Indie games are all the rage now. Just look at the 2025 The Game Awards, specifically Game of the Year. The winner, and the big winner overall, was an indie, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Two other indie games, Hades II and Hollow Knight: Silksong, were also nominated. Right now, indie gaming is having a moment.

I haven’t played a ton of indie games myself, admittedly. It was a bit of a blind spot for me for a long time, although for more than half my life, I almost exclusively played Nintendo games. I’ve had a ton of catching up to do, and that includes some indies, of which these five are my absolute favorites.

My Favorite Indie Games Ever Made

5. Superhot

Superhot features maybe the most fun gimmick in a shooter game. Players move at normal speed but only when they’re actually moving. If they stop, it allows for time to slow way down, meaning everyone can make decisions without being rushed. It’s a fantastic twist on the genre and makes for a much more strategic experience than gun games typically do.

4. Firewatch

Firewatch is as beautiful as it is devastating, and it’s pretty engrossing. It’s a really short game, as How Long To Beat lists it at five hours, so you could conceivably play this entire indie in one sitting. It’d be easy to do so, as the story is so enveloping. You really feel like you’re in the woods, uncovering a mystery. The end is just a tiny bit unsatisfying, and it’s kind of open-ended, but this is still a fantastic game.

3. Hollow Knight: Silksong

I hadn’t even beaten Hollow Knight before jumping into Hollow Knight: Silksong because of the insane hype, but it more than delivered. It’s the hardest game I’ve ever played, and it took me 89 hours to roll the credits (more than the 28 hours most people take), but I do not regret a moment of it. It is beautiful, tragic, addictive, frustrating, and exhilarating. Team Cherry knocked it out of the park.

2. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is easily one of the best indie games of all time. Scratch that, it’s one of the best games of all time. It has perfected the farming simulation genre, and it has so much to do. It’s wildly impressive that just one person made this, but it’s engrossing, fun, clever, creative, gorgeous, and more. I haven’t finished the Community Center, which is what the “story” entails, but I’ve spent countless hours farming and fishing. The fact that you could just do that infinitely and have a great gaming experience speaks to how good Stardew Valley really is.

1. Minecraft

Minecraft is only sort of an indie game. It was when it was first produced, and while it’s still being updated today, it is very much the same game. They haven’t even rolled out a version 2.0 update. It’s not technically an indie game anymore since Microsoft got involved, but it functions as an indie game since Mojang is the developer, and it started as one. Either way, I don’t need to explain why this is the top entry on the list. It’s just that excellent.

Conclusion

Having spent most of my life playing AAA titles (namely Nintendo, at that), I have recently developed a strong appreciation for indie games. They’re usually well-made, endlessly fun, highly creative, and filled with soul. They’re never made lazily like some bigger games are, and they are always crafted with players in mind. I haven’t played many, but these five have been some of the best gaming experiences I’ve had.