more modern assets to create a new but familiar experience.

 

[rofif]

Exo One !
The Forgotten City !

 

[remember_spinal]

Loved Chicory, Kena Bridge of Spirits, F.I.S.T, Disco Elysium, Hades, and Deaths Door

Need to play The Forgotten City and Inscryption

 

[TonyK]

I consider myself a graphic whore but I played in a row Blasphemous, Death Door, Hades and now Salt & Sanctuary, and I enjoyed all of them more than any AAA during the last year.

Edit: Oh my God, I forgot to mention the best of those indies I played in a row: Hollow Knight. Truly amazing game.

 

[remember_spinal]

I consider myself a graphic whore but I played in a row Blasphemous, Death Door, Hades and now Salt & Sanctuary, and I enjoyed all of them more than any AAA during the last year.

Salt & Sanctuary is just too ugly. I can usually get past the graphics if the game is fun but I honestly tried and its just so distractingly bad. It gives me newgrounds flash game vibes

 

[Connificent]

Hades won two goty's in a row.

 

[marcincz]

Currently playing Chorus and it is one of the best AA titles I've ever played.
Backbone is a good indie adventure, but second part of this game disappointed me.
Besides in 2021 12 minutes and Genesis Noir were quite good indies.
And of course, next two AA titles, Little Nightmares 2 and R-Type Final 2. Especially LN2 is great.
Yes, 2021 was good for smaller productions.

 

[TonyK]

Salt & Sanctuary is just too ugly. I can usually get past the graphics if the game is fun but I honestly tried and its just so distractingly bad. It gives me newgrounds flash game vibes

True, it's the ugliest game I played in my life, but it's really fun and engaging. I myself can't believe I'm playing something so ugly, but game it's well designed and paced.