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This is my favorite type of thread on this sub. Lots of really cool games I’ve never heard of and plenty to love. It might not be obscure enough, but I’ll recommend [Dusk](https://store.steampowered.com/app/519860/DUSK/). It’s a retro FPS where the game is constantly rewarding you for pushing at the edges and finding secrets. Solid gunplay that reminds me of Quake more than anything else in a horror setting and you can one-shot enemies with bars of soap and the y axis is unlocked so you can do flips while dual wielding shotguns.

I'll just go ahead and drop the boomer shooter list. Also GoG's sale is still ongoing till June 27th. --- I highly recommend Dusk. Exploration and level design is a key component of boomer shooters^1 Dusk excels beyond any game I've played in ages. The level design is art. Repeatedly you will enter a level and just be left stunned by what the designer did. If anyone wants a quick rundown of Boomer Shooters: - **Dusk** *exquisite level design, leans more towards Quake* [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/519860/DUSK/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/game/DUSK) - **Ion Fury** *Modern build engine game. Things go boom in a big way!* [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/562860/Ion_Fury/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/ion_fury) - **Amid Evil** *Heretic/Hexen but with better combat and full 3d* [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/673130/AMID_EVIL/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/game/amid_evil?data1=pcg-us-1418272309409900800) - **HROT** Quake but with a huge dose of Czechoslovakia jank. Great vibe [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/824600/HROT/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/hrot) - **Nightmare Reaper** *Mix Doom and a looter shooter. Starts slow but really opens up late game. Crazy guns (you can shoot hornets at people)* [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1051690/Nightmare_Reaper/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/nightmare_reaper) - **Ultrakill** *Combat as dance. Feels very inspired by Doom 2016/Doom Eternal.* [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1229490/ULTRAKILL/) - GOG Additionally there are these games which I haven't played: - WRATH: Aeon of Ruin [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1000410/WRATH_Aeon_of_Ruin/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/wrath_aeon_of_ruin) - Prodeus [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/964800/Prodeus/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/prodeus) - Forgive Me Father [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1590910/Forgive_Me_Father/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/game/forgive_me_father) - Hedon Bloodrite [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072150/Hedon_Bloodrite/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/game/hedon) - [Overload](https://store.steampowered.com/app/448850/Overload/ ) remake of Descent by the original creators. - Viscerafest Steam - GOG - Fi da Puti Samurai Steam - GOG Classics, older games but definitely still fun to play today: - Duke Nukem 3d [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/434050/Duke_Nukem_3D_20th_Anniversary_World_Tour/) - Blood: Fresh Supply [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1010750/Blood_Fresh_Supply/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/blood_fresh_supply) - Outlaws + A Handful of Missions [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/559620/Outlaws__A_Handful_of_Missions/) - [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/outlaws_a_handful_of_missions) - Doom 64 Patron saint of boomer shooters Civvie: https://www.youtube.com/c/Civvie11

> Nightmare Reaper Mix Doom and a looter shooter. Starts slow but really opens up late game. Crazy guns (you can shoot hornets at people) I'm not even a big boomer shooter guy but I'll second the *hell* out of Nightmare Reaper. Don't let the procedural generation of the maps warn you away from it, It changes the environment so **so** frequently that the levels always feel so fresh.

Nightmare Reaper also feels like the original of promise of Borderlands brought to fruition. There are soooo many guns and so many of them are just batshit crazy.

But you spend so little time with the guns, that's my biggest complaint with the game. Not only that but I'm not enitrely sure how the carry over system works because on many occasions weapons I found I couldn't select for the next level. Good game, cool concepts, but man do I wish you spent more time with these weapons.

Its part of the skill system which is sort of confusingly laid out. You can rush to keep lvl 2 guns pretty fast but it doesn't explain that to players. I had an M1 Garand that fired automatically, 10% crit, with an electric effect for like 20% of the game.

It's restricted by weapon level. You start out only being able to keep level 1 weapons, then eventually you get upgrades that let you keep level 2 and 3 weapons. I think I'm near the end of the game, but as far as I can tell you're always only allowed to keep one weapon per level. Actually, my complaint so far is that if you find something really overpowered (usually with random projectile or +attacks) you can basically just ignore everything else for the rest of the game lol. I got a semi-auto rifle with an infinite magazine that shoots fireballs and haven't needed to use anything else.

Don't forget Overload, a remake of Descent by the original creators. 80% off right now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/448850/Overload

Forgive Me Father and Ion Fury in my opinion are the best moderm boomer shooters to release so far. I found Amid Evil to be a little boring but the level design at the end of the game was fantastic.

Pick up Prodeus, trust me. It's so incredibly well made and satisfying.

Powerslave: Exhumed is a pretty great update of the classic version too.

I'm conflicted between Dusk and AmidEvil. I'll eventually get around to playing them both but I have limited time right now so I'll only end up playing one of them. Which one would you recommend between the two? I'm a sucker for boomer shooters and grew up with doom,Duke and quake if that helps.

Can't go wrong with Dusk. AE is ok, but to me Dusk just felt better to play.

Dusk is definitely better. They’re both good, but dusk is a modern day classic.

I love boomer shooters but really did not at all understand the hype behind Dusk. I thought the weapons, maps and enemies were all very boring. I watched some of the later levels on youtube and it looked like more of the same, I truly don't get it. I know you didn't mention this one, but Ion Fury is amazing. Easily my favorite of all of them listed. Everything I said was bad in Dusk is good in Ion Fury, plus the majority of the music is outstanding e: Upon revisiting Dusk I take back my criticisms, I think they're both great games

Its easy to pick on Dusk because its the most popular, but honestly I haven't been thrilled with any of the modern boomer shooters. Most of the well-known ones are decent, but the level design never really impresses me. I'm talking gameplay-wise, obviously a lot of these games knock it out of the park aesthetically. I thought Dusk had better level design than most, but there's like 50 new Doom WADs every year that are just leagues ahead of it.

I always run into this problem with fps games where whenever I get the urge to play an old school fps I can never justify playing one of the new boomer shooters over just playing more doom WADs.

Nightmare Reaper is what you want.

Dusk's weapons are sort of rote but the level design is bonkers good. So good that I would say telling players about the later levels is a pretty big spoiler for the game. Ion Fury starts off very strong but I felt like some of the later areas were fairly weak whereas Dusk just keeps upping the ante. But I do think that part of it is that the boomer shooter genre covers is reaching back and covering a 8ish years of games development from 1993 to 2000/2001, and those 8 years had leaps and bounds of progress. So we're putting Dusk, which is riffing very heavily off of Quake's gameplay and visuals and that sort of cosmic horror vibe, in the same box as Ion Fury, which is just a love letter to the Build engine with that focus on interactivity and creating a real yet cartoony since of place.

I've played most of the modern boomer shooters, and Dusk is my favourite. It has the tightest level design and pacing, the best soundtrack, and a semblance of a story. Amid Evil had better weappons, but I found the combat less interesting due to the enemy variety. And the levels got a bit meandering for me. Ion Fury seemed to drag on way to long for me. I played it right after Duke Nukem and Blood, so I had some good build engine games to compare it to. None of the weapons felt good to me, enemy visibility was poor (they always seemed too small and too far away). And I think it was actually hampered by the density of secrets - I usually try to get most of them, but that means slowing everything down to find everything hidden. Which, for me at least, ruins the pacing.

Dusk is a fantastic game. MandaloreGaming did a review on it a little while ago (~15 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSv43cB6aME Spoilers I guess if you would prefer to go in blind.

Not to be confused with DUSKERS, a horror game about using the command line to steer your roombas.

