Small studios, big ideas: games made away from the big publishers, often bolder, more personal and more playful than the next sequel.
How to find games that really suit you: Select up to 5 games you have played and enjoyed. Playalike compares 36 traits such as combat, story and atmosphere and suggests games that hit exactly the same spot, even across genres.
A relaxing farming sim with village life, friendships and a co-op mode.
Escape from the underworld as a roguelike with fast-paced combat and a story that grows with every run.
A 2D sandbox adventure where you dig, build and craft while ever-tougher bosses unlock new gear tiers and biomes. Its huge item pool and hidden secrets make it a near-endless experience, especially with friends.
Cosy, great for unwinding
A relaxing farming sim with village life, friendships and a co-op mode.
A relaxing farming sim with village life, friendships and a co-op mode.
Runs that play out differently every time
Escape from the underworld as a roguelike with fast-paced combat and a story that grows with every run.
2 Hades
Escape from the underworld as a roguelike with fast-paced combat and a story that grows with every run.
Lots to discover
A 2D sandbox adventure where you dig, build and craft while ever-tougher bosses unlock new gear tiers and biomes. Its huge item pool and hidden secrets make it a near-endless experience, especially with friends.
3 Terraria
A 2D sandbox adventure where you dig, build and craft while ever-tougher bosses unlock new gear tiers and biomes. Its huge item pool and hidden secrets make it a near-endless experience, especially with friends.
Lots to discover
A hand-drawn Metroidvania in a ruined insect kingdom full of secrets.
A hand-drawn Metroidvania in a ruined insect kingdom full of secrets.
Lots of humour
A chaotic physics battle sandbox where you place wobbly units from eras ranging from the Stone Age to fantasy and watch them hilariously clash. Figuring out the perfect army on a tight budget meets glorious slapstick absurdity.
5 Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
A chaotic physics battle sandbox where you place wobbly units from eras ranging from the Stone Age to fantasy and watch them hilariously clash. Figuring out the perfect army on a tight budget meets glorious slapstick absurdity.
Strong, story-driven narrative
A charming indie RPG where every fight can be resolved without violence, blending turn-based menus with bullet-hell dodging. Its quirky humor, memorable monsters and a story that remembers your choices made it a cult classic.
A charming indie RPG where every fight can be resolved without violence, blending turn-based menus with bullet-hell dodging. Its quirky humor, memorable monsters and a story that remembers your choices made it a cult classic.
Cards and deck-building
A deckbuilding roguelike in which every run demands new card combinations and strategies.
A deckbuilding roguelike in which every run demands new card combinations and strategies.
Runs that play out differently every time
A minimalist auto-attacking roguelite where you only steer while your weapons fire on their own, snowballing through clever upgrade synergies into a screen-clearing force against thousands of monsters. Short runs and constant unlocks make it wildly addictive.
A minimalist auto-attacking roguelite where you only steer while your weapons fire on their own, snowballing through clever upgrade synergies into a screen-clearing force against thousands of monsters. Short runs and constant unlocks make it wildly addictive.
Jumping and platforming
A precise platformer about climbing a mountain and overcoming inner fears.
9 Celeste
A precise platformer about climbing a mountain and overcoming inner fears.
Lots to discover
Stranded on an ocean planet, you dive ever deeper into a gorgeous yet terrifying alien sea. You build bases and submarines while piecing together the planet's mystery, and the dark depths themselves become the real source of dread.
10 Subnautica
Stranded on an ocean planet, you dive ever deeper into a gorgeous yet terrifying alien sea. You build bases and submarines while piecing together the planet's mystery, and the dark depths themselves become the real source of dread.
Cards and deck-building
An addictive poker roguelike where Jokers, card upgrades and wild synergies push your scores to absurd heights. Every run plays differently, and the hunt for the perfect build never gets old.
11 Balatro
An addictive poker roguelike where Jokers, card upgrades and wild synergies push your scores to absurd heights. Every run plays differently, and the hunt for the perfect build never gets old.
Runs that play out differently every time
A frantic top-down roguelike shooter where Isaac fires tears through randomly generated basements. Hundreds of items stack into wild combinations, making every run different and grotesquely strange.
