Every year, there’s that one indie game that quietly lands and completely takes over your brain. You start it on a whim, and suddenly it’s all you can think about. Maybe it is the mechanics or the art style. Either way, it spends way more time in your brain than you ever anticipated.
If you’re only going to make time for one indie game this year, it had better be one worth obsessing over. These are the ones that stuck with me. They’re games that were either surprising or challenging or simply remind me why I loved gaming to begin with. Trust me, one of these deserves a spot at the top of your list.
9Nubby’s Number Factory
Think Peggle meets a roguelike, except the ball’s actually your coworker, and every bounce stacks numbers to beat. Nubby naively rolls through a chaotic factory floor, and I couldn’t stop counting my runs (or my high scores). It’s a surprisingly wacky and satisfying game that makes for an evening of fun.
With a huge positive review slant on Steam, this game has charmed its players with quirky art and plinko-style unpredictability. It isn’t a game that’s overly complicated or thinks too much of itself. It’s simply fun to play.
8A Game About Digging a Hole
Simple premise, wildly fun execution: just dig. InA Game About Digging a Hole, you start in your backyard with a shovel and wind up in an underground world of ores, explosives, even a jetpack. Within a week, it sold 250,000 copies because it’s hypnotically satisfying.
After four hours of play, I realized I was fully invested in my hole. Honestly, the very obvious sense of progression hooked me more than any games have in a long time. If you want a game that’soddly satisfying, this is the one.
7Rift Of The NecroDancer
Whether you’re stomping enemies to a beat or learning rhythm-level patterns, this sequel layers fresh depth onto the original’s musical dungeon-crawl formula. It has several composers and rift modes, providing plenty of different options for you to master.
There is tons of variety to the soundtrack and new mechanics to figure out, so this simple game can keep you busy for a surprisingly long time. It’s a very easy game to play “just one more time” before you look up and realize it’s been several hours.
6Rosewater
A moody,point-and-clickWestern with voice acting that felt like it was amazingly put together. It even features talents from Red Dead Redemption 2. You’re Harley, a frontier journalist chasing gossip, mystery, and a missing fortune in a dusty alternate America. Grundislav Games brought that gritty 19th‑century vibe from Lamplight City into bloom with Rosewater’s sharp writing and compelling worldbuilding.
It’s very easy to get lost in andreallyfeel like you’re on the trail. I’m not a huge fan of mystery games, but this one checked all the boxes.
5Peak
Grab a friend (or cozy up with a random teammate) and scale absurd peaks together inPeak. This co‑op climbing sim from Landfall and Aggro Crab sparked a Twitch frenzy and sold itself with clumsy, hilarious physics-based teamwork. I played solo and still got that balance of tension and triumph.
Later, I was able to snag a friend and play (which I will say is a much more enjoyable experience;play co-op if you may). It’s a chaotic game that’s also plenty charming. It plays at its best when you’re failing spectacularly and laughing about it.
4Blue Prince
Blue Princeis all about building a cursed mansion, room by room, through puzzle-driven roguelike runs. It’s one of the highest-rated indie games of the year, and I suspect that it will only continue to gather fame, as it’s still only just a few months old at the time of writing.
It’s a great game to sink dozens of hours into deciphering its shifting architecture and cryptic lore. If you love atmospheric, mystery‑heavy challenges with fresh surprises each run, this one’s the crown jewel of indie puzzle‑adventures.
3Bionic Bay
This biomechanical platformer feels like Portal meets Oddworld with gravity flips, telekinesis, and slowing time all wrapped in moody pixel art. I struggled a bit with the traps, but that only made it even more satisfying when I figured them out. It’s a very atmospheric game, if a little creepy at times.
This game isn’t easy by any means, but it also isn’t so hard that the fun starts to dim. Prepare for a real platforming challenge, though!
2Pipistrello And The Cursed Yoyo
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is an indie platform-adventure drenched in Game Boy Advance nostalgia. You’ll swing a cursed yoyo through dungeons while listening to a charming soundtrack. It reminds me a lot of the older games Nintendo used to make, making it perfect for those looking for a bit of nostalgia.
It’s stylish and retro, while also being surprisingly deep. It’s a game you’ll pick up for a little while and then think about for a long time.
1The Beekeeper’s Picnic
A Sherlock‑style point‑and‑click that feels like sipping Earl Grey on a rainy afternoon. You help Holmes and Watson solve quaint village mysteries in 1920s Sussex. It’s a cozy little game that’s great for unwinding after work.
The voice cast alone should be enough for you to pause and take a second look. Thanks to the story and stellar cast, I found myself genuinely attached to the little characters and the vibe. It’s clever and full of personality, which is one reason it’s one of my favorite indie games so far this year.
