The world of indie games in 2024 is blooming with creativity, innovation, and diverse storytelling that challenges the status quo. With an array of new indie games making their debut, this year promises to showcase some of the most exciting titles yet. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or a curious newcomer, you’re in for a treat as we dive into the top indie games in 2024 that are still rocking. Get ready to explore captivating narratives, stunning visuals, and gameplay that pushes boundaries. It’s time to discover the best picks from the indie games scene in 2024!
Hades 2 – Sequel to One of the Best Indie Games in 2024 To play
| Developer | Supergiant Games |
| Release Date | May 6, 2024 |
| Type | Roguelike RPG |
Like its predecessor, Hades 2 offers up a roguelike experience that combines an engrossing narrative with impressively satisfying combat system. It is also significantly bigger in scope. Offering more content to play through as Supergiant Games continues to add new biomes and polish up existing ones.
In the sequel, Zagreus’s nippy, witchy little sister Melinoe is the hero tasked with defeating the titan Chronos and reclaiming her father’s throne in the Underworld. As with the original, you’ll need to brave escalating challenges for better rewards. But this time it feels much smoother and more enjoyable. Vivid new hand-painted environments, the return of God Mode and an electrifying soundtrack. This was composed by Darren Korb.
Combat still has the same feel as the first game, but there’s a lot more to dig into here. Especially with the addition of a tarot card system that lets you unlock different weapon and trinket combinations for Melinoe. This, combined with the power of the gods that spawn periodically, allows you to build characters and tweak her abilities to fit your style.
The best improvement that Hades 2 makes over its predecessor is the way it delivers a more rounded story. It’s more than just about Melinoe fighting to clear obstacles and thwart Chronos. It’s about her trying to find a place in this world of monsters, demons and gods.
Dave The Diver – Deep Dive Shenanigans: An Underwater Odyssey
| Developer | Mintrocket |
| Release Date | October 27, 2022 |
| Type | Sim RPG |
Dave the Diver is simply an amazing indie game. Its slick 2D graphics and warm atmosphere make for an inviting experience. With its gentle system requirements mean you can play it with just about any hardware you have. The combination of two core gameplay elements such as exploring the depths as a diver and running your restaurant back on land – creates a seamless and relaxing experience that’s easy to pick up and play, yet feels deep and rewarding over time.
It’s also a very, very good indie game that deserves recognition. So much so that it was nominated for Best Indie Games in 2024 Award. But there’s a problem with that.
The Best Independent Game category shines a spotlight on developers who can’t compete with the large studios that dominate other categories like Game of the Year. So when a big publisher like Nexon (estimated to have a market cap of $18 billion) has one of its own internal divisions develop and publish an indie game, it’s a pretty big deal.
In the case of dave the diver, it’s a matter of principle and ethics. The game is a well-reviewed and fun game, but it shouldn’t be in the indie category if its developer isn’t actually an indie. It’s like if Ubisoft, EA or a studio owned by the Murdochs made a 2D pixel art game and called it indie just because it looks that way. That would be dumb, and it’s no different for dave the diver.
Gamingauts agreed together that we’ve spent many endless hours fishing and playing with the late night restaurant menu.
Dredge – Catch of the Day and Mysterious Waters
| Developer | Black Salt Games |
| Release Date | 2023 |
| Type | “Horror” RPG |
Dredge is an amazing indie game from New Zealand developer Black Salt Games that combines the serene serenity of fishing with merciless Lovecraftian horror. As you sail through the sea, you can upgrade your boat, collect materials and pursue pursuits whilst uncovering a devious conspiracy among the islands.
The calming gameplay is complimented by a soothing soundtrack, the sound of the ocean, and a beautiful low-poly art style that really brings this comforting adventure to life. The controls are also very smooth and easy to get used to. The left analogue stick steers the ship while a square button casts your line for fish or dredge. Triangle opens the inventory which displays your cargo space and can be expanded by consuming trawls, crab pots or by collecting polyomino pieces. This is a great inventory system that I wish was more common in video games, much better than a simple encumbrance rating.