12 The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
A frantic top-down roguelike shooter where Isaac fires tears through randomly generated basements. Hundreds of items stack into wild combinations, making every run different and grotesquely strange.
Action-packed real-time combat
A brutally fast top-down shooter where one hit kills and every floor is mastered through rapid trial, error and instant restarts. Its neon visuals, pulsing synthwave soundtrack and unsettling, surreal story about violence make it unforgettable.
A brutally fast top-down shooter where one hit kills and every floor is mastered through rapid trial, error and instant restarts. Its neon visuals, pulsing synthwave soundtrack and unsettling, surreal story about violence make it unforgettable.
Dark, serious atmosphere
A wordless, oppressive puzzle-platformer in which a boy slips through a bleak dystopia, controlling bodies with his mind along the way. Masterful atmosphere and a disturbing finale make it unforgettable.
14 Inside
A wordless, oppressive puzzle-platformer in which a boy slips through a bleak dystopia, controlling bodies with his mind along the way. Masterful atmosphere and a disturbing finale make it unforgettable.
Strong, story-driven narrative
As photography student Max, you discover you can rewind time and dig into a disappearance in a sleepy coastal town, with your choices shaping friendships and fates. It's a heartfelt coming-of-age drama with an unforgettable indie soundtrack.
As photography student Max, you discover you can rewind time and dig into a disappearance in a sleepy coastal town, with your choices shaping friendships and fates. It's a heartfelt coming-of-age drama with an unforgettable indie soundtrack.
Sci-fi setting
You play a stray cat lost in a decaying, robot-inhabited neon city, climbing, sneaking and poking around to uncover what happened to it. Its charming feline interactions and dense cyberpunk atmosphere make this short adventure stand out.
16 Stray
You play a stray cat lost in a decaying, robot-inhabited neon city, climbing, sneaking and poking around to uncover what happened to it. Its charming feline interactions and dense cyberpunk atmosphere make this short adventure stand out.
Runs that play out differently every time
A fast, fluid 2D roguelite with Metroidvania structure, where tight, punchy combat and a huge arsenal of weapons make every run feel different. Permanent unlocks and new routes give you a real sense of progress even as you die again and again.
17 Dead Cells
A fast, fluid 2D roguelite with Metroidvania structure, where tight, punchy combat and a huge arsenal of weapons make every run feel different. Permanent unlocks and new routes give you a real sense of progress even as you die again and again.
Cosy, great for unwinding
As rancher Beatrix, you vacuum up adorable slimes on a distant planet, feed them and sell their plorts to expand your ranch. It pairs a laid-back farming loop with relaxed exploration of a colorful world full of secrets and new slime species.
Co-op or multiplayer
Play as gruff space dwarves carving through fully destructible procedural caves with up to three friends, mining minerals and holding off massive alien swarms. Complementary classes, dry humor and a famously wholesome community make every dive a blast – Rock and Stone!
Play as gruff space dwarves carving through fully destructible procedural caves with up to three friends, mining minerals and holding off massive alien swarms. Complementary classes, dry humor and a famously wholesome community make every dive a blast – Rock and Stone!
Action-packed real-time combat
A blistering neo-noir action platformer where one hit kills and each room plays like a puzzle solved with your katana, slow-motion and deflected bullets. It's wrapped in a twisted, fragmented story with dialogue choices and a superb synthwave soundtrack.
20 Katana Zero
A blistering neo-noir action platformer where one hit kills and each room plays like a puzzle solved with your katana, slow-motion and deflected bullets. It's wrapped in a twisted, fragmented story with dialogue choices and a superb synthwave soundtrack.
Building and crafting
Stranded on an alien world, you grow a crude mining operation into a sprawling automated factory, endlessly optimizing belts, production chains and logistics. All the while you must defend it from native creatures angered by your spreading pollution.
21 Factorio
Stranded on an alien world, you grow a crude mining operation into a sprawling automated factory, endlessly optimizing belts, production chains and logistics. All the while you must defend it from native creatures angered by your spreading pollution.
Action-packed real-time combat
A brutally tough boss-rush shooter animated like a 1930s cartoon, where precise dodging, parrying and shooting decide every fight. A swinging big-band jazz score and local co-op round it out.
