8 of the Best Indie Games in History

An indie game is one developed by an independent developer without the backing of a major publisher. With the limited resources indie developers have, they are at a disadvantage in game design. However, there have been some huge indie game hits that have had a profound impact on gaming culture. These are some of the best indie games in history to play.

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley was originally a solo-developed game, which is now among the highest-selling games in history, with more than 50 million copies sold. This is a cozy farming simulation game in which players can transform dilapidated farms into flourishing agricultural estates. Stardew Valley is one of the best indie games to play because of its gameplay freedom, vibrant Pelican Town community, unique pixel art aesthetic, and soothing soundtrack.

Minecraft

Minecraft was originally an indie game invented by Markus Persson. Mojang was little more than a small developer group when it rolled out the Minecraft sandbox game in 2009. As Minecraft’s player count surged, Microsoft stepped in to buy out Mojang Studios, making it a part of Xbox Game Studios.

Minecraft became one of the best indie games in history because of its unique creative freedom. It is the ultimate digital sandbox in which players can build their dream worlds. This game also has a thrilling Survival Mode in which players can gather resources and craft items and structures. Thus, Minecraft is an open-ended game with endless replayability value.

Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is among the most highly-rated Windows PC games in history. This is a game in which you must solve a murder mystery while piecing together Harry’s identity. It is among the best indie games because of its brilliant narrative, freedom of choice, and innovative fail-forward mechanic. Disco Elysium also has a great oil-painted art style that enhances the game’s aesthetic appeal.

Hollow Knight

Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight is a 2D action-platformer with a huge interconnected Metroidvania world for players to explore. It is a game that blends intricate environmental storytelling with precise 2D combat. The vast world exploration, beautiful orchestral soundtrack, stunning hand-drawn animations, and precise controls make Hollow Knight one of the best indie games in history.

The Hollow Knight: Silksong sequel is also a great indie game. Hollow Knight: Silksong was voted Steam’s Game of the Year in 2025. Some players prefer that sequel to the original because of its deeper combat customization and faster Hornet movement.

Tetris

Tetris is a gaming phenomenon that started as an independent project invented by the Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov. The USSR and the wider world quickly fell in love with Tetris, which was initially owned by ELORG. Today, The Tetris Company manages Alexey Pajitnov’s game.

The universal appeal of Tetris makes it one of the best indie games in history. Players have always loved the immense gameplay satisfaction of organizing and rotating falling blocks into neat lines to amass higher scores in Tetris. The purity of the basic Tetris game design made it the highest-grossing video game in history across a multitude of gaming systems.

Of course, there are many variations of Tetris you can play today. Modern versions of Tetris are not technically indie-developed, but the original game they are based on was. You can play classic Tetris NES and Game Boy games via Switch Online.

Terraria

Terraria is a 2D sandbox game that mixes exploration, combat, and building into an action RPG loop. It is based on mining and defeating bosses to unlock new world phases. This has become one of the best indie games in history because of its deep RPG progression, regular free updates, flexible class-based gameplay, and endless exploration within Terraria’s procedurally generated worlds.

Hades

Supergiant Games’ Hades is an action roguelike game in which players hack and slash through the Greek Underworld to reach Mount Olympus. It incorporates an ingenious gameplay loop that resurrects players at the House of Hades when killed by monsters, enabling them to chat with voice-acted mythological figures and upgrade states. This indie game blends fast-paced action with a deeply reactive story quite brilliantly. Many players rate Hades among the best indie games because of its fast and smooth controls, weapon variety, stunning visuals, and killer soundtrack.

Celeste

Celeste is an indie game in which players attempt to guide Madeline up a huge, mysterious mountain. This platformer shines with its precision gameplay and controls that make it a joy to play. Although a tough game to beat, the optional Assist Mode in Celeste enhances its accessibility. Players also love the Celeste game because of its uplifting narrative, harmonic music, and brilliant level design.

The best indie games above have shown that developers don’t need big budgets to make great games. Innovation, originality, and gameplay quality elevated those originally low-budget indie games into significant gaming hits. Another great thing about the best indie games above is the great value they offer because they’re generally cheaper than major studio titles.