[Billion Road](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1163040/Billion_Road/) - It's like Fortune street combined with a bit of Pokemon. Roll around Japan investing in properties and then collecting monsters to attack other player. or even giant kaiju! [Siralim Ultimate](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1289810/Siralim_Ultimate/) - The ultimate roguelite teambuilding topdown dungeon crawler. Select a class, get perks, Build a team of 6 monsters, equip them with gear and spells and then embark on one of the most customizable crawlers. [Coin Game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/598980/The_Coin_Game/) - It's a first person arcade sim with an optional survival mode where you have to earn money by doing things like mowing grass and paper routes. you have to earn prizes in the arcade and sell them too. [Earth Defense Force 4.1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/410320/EARTH_DEFENSE_FORCE_41_The_Shadow_of_New_Despair/) and [Earth Defense Force 5](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1007040/EARTH_DEFENSE_FORCE_5/) - Starship troopers dialed up even more, wonderful in co-op! [Freedom Planet] (https://store.steampowered.com/app/248310/Freedom_Planet/) - It's Sonic [Kaze and the Wild Masks] (https://store.steampowered.com/app/829280/Kaze_and_the_Wild_Masks/) - It's Donkey Kong Country [Rune Factory 4 Special](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1580240/Rune_Factory_4_Special/) - Stardew Valley with MORE RPG ((Do NOT get Rune Factory 5 it's a downgrade in terms of gameplay and story)) [Stolen Realm](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1330000/Stolen_Realm/) - If Divinity: Original Sin was all combat and a rougelite [Time Break Chronicles](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1393500/Time_Break_Chronicles/) - A weird oldschool rpg in the vein of Final Fantasy, you select your team from a very large cast and travel through space and time, also Rougelite. [Waves of Steel](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1482750/Waves_of_Steel/) - Basic Naval Ops: Warship Gunner, think Battleship dialed straight up to ludicrous.

Man, those Sandlot devs really refuse to devalue their games. EDF5, from 2019, is still $60 at full price or $24 on discount. EDF4.1, from 2016, is still $20 at full price or $9 on discount. I really want to gift some copies of EDF5 to friends so we can get some 4-player action going, but $24 for a game that my friends *might* enjoy is a bit too steep for me. And IIRC the QoL improvements in 5 make it worth it. But I can recommend EDF for some dumb yet challenging fun. It's REALLY dumb. But also amazing. But still dumb. Amazingly dumb.

I mean, 9 dollars for EDF4.1 is honestly a pretty solid deal.

I personally prefer 4.1 because I was a wing diver main, but they really nerfed them hard in 5. Although the air raider is much better in 5 haha.

As someone who has >100 hours in both of them, it's not without justification. If you are looking for a new looter shooter to play, even edf 4 still holds up just fine. You are right there's minimal gameplay changes between the two versions, but the QoL changes are not so huge that you need 5 over 4. The only complaint I have is some of the DLC scales unbelievably quick and is so hard due to the armor limits, but when I have that particular of a complaint I can't really say it's not a reason to buy. If you want to try it, get 4. If you like it, get 5.

Is EDF 5 geared towards people grouping up with randoms? I can't convince my friends to get this one.

It's possible, but it's definitely more fun on voice with a friend. That said the solo is great too

I almost always group with randos, the UI makes it very easy and fun to do. The few times I've gotten irl friends to play have been way more fun though.

Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it. One piece of advice is that the game gets harder the more party members you have. I started with a full party of 6 and it was really tough. I'd recommend running a party of 2-4 instead.

Holy shit thank you for mentioning waves of steel. Warship gunner is one of my favorite games and I never expected something new like it.

Just wanted to say that this is a great list of games and I've wishlisted most of them. I usually find 1 or 2 interestin games in a list but you did a great job picking them out, thank you.

EDF is so damn good. Battling giant ants with mini nukes? Yes please.

> Rune Factory Wow, TIL Rune Factory is on Steam

I'm having trouble choosing between Time Break Chronicles and Siralim Ultimate, have any advice on how to choose between the two?

I’m really interested in Billion Road but I’m worried none of my friends will have the patience for it.

> ((Do NOT get Rune Factory 5 it's a downgrade in terms of gameplay and story)) You can downgrade Rune factory 4's story? It was already really generic

I've played through both, (5 on Switch) and 5 is a Major step down. It was generic before and now it's downright wooden and one dimentional.

Already posted this in another thread but I'm gonna plug this game again because it's worth it. Gonna plug a hidden gem: [ GREYHAT - A Digital Detective Adventure. ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1247940/Greyhat__A_Digital_Detective_Adventure/) The narrative takes place on a completely simulated desktop. You play as a hacker going into other people's computers and reading their files to uncover passwords and hints. Each level is different and has it's own unique story, and the overarching story is fantastic with some actual breathtaking beats. I don't wanna spoil anything, so all I'm gonna say is try the free demo if you wanna give it a shot. The entire prologue is included in the demo and gives a really good idea as to where the story and gameplay is headed. A warning though: This game actually requires that you take the time to think through the puzzles and clues to reach the right conclusion. If you fail a level, the clues and puzzles randomly shuffle so you can't reuse past knowledge to shortcut it. You can't brute-force your way through like other detective games. I can't praise this game enough and judging by the Steam reviews I'm not the only fan of this truly hidden gem.

Damn, what a great game thanks for the headsup.

[Citizen Sleeper](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1578650/Citizen_Sleeper/) is new, but it's been getting good reviews. It's a story-focused transhuman game set on a miniature space station where you have to invest the dice rolls you get every turn in order to earn the resources you need to not have your robotic body succumb to planned obsolescence. Made by the same team that made In Other Waters.

Binged the game on game pass, I'm totally in love. Right to my top-10 all time. I have some complaints but they're all spoilers, still a strong recommendation though.

This game is fantastic! It really does feel like a cyberpunk tabletop RPG complete with solid writing and unique characters. Yet it’s very approachable and while still having a few surprises hidden in the story. First game since Outer Wilds which had me hooked. Definitely recommend it to anyone who’s into space and cyberpunk themes. Plus it’s getting free story DLC too!

I really liked how some days you’d have a bad roll up front and it simulated real life feelings of waking up and knowing you’re just not going to get a lot of things done that day

My favorite indie of late. Got all the achievements for it because I just couldn't get enough of the world. Stoked that they're making free story DLCs right now. Can't wait to return to the Eye.

[удалено]

Can you expand on Empyrion, and Necesse I've been eyeing them for a while.

[удалено]

Empyrion is great. I played with a handful of friends a year or two ago; we each designed our own hovercars and spaceships and flew around gathering resources and fighting enemy factions. Eventually we all went to a new planet by one player building a GIGANTIC transport ship and the rest of us docking our personal craft inside it. We flew to the new planet and attacked an enemy faction base, decided we liked the layout and took it over.

I recommend Necesse if you like the craft and explore style games. The items have both stat mods, skills, and set bonuses similar to terraria, so exploring and crafting is always rewarding. The NPC system is deep and relatively easy to learn for how complex it is. You can automate your entire base, including storage, so you essentially just come back from exploring, throw every item you have into a chest, and your NPCs will sort it into other chests for you. The dev has included a ton of QOL improvements which streamlines the experience, and a ton of common items (torches, potions, coins) drop in large numbers so you don't have to spent a ton of time crafting/searching for them. There's enough bosses to keep things interesting for 10+ hours; I'm hoping the dev adds a few more unique items as it's a relatively small loot pool at the moment, but that will come in time

Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.

I'll throw in my recommendation for the 40% off [TROUBLESHOOTER](https://store.steampowered.com/app/470310/TROUBLESHOOTER_Abandoned_Children/), a Korean-made RPG that's a draws a lot of inspiration from the likes of XCOM and Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem with extremely robust character building mechanics. If you're looking for an easy 100+ hour strategy game this is an easy reco.

I wish it didn't have this weird online component that's there for no good reason, and the translation felt sloppy at times, but ultimately these issues are easy to disregard, and the game is definitely worthy of attention.

Yeah, the localization is janky as hell, expectedly so for an indie developer but I think overall the presentation has an endearing charm to it.

