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[euroboi]

We have seen tons of indie games over the last 10 years, but it seems that most of them just copy whatever was popular in the 90s, it is usually the same platformers, same type of RPGs and same type of Zelda inspired games.

But is there anything you see frequently in indie games you love or hate? And what do you love or hate?

 

[The_hunter]

They're cheap. They try new ideas. You can also run a lot of indies on a low spec machine.

What I hate? Lately a lot of indies copy each other.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I love that they keep genres alive that most AAA studios abandoned. Like 2d zelda games, top down gta games, arcade racers, star fox, etc.
Indies can usually be more weird too in general which I appreciate.

What I hate is making everything rogue-lite/like or soulsborne. Rogue just seems like a lazy way to not design an entire game.

 

[cormack12]

I dont think India make good games yet

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Difficult to find good ones. Best I can do is watch some videos that compile a ton of them. But they usually don't cover everything.

Would like to see length, difficulty balancing etc. They tend to suffer at times with difficulty spikes, or not very good mechanics. Hard to know from videos.

 

[RoboFu]

I love indie games but unfortunately there is a lot of slop that gets mixed in with true indie games.

There are publishers and devs that throw out these crap titles for the sole purpose of scamming people out of a few dollars. they put out hundreds of them a year and thats how they make money.
SO my biggest wish is for digital stores to give of the options block publishers or devs from the store list so our new games list are not clogged up with those types of games and adult visual novel bs.

 

[corgiix3]

Very rarely do I enjoy Indie games. They are to "artsy fartsy" for my tastes. Usually the indies i like tend to be rpgs like Chained Echoes

 

[Polaris]

I hate this perception the average gamer has that indies are somehow immune to the same trappings AAA has.
They're just as fallible the big corpo game devs. Their main benefit is that their games are cheaper to buy.

That being said, they're not beholden to a commitee of clueless executives so they tend to have more interesting concepts. It's like pre-2010 gaming.

 

[Guilty_AI]

There's plenty of them and it feels like its where most of the passion and creativity of the industry went towards.

That said, due to sheer volume you naturally see a lot of copy-pasted stuff and shovelware. To find things you usually need to have a good grasp over what you like and what you want, and then know the proper resources to look for them.

 

[diffusionx]

I hate the shitty faux pixel art in so many indie games. I hate how random generation has replaced actual design.

But there are some games with good ideas and interesting gameplay.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I hate this perception the average gamer has that indies are somehow immune to the same trappings AAA has.
They're just as fallible the big corpo game devs. Their main benefit is that their games are cheaper to buy.

I'd say its more a matter of volume. We have, what, 10 to 20 AAA games every year? Due to how creative industries work its safe to say only a fraction of those will be beyond average.

And then you have hundreds of indie releases, which would translate into a few dozen of truly great games, which would also mean more variety among them compared to AAA.

 

[mopspear]

For me, it's just visual issues. ZOOM IN ON YOUR PLATFORMER GAME. Also, color reduction trends (not like 16 color or 8 bit), takes away more than it gives.

 

[Hyet]

LOVE: good indies are sure to provide fun experience. They live or die by how good their gameplay is so if there's good word of mouth around an indie game it'll probably be very fun to play. Sadly many good indie games don't get noticed because there are too many indie games in general and most are just mediocre or inoffensive.

HATE: I don't like this aesthetic indies have gone into lately emulation 32/64 bit games. I don't think they pull it off as well as 16/32 bit pixel art and so far all examples I've seen are jarring and unappealing.

 

[neocycle]

Successful Indie games prove that gameplay is more important than graphics. Also, I like how Indie games are typically not overloaded with complicated, unnecessary systems and controls.

 

[Susurrus]

I don't particularly care for or against them and it isn't part of my purchasing or playing decision. If it's a good game and I enjoy it, I'll play it. If it's yet another "old school style pixel art game" or "here's another rogue game so we can pump out a short game as a long game" then they can go to hell.

Not to say pixel art is bad, there's some good pixel art indy games - I played through Cosmic Star Heroine lately and enjoyed it. But there's too many that have that as their feature and fail to make a good game out of it. We have enough of that trash.

Also the "inspired by" games. Back in my day we called them clones. And most of the time they were trash. There's exceptions - I enjoyed and got the platinum trophy for both Yooka Laylee and its sequel (not enough to play Replayee though) - but how many Mega Man clones are there that failed? How many Sonic clones? How many Metroidvanias? Do something original, stop making clones and trying to get people to drink nostalgia.

