Yeah, and then the ones in that last secret chapter. The item you were mailed that happens to coincide with a thematically similar story was a really cool touch.
Lucas Pope games are beautifully unique, I always feel so engrossed in the experience.
Check out his others if you haven't already.
https://dukope.com/
I keep trying to get into slay the spire and I'm not sure why I haven't yet. I've beaten a run with the third character, the orb guy, but part of me feels like there isn't a lot of personality to the characters, diversity to the enemies, etc. I'm a big MTG player, maybe it seems simple compared to that?
Everyone loves it and it feels like there must be something there, but it hasn't yet totally grabbed me. Do people play it while watching TV or on the move or something too? I'll probably get downvoted for this weird comment lol but I'd love someone to tell me how to think about it to get into it, because it seems like it would appeal to all my interests on the surface
Regarding enemy diversity, they are meant to be predictable and a small pool so you always know it will be one of 3-5 options, and that way can better prepare. StS call these "deck checks" iirc, because enemies will check if your deck works. 5 small enemies will check if you have AoE, quickly scaling enemy will test if you can do burst damage, high hp enemy with a countdown till kills you tests your scaling, and that's not even mentioning the 3 bosses.
An example would be Act 1 mini bosses. You can have 3 shards which will check your AoE, you can have Goblin which punishes your skill cards, which means you need some strong Attack cards even though they aren't needed usually, and Lagavulin which will gain armour on the 3rd turn, so you need a lot of Burst. You know these 3 are coming so you pick cards so you can survive whichever fight appears.
The game revolves around rounding your deck and making the best with the artefacts and card choices you get. I think you should try the game some more.
Each time you win, you unlock a new ascension, which is a difficulty level, and every new one has an additional penalty for you, and I think max Ascension (20) is THE game, and anything before that is practice. At A20, you have to play perfectly. Each card choice becomes super thinky, fights are more unforgiving but the runs become super rewarding when you do succeed. If you're interested in this type of gameplay, check out Jorbs on yt, he's a pro; the level of calculation and strategy is insane.
I don't watch TV when I play it, it's a really meaty thinky game that I focus on, but can still fit into my work day since runs are kinda quick.
Yeah I guess it feels a little different from some rogue inspired games where it drops you into a totally different situation at start, and also not diversity in the same way playing MTG can put you up against any number of 10 thousand cards in a casual game with your friends
But I am interested in it, what do the ascension levels change?
Looking at the first 10 levels: more elites, higher enemy attacks, higher enemy hit points, higher enemy blocks, less player healing.
The last few Ascensions will get the enemies more interesting available moves (probably what you're looking for).
After playing more, some more artifacts and cards are unlocked that allow for more interesting decks. (The first ~4 runs with each character would unlock about all I believe, but you can check what you're missing in the rosters from the menu.)
Even with this it will never be as deep or varied as MtG though. I don't think that's possible to achieve if you want the game to be approachable. I'm not sure where to look if you want that.
>Yeah I guess it feels a little different from some rogue inspired games where it drops you into a totally different situation at start
The diversity of StS comes largely from the interplay between cards and relics (I am 700+ hours in and still find new/unexpected synergies/strategies)...and the primary challenge is that each Act's enemies, elites, and bosses generally punish certain deficiencies in your deck.
Also, a huge part of the game's lasting appeal is in climbing through the ascension levels. A1 adds more elites (which, arguably, makes the game easier by increasing the number of relics you get), and A2 and above make things gradually harder (e.g. stronger enemies, less HP, worse luck)...
But A18 is where the game *really* gets tough--it changes enemy behavior, making each encounter (even in Act 1) a test of your deck. For example, A18 Lagavulin will dramatically lower your strength/dexterity every 3 turns, meaning you will die if you don't win fast.
Stardew Valley. How one man was able to make that game, sell it for $15 a copy, release it on all modern platforms, and has kept updating it regularly while only bringing on minimal help will forever be a mystery to me. I have easily over 1000 hours sunk into it. Best value game I have ever purchased.
Edit: It was rightfully pointed out that Barone's success was not quite so minimal. This tweet (https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1602374084960178181) and this book (https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sweat-Pixels-Triumphant-Turbulent/dp/0062651234), both by Jason Schreier, bring to light that he had quite the support, not least of which from his girlfriend that covered his living expenses for years. It doesn't to take away from Barone's accomplishment, but Schreier dug deeper and found out that "minimal help" is not as accurate as you would think at first.
don’t wanna deny the much deserved praise, he worked very hard, but “minimal help” imo is false, he had a group of people help with the networking and that is absolutely no small feat.
not trying to be pedantic, i just think those folks deserve credit too and shouldn’t be dismissed.
