Top 25 BEST Indie Games of the Year 2020

hello iniki fans 2020 has been a challenging year and i hope you held up okay but as always indie games will have your back another year another lots of fantastic indie games so here are my personal picks of games i love same rules apply no current early access titles and the game must have launched in 2020 with special mention going to the source like action title modded the seven acolyte and the lovely devi rpg haven which were newly released in december and i did not play enough of them so with that let's start with number 25 [Music] the reverse horror action title carrion impressed with the pixel art having you play as the alien monster which is usually the antagonist in horror movies but the combination of the art game feel and mechanics are neat while the controls do take a little bit of time to get used to the hooky jerky camera does convey the feeling of controlling a gigantic mess of tendrils and tentacles where you need to pick your spot to fight timing it right to cause maximum damage there are minor complaints that people have like the lack of a map but personally i did not find that to be an issue and since it's from the developer of the equally awesome butcher i had to give it a shout a very pleasant and calming smaller title is a monster's expedition having you exploring an archipelago and essentially just pushing down trees and logs to advance further [Music] however this game has those wonderful puzzle game moments where you tried to do something and then a new mechanic unexpectedly happens which did impress me and also had a share of deviously difficult puzzles it's been described as stefan's sausage roll but more friendly and i would agree and has one of the most calming vibes which was solely needed in [Music] 2020 i was excited for one step from eden ever since i came across it since it was a roguelite mega man battle network like and was certainly of interest [Music] it's an action rope light with real-time elements where you move attack and dodge in real time while having to keep an eye on your deck and active abilities while trying to hit a moving target at the same time while it does use pixel art i would say that it's not the highlight since more often than not the action is just way too fast to keep up and due to the speed does present quite the challenge the various bosses that you encounter can eventually be unlocked as playable characters with two interesting alternative mean endings that i know of whether you are nostalgic for its inspiration or just love roguelites this is one to check out [Music] the conversation around co-op local multiplayer games has been dominated by one particular title so it's a wonder that moving out managed to do its own thing while providing a solid experience as well [Music] you play as a furniture arrangement and relocation technician or fart and have to grab and move household objects to the moving truck as fast as you can [Music] it has a metals system which rewards you based on the speed as well as optional objectives such as not breaking any windows and since launch this developer did put out content patches which added new movers platinum level medals to get and more quality of life improvements so as a result makes this fun with friends once upon a time in the great arkansas kingdom the ps2 era 3d action platformer holds nostalgia for many and they don't quite make games like that anymore until pumpkin jack showed up as in the title and the theme this very cleverly released during the halloween period will embody the mythical pumpkin lord jack and have to help evil annihilate the good it's an excellently made title which pays tribute to its past for adding modern polish and gene which to be fair is a common tactic for indies but is done very well here the combat and platforming feels great and there are puzzle elements as well where you play as the detached pumpkin head so it's a nice mix and is paced very well [Music] [Music] [Applause] the narrative management strategy title yes your grace has impressed with both its look and overall construction having you play as the king where heavy is the head that wears the crown [Music] you need to take care of your immediate family and your daughters while brokering alliances fending off an invading force and listening and helping the villagers as well oh and did i mention that there are monsters and mythical creatures as well it's a neat choices matter type of game with some amount of replayability due to the different endings so i think it's worth your time a title which i very much enjoyed is vigil the longest knight a souls like metroidvania title which is all sorts of gloomy coming to us from a taiwanese indian developer and feels pretty great to play [Music] the closest comparison that i can make to this is salt and sanctuary although it doesn't come quite as close but the stamina based combat grim dark gothic aesthetic and rpg levels skills and equipment makes this a must play if you enjoy side scrolling action the story is told quite cryptically with some bits that may have been lost in translation but it's pretty awesome and worth the play we do of course have to cover risk of rain too a roguelite platformer whose most impressive claim to fame is that this developer managed to make the transition from the 2d of the original to the 3d of the sequel very impressively since 3d indie games do tend to have a high probability of being junky but is well polished here it's similar to the original in many ways having the same idea of synergistic artifacts and crescendo events but of course has new characters and environments which change up the game for hopo games is relatively small this somehow got picked up by gearbox publishing which i'm not exactly down with given the reputation but the people have spoken with regards to the quality of this game [Music] another roguelite of interest is splunky 2 releasing eight years after splunky hd so it certainly has been a while if you're not familiar splunky was one of the og rogue lights that really took off finding a very loyal fan base on the xbox 360 and vita of all places and is a legendarily difficult game but due to the interacting systems and secrets was lauded as the perfect game by a number of people [Music] unfortunately this did not really gel with me and the sequel feels very familiar in many ways having some repeated systems but adding new elements as a sequel should [Music] if you didn't like the original and in a similar headspace you probably wouldn't like this as well but if you open up your mind and see it more as an experimental sandbox you should uncover some clever systems and will marvel at the design of this [Music] the original