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Top Indie Games You Wouldn't Mind Paying For

Posted by timothy on Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:08 AM
from the well-I-might-but-ymmv dept.
PC Games (Games) Entertainment Games
Alan Skorkin writes "If you are sick of the boring and overpriced commercial games, then have a look at this list. These are some of the best indie games out there — innovative, immersive, great gameplay and very reasonably priced (some are even free). You would never feel cheated after buying and playing these games. In fact, you would feel like you got the better end of the deal, and that is a lot more than can be said for the vast majority of commercial games out there."
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Submission: Top Indie Games You Wouldn't Mind Paying For by askorkin (1347219)
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  • Mount n Blade is worth a look (Score:4, Informative)

    by cliffski (65094) on Tuesday August 19 2008, @10:12AM (#24658973) Homepage

    I was seriously impressed with the combat on horseback. When I tried the game, the rest of it was a bit of a clear work-in-progress (that may have changed now), but I've never seen horseback combat done as well as that.

    • I have burned so much time in Mount & Blade.

      It's such a great sandbox rpg game. There are so many ways to play, without even getting into the mods available. Also, this is a great time to start playing since the game is in its final beta stages.

      In the new version, the start is fairly difficult. I'd recommend spending the first few levels participating in the melees in the city arenas and training in the training grounds.

      With all the great indie games out these days, I don't know why I occasionally buy r

    • Mount and blade is a tremendous game. I got onboard about a year and a half ago, the game was lots of fun then, and has progressed by leaps and bounds since.

      And yes, horseback combat = win (Especially if you have a lance)

      • What blows me away about the game is that you have realistic alternatives for combat and they're all fun.

        So far, I've played:
        - horse archer on fast horse with two stacks of arrows who rides around shooting people in the face.
        - super fast guy on foot who specializes in axes both thrown and wielded.
        - traditional knight on warhorse with a lance, sword, shield, and a couple javelins.
        - asshole commander who sits on the hill and yells at his troops. (okay, not quite as fun)

        Lately I've got a lancer/archer hybrid.

        • Lately I've favored a crossbow and a sword & shield combo. A good crossbow is lots of fun for distance shooting and is strong enough that in the beginning you won't just get swarmed and beaten up if you're a half decent shot (unlike say, the bow)

  • Worth checking out (Score:5, Informative)

    by Endo13 (1000782) on Tuesday August 19 2008, @10:18AM (#24659049)

    I haven't played most of the games on the list, however I have played Mount and Blade. And it really is a great game. The graphics are a bit dated, but the gameplay is fantastic. It has easily the best melee combat I've ever played. (It puts Oblivion to shame in that regard.) I downloaded and tried the demo, and it wasn't long before I purchased a serial for it.

    For folks who want a bit more detail, the melee combat system works thus: you control the direction of every swing as well as block, by how you move your mouse when you start the swing or block (but there are other options you can choose from, if that doesn't suit your style). The same works when fighting on horseback, and when you're using a pole-arm on horseback you can couch it and run enemies through with it for massive damage. Also, if you run over foot soldiers with your horse, they get knocked down and take damage.

    • Mount&Blade looks like a great concept, especially since they open up so much for mod makers. Now that they have been picked up by Paradox I am sure the attention dealt this game will only increase. If it generates enough interest I am sure we will quickly see updated versions of this game. Just hope one of those runs on Linux :P

    • I tried the tutorial and started my warrior training. It's nice. Graphics are indeed outdated, but who cares.

  • Any Touhou Project game (Score:4, Informative)

    by Silverlancer (786390) on Tuesday August 19 2008, @10:21AM (#24659089)
    An entire series [wikipedia.org] of rather graphically and musically impressive shooters--all made by a single programmer in his spare time. They're a hell of a lot of fun to play, and their difficult ranges from mildly challenging [x264.nl] to rather crazy [x264.nl] to utterly nightmarish [x264.nl].