 

[Fbh]

I really like "indie" games, or rather lower budget games since they aren't always technically indie. They are increasingly becoming some of my favorite stuff to play.
This gen games like Silksong, Chained Echoes, Sifu, Nine Sols, Death's Door and more have been some of my favorites, not to mention one of my goats Outer Wilds (though that's a last gen game). And this year stuff like The Eternal Life of Goldman, Replaced and Threads of Time (not sure if that one is 2026 though) are some of my most anticipated games.

I like their more unique style and visuals/art direction, and how most of the ones I like (though not all) are more gameplay focused in their design rather than constantly killing the pacing with dialogue, cutscenes, forced walking and stuff like that that's increasingly annoying me in AAA games.

Also, if you have a certain tolerance for jank it opens up a world of super fun and creative games like Burgeist, Frogmonster (top tier boss design in this one), Metro gravity and much more.
I always recommend Iron Pineaple to people. His videos looking at random steam indie games are great and do a good job showcasing the variety and creativity of them that goes way beyond just 8 bit inspired paltformers. A lot of them are extremely janky and rough, but every now and then there are some gems too, I usually end up wishlisting a couple of games after all of his videos.

 

[mdkirby]

They often lack voice acting, and in some cases opt against any character at all with narrative tropes like "all the people have vanished"

 

[rkofan87]

They often lack voice acting

this is my only gripe and i know its do to budget but it still sucks

 

[GymWolf]

In some genres simple graphic usually means way more content compared to an AAA, just compare AAA roguelike returnal vs an hades 2 or even worse, a binding of isaac.

And they can get weirder with mechanics and stuff because they are ok with selling to a small niche without losing billions.

But i really never bought a game just because it was an indie, if i see something i like, i buy, no matter the production values.

P.s. ok i guess indies use the isometric view way more than AAA and i love isometric view in games.

 

[mdkirby]

this is my only gripe and i know its do to budget but it still sucks

I mean there's cheap tools now to get plenty of great voice acting …western devs just seems to have a strange Pavlovian aversion to it..,Asia doesn't tho, so as with AAA I expect Chinese and Asian indies will eat western indies lunch.

 

[Pataponpon]

I love the genre of gaming some of them tackle, soundtrack is usually nice too when it feels more cool than just corporate, I like the 2D art of some of them.

What I hate, I dislike that some are getting too tropey with mental health stories, some dialogues are cringe also

 

[envyzeal]

I don't. I just play AAA.

Spoiler: Spoiler

They're cheap and usually try new ideas

 

[Durin]

Aside from some just being innovative, I really enjoy how indie games actually make new games in genres that AA to AAA have completely stopped doing.

Sports/racing games with arcadey physics not trying to be sims, real-time tactics games, top-down/side-scrolling shooters, beat'em ups, life sims, etc. Or just older-style design while mixing in some new stuff like the better Boomer shooters.

Aside from not liking assets flips or poorly made trend-follower games...this new era of "cozy" games I just find insipid. Most of them just go for a comforting vibe, with little to no (or just shit) mechanics that are as boring as walking sims to me. Sim City proved back in the 90s you can make a comforting game with depth.

 

[bender]

In some genres simple graphic usually means way more content compared to an AAA, just compare AAA roguelike returnal vs an hades 2 or even worse, a binding of isaac.

And they can get weirder with mechanics and stuff because they are ok with selling to a small niche without losing billions.

But i really never bought a game just because it was an indie, if i see something i like, i buy, no matter the production values.

P.s. ok i guess indies use the isometric view way more than AAA and i love isometric view in games.

Returnal is a weird one as I think the limited weapon and itemization was partially due to wanting to keep the game skill focused where Isaac had combinations that made the difficulty trivial. I can understand the decision on Housemarque's part even if I think it makes the game a less interesting rogue experience. I definitely felt the repetition of rooms in Returnal very early on and it's something I hope is improved in Saros. I'm not sure I'd consider Returnal AAA either, but I don't think we've ever seen leaks of its budget. For reference, Saros budget is estimated to be 76-86m which would put it in the AAA realm, so I could be wrong about Returnal.

My favorite thing about indie games is the team sizes are small enough that a creative vision can shine through in ways that most larger scale games can't due to so many voices shaping the project. And like others have said, the copying of trends in the indie space combined with their rapid pace of development tends to get us flooded with the same concepts ad nauseum. Copying has always been normal for the industry but I do think the ease of development tools and publishing avenues has compounded the problem which also leads to discovery issues. I'll be really happy when the Vampire Survivors fad is a distant memory.