22 Cuphead
A brutally tough boss-rush shooter animated like a 1930s cartoon, where precise dodging, parrying and shooting decide every fight. A swinging big-band jazz score and local co-op round it out.
Cosy, great for unwinding
Play as Claire, a young bird climbing and gliding through a charming park toward its summit, chatting with quirky hikers and stumbling on little secrets everywhere. A short, heartfelt, pressure-free adventure with a lovely pixelated low-poly look.
23 A Short Hike
Play as Claire, a young bird climbing and gliding through a charming park toward its summit, chatting with quirky hikers and stumbling on little secrets everywhere. A short, heartfelt, pressure-free adventure with a lovely pixelated low-poly look.
Co-op or multiplayer
You and your friends play ghost hunters, using EMF readers, spirit boxes and cameras to work out which kind of ghost haunts a location. Voice recognition and sudden hunts make for genuine panic and plenty of hilarious co-op moments.
24 Phasmophobia
You and your friends play ghost hunters, using EMF readers, spirit boxes and cameras to work out which kind of ghost haunts a location. Voice recognition and sudden hunts make for genuine panic and plenty of hilarious co-op moments.
Cards and deck-building
A creepy card game played against a shadowy figure in a dark cabin, mixing deckbuilding with escape-room puzzles while constantly breaking its own rules. Beneath the surface lies a surprising, fourth-wall-bending mystery.
25 Inscryption
A creepy card game played against a shadowy figure in a dark cabin, mixing deckbuilding with escape-room puzzles while constantly breaking its own rules. Beneath the surface lies a surprising, fourth-wall-bending mystery.
Open world
A merciless survival game with a gothic, Tim Burton-esque hand-drawn style, where you scavenge, craft and fend off hunger, insanity and monsters in a procedurally generated wilderness. Death is permanent, but every run teaches you something new.
26 Don't Starve
A merciless survival game with a gothic, Tim Burton-esque hand-drawn style, where you scavenge, craft and fend off hunger, insanity and monsters in a procedurally generated wilderness. Death is permanent, but every run teaches you something new.
Turn-based combat
Turn-based RPG with real-time parrying and dodging, set in a melancholic Belle Époque–inspired fantasy world.
27 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Turn-based RPG with real-time parrying and dodging, set in a melancholic Belle Époque–inspired fantasy world.
Jumping and platforming
A charming 3D collectathon platformer in the vein of N64 classics, where a tiny girl uses magical hats to bounce through varied, wonderfully weird worlds. Its chapters, from a mafia-run town to dueling bird film studios, overflow with humor and creativity.
A charming 3D collectathon platformer in the vein of N64 classics, where a tiny girl uses magical hats to bounce through varied, wonderfully weird worlds. Its chapters, from a mafia-run town to dueling bird film studios, overflow with humor and creativity.
Dread and tension
As a defenseless journalist armed only with a night-vision camcorder, you creep through a nightmarish asylum where hiding and running are your only options. Relentless, unfiltered terror with no way to fight back.
29 Outlast
As a defenseless journalist armed only with a night-vision camcorder, you creep through a nightmarish asylum where hiding and running are your only options. Relentless, unfiltered terror with no way to fight back.
Lots to discover
Explore a solar system caught in a 22-minute time loop and unravel a cosmic mystery.
30 Outer Wilds
Explore a solar system caught in a 22-minute time loop and unravel a cosmic mystery.
Playing together in co-op
A chaotic online co-op game for up to six players where you haul fragile valuables through procedurally generated levels while monsters hunt you. Physics-driven slapstick mishaps and proximity voice chat blend big laughs with real tension.
31 R.E.P.O.
A chaotic online co-op game for up to six players where you haul fragile valuables through procedurally generated levels while monsters hunt you. Physics-driven slapstick mishaps and proximity voice chat blend big laughs with real tension.
Action-packed real-time combat
A chaotic run-and-gun platformer starring parodies of action movie heroes, where nearly everything is destructible and explosions tear levels apart. With up to four friends in co-op, the mayhem becomes gloriously over-the-top fun.