polybridge is one of my all-time favorite puzzle games just being a solid bridge builder with great physics and its sequel also gets a spot [Music] as with all sequels it retains the core of what made it great but added new facets like springs and three-way split joints giving you more options and toys to tinker with and in my opinion has surpassed the original and is one of the best puzzle games available right now [Music] [Applause] an impressive pixel art title which i've had my eye on is hunt down a side-scrolling run and gun action platformer with three playable characters [Music] [Applause] you play as bounty hunters called in to take care of the local criminal gangs but the gangs are central to the story as your character [Music] the different factions feel unique each themed around a particular if stereotypical cliche with awesome designs and bosses as well of course as a pixel art fan this game gets points for its style being tremendously detailed in the environments which makes it look really good the tone is also irreverent in the little silly which is contrasted with the action and ends up being a great mix [Music] a must play action look like title is undermined a dungeon crawling entry that reminds me strongly of the original rogue legacy in terms of progression however this is played from that familiar action adventure style camera angle where you play as successive peasants sent into the undermine to search for treasure the action feels good with an interesting jumping mechanic allowing you to hop over pits and pools of fire as well as a variety of attacks all centered around the pickaxe and bombs like rope legacy there are fun mini games and challenge rooms with a core upgrade system using gold found that will keep you playing accidentally made and it gets up there among the greeks in the genre as well you seem different untouched by false truths will you pry these gifts from the [Music] i'm still very impressed with the existence of mortal shell as a game which from the look and the action is very obviously inspired by dark souls and they managed to make a pretty awesome if smaller one of these it does nail the look with the desolate landscapes and horrifying enemies but does have an interesting character plus system where you inhibit these shells as the main quebec there are progression elements like finding the true name of the shell that you're inhibiting to unlock its power and it also gives you the ability to harden the shell which will stun enemies if used correctly this hardening element is perhaps not super balanced and can be abused but it does give the game a unique feel in terms of the flow of combat from what i gather this is from a team of 15 people which is insane so kudos to them and waiting to see what's next [Music] another insanely popular roguelite this year was neutral slowly gathering speed and momentum through early access and launching in 1.0 in october [Music] as a roguelite platformer where you wield various magical wands each tied to some element and spell where every pixel is simulated which makes it a technical marvel to me the interactive systems of roguelites are part of the charm where water that falls on lava cools its rock or how lightning and water interact and is all part of the charm kill [Music] [Applause] [Music] as with many games in this space it's on the more difficult side of things but if you take the same approach to this as blankie mentioned earlier i'm sure that you will find the fun in this [Music] it was a mucky year for rogue lights both big and small and a title which had the unfortunate position of releasing in between two huge ones whilst going under but do not overlook it since it's a real gem it parodies tech startup culture where you play as an intern paid in experience building office junk as weapons to reclaim the assets of both companies i do like the almost claymation type art style with how everything looks like it was made out of play-doh coming with a sense of beard and whimsy which makes it pretty good it does also have one of the best writing in games this year with a very compelling look so 10 upon 10 get this game we kick off the top 10 with a title that you may have forgotten about since besieged seems like it has been in early access forever but finally launched in 1.0 it's a sandbox building simulator where you build various medieval siege engines in order to accomplish various objectives most often the destruction of a building or the killing of all enemies but the sky is the limit with this [Music] so many parts and so many fun things to build this allows you to mess around and make cool stuff which is the fun of such games also fun is looking at the steam workshop where people have made everything from gypsy danger to the enterprise choose a no-brainer for this list i love tactics games and the game which impressed me the most this year is fee tactics a vibrant and beautiful title where you journey across land searching for your mother [Music] the pokemon-like fee creatures are the highlights here both as permanent party members and summonable allies with a ton of customization and upgrade options which work well together [Music] needless to say i do love the pixel art and on top of that the tactics mechanics are well thought out factoring in things like adjacent towels elemental effects and elevation so it's a no-brainer for tactics fans dead cells meets celeste is an excellent way of describing scourge bringer another rook-like platformer that makes the cut [Music] the action feels great since our huron has a certain amount of air control with the ability to deflect projectiles or also fire your own which keeps the action going as with many modern rogue lights there is a meta progression system that will incrementally keep you playing adding more damage skills and abilities if you're into games like dead cells definitely check this out for something different but also has a great game feel [Music] happy to report that my most anticipated indie game of the year star renegades did not disappoint since this high-bit pixel art knight rpg has been mighty impressive of course if you know me i'm a huge fan of the look at pixel art with some of the enemies having as much as 600 frames of animation all lovingly and crafted and add to that a combat system for jrpg fans and elements from games like darkest dungeon to have yourself a winner it uses dimension warping and parallel universes to justify its group light structure which i do always appreciate when games in the genre do this with a timeline management combat system which has you stunning and delaying enemies combination attacks between characters camping elements to increase the bond and yet more free content