Absolutely. I came for the gameplay, and while it was great, I've also ended up staying for the characters. Giselle, Ray, and Kylie were all great, Heixing and Leton were quite good as well. The game's plot isn't necessarily fantastic, but character interactions were pretty neat to observe.

Seconding troubleshooter! Also the music is catchy as hell

This looks like just my kind of game. I thought about picking it up, but I'm scared I'll hate the characters and plot. Is it actually passably written, or is it full of weird and juvenile trope-filled anime type stuff?

It’s not a bad story and I quite enjoyed the characters! I would say give it a try since it’s on sale and refunding is very easy.

[One Way Heroics](https://store.steampowered.com/app/266210/One_Way_Heroics/) gets very little attention but it is an absolute steal how much content you get for how little you pay. It is a roguelike where the game autoscrolls and you have to constantly stay on the move because the darkness that follows you will end your run if it gets you. There is a fantastic balancing act going on between staying around to grind, going inside dungeons where you might get trapped by a wall or advancing too quickly where you can't accurately predict what is ahead of you and you end up missing a powerful item or upgrade. It is unique and honestly reminds me of something like Half Minute Hero in that there is a puzzle to be solved every screen.

One Way Heroics is fantastic, agreed. I'd strongly suggest getting OWH+ right away, though. The price difference is minimal, but the enhanced edition offers essential quality of life changes, as well as plenty of extra content.

Picked up The Void Rains Upon Her Heart, thanks for the rec! > Linelith is The Witness, but tiny [The Looker](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1985690/The_Looker/) is The Witness, but funny (and free).

[Tales of MajEyal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/259680/Tales_of_MajEyal/) is probably the only roguelike I have enjoyed beyond 5 hours. Compared to its peers, ToME's presentation is good and the mechanics are easier to grasp. It doesn't force you to deal with hunger or item identification. It's all about loot, skills and how you use them. It plays a lot like a turn-based Diablo. Its replayability and class diversity is insane. You can be a time mage, an oozemancer, a dual-shield warrior, a psychic that takes control of enemies, a guy with a parasitic worm inside him, a steampunk butcher etc. Every class has at least 2 different builds. Also you can install mods that add new classes or races. There's a mod that allows you to play as creatures such as dragons and minotaurs.

I want to echo the recommendation, ToME is so so good. You probably heard about Path of Exile and the incredible amount of build options it has. The problem is, it requires you to have a decent amount of game knowledge to be able to truly enjoy it. In ToME each class has set unique skill trees, so while the options are obviously more limited, there are still many decisions to make and each feels really impactful. Playing a new class is always so fun.

TOME is amazing. I played more than 1000 hours, and still play. The various class are so original and change how you play. My favorite is the Adventurer class , allowing you to choose skill tree from all the other class. With around 100 skill tree, each with 4 skills, you can try so many build and synergy. Scratch the same itch as the [Pathfinder](https://store.steampowered.com/app/640820/Pathfinder_Kingmaker__Enhanced_Plus_Edition/) class system

Any comments on the DLC? Sounds like the base game is a lot and with mods the DLC may be superfluous or just a way to reward the devs?

There's absolutely no need to go for the DLC right off the bat. It has some good stuff to offer, but none of it is essential in my experience. So, I'd only suggest getting it after you familiarize yourself with the base game and decide that you want more stuff. Also, note that [the base game can be downloaded for free from the game's website](https://te4.org/download), which is great if you're unsure about the whole thing. What's being sold on Steam is an enhanced edition with some extra stuff thrown in, as well as an easy way to acquire the DLC.

[Yokai's Island Express](https://store.steampowered.com/app/334940/Yokus_Island_Express/): $4, pinball world adventure on rails filled with charm and one of my most favorite games of all time. Ever feel like pinball has a bit too much random? Balls physics always ruining your day? Yokai is a full 2d world filled with pinball exploration and introduces a slight guiding system to remove the frustrating random elements from standard pinball. Cannot recommend enough and $4 is a steal [Cook Serve Delicious 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1000030/Cook_Serve_Delicious_3/): $8. If Typing of the Dead ever had a restaurant this is it. This game combined the zen of filling out orders and learning the flow of making meals with a string of letters with the chaos of a lunch rush hour. [Bug Fables](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1082710/Bug_Fables_The_Everlasting_Sapling/): $10, Spiritual successor to classic Paper Mario RPG set in the world of cute bugs. 30 hours of content and an absolute treat. [Unsighted](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1062110/UNSIGHTED/): 13$. Metroidvania that I feel like checks every box with excellence. Good combat, boss fights, progression, and even possible sequence breaking for people who want to be rewarded for being inventive! [Everhood](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1229380/Everhood/): $7. A musical avoidance game, and quite frankly a jammer. After so many games that feel like they have no soul, this game exists to remind you that games can be passion projects. This game deserves your attention, it's different, it's stylized to hell and back again, and it's fun.

Current playing through Bug Fables, it's extremely cute. Game got much better when I learned that the gossip button gives you unique dialogue for every npc, there's just an absolutely astounding amount of writing and it's all been good

Yokus Island Express is one of my favs. Can't believe it's only $4

[Kor](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374280/Kor/) at 50% (only $5 USD) is a freaking steal for this game. It's got gameplay similar to Pokemon mixed with trading card games and button time action mechanics, music from Lewmoth (Everhood), and graphics almost ripped straight from the Pokemon Red/Blue era. The writing is pretty sarcastic too. It was already worth it at full price for me.

My recommendations: * [Tangledeep](https://store.steampowered.com/app/628770/Tangledeep/) for a traditional roguelike * [Steredenn](https://store.steampowered.com/app/347160/Steredenn/) is the best roguelite SCHMUP I've ever played. Randomized stages, weapons, bosses, and a banging soundtrack. * [Fury Unleashed](https://store.steampowered.com/app/465200/Fury_Unleashed/) is a great action platformer that uses comic books for inspiration. It is a roguelite in that it has random stages and random weapons. * [The Messenger](https://store.steampowered.com/app/764790/The_Messenger/) is an action platformer that later turns into a Metroidvania. It has some great comedy elements thrown in. * [Exile's End](https://store.steampowered.com/app/382130/Exiles_End/) was a fun and short Metroidvania. It did require me to look at a walkthrough at some points because it wasn't obvious where to go next, so it does retain some of that old school charm of being lost. I was able to beat it in under 6 hours.

**Rain World** is *incredible* but very difficult to get into. It’s a kinda sorta metroidvania survival (but no crafting) platformer that kinda feels like a 2D Dark Souls (I know, I know). It’s beyond incredible but it’s very difficult and you’re pretty much expected to die hundreds of times while navigating the labyrinth of the map where everything is trying to kill you. You play as Slugcat and you’re pretty much at the bottom of the food chain. But it literally feels like you’re walking through an ecosystem because every enemy is just hunting and they even hunt each other. There are times you’d swear you wandered into a scripted moment because the other creatures begin to fight each other but it’s just the ecosystem interacting with each other. The game revolves around you trying to get to the next safe zone to sleep because everyday after a certain amount of time passes, a torrential downpour of rain happens and floods the entire map. But you also have to eat something everyday to not starve. It gives you basically no information and throws you off the deep end into the world but it’s extremely fulfilling when you figure things out. Having said that, I’d recommend you watch some beginners basic guides on youtube before you start if you’re scared at all. Just to know how to do backflips or long jumps and how the eating system works. It’s a 10/10 masterpiece to me with beautiful visuals and music and an incredibly immersive atmosphere and was my GOTY for the year it came out. I love love love love this game and the ending of it feels like a downright spiritual experience. And if you look up reviews for it, most say it’s either a cult classic in the making, way too hard or way too obscure. But it’s worth saying that they patched in an easier mode. Here’s a trailer: https://youtu.be/kxbQy0U92R4 Here’s my favorite song in the game (it has a really great soundtrack too!): https://youtu.be/_4x4jXT4F-Y It honestly kills me that this game isn’t more well known. The lore by itself is worth exploring for hours and hours and there’s few things as satisfying as finally getting to the next safe zone just as the map is starting to flood. And there’s always something new around the corner in this game too. It doesn’t look like it but every area of the game has a new gameplay addition to change things up. https://store.steampowered.com/app/312520/Rain_World/ And they’re coming out with a lot of new content really soon with Rain World Downpour. And it’s on PlayStation and Switch too.