There are some annoying aspects to this game, such as having to wait for the dredging to finish and the lack of a fast-forward button, but these are minor quibbles. The gameplay is relaxing and rewarding, although you need to be careful when out at night because the Lovecraftian horror elements do occasionally rear their ugly heads, although they’re never anywhere near Heildwald Loophole levels of fear.
The main reason to side in Wear//Tear is to destroy enchantments, particularly Leyline of the Void. They also help to prevent opponents from getting too tempo-oriented, but they aren’t good enough on their own to be considered a must-sideboard card in Dredge.
Balatro Game: Local Thunk’s Poker-Inspired Roguelike
| Developer | LocalThunk |
| Release Date | February 20, 2024 |
| Type | Roguelike Deck-building |
There are a lot of great poker-influenced games out there. Few of them, however, have quite as much flair or fun as Balatro. Its core systems are sound and form the well-crafted bedrock of a perfectly balanced deckbuilder, but it’s everything else LocalThunk has done to dress up the experience that makes it truly memorable.
While it can feel like a grind at times, especially when you’re forced to meet increasingly difficult blind goals, it’s hard to shake off the addictive enchantment of Balatro. Algorithms create a dynamic that feels fresh even after you’ve used up the supply of Jokers. Roguelike elements ensure that every run is always something new, despite having a recognizable core at its heart.
There aren’t many games that can threaten to derail your weekend plans as they seize your phone and pull you in for just one more run, but Balatro is a masterfully crafted roguelike with poker mechanics that’s both easy to pick up and hard to master. Its core loop is as satisfying as it gets and it’s an absolute must-play for players of the genre.
Palworld
| Developer | Pocketpair |
| Release Date | September 24, 2024 |
| Type | Survival and Crafting Game |
In a genre full of clones and rip-offs, it’s rare for a new entry to break into the ranks of Steam’s most popular games without a huge marketing campaign or a hefty price tag. Yet Palworld has managed just that. It’s a fun game that offers plenty of Pals to collect, expansive world settings to explore, and a Technology tree to unlock. It’s easy to get caught up in crafting and catching Pals. It’s even more enjoyable when you get to unleash gun-toting Pals into battle against other players and the game’s animal AI.
Despite some minor balance issues and bugs, the majority of gameplay is solid. Generally, the Pals are well-animated, and the combat feels fast and satisfying. The only thing that could use some tweaking is the aggro system. It can lead to a mess of Pals running around your base or getting stuck on top of each other in battle. Also, the feedbox needs a slight increase in range to prevent it from becoming a clusterfuck of pals clogging it up.
The most surprising part about Palworld is that it’s actually quite good – and it’s not because of some viral YouTube video or massively successful paid ad campaign. Instead, it seems like developer Pocketpair hit on a formula people want to play, and good old-fashioned word of mouth (and popularity-adjusted storefront algorithms) did the rest.
Against the Storm
| Developer | Eremite Games |
| Release Date | December 8, 2023 |
| Type | City-building game |
Against the Storm is one of the biggest surprises for indie games in 2024: an unconventionally ambitious game that blends together multiple genres into a perfectly cohesive whole. The result is a complex, challenging, and addictive city-building strategy. With loads of quality content that will keep you entertained for a long time.
Every other settlement is utterly destroyed. As the Queen’s viceroy, you travel the wilderness during short windows between storm cycles to found new settlements. These settlements will produce materials and also help you close in on a set of seals that will lengthen the storm cycle.
Against the Storm’s core gameplay revolves around building settlements that are as productive as possible. While at the same time avoiding disasters like flooding and hunger. The player must balance a wide variety of goals and challenges, including crafting raincoats, brewing ale, and baking biscuits.
Trash Goblin
| Developer | Spilt Milk Studios Ltd |
| Release Date | 6 Nov, 2024 |
| Type | Shopkeeping |
The game’s been a long time in the making, from an idea rattling around our Creative Director Andrew’s head for a decade to its current True Form. The result is a unique take on the shop keeping sim genre (think Sticky Business, Moonlighter) that’s very much rooted in repair and recycle rather than simply a place to hustle and sell to an ever-evolving parade of oddball customers.
