If your only view into what ’s hot in video games was The Game Awards , you might think that 2024 was lacking in great sovereign games . Indies struggled to shoot down nominations at this year ’s show , withBalatrostanding out as the sole breakout achiever tale . Almost everything else indie , with one exception , was quarantined to categories like Games for Impact and Best Debut Indie . I could forgive anyone who looked at thenominee listand walk by think thatFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthwas the undisputed king of 2024 .
Anyone who plays indie games on a regular basis will paint you a much different exposure . Deep below the year ’s surface - floor hits lies a level of imaginative indies that pushed gaming to new originative heights in 2024 . The list of highlights feed deep . Indikais an eerie 19th - century risky venture about a nun outrunning the devil , Arctic Eggsexplores absurdism through fry - preparation minigames , andMinishoot ’ Adventuresreimagines the twinned - spliff shooter as a Zelda game . None of those game are anything like one another , but they ’re all some of the class ’s most originative , engaging works .
Animal Well
The first time I sawAnimal Well , I knew it would be special . Its eerie lo - fi atmosphere radiated off my reckoner screen as I keep an eye on its introduction house trailer . Solo developer Billy Basso promised a Metroidvania full of mysterious arcanum that he feel would take fans years to really uncover . It was some big public lecture , but the final product deliver on those hope . Animal Wellis a haunting dangerous undertaking that plays like a maximalist Atari 2600 games . There are secrets within secrets , with each screen hiding something underneath heavy layers of secret . Some of my preferred play moments this yr fare during the calendar month I had with it prior to critical review , where I fluidly draw back its stratum alongside other critics . As a community - aim single - player game , Animal Wellis a noteworthy accomplishment that I ’m not sure anyone will be able to replicate.~ Giovanni Colantonio
Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure
Arranger : A Role - Puzzling Adventureis one of those mystifier games that stunned me because I could n’t believe that no one had think of the gameplay concept before . roofing tile - sliding puzzler biz might not be a new estimate , but a game where the tiles move with players is . Developer Furniture & Mattress explores this estimation to the fullest in its compact but exceedingly clever introduction claim . Arranger’stile - sliding movementis shockingly intuitive . Yet , it ’s a conception that succumb a surprising depth as Furniture & Mattress recontextualizes it for everything from moving a key to boss fights . It ’s one of the best indie titles to tally Netflix ’s program library of game , making a lot of sensory faculty on mobile even though it ’s also on consoles . It has flown under the radar , but puzzle game fans should not slide pastArranger.~ Tomas Franzese
Balatro
I ’ve played so many roguelikes and card games at this stop that it ’s hard for a novel one to make an effect . Yet , when I checked outBalatro’sSteam Next Fest demoahead of its passing , I make out we were in for something special . When I got my hands on the full secret plan , it quickly became apparent that I was playing a roguelike that would join a pantheon of music genre greats alongsideSlay the SpireandHades . Balatrois simpleton , only requiring a bit of knowledge about mathematics and the unlike kinds of hands one can make with a pack of cards of 52 placard . From there , it became dead soak up to maximise my scotch with each face-off , upgrade my cards , and buy helpful Joker card whenever I could to tiltBalatro‘s betting odds ever so slenderly in my favor . Balatrois a game I can pick up and spiel for just a minute or two when I have time , but each time I do so , I take a chance getting sucked into its alluring loop for hours.~ Tomas Franzese
Dungeons of Hinterberg
dungeon of Hinterbergfirst made its unveiling in an unexpected manner . It was tucked into one ofXbox ’s most packed summertime showcases , nestled between games likeStarfieldandFable . At the time , I was surprised that it landed such a major spotlight . After bet it , it was an obvious inclusion . keep of Hinterbergis an like an expert craft dangerous undertaking biz about a little Alpine town that ’s metamorphose into a tourer ambush overnight after magical dungeons protrude up around town . There ’s a lot to know about its slick scrap , splendid teaser design , and Persona - comparable societal systems , but its true draw play is its nuanced narrative that untangles the complicated nature of the tourism industry and its encroachment on small Town . It may have go under the radar when it launch this class , but it deserves attention.~ Giovanni Colantonio
I Am Your Beast