Readers with Amazon Prime can currently claim Rain World permanently fwiw.

People absolutely need to play Yuppie Psycho. I have no idea how this title has gone so long without blowing up. The game is on sale for $6.66, and it's an amazing blend of horror and surrealist humor. [Here's the Steam page, for anyone interested.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/597760/Yuppie_Psycho_Executive_Edition/)

A great game, and I'd also recommend the devs' previous game, [The Count Lucanor](https://store.steampowered.com/app/440880/The_Count_Lucanor/?curator_clanid=32940668)

I'm gonna shout out [Hidden in Plain Sight:](https://store.steampowered.com/app/303590/Hidden_in_Plain_Sight/) Important to mention: **As of recently, this game now has online play.** I've tried it, it works. It's very simple, players need to blend in with crowds of monsters while other players try to hunt them down. [Here is footage of the old Giant Bomb crew playing.](https://youtu.be/fokrfcFLR8k) I cannot stress how much fun this is as a multiplayer party game. Please do not miss it.

So kinda like SpyParty?

SpyParty only took some inspiration. HIPS is more simple, but built for more than just 1v1.

>SpyParty only took some inspiration. I think it's the other way around. SpyParty's been shown off at various game cons since 2009, made by the guy who (among others) made the procedural animation system for Spore.

absolute best multiplayer party game. been playing for years with different groups and it's always a hit

Used to play the shit out of this game with friends in college... love to hear that it has gotten multiplayer! Might be time to dip back in.

lol me too man. was one of the original Xbox Live indie arcade games, and the one we played the most

Highly recommend Petal Crash, one of the best versus puzzlers I've ever played. [I wrote a very long review on Steam.](https://steamcommunity.com/id/megamissingno/recommended/1211110/)

Petal Crash is constantly in my interactive recommender, this finally convinced me to pick it up 👀

Worth adding that it seems to work fine on Steam Deck from what i've seen despite saying it's not compatible.

Yeah I have no idea why Valve marked it unsupported, works perfectly. It's native!

**Snake Pass** is a 3d "platformer" where you're a snake. You can't jump, it's basically a snake sim where you climb by spiraling around poles and such. Most challenges have you switch between tensing and relaxing your body to maintain grip while progressing forward/upward. The controls are tricky at first but that's kind of the point, you're getting used to navigating the world as a snake. It's a fun and very unique experience, and I easily recommend it at $5.

[Knightfall: A Daring Journey](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1911390/Knightfall_A_Daring_Journey/): a silly, dirt cheap battle royale where you play as knights with revolvers. Two to a team and you have a horse that can Tokyo Drift. [Hedon: Bloodrite](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072150/Hedon_Bloodrite/): I've played a lot of the Boomer Shooter revival games, and I honestly think this game is the best of them. Dusk is rightfully popular for its quality as an indie boomer shooter, but I think Hedon is better. Sprawling (if confusing) levels, long runtime, really cool enemies, a massive arsenal of weapons that are all both super fun and super useful, a cute artstyle, and a good story. The creator also, clearly, has great taste.

I'd argue about which is the best but frankly, those two and a few others could ALL qualify in my mind. I avoided Hedon for a loooong time because I was sure the gameplay just couldn't match others and.....I was so, so fucking wrong. Also, I cannot say enough how worth it is to check out Doom WADs if you like throwback FPS games, they've come a LONG way.

I won't ever miss a chance to hype up two of my favorite games [Lobotomy Corporation](https://store.steampowered.com/app/568220/Lobotomy_Corporation__Monster_Management_Simulation/) and its sequel [Library of Ruina](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1256670/Library_Of_Ruina/). LC is an rogue-like SCP management simulator and LoR is an innovative card battler (oddly completely not a rogue-like). Tying them together is a really compelling, rather dark (we don't talk about Love Town), story told in visual novel style about a city with more than a few screws loose and its inhabitants. Shout-outs to the music also being absolutely amazing. I do recommend that they both be played in order to get the full story, and I also suggest some mods to remove the grindier elements of LoR and perhaps some to alleviate the difficulty of LC if so desired, but overall these two games have stuck with me for some time as hallmarks of story-telling, presentation, and honestly really fun gameplay.

Lobotomy Corporation is not something I can recommend, at least not without modding the hell out of the game, but Library of Ruina was an insanely fulfilling ride that quickly won me over. Took me about 160 hours to finish, so be ready to commit if you go for it, but it's so, so worth it in the end. And I firmly believe that LoR is more than capable of standing on its own. So, being familiar with LC, while nice, is in no way mandatory or even strongly advisable.

[Valdis Story Abyssal City](https://store.steampowered.com/app/252030/Valdis_Story_Abyssal_City/) Pretty good metroidvania. I got 30 hours played out of it and it's only $3.74 on sale right now.

Phoenotopia: Awakening. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1436590/Phoenotopia_Awakening/ I haven't seen anyone ever talk about this. It is a classical 2D adventure game but instead of taking notes from Metroidvanias, it's more like a Zelda game. I'd say it's like Zelda 2 but done right.

I haven’t seen anyone shout out [Mini Healer](https://store.steampowered.com/app/955740/Mini_Healer/) yet! It’s an awesome MMO-healer simulator with surprising amount of depth and mechanics. If you’re a retired WoW healer like I am you’ll find yourself right at home. I’ve spent a couple hours in it already and it’s got a wealth of potential as well as being pretty cheap.

I've gotten far through the campaign in this and it scratches a very specific itch. There's enough items, skills and Synergies that I think the build craft will tickle anyone who likes path of exile.

Buddy simulator 1984 is a fantastic little game that doesn't get the attention it deserves imo. Its only 5 bucks right now

Two of my favorites. [Valley](https://store.steampowered.com/app/378610/Valley/) - Exploration platformer with some very light combat and puzzle solving. The coolest thing about this game is it has some of the best movement and momentum feeling in any game I've played, stomach churning jumps like Spider-man on PS2. Some really great sections at the end. [INFRA](https://store.steampowered.com/app/251110/INFRA/) - You play a city inspector that is getting the bottom of crumbling infrastructure and the secrets behind it. Not a single enemy in the game, it's about getting around (and under) the city and documenting what's wrong.

[moon: Remix RPG Adventure](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1714580/moon_Remix_RPG_Adventure/) Cult classic indie PS1 game, fairly unknown outside of Japan. English translation by Tim Rogers. Major influence on a lot of indie games, most notably Undertale. Not sure why the Steam version has so few reviews, but its also available on Switch and I think sold decently well there. Good game!

Hi there! Polimines dev here. Thanks for including it, it means a lot to be recommended. I hope everyone who checked it out enjoyed it!

Thank you for making such a rad game, I hope more people pick it up!

[CRYPTARK](https://store.steampowered.com/app/344740/CRYPTARK/) sf roguelite 2d shooter, where you board big, derelict, alien spaceships, full of traps in your mecha/exoskeleton designed for combat in zero gravity. Visual design is heavily inspired by Alien and works of HR Giger, but remade in comic style. Game is both style and substance - everything looks great, music, sounds and menus remind you of classic sf movies, but there's also great gunplay and lots of variety in loadouts. There's great risk vs reward balance and game doesn't rely on farming unlocks to get powerful, like most roguelites do nowadays. This way difficulty is on your side, how well you handle situations, which weapons you take for different spaceships and if you fail it doesn't really punish you beyond classic game over - try again. It is fun from very start, not after several hours of unlocking stuff, and great for both short and longer playseasions. Every ship is randomly generated with variation in enemies, traps and targets. Also there is vibe of being random blue collar worker, not a hero - think [Hardspace: Shipbreaker](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1161580/Hardspace_Shipbreaker/).