    • That was supposed to be:

      The best free games I've found in a while are Shmups from ABA games [asahi-net.or.jp]. Most of them have linux packages, and the windows versions work great in wine too. Fast paced, colorful, intense arcade shooters, it doesn't get much better than this. Go play Torus Trooper and tell me your jaw doesn't drop.

      I should learn to preview.

      • What he said.

        My jaw dropped, my brain froze, and my face melted. I don't know what kind of drugs that programmer was on, but he somehow managed to code it into an easily-portable brainsplosion.

        Seriously. Go get that game NOW! It makes me pine for the old Williams shooter classics.

  • Where was Postal and Postal2?

  • Braid rocks... (Score:3, Informative)

    by nweaver (113078) on Tuesday August 19 2008, @10:24AM (#24659151) Homepage

    Braid is not listed!?!

    Having gotten the demo, I had to buy it. The game is absolutly brilliant. It is a work of art, with mindbending, unique puzzles, AND a lot of fun, all at the same time.

    If you have an XBOX 360, install the free demo, and if you like it, buy it.

    • The article is only for games available for the PC. The fact that it overlooked games on the Live marketplace or the PSN sort of makes sense -- it's hard for those games to be ignored because if you *can* buy them, you're probably aware that they're coming out.

      PC games, on the other hand, rely almost entirely on word of mouth. There's no platform that advertises them, or consolidates the downloading, or puts up at least a "what's new for Windows" page.
        • Show me the link where you can buy it for Windows.
          • The AC is posting from the future. Braid will be available for the PC sometime this year, according to the web site. That said, the fact that it isn't out yet means it still wouldn't belong on the list in TFA.

          • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

            by the.Ceph (863988)
            Looking at Braid's website [braid-game.com] it says it will be out for PC sometime in 2008, but it appears that it isn't quite yet.

            • I've played recent beta builds. It feels close to ready for release, so maybe soon.

              Jonathan Blow also expressed a desire for a Mac port. Dunno how soon that will happen, though.

    • Ditto. You can skip the demo, I'll guarantee you'll want to buy it. Brilliant game.

  • Defcon, Uplink, and Darwinia (Score:4, Informative)

    by MasterOfMagic (151058) on Tuesday August 19 2008, @10:35AM (#24659349) Journal

    Defcon [introversion.co.uk] is wonderful, and it's by the same people that do Uplink [introversion.co.uk] and Darwinia [introversion.co.uk], and like their other games, comes in Windows, Mac, and Linux versions.

    • I was going to suggest Darwinia and Uplink, but he specifically mentioned no multiplayer games in the introduction, so I don't suppose that DEFCON counts. ;)

  • Sins of a Solar Empire (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Bodhammer (559311) on Tuesday August 19 2008, @10:37AM (#24659383)

    One of the most engrossing games I have played in years! Also, no DRM, great developer support.

    It in nice to be treated like an adult by the developer!

    • It is good that games like Sins of the Solar Empire, and other Stardock titles, show people that you can make a great game without a great budget. And sell it for a profit without over the top anti-piracy measures.

      • You know, I just tried installing my completely legitimate copy of Neverwinter Nights 2, and I think SecuROM is making the installer crash. If I had a faster Internet connection I would torrent it for sure, along with the expansion (that I don't have).

        Stardock is just crazy for not using DRM. What are they thinking?

    • I've been meaning to pick that up when my current MMO gets boring. I don't really like turn-based games all too much, but GalCiv 2 was amazing, so I am expecting good things from Sins as well.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by KDR_11k (778916)

      This is about indie games, that means the more obscure kind. SoaSE is a front shelf title and I don't think I'd call it anything close to indie, at least not in the sense that needs blog posts to get exposure. You can see it in any store on display, it has the big, ugly "Games for Windows" logo on the box, Amazon even claims it's published by Midway. It really doesn't belong into this discussion (could just as well bring up Super Mario Galaxy).

    • At least, not what most people mean. Stardock may not be a major publisher, but still. The game was written by a development studio, has a publisher, and is for sale in all major stores. Generally by indy people mean a game written by a couple of guys, or maybe just one, and for sale on the the web.