32 Broforce
A chaotic run-and-gun platformer starring parodies of action movie heroes, where nearly everything is destructible and explosions tear levels apart. With up to four friends in co-op, the mayhem becomes gloriously over-the-top fun.
Puzzles and brain teasers
A tactile puzzle game where you twist, slide and inspect an ornate safe full of hidden compartments and clever mechanisms. Its moody, occult-tinged atmosphere makes every discovery feel eerie and satisfying.
33 The Room
A tactile puzzle game where you twist, slide and inspect an ornate safe full of hidden compartments and clever mechanisms. Its moody, occult-tinged atmosphere makes every discovery feel eerie and satisfying.
Strong, story-driven narrative
A moving narrative game where you wander the sprawling Finch family home and relive each relative's final moments through short vignettes, each with its own inventive gameplay twist. Melancholic, creative, and unforgettable in just a couple of hours.
34 What Remains of Edith Finch
A moving narrative game where you wander the sprawling Finch family home and relive each relative's final moments through short vignettes, each with its own inventive gameplay twist. Melancholic, creative, and unforgettable in just a couple of hours.
Cosy, great for unwinding
A poetic platformer about grief, almost wordless and with a watercolour look.
35 Gris
A poetic platformer about grief, almost wordless and with a watercolour look.
Driving or flying
A relaxed trucking simulator where you haul freight across the American landscape, grow from hired driver to company owner, and simply enjoy the open road.
Puzzles and brain teasers
As an insurance investigator, you use a magical pocket watch to relive the final moments of a ghost ship's crew and deduce the identity and fate of every sailor. Its striking 1-bit visuals and brilliant deduction design make it a one-of-a-kind detective game.
As an insurance investigator, you use a magical pocket watch to relive the final moments of a ghost ship's crew and deduce the identity and fate of every sailor. Its striking 1-bit visuals and brilliant deduction design make it a one-of-a-kind detective game.
Turn-based combat
A surreal RPG that contrasts bright dreamlike worlds and childhood friendship with psychological horror and heavy themes. Its emotional story and memorable soundtrack stand out, and turn-based battles use emotions as a core mechanic.
38 Omori
A surreal RPG that contrasts bright dreamlike worlds and childhood friendship with psychological horror and heavy themes. Its emotional story and memorable soundtrack stand out, and turn-based battles use emotions as a core mechanic.
Lots of humour
A hilariously irreverent platformer from The Behemoth where you play a prisoner forced through tricky block-based stage levels, solo or in co-op. The sarcastic narrator, cartoon style and chaotic fun with friends define it.
Co-op or multiplayer
A chaotic, hilarious cartoon brawler best enjoyed with up to four friends on the couch. Light RPG hooks like leveling, weapons and animal orbs keep you coming back between its absurd boss fights.
Strong, story-driven narrative
Two doctors travel backward through a dying man's memories to fulfill his final wish. It's a short, deeply moving story with warm humor and an unforgettable piano soundtrack.
41 To the Moon
Two doctors travel backward through a dying man's memories to fulfill his final wish. It's a short, deeply moving story with warm humor and an unforgettable piano soundtrack.
Jumping and platforming
A frantic, chaotic 2D platformer starring the manic pizza chef Peppino, built around momentum-based movement, score chasing and wildly hand-drawn animation. Its zany humor and driving soundtrack turn every level into a spectacle.
42 Pizza Tower
A frantic, chaotic 2D platformer starring the manic pizza chef Peppino, built around momentum-based movement, score chasing and wildly hand-drawn animation. Its zany humor and driving soundtrack turn every level into a spectacle.
Puzzles and brain teasers
Baba Is You turns the game's rules into pushable word blocks, so rearranging them changes what wins, what kills and even what you control. The result is a clever, inventive puzzler full of aha moments.
43 Baba Is You
Baba Is You turns the game's rules into pushable word blocks, so rearranging them changes what wins, what kills and even what you control. The result is a clever, inventive puzzler full of aha moments.
Sci-fi setting
A harrowing combat-free horror journey through a ruined deep-sea research station that confronts you with unsettling questions about consciousness and identity. Its philosophical story lingers long after the credits roll.