Playing as an orphaned Goblin who digs through one man’s trash to make another’s treasure, your mission is to chip away at lumps of dirt and god knows what else in search of peculiar trinkets to uncover, clean, upcycle, and sell to a wide variety of fascinating customers across a fantasy city. Upgrade your shop, buy new and better tools, and expand into exciting districts across town as you restore and sell a staggering range of wares.
The Gecko Gods
| Developer | Louis Waloschek |
| Release Date | 2022 |
| Type | Puzzle |
We get another look at the relaxed puzzle platformer that puts you in control of a gecko clambering through ancient ruins on a tropical island.
Aside from the lizard’s normal running and jumping, tail whip attack, and flying karate kick abilities. What really stands out here is his ability to climb surfaces most gamers couldn’t reach, thanks to its sticky feet. This opens up a whole new dimension to the levels, and allows the team to build puzzles.
From grabbing handles to activate railway-like platforms and rotating mirrors used for light-beam puzzles to a boat engine. The premise might evoke memories of The Legend of Zelda, but Waloschek stresses that he wants his game to be more of an atmospheric exploration adventure than combat-heavy action.
Blazing Chrome
| Developer | JoyMash |
| Release Date | July 11, 2019 |
| Type | Run’n’Gun |
With its pixel-perfect aesthetic and a tongue in cheek nod to the action movies of the 90’s. We see why some would be inclined to compare this to an arcade run and gun classic. Thankfully, that’s not the case as this is a very good game all its own. JoyMash have clearly taken great care in the development of this game. What they brought is a fun experience that’s sure to please fans of Contra 3 and Metal Slug.
Set in a future where machines have taken control of the world, it’s up to you as Marva and Doyle. Two members of a suicide mission to destroy the enemy base and take back the planet from its robotic overlords. Both have personality: Marva kicks a whole lot of ass, whereas Doyle is a robot with a questionable fashion sense and love for bubble gum.
Most of the stages are your standard run’n’gun obstacle courses with a boss at the end. However, there are some other styles of level too, such as a hoverbike section a la Contra III or Hard Corps. There’s also a few shmup sections thrown in, including one that reminds me of the Sega classic Space Harrier.
This is a very tough game, even on the easiest setting. There are concessions made to a modern audience like mid checkpoints, this is still a hard game that will test your skills. Usually, though, failure is down to your own mistakes, whether you weren’t quick enough to dodge that projectile or didn’t jump at the right time to avoid some laser fire.
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut
| Developer | ZA/UM |
| Release Date | 15 October 2019 |
| Type | RPG |
From a gameplay perspective, Disco Elysium – The Final Cut is unmatched by anything else in the genre even for Indie Games in 2024. It’s got a fascinating world to explore and characters that fill it up like a thick porridgy Tsunami of backstory. It’s also got a fascinating system of dialogue and character interaction that feels utterly unique. And it’s all backed up by a solid dice rolling system that revels in its chaos and uncertainty.
One of the most fascinating systems in Disco Elysium relates to its political milieu. During your adventure, you’ll be exposed to all sorts of ideas that range from comedy to deeply philosophical commentary.
The final cut is a remarkable game and is easily the best thing in the genre to have hit the consoles since Planescape: Torment. But it’s not without its faults, and the Switch version feels compromised to a degree that hampers the overall experience. The controls feel like they were designed for mouse and keyboard with gamepad control tacked on. There are some annoying loading times when walking between areas. Despite these issues, however, it’s still an essential experience for fans of the genre.
Independent video games from smaller studios are referred to as “indie games.” The term ‘indie gaming’ is derived from related terms, such as independent music or independent films.
Compared to popular high budget AAA games, independent games provide a distinct experience. They frequently offer original and novel concepts that challenge the ideas of conventional game design.