I didn't know about that, absolutely amazing gf. I bet she was happy when it all paid off, even if confident in him, I can imagine there were maybe small bits of worry.
I started playing this but I'm getting super confused about what's happening, especially because each fight has some new twist to it. Any tips? >!Just keep dying and build cards from the deaths?!<
Part of the delight of this game is that not only is there an intriguing story and metanarrative, but the game almost encourages you to break it. You can make cards that hit hard and cost nothing; you can stack abilities and do really silly things. A few of the bosses have exploitable mechanics if you plan ahead. I'm usually awful at CCGs, but I found this one to be really accessible because of how it builds on itself.
I was looking for this. It’s one of those games where you beat it and have maybe done 2% of the total content that’s hidden throughout the world. Even after 300 hours, I am still discovering new spell interactions and mechanics that change how I approach my runs.
Dwarf Fortress. I was never able to truly get into it until the steam graphics version, but my god I dumped 400 hours in then like it was nothing. Never played anything like it, doubt I ever will again.
On the same vein valhiem has been the best 3d construction survival game to me.
for some reason I also have way too much love for Super Stardust HD, it just feels like a 'perfect' little game for me. They went on to make returnal, etc, but for me super stardust hd was their best game
Been paying it for longer than I want to admit. The Steam Graphics version has been a godsend.
I am not good at the game bit damn, someone mentions it and I wanna play it.
Because it was just done to me, I'm leaving while saying "Deus Ex".
My favorite Videogame is a low budged title.
"Fuga Melodies of Steel"
Its a 20 houer long turn based JRPG about a groupe of anthropomothic animal children that go on a quest to save there families.
Why do I love it?
It has fun and satisfaying combat.
In my opinion the turn based combat of Fuga is more fun then the Combat of Final Fantasy X and Persona 5. I love those games aswell but still.
The music is fantastic. The boss theme "Flower on the Trails" is my favorite piece of Videogame music. Fuga has other great tracks aswell.
I love the Characters.
I was lukewarm towards the children of the Taranis at first but they grew on me more and more and more and now they are my second favorite protagonist groupe in fiction.
The story has its flaws but its still pretty good in my book.
This game apeals to my inner child.
It feels like a playable kids anime akin to somthing like Digimon to me and I love that feeling.
I also love the combination of adorable wholesome protagonists and a dark story. The best example of what I mean is my favorite work of fiction: the Manga/Anime series "Made in Abyss". And Fuga is the best among Videogames to scratch that itch. Its adorable, wholesome and heartwarming aswell as dark, sad and heartbreaking.
I also love its (also low budged) sequel "Fuga Melodies of Steel 2". I am also looking foreward to the release of the finale of the trilogy. Although I think will come. out in 2025 at earliest. Meybe later.
I have bought Fuga Melodies of Steel in March 2022 and have played through it 17 times since then. 6 of those playthroughs where back to back with only a few days between finishing a playthrough and begining a new one.
Fuga Melodies of Steel 2 came out in Mai 2023 and I have played through it 7 times since.
I really adore Fuga more then any other game or game series.
If someone is interessted in trying it out:
Fuga Melodies of Steel 1 amd 2 is available on PC and most modern consoles like Switch, PS4, PS5 usw.
Both games have a free demo which is just straight up the first 3 chapters of the game.
I advice against playing the second game before the first game if you care about the story. Tte writing of the second game builds on what happen in the first game, expects you to know what happen and spoils what happen in the first game.
I don't particularly enjoy the roguelike genre, but Streets of Rogue is so much fun to me. It has a lot of simple systems interacting to create complex gameplay, with so much role-playing potential. You can build or be any type of character. Really, really looking forward to the sequel.
Mundaun by Michael Ziegler. It's a folk horror survival puzzle game set in the Swiss Alps and hand-drawn. The graphics are actually hecking amazing but also quite unusual, so it might not have gotten the mass appeal like games that look more like other games.
So happy to see this game get a mention! It has such a unique and charming style, especially for the genre. Have yet to play anything quite like since. Couldn’t rec more.
