Independent studios continue to create innovative, expressive video games across all genres. You may not have missed the surprise, breakout hits from independent studio Palworld from Japanese studio Pocketpair, but there are plenty of games that may have slipped through the cracks. That’s what we’re here for.
Throughout 2024, we played all sorts of indie games to put together a list of the year’s must play experiences: Everything from Metroidvanias like Tales of Kenzera: Zau, which is an action adventure that takes on grief, to Balatro, a wacky take on poker that’ll keep you convincing yourself you’ll only play one more round.
An indie game can be in any genre, but must be made by an independent studio. Some of the games on this list may have financial backing or other support from a big name publisher, despite being technically independent.
Below, find our coverage of the best indie games of the year.
- Behold an FPS Breath of the Wild with a hoverboard
- Threshold is a secret-stuffed horror game about the shittiest job
- Fields of Mistria’s days are still short, but its first major update helps
- Neva, the follow-up to Gris, is devastatingly beautiful
- Balatro cast a magic spell that made me like math
- The Rise of the Golden Idol sets the standard for point-and-click mysteries
- Europa is chill — its story isn’t
- Karate Survivor is a fun spin on the Vampire Survivors format… once you unlock the core mechanics
- Homicipher is a clever horror game about female desire and monster language
- Slitterhead transforms players into pawns in a parasitic proxy war
- Keep Driving turns a long-haul road trip into a turn-based RPG
- FMV horror game Tenebris Somnia is a nightmare come true
- Neko Atsume, but make it frogs
- Grunn is a delightfully scary game about the dangers of a Dutch garden
- Mouthwashing is a surreal horror gem about being lost and starving in space
- Nova Drift turns Vampire Survivors into a recipe for glorious space combat
- Hauntii feels the best when you let go
- Dreamy, scene-building games like Tiny Glade and Summerhouse are all vibes
- Atomfall is a proper British detective mystery with Fallout: New Vegas vibes
- Cupiclaw blends roguelike, deck-building gameplay with a claw machine for a chaotic good time
- Modern text parser game The Crimson Diamond rewards precision
- Fields of Mistria is pure magic
- Tactical Breach Wizards is a near-perfect blend of wits and witchery
- Gourdlets is the laid-back building sim for people sick of the grind
- In The Crush House, chaos is in the camera
- You need just one button in this bullet-hell gem
- Duck Detective: The Secret Salami takes the hard-boiled detective trope and makes it quack
- Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure’s masterful, clever design is clear right from the start
- You need to play Cryptmaster — but dear god, don’t use a compact keyboard
- Schim is like Homeward Bound, but you’re a shadow
- Still Wakes the Deep is a horror gem that won’t get out of my head
- This game has you win your freedom by cooking up some tasty eggs
- Lorelei and the Laser Eyes broke my brain, then built it back up
- Don’t spoil Animal Well for yourself
- This Stardew Valley-like farms while you work
- Manor Lords’ extreme authenticity made it Steam’s most anticipated game, but how does it play?
- Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a beautiful, devastating meditation on loss
- Children of the Sun offers one of the most challenging, satisfying levels of 2024 so far
- In Open Roads, you either explore everything or miss out
- I played 43 psychedelic Jeff Minter games in a row and now my brain is a puddle
- Nightingale’s jank mechanics are enveloped by a truly visionary world
- Palworld is the culmination of every game I’ve ever loved
- Home Safety Hotline is the cryptid help line game I didn’t know I needed