44 Soma
A harrowing combat-free horror journey through a ruined deep-sea research station that confronts you with unsettling questions about consciousness and identity. Its philosophical story lingers long after the credits roll.
Dark, serious atmosphere
As tiny Six you sneak through the Maw, a nightmarish vessel full of grotesque giants, solving environmental puzzles while evading capture. Its dollhouse-like, unsettling art style and wordless storytelling make this short adventure unforgettable.
As tiny Six you sneak through the Maw, a nightmarish vessel full of grotesque giants, solving environmental puzzles while evading capture. Its dollhouse-like, unsettling art style and wordless storytelling make this short adventure unforgettable.
Shooting and gunplay
A snappy arena roguelite where a potato wields up to six weapons at once against waves of aliens. Short runs plus dozens of quirky characters and item synergies make for huge replay value.
46 Brotato
A snappy arena roguelite where a potato wields up to six weapons at once against waves of aliens. Short runs plus dozens of quirky characters and item synergies make for huge replay value.
Puzzles and brain teasers
Gorogoa is a short, hand-drawn puzzle game where you stack, zoom and shift illustrated panels to uncover hidden connections. Its wordless tale of longing and a life's journey unfolds entirely through this inventive mechanic.
47 Gorogoa
Gorogoa is a short, hand-drawn puzzle game where you stack, zoom and shift illustrated panels to uncover hidden connections. Its wordless tale of longing and a life's journey unfolds entirely through this inventive mechanic.
Puzzles and brain teasers
An atmospheric puzzle game where you examine and manipulate intricately crafted mechanical puzzle boxes with tactile controls. Every drawer and mechanism hides another secret in an eerie, mysterious world.
48 The Room Two
An atmospheric puzzle game where you examine and manipulate intricately crafted mechanical puzzle boxes with tactile controls. Every drawer and mechanism hides another secret in an eerie, mysterious world.
Melee combat with weapons or fists
As a possessed lamb you found your own cult, managing a village of adorable woodland followers between fast roguelike dungeon runs. Its charm comes from the clash of cute visuals and gleefully macabre humor.
As a possessed lamb you found your own cult, managing a village of adorable woodland followers between fast roguelike dungeon runs. Its charm comes from the clash of cute visuals and gleefully macabre humor.
Cosy, great for unwinding
The classic idle game where you click a giant cookie and spend the proceeds on ever more absurd bakeries, portals and upgrades. There is no true ending, just ballooning numbers and quirky humor.
The classic idle game where you click a giant cookie and spend the proceeds on ever more absurd bakeries, portals and upgrades. There is no true ending, just ballooning numbers and quirky humor.
Lots of humour
Toby Fox's follow-up to Undertale mixes menu-based party battles with bullet-hell dodging, and enemies can be spared instead of fought. A charming, funny cast, a standout soundtrack and an unsettling meta-mystery sit beneath its colorful surface.
51 Deltarune
Toby Fox's follow-up to Undertale mixes menu-based party battles with bullet-hell dodging, and enemies can be spared instead of fought. A charming, funny cast, a standout soundtrack and an unsettling meta-mystery sit beneath its colorful surface.
Puzzles and brain teasers
You climb a Babel-inspired tower and decipher the distinct languages of its peoples by observing symbols and deducing meanings yourself. The striking comic-like art and the satisfying feeling of truly learning to communicate make it special.
You climb a Babel-inspired tower and decipher the distinct languages of its peoples by observing symbols and deducing meanings yourself. The striking comic-like art and the satisfying feeling of truly learning to communicate make it special.
Action-packed real-time combat
A fast speedrunning first-person shooter where card-based guns double as movement abilities. You optimize routes through short levels, wrapped in anime style, dating-sim-style dialogue and a driving soundtrack.
53 Neon White
A fast speedrunning first-person shooter where card-based guns double as movement abilities. You optimize routes through short levels, wrapped in anime style, dating-sim-style dialogue and a driving soundtrack.
Puzzles and brain teasers
A wobbly physics puzzle platformer where clumsy Bob grabs and climbs his way through dreamlike levels with many possible solutions. Best enjoyed in chaotic co-op, where failed attempts are half the fun.