 

[Danjin44]

I hate their obsession with roguelike, soulslike, metroidvania and trying too hard to be nostalgic.

I much prefer AA and AAA over indie games these days.

 

[TGO]

Usually a great concept bogged down by the limitations of the hardware.....oh wait, no and because they went artesy or retro.

 

[Humdinger]

I've played a few great indies, but in general, I've been disappointed by the very limited budgets. I suppose I've grown accustomed to medium- or large-budget games and the visual experiences they provide, so playing many indie games feels like a step down.

Also, there are so damn many of them, so it's hard to find the good ones amongst all the junk.

I do like that they take risks and experiment in ways that big-budget games cannot.

 

[existensmaximum]

I hate their obsession with roguelike, soulslike, metroidvania and trying too hard to be nostalgic.

I much prefer AA and AAA over indie games these days.

Came here to write these exact words. I've thought to myself countless times "why would I play this over the original game on NES?" (or whatever)

Very little originality, it feels like half of the devs making them go in thinking "I wanna make a game inspired by my favourite childhood games!" and borrow every single aspect or mechanic.

 

[Danjin44]

Came here to write these exact words. I've thought to myself countless times "why would I play this over the original game on NES?" (or whatever)

Very little originality, it feels like half of the devs making them go in thinking "I wanna make a game inspired by my favourite childhood games!" and borrow every single aspect or mechanic.

People often say indies are the more "creative" but these days all I see is them shoving roguelike and soulslike to every genre.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

I hate their obsession with roguelike, soulslike, metroidvania and trying too hard to be nostalgic.

I much prefer AA and AAA over indie games these days.

People often say indies are the more "creative" but these days all I see is them shoving roguelike and soulslike to every genre.

100%
This is essentially exactly what I came in to say.

I see people praising Indies for creativity or trying new things all the time and while some of them do so many of them are all the same games over and over again. I get why a lot of Indies are 2d or retro from a monetary standpoint but it's all very samey.

 

[Guilty_AI]

I see people praising Indies for creativity or trying new things all the time and while some of them do so many of them are all the same games over and over again. I get why a lot of Indies are 2d or retro from a monetary standpoint but it's all very samey.

You need to see which indies are being praised. There's good, bad, average, not that different from AA or AAA

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I like the price and unique gameplay.

Unfortunately so many have a crappy bubbly cartoony look. Even for RPGs or strategy games you get a lot of this.

 

[MagusMajul]

too many minecraft clones

 

[hououinkyouma00]

You need to see which indies are being praised. There's good, bad, average, not that different from AA or AAA

Well the problem is that the ones that actually get promoted are all the same. There 100% is unique experiences out there but they don't always get the attention.

The worst for me is indie horror. I love horror games but indie horror is all the same fucking shit now. Everything is a Puppet Combo/Chilla's Art rip off with a fake CRT/Camcorder or PS1 aesthetic nowadays and it's exhausting.

The last indie games I really enjoyed were TCOAL, Selaco, and The Citadel.

Edit: I do want to say that some of my favorite games of all time are indie games likes Yume Nikki, Ib, Off, and Witch's House.

 

[Itchy.Tasty.]

They aren't accountable to shareholders so are more willing to take risks.

 

[Danjin44]

You need to see which indies are being praised. There's good, bad, average, not that different from AA or AAA

So far most indie games I see getting praised are either roguelike, soulslike or metroidvania and even all them at once and majority of them trying very hard to be "retro".

 

[PlayStaytion]

The fact that we could expect anything from them like rewriting unwritten roles and this is wild.
A lot shorter than the original games they resemble.

 

[Cakeboxer]

That they don't have an insanely high budget and therefore don't have to play it safe like the polished but often boring AAAs. They can take creative risks and try something new.

What I don't like is that there's also a lot of trash among them.

 

[ByWatterson]

I'm very, very, very tired of depression simulators and "Found Family" psychotherapy.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Well the problem is that the ones that actually get promoted are all the same. There 100% is unique experiences out there but they don't always get the attention.

Well, it's true to find good stuff you do need to do a minimum amount of research. No good indies will just appear on your timeline.
Still, its as simple as inputing a genre on a search engine or steam labs and finding things.

