Indie games don't tend to last long for me. Whether it's my mood, or memory in today's time, or just because a lot of them lack some senses of depth, a good majority of the time indie games tend to pass through. Then, there's others, which I stubbornly cling to or at least replay like normal games. Ones I can't put down, or have even bought multiple times. Some comfort me, others are just too fun, and some are so simple it'd be pointless to just not come back in with a clear mind. I'm setting some minor rules here which will omit a couple. Namely, Minecraft which hardly feels indie and I feel it's mostly been a returning factor for split-scree, and I know Towerfall isn't worth it without split-screen. As such I just don't want to count that sort of thing, because I'm not coming back for sheer desire, but rather restriction because it ain't like much AAA or Journey allow it. I'm also not counting anything special Indies have brought back, unless it was solely an indie project to begin with, so stuff like the incredible Turok Remaster, or the Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition port don't count. Finally, I'm adding a cut-off so that stuff I've only played just last year like Gungeon,, Aragami, and Dungeon of Endless don't count. I want more of a sure test of time, and who knows maybe I'll even wind up placing the disappointing Moon Hunters on that kind of list. For now they're all too new in my opinion. Finally, if they've fallen off completely, I won't count them. Like Cortex Command, I've just had my interest wane, and I get the feeling it might not be so enduring in the true long run.
Journey
Let's kick this off with something simple I've mentioned time and time again: Journey is one of the best games ever. Period. It is a miracle and mastery of sound, visuals, multiplayer, immersion, and minimalistic story telling. Furthermore, it's just a really fun game that never fails to put a smile on my face. It's still a lot of fun to this day to go back, play with the kite creatures in the desert, chirp along with somebody, and... heck why not just complete the story while you're at it? I really shouldn't have to say anything more, just read back on all my other praises of this wonderful game.
Armello
...and the very thing that made me realize this article was needed. I don't know any Indie game that just comes back around this much in my mind in some way. The story, the constant awesome updates, or just the fact that it's fun. The game is a really great transition from boardgame concepts, to video game form. Meanwhile it has some brilliant Nintendo-esque style story telling, where there's no serious story on the surface, but so many little details, theories, and smaller things that it keeps the player creating their own while enjoying the world as bits are put in front of them. Oh and of course, the complex but fun game of chance, strategy, and gameplay is real cleverly designed so that it's both fun, and surprisingly makes sense within the context of the lore. It's comprised of cards, RPG questing, dice rolls, and turn based strategy all within a 10 day cycle. It's a really awesome experience, and you're missing out if you still haven't played it. Meanwhile I keep coming back, and even after several other indie disappointements or phases... well, I come back again.
Terraria
Crimsonland
A surprisingly old, but obscure game. I nearly didn't include it, because it's been so long since I played it and I only technically bought it for the first time last year. However, long time ago I used to play this game's demo to ridiculous lengths. It was one of those freeware client things full of trial games, and I loved this one. I played it till the end, then it's survival again and again, and then went back and replayed the campaign a slight bit more. Now I've bought it, and while I can't say I play it every day, or for a while each session, I keep coming back to it casually quite often. It's such a simple but effective top-down shooter, giving you random sets of perks, power ups, and a variety of weapons, and then you just literally paint the ground red with the death of enemies. It takes up like 200mb at most, and so there's just no reason to take it off, it's a great casual game to play on the Vita or PS4.
Aqua Kitty: Milk Mine Defender
Another obscure one, and one I wouldn't have expected. It looked like dumb fun, and I got it for a cheap price, so it was a fun light arcadey game to play. I got surprisingly far in it's campaign, especially on easy mode, and I really loved the art style of it. It's a basic Defender style game, and you might think I'm just complimenting it's style because cats, however it's not just cats. It's the fact that "missing" people on the scoreboard are put on milk cartons, it's the way the waves animate, the "mew" coming through your PS4 controller when a cat is abducted, and then the music that is so good I had to buy one of the themes. All the little things add up to make the presentation something clever, and just really enjoyable. On top of that though, is a fun arcadey game I wound up buying twice, and still occasionally play. It's especially at home on the vita.
Hotline Miami
And now we're back on things everyone has heard of, and with good reason. Hotline Miami is an amazing top-down shooter that turns combat into a big tactical puzzle game despite layered thick with arcadey elements, and psychotic imagery. It's worth going back to for the same reason it's just so much fun, you really don't know what you're going to get out of each run. I just enjoy picking a random level, picking a mask, maybe trying something with a new perk, and then running in and failing until I find a good route and path to take. It's just fun to keep coming back to, especially on the vita.... actually, the PS4 controls are just a wreck, so only on the vita. Meanwhile it's sequel was a little disappointing, but oh well.
Serious Sam (general franchise)
I was playing this over and over again before I knew what indie even was. Serious Sam never felt indie, and we probably didn't even have that term around for games at the time, but it was still a lot of fun. However while I keep coming back to it, there's no single one game I keep coming back to, and very little rhyme or reason for choosing any particular one. There's so many different versions, and they all nail the core idea: run into giant arenas and shoot down massive waves of enemies with ridiculous weapons while Serious Sam mocks them or other FPS games. As an FPS fan, this is certainly one good indie I never quite walk away from.
Hoard
Back to obscure "who the heck is that!?" land! Well for starters, you'd be certainly right to say that about the dev team who made this one game, disappeared into 72live, and you can't find a damn thing on what that company is on google unless you search up their defunct Big Sandwich Games title first. However before they met that horrible fate into further obscurity, we got Hoard, one of the best dragon games ever.... on a list of 3, in between Spyro and Lair, so it ain't much. Still, this game is a lot of fun, and as a dragon fanatic I especially love it. It's an isometric point driven experience that sort of simulate old dragon treasure tales, and brings them to life. You play as a dragon in an evolving medieval world, and you wreak havoc and collect plunder, upgrading alongside the world and it's damages. There's a shocking amount of depth and yet simplicity in the system. Castles upgrade over time, knights get sent out to rescue princesses, towns go up with each building type representing a different strength or problem that can occur, and then random stuff like giants can come in and throw a wrench in the system, but on top of that maps will have you compete with other dragons and even fighting for cities to honor and send sacrifices to you. It's really awesome for an unheard of game, and one of my favorites on the PS3. Shame it never got the proper support, and the dev is basically nothing now, but it's a fun game I keep coming back to regardless,
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Dust is a game that isn't quite as famous enough to be the icon of indie awesomeness, but it's very mention will bring out a ton of fans nodding vigorously about how excellent it is. I've even heard some name it among the best games to ever come out. I have to say it's quite a phenomenon. Made mostly by one guy, voice acted off of a ton of small time youtuber audience worth also finding and enjoying, and yet it's this really incredible adventure game that mixes up all sorts of cool genres and mechanics. Part metroid, part hack & slash, part platformer, and part anime mixed with Don Bluth animation, this is an amazing journey that is just all around perfect as a game. It's not perfect on any specific one ground, but it comes together feeling that way. It's music is great enough, it's game length is just right, it's story is just gripping enough with a good balance of drama, humor, and adventure, and it's gameplay is just awesome enough. It all comes together to be fantastic! I don't find myself loading it up and playing it often because it's a single adventure, but when I do, I'm reminded why it's never deleted or thought less of. It's an incredible game I come back to on occasions for just comfort in how awesome a passion project of one indie dev can be. Heck, it's a fantastic reminder of how great all mediums really are! Animation, music, gameplay, story writing, just activating the game is a feel-good activity. So yeah, Dust concludes my list on awesome indie games I know I'll keep coming back to.
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