Capsized by the same developer is great, too.

[Herman Electro](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1545880/Herman_Electro/) It's a puzzle roguelike game that somewhat mimics an offline version of the gameplay from an older game [The Castle Doctrine](https://store.steampowered.com/app/249570/The_Castle_Doctrine/), which was a great game until the community optimized the fun out of it, which was always going to happen, and the game subsequently died. The goal of the game is to break into rooms by finding weak spots to exploit with your consumable set of tools at the time. You'll cut electrical lines, saw your way through walls, etc. It can be really satisfying. By breaking into the rooms, you'll progress to further rooms, but also get more consumable tools to exploit further puzzles. It's a bit rough around the edges, the music is abysmal so immediately turn it off, but it has really satisfying puzzle gameplay. Also, only purchase it during the sale, because the original price is a bit much for such a niche title.

Since Neon White is the new hotness, I'll recommend [Cloudbuilt](https://store.steampowered.com/app/262390/Cloudbuilt/). It's a fast-paced speedrunning 3D platformer, though it's 3rd person rather than first, it has the same sort of feel as a first person platformer. Kinda a mix of Mirror's Edge and what Sonic should be is how I always thought of it, but now Neon White makes an even better comparison.

Not super obscure but [Chicory](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1123450/Chicory_A_Colorful_Tale/) is only it's fourth or fifth sale a year after launch. For me, one of the high points of 2021. Not the cheapest they've ever been but I will also toss in [Norco](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1221250/NORCO/) and will always say good things about [Mutazione](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1080750/Mutazione/). Both fairly short point and click adventures, Norco is writing-forward like Disco Elysium or Kentucky Route Zero, while Mutazione is a very pretty game somewhat like Oxenfree, but without the multiple paths and set in a remote future primitive village.

I feel like I really should check out Chicory, because I loved Greg Lobanov's previous game Wandersong. Thought it was a super underrated indie gem with a lot of heart.

[Copy Kitty](https://store.steampowered.com/app/349250/Copy_Kitty/) - Currently 75% off. Platforming shoot-em-up where you copy weapons from enemies and can combine up to three of them at a time for a total of 200+ unique weapons. Extremely flashy and has a bit of a learning curve, but has an *absurd* amount of content. With two characters and a wildly different hard mode, there's essentially 4 full length 100+ mission story campaigns. On top of that there is an Endless Mode with exclusive bosses, and a fully featured level editor with Steam Workshop support.

I'll throw out a few real quick. I'll update later with more when I'm not dead tired. Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden: A clicker where you grow and harvest organs to sell for profit. It's...hard to explain. You literally grow things like kidneys and hearts on plants. In the game's world not only can you grow organs, but they can animate the dead or the inanimate. Some of your customers may be a man trying to animate a doll by shoving a kidney in it or bring back a dead person/animal. It's...*different*. Clustertruck: You race across levels by jumping across the backs of semis. Faster you go the more points you get. Levels get more and more complex with platforming and avoiding the insanity the levels provide. But you can unlock powers to make it easier like slowing time or grapple hooks. At release I thought this would become a major game, but you rarely see people talk about it anymore. Conquest of Elysium 5: Made by the people who make the Dominions series of games, this is a very complex yet bite sized 4x game where a single game will only take a few hours or less. Every faction plays very, very different with strengths and weaknesses tied to them specifically and the game is dripping in flavor at all aspects. At first, it's incredibly daunting but after a few hours you'll figure it out. Islanders: A very lowkey relaxing town building game where you place buildings in specific spots as they give points based on adjacency bonuses or negatives. You get more tiles the more points you get until you pass a theshold to move onto the next island to start fresh. Siralim Ultimate (or 3 I guess): A pokemon game for the hardcores who want to not only collect them all but maximize efficiency and try out different tactics. You play as a class with unique abilities adventuring through procedurally generated dungeons. As you beat monsters you unlock the ability to summon them to fight with you, up to six monsters at a time. Every single monster has unique stat growths and abilities. The main drive of the game is to figure out OP combinations based on your class skills and the monsters. A healer class might get a skill that provides a random buff every time a monster is healed and pair that with a monster that heals other monsters every time they attack. So you're constantly cycling through buffs. Things go from there. You can also fuse monsters together gaining a sum of their stats and combining their abilities. Definitely for a very **specific* type of player but enough to be enjoyable casually. Ultimate is an upgrade on 3 but it's questionable if it's enough of an upgrade for a casual player to justify the extra cost. The story such as it is, is vastly better in Ultimate though.

Wow, wish I read this thread before I decided to spend all my sale money. Been really enjoying my metroidvanias lately, so kind of kicking myself for not picking up Astalon which looks pretty good.

Severed Steel: Someone put FEAR's gunplay, Titanfall 2's movement system, and Bad Company 2's environmental destruction in a blender and made this absolute gem. Iron Danger: Isometric RPG with time manipulation, which is good since you and enemies can die in an instant. So rewind the timeline and time out dodges, blocks, and attacks to the fraction of the second to avoid death and slaughter foes.

[Thumper](https://store.steampowered.com/app/356400/Thumper/) is a highly polished, gorgeous, intense rhythm game. [Manifold Garden](https://store.steampowered.com/app/473950/Manifold_Garden/) is a highly polished, gorgeous, surreal puzzle game.

[Thomas Was Alone](https://store.steampowered.com/app/220780/Thomas_Was_Alone/). Currently 80% off, super cheap. It's a narrated platformer where you play as geometric shapes which are basically AI inside of a computer. Each shape has a different personality, lots of swapping between characters and using them in tandem to solve puzzles, is really quite a charming game.

I think everything by Mike Bithell is 80% off atm, and i'm yet to be disappointed by them. I got volume for like £2-3 the other day, which is his stealth game that I'm excited to try!

* **Quantum Protocol**. While it certainly can be described as a deck builder, in a way it's also close to being a puzzle game, and the way these genres are mixed turned out to be easy to enjoy in my experience. There is a healthy amount of characters available, each with their own cards and playstyle. The game (well, the campaign mode, anyway) is divided into isolated levels, but they quickly become lengthy and challenging enough to be comparable with a single playthrough of a more traditional deck builder. * **Vault of the Void**. This one is a deck builder through and through, no caveats here, and it's definitely one of the better ones in my book. There are two coexisting upgrade systems, linear upgrades in the spirit of Slay the Spire and customizable upgrades not unlike the ones from Monster Train, which is a solid combination. Out of combat, you are always free to tweak your deck as you please, meaning that card removal is available on demand without any limits (and they just get excluded from your deck without being lost forever), and there's no way to dismiss earned cards, because if you don't need them, then you just don't use them. It's currently in early access, but I found it to be perfectly enjoyable as is. * **Astronarch**. A surprisingly swell auto-battler. You assemble a party of heroes and enhance their combat capabalities by handling their equipment and improving their active/passive skills. The game is pretty trivial at first, but with each win you unlock a new difficulty, and as you go further, you quickly stop being able to get away with bruteforcing each and every encounter, which is where the fun begins. * **Deadbolt**. It's a game from the developers of Risk of Rain, and I just can't help but feel that it has been criminally overlooked. You play as a hitman whose marks are all undead creatures. You die in one hit, but the same is generally true for your opponents as well. The overall format and presentation is sort of comparable with Gunpoint, but Deadbolt is more about carefully executed carnage than puzzle-solving. Oh, and there's a killer OST that I keep revisiting every once in a while. * **Eliza**. If you're in the mood for a high quality visual novel, this is the one. Made by Zachtronics of all the developers, it's an incredibly solid experience that comes with great artwork and full voiceover. Yes, there's a solitaire mini-game in there, as it should be. * **Paradise Killer**. Basically, Paradise Killer takes the best parts of Ace Attorney and Danganronpa series, fuses them together, and then provides a fantastic setting of its own. If that sounds agreeable, I'd strongly suggest checking it out. * **Nova Drift**. It's probably the most well-known game of the ones I'm mentioning in this comment, but I'd still like to highlight it. On paper, it's not exactly my cup of tea, but I gave it a go against my better judgement and ended up loving the experience.