      Don't get me wrong, Sins is a great game, possibly the best of 2008, but I wouldn't call it an indy.

  • I agree with the author of the article that Depths of Peril is probably the best indie RPG available today. But of course I haven't played them all. (And he's obviously slanted towards RPGs based on his list.)

    I find more and more that my game purchases are smaller games, or just donating on the Paypal buttons of freeware games I like. The last indie game I bought was a simple, mindless (but strangely addictive - at least at first) tile RPG called Battle of Tiles [bimboosoft.com] that cost $4.95.

    There are so many indie ga

  • I have not gotten around to playing it just yet, but reading the story of Boatmurdered [fromearth.net] prompted me to download it.

    The dwarven settlement of Boatmurdered (eh what?) is created and eventually run to the ground by several players, each governing the city for one year of game time. Madness ensues (with lots of homicidal elephants).

  • I'm a fan of Aquaria, which is sort of an unreal underwater action-adventure Metroidvania sort of thing. It's stunningly beautiful, fun, and reasonably priced.

    • Oh yes, and it works with wine. Tried the demo and was impressed enough to actually buy the game.

      What really brings Aquaria together is the marvelous soundscape. Factor in some good voice acting (one exception in very late game) and the way the story is built, it's definitely worth the price.

      I just wish the authors would release a soundtrack soon.

  • One of the more fiendishly clever flash puzzle/platformers I've encountered, Shift [indiegames.com] has the same "Pick up and Play for a few hours" with simple game mechanics that made Portal so fascinating.

    There's a couple sequels out there, too. I'd gladly pay for a longer, more complete version of this game.

  • For the Slashdot crowd, I can think of nothing better than Fantastic Contraption. It's a free* flash based physics game, where you can construct all sorts of machines, vehicles, catapults, bridges, or whatever else solves the task of 'get this object from a to b'. There's a whole slew of user generated content like the 'find the simplest solution' challenge, or the 'find a green (no motors) solution' challenge.

    www.fantasticcontraption.com

    *For a $10 donation you get the ability to design your own levels, but

  • I glanced at a few that looked good and saw Mac support in all the ones I looked at.

    I love this trend! I'd be even more impressed if they had linux support as well, but anything but windows is fine with me.

    Hmm, "Anything But Windows" would make a great replacement for "News for Nerds".

  • Geneforge series, Exile series, Avernum, Nethergate- all are simply brilliant. I liked Exile 3 most of all, but all are well worth playing.

    --Coder

  • I'd spend $2-$3 to support "You Got A Grappling Hook [tigsource.com]".

    A simple game that has a unique play mechnic, and a great story.

  • http://www.starflight3.org/ [starflight3.org]

    sigh.

    Yeah, and I'd pay for it too.

  • Are those too old school, or what? :-(

    I've been playing those on VestaPup (a nice Puppy Linux variant), and it's been wonderful! :-)

  • I'd pay for a new Battle for Wesnoth [wesnoth.org] campaign. I'd love to see a bazaar arise, where multiple organizations provide images and story ideas, while all working on the same backend.

  • Bunny Must Die [murasame.com] is a great Metroidvania-like game. It's short of course but full of ideas and memorable awesome moments (nope, I don't speak Japanese either). Oh and there's two free games from the developer available: Magical Harvest [cds.ne.jp] and Jabberwock [murasame.com] which are similar to Zelda games except with more shooting.

    Generally a good source for japanese indie games is Palet [paletweb.com] if you're inclined to actually buy them.

  • Regarding Positech.. (Score:3, Informative)

    by Caraig (186934) on Tuesday August 19 2008, @01:59PM (#24662583)

    It's worth noting that Positech is the game company which gained some Slashdottery earlier by being the company whose developer opened a dialogue with software pirates to find out why they do what they do. And because of that, he has removed all DRM and dropped the prices of his games and made bigger and better demos... and a bunch of other things. He's worth checking out.

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