updates released as recently as yesterday earns its spot in a tough year for many i do think that games like spirit pharah deserve a lot of credit being a wholesome or cozy experience that will tuck at your heartstrings and might just make you do a little cry [Music] it controls like a side-scrolling platformer where you gather resources building various rooms on the ship and craft build cook farm and more [Music] playing as the very person of the dead the objective in all of this is to help your passengers let go guiding them on their final journey to the afterlife so despite its cutesy look there's some amount of bitter sweetness to this and parents might want to be tactical if you play this with your kids [Music] the excellent soundtrack contributes a huge amount to the emotional storytelling and has those very compelling gameplay systems as well making it one of the best in 2020 [Music] i'll be honest i knew that whenever factorio released an 1.0 it would definitely make my game of the year less since it is perhaps the og factory builder title that has hooked so many [Music] you're stranded on an alien planet and have to construct a whole automated production line in order to build a spaceship to escape although it does hide somewhat of an ecological message as well since the factory does pollute which causes the native alien species to attack [Music] putting the colonialist theme aside the sheer act of building a fully automated self-functioning production line is so satisfying and that's not even getting into user mods but it can be quite dense and for a certain type of people since you do need to troubleshoot and to find out why certain parts of the factory is not working correctly even if this is not your typical genre of choice i would implore you to at least give it a look and you may just weaken something really dark within you since this isn't called cracktorio for nothing [Music] one of the later entries of the year that i managed to find some time to spend with is monster sanctuary a metroidvania title with pokemon-style turn-based combat [Music] i do love monster taming games since there's just so much variety and creativity in the future designs and this game has done it with 101 of them so i guess you gotta catch them all [Music] the rpg mechanics are solid with a skill tree evolution and equipment for your monsters and also has monster specific abilities that will enable you to access new areas wonderful mix of ideas and has become one of my favorite games [Music] i love chill farming sims for how they make me feel but the passing of time in games like harvest moon or studio valley may stress some people out so if you didn't like that aspect may i introduce little wood [Music] this takes that time pressure off since time only moves when you're doing something and does have all the expected elements like farming fishing mining character relations pets and so on but a set in the world which has already been saved so there's no threat instead monsters are now trapped in cards which become a mini-game of its own but if you do love this genre this will be right up your alley [Music] a game that has personally surpassed slave aspire for me is monster train the lane defense rook light deck builder about angels and demons you are escorting the last remnants of hellfire to rekindle hell which has frozen over and in the way a ton of seraphs and archangels since launch the developers have been actively putting out free content patches and mod support with this trailer showing off some of the new heroes and bosses but the strategizing required and upgrade system did make this very compelling it's right up there with the best games in the genre so an easy no-brainer pick and the indie game of the year goes to hades time for the main event in what is the most unsurprising number one thank you supergiant for making this easy the god-like roguelite has impressed with the action upgrades art and writing resulting in one of my favorite experiences of all time and yes it was robbed at those awards oh yes carry on everyone don't mind me announced and released an early access during the game awards two years ago this has been quite the journey for the game and they took player feedback into account and crafted one of the best indie games of all time essentially a story about family battle out of hell as the prince of the underworld searching for your mother with a number of spirits gods and monsters in the way the minute-minute action feels great with a huge variety of weapons and alternate forms to play with combined with various god powers like lightning from zeus or crit damage from artemis and how these interact with each other is super fun death approaches [Music] oh thank you lord we really ought to have the highlight has to be the narrative where the story progresses whether you win or lose so that dying in this game makes you just want to go for one more run since there's always new dialogue and character interactions there's also flexible difficulty that lets you choose how you would like to play not to mention wonderful art voice acting and music as is expected from this developer it has really set a new bar in rogue lights so once again congrats to the team at supergiant on a more personal note if you've stuck with the channel all these years or are a new subscriber 2020 has been the biggest one for me so far so sincerely thank you all for the support i love seeing this community of indie game fans grow as we discuss and celebrate the wonder that is indie gaming so here's to bigger and better things in the coming year if you're wondering what's coming out in 2021 do check out this playlist and i'll see you after the jump let's deal some death

Channel: Best Indie Games

Views: 299,999

Rating: 4.8723402 out of 5

Keywords: Best indie games, best indie games 2020, best indie games of the year, best indie games of the year 2020, Indie game of the year, top 10 best indie games 2020, top 10 indie games 2020, indie game of the year 2020, indie games 2020, top 10 indie games of 2020, indie game, indie games, best indie games, new indie games 2020, indie game of the year, indie gaming, indie game awards, indie game awards 2020, clemmygames, game of the year, game of the year 2020

Id: Wn7wWMvvvX0

Length: 28min 21sec (1701 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 18 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Sloppy_Quasar]

Fae Tactics had tremendous promise, gorgeous visuals and an awesome new take on turn based tactics (the 1 move/1 support/1 attack ability thing).

That being said, I played it for four hours and never played it again. It had no depth and no replayability. One of the biggest disappointments of the year for me.