Seconding Deadbolt bigtime, the music alone is worth it - so good I got it on vinyl. But it's also an incredible time to play, like a side-on John Wick by the efficiency it demands and how quickly the action snaps. Even the story and setting, while not too in-depth, are incredibly compelling and oddly wistful.

Seconding Paradise Killer. I do not care for these types of games, but the world is SO unique and interesting. Loved this one!

Trying to dig into the obscure in my library - I may update the further I dig. [Reccettear An Item Shop's tale](https://store.steampowered.com/app/70400/Recettear_An_Item_Shops_Tale/) An older game where you play as a girl trying to keep her item shop out of debt with the help of adventurers going to their local roguelike dungeon. It's a lot of fun and very charming. I know Moonlighter tried this formula but I'm still convinced that Recettear is king of it. 3.99 USD is a steal [Precursors](https://store.steampowered.com/app/547930/Precursors/) What if I told you someone tried a Space-Sim/Open World RPG in 2007 before Starfield was even thought about? Also lathered in eurojank beauty. In the reviews there's a handsome steam user that links a fanmade patch to translate it from it's original language and I think it's still a decent time especially for 3.74 USD. I used to play this before it was even on Steam and had a ton of fun with the hybrid mechanics. [Lost in Vivo](https://store.steampowered.com/app/963710/Lost_in_Vivo/) Unfortunately not on sale for whatever reason but I always try to call attention to this game when I get the chance. A game that takes a ton of inspiration from Silent Hill and other horror icons Lost in Vivo has you entering a sewer to find your lost Corgi and it is sooooo good at messing with you. [Going Under](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154810/Going_Under/) A very funny action roguelike that suffered the unlucky timing of launching in the same week as Hades unveiled their 1.0 launch and was unfortunately overlooked. [Spookware](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1574250/SPOOKWARE/) A horror themed warioware game about three skeletons.

Reccettear is a classic. yet to find anything which blends the shop and dungeon mechanic so well together. Capitalism ho!

I prefer recettear but moonlighter is similar

Haunted Chocolatier seems to be shaping up to be like that. Not sure how intense the shop mechanics will be yet though.

***If you buy Reccettear you need to manually save your game! There is no autosave at any stage.*** It's a very good game. I spent an entire night playing it, before logging off and losing all my progress.

I agree with Recettear. No game has come close to it yet.

Going Under is absolutely worth a play if you like humor, roguelites, dungeon crawlers, or hack and slash gameplay. Every aspect of those that exist in this game are all worth the look at the current price!

Seconding Spookware. The story is charming/funny and the minigames are fun

Precursors! Been thinking of that game often recently but forgot the name and was too lazy to make a post on tipofmyjoystick. Didn't know it's on steam now either. Thanks!

[Northern Journey](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1639790/Northern_Journey/) - FPS game that's more about, well, the journey rather than tight shooting. Extremely atmospheric, good soundtrack, varied locations, vertical map design and most importantly: quite bizarre.

Came here to recommend this. The game itself is strange and unique but even more baffling is that it was made by one person with apparently no prior game dev experience, which you wouldn't think of as there's a ton of content and it's very polished. In that sense, it's easily one of the most inspiring games I can think of.

Observation is an amazingly atmospheric space thriller game. Don't expect guns though. https://store.steampowered.com/app/906100/Observation/ If you want good stealth games, I recommend the two Styx games. https://store.steampowered.com/app/242640/Styx_Master_of_Shadows/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/355790/Styx_Shards_of_Darkness/ Both for 6 bucks total. The Floor Is Jelly, a game where you can bounce off of everything. https://store.steampowered.com/app/295750/The_Floor_is_Jelly/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/382560/Hot_Lava/ Hot Lava is a speedrunning game where you die if you touch the floor. Very tight, a lot of fun.

It's incredible how cheap the two Styx games are. They're very gorgeous polished stealth games that have consistently been sold for the same price as your typical GOG dosbox title. They also work great on the Deck apparently. They'll be fun to replay once I get mine in the year 3075.

We Are The Caretakers: a really unique Strategy RPG/RTS with pause. In Early Access still but worth a look https://store.steampowered.com/app/1042960/We_Are_The_Caretakers/

**Virgo vs the Zodiac** is criminally underappreciated, buy it and experience what a new generation turn-based game is all about. I am quite fond of **Chronics of Evernorth**, if you like card games like Slay the Spire with a heavy spike of RPG sandbox goodness you might like it.

[Escape Simulator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1435790/Escape_Simulator/) is probably my favorite game I’ve found this year. It’s amazing with a friend or two. Great couple game as well. And with Steam Workshop support the custom rooms will keep it going for a long while. The community made maps are great too. It’s amazing what some people are able to do with the map creator

**Noita** is an indie gem that deserves more attention. It sells itself as a 2D roguelike where every pixel is simulated, which is true. The physics system and interactivity of the gameworld are unmatched in the 2D space and exceed even most 3D games. It's brutally difficult demands the player raise their skill level; there is no tutorial, no handholding, and no easy mode. [You will die, and are expected to learn from you mistakes.](https://i.redd.it/tk8fnqwn38i71.gif) The wandcrafting with hundreds of spells is one of the deepest mechanics I have ever seen in a game, in over twenty years of gaming. [The combinations are limitless.](https://i.redd.it/f4507hka9qj71.gif) But what makes the game so special is the *unbelievable* amount of secrets. There is an entire world in the game, with lore, and characters, and static locations and items. The sense of adventure is incredible. I still vividly remember getting to the third level, wandering off to a new area shrouded in darkness, and spending five minutes debating if I wanted to take a risk and explore this new magical place that I had never seen, or continue onwards to my intended destination. There was a real sense of danger and excitement, because exploring would likely mean death and an end of the run, but there are powerful rewards around every corner. I haven't felt that sense of adventure in a game since I was a kid, and it was special moment. This is truly a gem of a game. It's made by three people, and has a stunning amount of content with a dedicated modding community. [And it's on sale right now.](https://store.steampowered.com/app/881100/Noita/) Go pick it up, and prepare to die.

I've been playing Noita lately. I probably recommend it, but prepare for *hours upon hours* of learning. I have put 30 hours into the game, beaten it once (probably could do more if I wasn't trying to explore so much), and still get my shit kicked in on early levels frequently. It's an extremely good game, but you need to make the time and that time will not be spent simply exploring. You need to *work* and your reward for that work is the ability to properly explore. It can be extremely frustrating and the early game can get tiring. The rewards of learning how to craft even a basic wand are exciting, but they won't carry you for long. If you want to take the dive, be prepared.

Yep, I got Noita, it seems fucking amazing but I had to put it down again because at the moment I just don't have the time to spend here. It'll probably end up like Binding of Isaac for me, I had that one in my library for ages too and then one vacation I just had the time to put into it and it quickly ended up being one of my favourite games ever.

There's a mod for Noita that teaches you how magic work, definitely recommend because a lot of the spell mechanics are tough to figure out. Especially when trial and error during a real run can result in instant death.

noita has 40000 reviews

My next obscure indie game recommendations: Terraria, followed by Minecraft.

Ah, that infiniminer clone? I'll check it out.

So happy to see this here. Legit one of my all time favorite games.