The worst for me is indie horror. I love horror games but indie horror is all the same fucking shit now. Everything is a Puppet Combo/Chilla's Art rip off with a fake CRT/Camcorder or PS1 aesthetic nowadays and it's exhausting.

eh, there's definitely a bunch of them like that, but there's also a bunch which aren't. Like horror games with fixed camera (and modern graphics), first person stealth games, visual novels, that Dredge game about driving around a boat i don't know how to classify, some point'n'click/exploration stuff, etc

The last indie games I really enjoyed were TCOAL, Selaco, and The Citadel.

Didn't they release Beyond Citadel (The Citadel sequel) last year?

 

[Guilty_AI]

So far most indie games I see getting praised are either roguelike, soulslike or metroidvania and even all them at once and majority of them trying very hard to be "retro".

My favorite indie game from last year. Not a roguelike, soulslike nor metroidvania. Not trying to be retro either as it uses hand-drawn artwork and some quite advanced bullet physics and movement.




And this isn't some obscure title either. It did get a lot of attention, got covered by people who cover FPS games, including some big youtubers.

 

[Zamana]

Indies today are either:

- roguelike, roguelite
- cRPGs or VNs
- bullet hell, swarm stuff
- cozy, house or stuff similar or survival open world craft
- friendslop
- incremental, idler

There's hardly anything new or exciting that makes them unique.

 

[GymWolf]

Returnal is a weird one as I think the limited weapon and itemization was partially due to wanting to keep the game skill focused where Isaac had combinations that made the difficulty trivial. I can understand the decision on Housemarque's part even if I think it makes the game a less interesting rogue experience. I definitely felt the repetition of rooms in Returnal very early on and it's something I hope is improved in Saros. I'm not sure I'd consider Returnal AAA either, but I don't think we've ever seen leaks of its budget. For reference, Saros budget is estimated to be 76-86m which would put it in the AAA realm, so I could be wrong about Returnal.

My favorite thing about indie games is the team sizes are small enough that a creative vision can shine through in ways that most larger scale games can't due to so many voices shaping the project. And like others have said, the copying of trends in the indie space combined with their rapid pace of development tends to get us flooded with the same concepts ad nauseum. Copying has always been normal for the industry but I do think the ease of development tools and publishing avenues has compounded the problem which also leads to discovery issues. I'll be really happy when the Vampire Survivors fad is a distant memory.

Returnal has less content than pretty much every decent indie 2d roguelite i ever played, and yeah compared to 99% of roguelite on pc, returnal is definitely triple A, you don't need a budget of 200 mil to be an AAA.

 

[Jet Set Willy]

The good ones - of which there are many - are full of soul and personal touches that I just don't feel with most AAAs. They often have a strong attention to level design and tight controls. They have immediacy, I'm not bogged down with tutorials. And they keep genres alive that Sony literally tried to kill off in the early days of PlayStation and their anti-2D agenda.

 

[Hudo]

There are some fantastic indie games but most are the modern equivalent of shovelware, and I hate how you are automatically made a persona non grata when you dare to say that. There are a lot more shitty indie games than good ones out there.

 

[Laptop1991]

I know people like them and i wouldn't criticize anyone that want's to play and enjoy them, but they are always lacking for me, i have never wanted to play any Indies, and they won't save or drive the industry forward or improve it, only triple A can do that, and triple A are mostly failing at the minute, but Indies should always be an option for gamers that like them, so i support them for anyone else that does.

 

[xrnzaaas]

I don't play that many indie games, but for me the biggest obstacle is the length - they either end too quickly or they overstay their welcome. It's pretty rare for me when I'm perfectly satisfied with the length - Planet of Lana 1 & 2 can be good examples. I also hate when roguelite elements are injected into everything, that usually results in removing the game from my wishlist even if I like the rest.

Not being safe about everything is what's drawing me towards indies, but if I'm honest I feel best playing AA games that feature elements from both indies and bigger budget games (like they can still have beautiful 3D worlds).

 

[MagiusNecros]

Quality games if you know which ones to look for.

Soon.

 

[jufonuk]

I like that we have a market where we have access to them.
what I don't like i dont Want to buy. But what I like I hope to buy.

Like how they kept the switch going
Hate how some how despite only having one system to work on. It felt like Nintendo could pump out more games during the 3DS Wii-u days.

 

[Croquette]

I don't like that many indie games are more style over substance. Sometimes you're lured in with really well made trailers but when you actually play the game you're met with rudimentary gameplay mechanics.
A lot of these "games" feel more like art and/or music showcases where the gameplay was a complete afterthought.