This twelvemonth gave us a self-coloured new Call of Duty game in the phase ofBlack Ops 6 , something that won back some much - needed good religion in the serial publication . But what if I told you that a shooter made for a fraction of its budget muck up it out of the pee ? It ’s straight : unknown Scaffold’sI Am Your Beastis far and out 2024 ’s salutary first - person shooter . The high-pitched - octane game features some of the silklike , snappiest action you ’ll observe in a game this year , bringing the unstable kick of something like John Wick to a truehearted and furious shooter . Underneath those simple pleasures is a history about a former soldier fight down to reclaim his identity element from an instauration that discover him as nothing more than a living weapon . It ’s riveting , ruthless , and downright awesome.~ Giovanni Colantonio
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
As someone who loves puzzle games , sometimes it can be difficult to win over friends to toy the game I love . Unlike the quick satisfaction of action games , a peachy teaser game requires patience . You need to be willing to let yourself be frustrated as you excruciate your brain for answers . It ’s all worth it for that sweet eureka consequence . Lorelei and the Laser Eyesunderstands that appeal and turns it into the most substantial and uncompromising puzzle game I ’ve ever played . The mysterious biz , one about the intersection of art and truth , is full of bona fide brain - buster that will leave you shoot your whisker out if you stare at them long enough . There ’s an internal logical system to its haunting world though , and crack the codification is part of the fun . If you have the patience for it and can resist the enticement to wait at template , you ’ll regain a watershed genre game and 2024 ’s most concluded artistic vision.~ Giovanni Colantonio
Mars After Midnight
If you ’re a fan of true indie games , do n’t sleep on the Playdate . Panic ’s 1 - bit handheld with a crank features a live catalogue of titles that all find clever ways to practice the churl and forced minimalism that developing for Playdate involve . Playdate received its orca app this year inLucas Pope’sMars After Midnight . The latest game from the creator ofPapers , PleaseandReturn to the Obra Dinn , tasks player with play a bouncer who has to decide whether to let certain outlander into events on Mars while stay fresh the snack table clean . It drive the tax write-off - based formula ofPapers , Pleaseand send away it into a quicker - paced experience that leans more toward humor and an affirmative outlook on helping others . possess a Playdate but notMars After Midnightis like own a Wii withoutWii Sports : it just would n’t make sense.~ Tomas Franzese
The Plucky Squire
2024 was a rough year in a creativeness - driven manufacture . AI ’s preponderance continues to rise , and it feels like creatives — whether they be film maker , game developer , artist , or diarist — are under blast from all Angle . I appreciateThe Plucky Squirebecause it remind me of one of the core reason people make things : to help and root on others . A testimonial to creative thinking likeThe Plucky Squirewas just what I needed in an otherwise stressful and sad twelvemonth . On top of all that , it kept me concerned throughout its short six - hour runtime by always introducing fresh gameplay ideas , including its authentication feature of letting players jump between the pages of a storybook and the real world . The Plucky Squireis the feel - good indie game of the year , peculiarly if you aspire to make any form of art.~ Tomas Franzese
Thrasher
A enceinte VR game can make you forget that you ’re jade a headset at all . They enthral you to new Earth and envelope you . There ’s no better example of that this class thanThrasher , perhaps this class ’s most underrated release . A sort of cross betweenTempest 2000 , ThumperandFruit Ninja , Thrasheris a rhythm game that ’s all about guiding a ribbon eel through circles and lines along to a pulse - pounding soundtrack . It ’s the kind of biz whose prayer ca n’t translate to words . It ’s positively hypnotic , fill up with psychedelic imaging that make it palpate like a playable drug trip-up . It does n’t just take an existing game template and translate it to VR ; it understands that a headset is a portal to another dimension.~ Giovanni Colantonio
UFO 50
UFO 50is a massive achievement for indie gaming . Some of the blank space ’s most talented developers , includingSpelunky’sDerek Yu andDownwell’sOjiro Fumoto , work together to create 50 different fully - feature retro games in what can be key as an artistic production piecetribute to eighties biz design . Each game in this collection has some sort of inspiring twist and is good enough that it believably could ’ve been released on its own on Steam . My favorite isMortol , a platformer where musician have to sacrifice their life story in different direction to get along through levels . Everyone who playsUFO 50willprobably have a different favorite , and that ’s the sweetheart of this experience . I see myself chipping away at each ofUFO 50’sgames for years to come.~ Tomas Franzese
Honorable mention : Arctic Eggs , Arco , Berserk Boy , Grapple Dogs : Cosmic Canines , Indika , Isles of Sea and Sky , Judero , Minishoot ’ Adventures , Mouthwashing , Mullet Madjack , The hike of the Golden Idol , Starstruck : Hands of Time , Void Sols , Volgarr the Viking 2 , Zet zillion