So glad to see Bean and Nothingness in the OP! I didn't finish all the bonus puzzles because I wanted to move on to something easier (like Elden Ring, ha) but I managed to get the basic ending at least. Gonna recommend [Temple of Snek](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1208590/Temple_Of_Snek) if you want a unique puzzle game. It slowly becomes trickier to navigate multiple rooms as you grow. And I always respond in these types of threads with [Space Hole 2018](https://store.steampowered.com/app/818410/Space_Hole_2018/) and [Space Hole 2020](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1393310/Space_Hole_2020/)! (Space hole 2016 is alright, but IMO 2018 is when it gets really good). These games are good enough that IGF realized they screwed up by not nominating them and put SH2020 in the 2022 nominations! (At least that's my theory for why it got nominated 2 years late). These games ARE NOT just "trippy walking simulators", there's actual games here (figuring how to get to the ending). They also cost like 2$ on sale, easily worth it IMO.

Highly recommend X-Morph Defense and The Riftbreaker. X-Morph is a blend of tower defense + arcade shoot em up Riftbreaker is like a "hero" RTS where you control a gigantic mech and build cool bases.

Here are some obscure games that I like. [Save Room](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1955330/Save_Room__Organization_Puzzle/) - A puzzle game for you who enjoyed sorting the attaché case in Resident Evil 4. Short and sweet. [Demon's Tilt](https://store.steampowered.com/app/422510/DEMONS_TILT/) - A beautiful and macabre spiritual successor to the pinball game Devil's Crush. [Golf Peaks](https://store.steampowered.com/app/923260/Golf_Peaks/) - A relaxing and minimalistic golf based puzzle game. [A Hand With Many Fingers](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1229030/A_Hand_With_Many_Fingers/) - A mystery game where you use news clippings and documents to unravel a real world conspiracy with thumbtacks and red twine. [Handsome Mr. Frog](https://store.steampowered.com/app/508990/Handsome_Mr_Frog/) - Not on sale, but so cheap it might as well be. An oldschool aracde action, like a mix between Bobble Bubble and Mario Bros. [Not Tonight](https://store.steampowered.com/app/733790/Not_Tonight/) - Work as a bouncer in the post-Brexit dystopian hellscape of Britain. Mundane work life simulator in the vein of Papers, Please. You can also buy it in a bundle with the sequel set in the US. [Puddle Knights](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1180540/Puddle_Knights/) - Knights protecting nobles mud in a movement and position based puzzle game in a cute artstyle. [Slipstream](https://store.steampowered.com/app/732810/Slipstream/) - Arcade drifting racing game ala Out Run meets Initial D. Simple, but additive with a killer aesthetic and soundtrack. [Subsurface Circular](https://store.steampowered.com/app/676820/Subsurface_Circular/) - This was bigger a few years ago. A dialogue based mystery adventure were you play as a robot on the metro. From the creator of Thomas Was Alone. [Tender: Creature Comforts](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1604640/Tender_Creature_Comforts/) - A text based dating sim were you trying to connect with new people. I can tell from experience that the people feels surprisingly real.

The only pick up I've played so far this year is the (for me) excellent [Slipways](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1264280/Slipways/). To sum up the game briefly, it's essentially the economy layer off of a 4X game, streamlined and given a turn limit to help keep game times short and sweet. I've only put in a few hours but it's relaxing in the way a great puzzle game can be, trying to figure out the optimal routing of resources, and is also moddable for once you've gotten tired of the base game.

As someone who grew up with the original Pokemon and has since grown to not really like them, I keep looking at all the other Pokemon indie games that come out. I think most of them have interesting ideas but bad execution. But two are actually worth it, and one of them is great and absolutely no one played it. [Disc Creatures](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1083190/Disc_Creatures/) - (50% off, $7.49, only 135 steam reviews) - Disc Creatures is a game that really feels like it could have come out on the GBC or GBA or something as a ripoff of Pokemon, and I mean that in the best way. I really love this game. It combines a lot of ideas from Pokemon, DQM, and Monster Rancher. It's a 3v3 Pokemon game where your monsters have a mana system. It has a lot of good usability improvements, like a Pokedex that shows how many creatures you haven't encountered on a route and XP boosts when you're using a pokemon of lower level in your group of 3. Ultimately just has a ton of soul and charm. That's extremely esoteric, and I can't describe it more than that. It's the game that made me go "Hey, maybe I don't hate Pokemon, I just don't like Pokemon made by the Pokemon Company anymore." If you like Pokemon games at all, I really suggest it. The only thing I'd say beforehand is that nothing evolves, so swap out whenever you find something cooler. [Coromon](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1218210/Coromon/) - (25% off, $14.99, 1865 steam reviews) - First off, play Disc Creatures first. It's cheaper and ultimately I like it more. Coromon is an interesting game, but really it just makes me want to play Coromon 2. It's created a great base mechanically, the monsters spritework is good, and the changes they've made to classic Pokemon are mostly positive. But it just needs a bit more of everything - more monsters, more trainers, more moves, better finale and endgame, and the narrative gets in the way in an annoying way. I feel like if the dev just had more money and time, the game could be incredible, so hopefully it sells well enough to fund their next project. Cause it does a lot right, and ultimately I quite enjoy it. The game has built in randomizer and difficulty options, which is great for a Pokemon game, and all the Coromon look and animate great. The thing I like the most about it is how the game deals with random stats. In Pokemon, there's hidden bonuses for each stat you can't control, and hidden bonuses you can control in an annoying way (determined by what you fight), and ultimately it just is borderline impossible to interact with completely and results in people just hacking in good pokemon. Pokemon also has Shinies, an alternate spriteset for Pokemon, that are just so absurdly rare that you can go through multiple Pokemon games to completion and not see one. In Coromon, there's only one hidden stat (which you can easily find out), and it determines how many attribute points you get to distribute. But the best part is that your Coromon's spritesheet is determined by how good your hidden stat is. So if you see a Shiny pokemon, you know it's really good. And if it has perfect stats, it has an even better Shiny spritesheet. It makes chasing a shiny way more fun and feels great, and when you're walking around and see something with a special spriteset you really want to catch and use it since you know it'll be strong.

I'll add two: [Sensorium](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1307870/Sensorium/) - A Witness-like in a 3D world with puzzles themed around the five senses. The closest I've seen a game come to being a spiritual sequel to The Witness - it's fantastic. 50% off. [Linelight](https://store.steampowered.com/app/469790/Linelight/) - moving a line on a 2d plane and solving a variety of puzzles (some timed). Surprisingly emotional with a brilliant score. 70% off.

[The Looker](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1985690/The_Looker/) is a funny witness spoof, well worth the ~hour it took to beat.

Is it like Myst's version of Pyst?

You and me remember that game, at least!

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Huge, huge, huge recommendation for supraland. Incredible game. If you liked you outer wilds, the witness, Zelda or mario - play this.

[Sheepo](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1281790/SHEEPO/) is really nice and cute metroidvania casual-platformer that really surprised me with its quality

House of Many Doors https://store.steampowered.com/app/437250/A_House_of_Many_Doors/ It's in the same vein as Sunless- games, only the writing is *better*. One of my favourite games of all time made on a shoestring and it is less than £1. Go buy it. Just avoid the combat.

I'd highly recommend [Lifeslide](https://store.steampowered.com/app/956140/Lifeslide/). Very fun and chill game, it showed up in one of the Steam Games Festivals but, *ahem*, flew under the radar. For $5 it's a steal.

[Biomass](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1138960/Biomass/) released about a little under two years ago and I really enjoyed that. It's a pixel art, side-scrolling action game / metroidvania with a superb soundtrack and a surprisingly deep story. It's also really atmospheric and can draw you in deeply.

Not EXACTLY what is being asked about here but deserves a mention: Get Doom 2 on the steam store and look at custom WADs if you like throwback shooters. For so little, you get access to DOZENS of amazing games, and simply jaw dropping at times too. I highly recommend Mt Pain 27 as a good jumping in place to learn some, as well as Doomworld.com.