A wobbly physics puzzle platformer where clumsy Bob grabs and climbs his way through dreamlike levels with many possible solutions. Best enjoyed in chaotic co-op, where failed attempts are half the fun.
Cosy, great for unwinding
You blast grime off vehicles, houses and quirky locations with a pressure washer until every surface sparkles. It is a deeply relaxing, satisfying experience that works solo or in co-op.
You blast grime off vehicles, houses and quirky locations with a pressure washer until every surface sparkles. It is a deeply relaxing, satisfying experience that works solo or in co-op.
Cosy, great for unwinding
Toem is a laid-back photography adventure set in a hand-drawn black-and-white world, where you help quirky locals by snapping pictures and solving small tasks. Charming, friendly and completely stress-free.
56 Toem
Toem is a laid-back photography adventure set in a hand-drawn black-and-white world, where you help quirky locals by snapping pictures and solving small tasks. Charming, friendly and completely stress-free.
Sci-fi setting
You tend bar in a cyberpunk dystopia, mixing drinks and learning your customers' stories through conversation. Your drink choices shape how things unfold, backed by a moody synth soundtrack and retro pixel art.
57 VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
You tend bar in a cyberpunk dystopia, mixing drinks and learning your customers' stories through conversation. Your drink choices shape how things unfold, backed by a moody synth soundtrack and retro pixel art.
Sneaking and hiding
A brilliant 2D stealth platformer that visualizes sight, sound and light so clearly that every infiltration becomes a precise puzzle of timing and planning. Klei's hand-drawn art and multiple approaches, lethal or pacifist, make it a genre classic.
A brilliant 2D stealth platformer that visualizes sight, sound and light so clearly that every infiltration becomes a precise puzzle of timing and planning. Klei's hand-drawn art and multiple approaches, lethal or pacifist, make it a genre classic.
Open world
A Viking survival game set in a procedurally generated Norse afterlife where you explore biomes, build longhouses and ships, and take down massive bosses. It shines in co-op, balancing relaxed base building with tense, dangerous expeditions.
59 Valheim
A Viking survival game set in a procedurally generated Norse afterlife where you explore biomes, build longhouses and ships, and take down massive bosses. It shines in co-op, balancing relaxed base building with tense, dangerous expeditions.
Strong, story-driven narrative
Two doctors dive into a dying man's memories to artificially grant his final wish. A deeply emotional, narrative-driven pixel-art adventure with light puzzles, touches of humor and a strong soundtrack.
Two doctors dive into a dying man's memories to artificially grant his final wish. A deeply emotional, narrative-driven pixel-art adventure with light puzzles, touches of humor and a strong soundtrack.
Nothing matches this selection.
Indie games tend to commit to one strong idea and build everything around it. That is why the genres here range from cozy farming to punishing platforming to card-based strategy. The first thing to decide is what kind of experience you want: relaxed, challenging, or just silly.
If you want a calm pace, Stardew Valley is a pixel-art farming sim with co-op and a relaxing tone. Subnautica suits players who like exploring an atmospheric open world, though its tags include horror, so expect some tension. If difficulty appeals to you, Hollow Knight is a hand-drawn Metroidvania tagged as difficult, and Celeste is a precision platformer that also has a story-rich side. Both are tagged difficult, so they reward patience.
For short, repeatable sessions, look at the roguelikes. Hades combines fast action with a story-rich mythology setting, while Slay the Spire and Balatro are deckbuilders built on strategy and turn-based decisions. If you prefer to laugh, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator is tagged comedy and strategy. Check platforms too: almost everything here is on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch, but Garry's Mod is listed for PC only.
Stardew Valley is the most obvious choice, with its cozy farming, pixel art and co-op option. Subnautica is also an option if you prefer exploring, but note its horror tag.
Hollow Knight, Celeste and Slay the Spire are all tagged as difficult. Hollow Knight tests exploration and combat, Celeste tests platforming precision, and Slay the Spire tests deckbuilding strategy.
Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors and Garry's Mod all carry co-op tags. Garry's Mod is listed for PC only, while the other two are also on consoles.
Tell us your favourite games and we'll find recommendations that fit you exactly.
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