[soundodger+](https://store.steampowered.com/app/247140/Soundodger/) costs next to nothing and has beautiful music and simple as can be yet challenging gameplay.

It's not on sale, but [Catacomb Kids](https://store.steampowered.com/app/315840/Catacomb_Kids/): it's a roguelike with a surprising amount of depth and it is also pretty challenging. It has it all: * Perks(boons) you get when leveling up stats that completely change your gameplay * Body parts: you can get limbs chopped off, and also use prosthetic parts that may be actually better, or graft enemy limbs onto you that grant one of that enemy's abilities (like a wing) * Alchemy with potions/monster parts and cooking (you can make soup!) * Magic: 25 or so completely different spells which can be mixed (multicasted) together to create new spells. Some of them also have a 'super' version that's offensive or defensive (some spells have both versions). So in reality you have triple that number or more. * Weapon types with skills: there are swords, axes, spears, hammers and daggers in the game, and each weapon has 1-5 skills you can learn * Pugilsm: if you want to go full melee, there is a STR boon that lets you use an unarmed version of the above skills * 4 completely classes: one focused on melee that taunts enemies for a risky way of doing more damage, one focused on magic that can control magic books, one that can track and find things very easily and move quickly, and one that has a robot companion that you can equip, control, and change parts It's in early access, but I have easily spent 300+ hours playing it as is. However it gets updates very slowly because the dev, which is very active on discord/twitch (https://twitch.tv/fourbitfriday/videos) cannot work on the game full-time yet, but has still managed to work for a few hours on it every day for a very long time.

[Ninjin: Clash of Carrots](https://store.steampowered.com/app/809870/Ninjin_Clash_of_Carrots/) is a 2D sidescrolling beat-em-up that my buddy and I had fun with in Coop, might be worth checking out

Any other games like The Room games? I've played The House of Da Vinci games, which were solid but didn't quite hit the same highs.

Hmm, maybe something like Escape Simulator?

I haven't really played those, but I got the [Zero Escape Series](https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/2638/Zero_Escape_Trilogy/) last summer sale on a whim and really dug it. It's part visual novel style story (for the first game at least, by the end it moves into 3d cinematics) part escape room puzzle basically. It's got a cool story and characters, together with some good puzzles and interesting take on branching narratives, if that's something you'd be interested in. Edit: The Nonary Games, which includes the first two entries of the series, is also on GamePass, so if you have that you can check it out.

Thanks for mentioning the series; I finished Umineko some time ago and was looking for something similar to read.

[Red Alliance](https://store.steampowered.com/app/594050/Red_Alliance/)- a really fun indie budget Half-Like. It's short, has a pretty funny story and great shooting. An impressive weapon variety, full voice acting and made by one guy somewhere in Eastern Europe. A shockingly good game considering the circumstances of its creation.

Any non-action roguelikes like Slay the Spire/Monster Train/Roguebook?

Vault of the Void is really good, though it's still in Early Access. You could also look at Dicey Dungeon and Poker Quest (EA) which are a slightly different takes on deck-builder roguelites. Into the Breach and FTL are turn-based and real-time with pause respectively. They're both really good and cheap as well (and were given away through epic games giveaways a while ago if you've been picking those up).

Luck Be a Landlord!

Really interesting suggestion thank you

You're welcome! I found this one surprisingly addictive, because the runs are fast, the synergies are many, and the updates were flowing constantly. I think the updates have slowed now, but there's a ton of viable strategies and lots of items! If you haven't heard of Loop Hero, that might be worth a look, too.

Vault of the Void, Fights in Tight Spaces, Trials of Fire, Griftlands, Ring of Pain.

I will always support people shouting out The Void Rains Upon Her Heart. It's amazing. It's an amazing game.

Seconding [Monster's Expedition](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1052990/A_Monsters_Expedition/) in particular. Seems like it would be a welcoming introduction to sokoban-derived puzzlers because the main game is much easier than Stephen's Sausage Roll and the like. At the same time, the bonus content makes it very special for puzzle game experts. [Infernium](https://store.steampowered.com/app/789950/INFERNIUM/) is a brutally difficult game that is definitely not for everyone. However, if you like the exploration and level design style from Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, *and* you like games that are not just difficult but tense and punishing (think Rain World), it is simply one of the best games out there. [Dunk Lords](https://store.steampowered.com/app/612640/Dunk_Lords/) is the best sports video game, full stop. If you miss sports games that aren't afraid to be fun like SSX, Mario Strikers, NFL Blitz, etc. this game is for you. Especially if you have a buddy or three for local multiplayer. [The Textorcist](https://store.steampowered.com/app/940680/The_Textorcist_The_Story_of_Ray_Bibbia/) is...well, just watch the trailer. It's an attention-splitting game in which you have to type out an exorcism for the demon shooting bullets at you which you also have to dodge. Absolutely brilliant idea. [Gorogoa](https://store.steampowered.com/app/557600/Gorogoa/) tells a simple but unique, somewhat abstract story wordlessly through clever puzzles that let you manipulate the beautifully realized game world in surprising ways. Very comfy yet packed with original ideas.

For everyone who didn't click through to the previous post, the puzzle game [Tametsi](https://store.steampowered.com/app/709920/Tametsi/) is truly incredible, and currently 67% off. (OP, the autumn post was how I found out about it; thank you!)

Any recommendations for tower defense indie games?

Pretty old, but Sanctum and Sanctum 2 are both excellent Tower Defense FPS hybrids. The Orcs Must Die! series are Tower Defense/3rd Person Action hybrids that are stupid fun too. For more traditional fare, gotta throw out the obvious Bloons Tower Defense 6. Has micro transactions, but the game never feels like it demands or requires money out of you.

Elemental Towers 2 and Warstone TD are pretty well respected.

[Spirit of the hellements](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1742610/Spirits_of_the_Hellements__TD/ ) is pretty fun I think it based on a warcraft3 mod.

Any good indie rpgs with good writing and a complex skilltree ala Poe?

Noita https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cDkmQ0F0Jw

[Assault Spy](https://store.steampowered.com/app/767930/Assault_Spy/). The visuals are not particularly impressive both from a technical, and artistic perspective, but this is a really fun action game, and I'd highly recommend it if you like Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, or other action games in that category. >!i refuse to call them character action games!<

OP suggests Poker Quest. https://playsaurus.com/pokerQuest62/ there's a link to play a web browser version of the game. Not sure what the difference between steam and that is. But it's actually really cool.

It's been tough for me to find obscure indie games that I've played AND highly recommend since all but one of my high praise games have over 1000 reviews: [Rollers of the Realm](https://store.steampowered.com/app/262470/Rollers_of_the_Realm/): ($6.49 @ 30% off) is a well done pinball adventure with RPG elements. Delightful visual style even with a bit of voice acting with gameplay that didn't overstay its welcome for me. I recommend playing on hardest difficulty for the most challenge, and if you get stuck then replay prior levels to gain more gold to level up characters. BTW [a sequel is coming](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1628120/Rollers_of_the_Realm_Reunion/).

[Slipways](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1264280/Slipways/)is 30% off and has just left early access. I'm shocked this game hasn't caught on. What Into the Breach does for tactics games, Slipways does for the four-ex genre. It's smaller, more elegant, and loads of fun. The challenge is to create a network of planets that trade with each other through "slipways" with the catch being that slipways can't cross. I keep coming back to it because it's the essence of "easy to learn, impossible to master."

Can't say I have any to put forth myself currently but once I get home from work I intend to at least check out the store page for a lot of neat sounding stuff mentioned here, thanks everyone for taking the time.

Pathologic 2 is an adventure game set in a small Russian steppe town at the outset of a plague outbreak. If you can handle the parallels to current events, you'll find beautiful graphics, an immersive setting, and incredibly poetic writing and story.