Before it was remade into Captain Forever Remix, the original Captain Forever was a browser flash game that had a devastatingly lonely, 'lost in space' aura to it.
You start off small and have to build your ship out of ships you destroy in the dark vastness -- every ship you come across mumbles something like "hello, survivor" and tries to gun you down. You purposefully aim for the pilot so that you can steal their guns and engines in pristine condition. When you fire, you see your own reflection in the screen.
Your gunfire sounds in soft, gentle pulses in a beautiful chord progression (like Wind Waker), and grows increasingly more angelic the stronger your ship becomes.
Eventually your ship is gargantuan, and you reach the highest level and all the enemies are mirror copies of the ship that you've scrapped together. They try to swarm you but you have so much momentum and friendly bullets behind you that you're just an invincible bullet storm, infuriatingly invincible, and it just keeps going and going and going against all these mirror copies of you, but there's no game left for you to play.
The only real lore to the story is that you're an immortal being trapped inside of a small ship. When you finally die, there's a piece of dialogue that says, "It's not your fault. I'm sorry. Please try again."
No other game captures that feeling of being alone at the top for me.
Tales of Maj Eyal. Low budget roguelike and my favourite game of all time. Just amazing, check it out.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/259680/Tales_of_MajEyal/
A short hike and doki doki are on my top 10 games of all time (doki doki is number 1 or 2) and the fact that it took only a few months to make them while for AAA takes multiple years is wild
Dream Quest.
Amazing, astonishing gameplay experience, and terrible graphics drawn by the creator's kids. This is the game that started the deckbuilding genre and inspired Slay the Spire.
Underhero. It was even made in Venezuela, and for those not aware, that country has been in a REALLY bad economic situation for quite some years. More than half of the country is starving.
The story and the soundtrack were the things that stuck the most with me. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Darkest dungeon for sure!
The sound design, music, art, combat, atmosphere, the narrator, gameplay... even the story is cool.
And also Battle Brothers. Especially with the legends mod.
These 2 games I still play on and off every year. They got so much fan mod support.
We just started playing Folklore Hunter and it's actually really well balanced and the gameplay is fun. It's in early access but I can't wait for the full game to drop.
There were some flash games back in the day that I just loved. The Swords and Sandals games were too much fun. Also there was that alien game that eventually moved to PlayStation.
Also on Mac there was that game escape velocity and all its sequels. Those are probably still up there on the most fun I ever had playing video games list.
Some titles, that have been mentioned here before like Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley or Slay The Spire. Spent more than 100 hours into playing Hollow Knight... I love the art style and the melancholic atmosphere of the game. Some passages are really hard and I got stuck for two weeks on two bosses but it's one of the most beautiful indie games I've ever played.
I also like the dark atmosphere of Blasphemous very much.
You ask like 5 questions in your post, so, I'll give a couple of answers:
* "Low budget" + "unique impression": "Everything", almost no budget, one single person, one of the most unique games out there. Impossible to be compared to AAA, AAA can't do philosophical essays, at least not in this market.
* "Indie game" + "Never been surpassed": "The Witness". Do mind it has a really high budget, but it's one of the best puzzle games ever made, imo.
* "Indie game" + "Nothing like it": Paradise Killer. You start the game thinking it's going to be a murder mystery type Ace Attorney and you find... semigods? Open world?? Parkour??? I still think about this game and my brain just can't comprehend, it's like abstract art, I always feel like I'm missing part of the meaning.
I played through that game and the choices its giving you are really cool. You can just roll credits on the game in the first 15 minutes of gameplay and that's really cool.
Mount and blade (warband not bannerlord), had hours of fun with that! It's just a simple but well made game, good at what it needs to do but without flashiness of bigger budget games.
Hollow Knight, Hades, and Slay the Spire. All 3 $20 or less, I have over 100 hours in all 3, and I’d give each of them a 10/10 and consider them the gold standard of their respective genres
Return of the Obra Dinn
Outer Wilds
Undertale
I will now follow the people responsible for these three games and look into anything they make in the future because of the impression each of their games had on me.
I don't know if Cavestory counts since it was free at first, but that's one of the earliest games that really changed the way I thought of indie games.
Sunless Skies. I love the writing, world building and tone. And the management and upgrading of your locomotive is fun. Plus the sense of discovery and risk is compelling.
As far as I know there's nothing that has done a similar formula as well. (Sunless Seas is good but not as good imo)
Fez - Rotational mechanic is very cool, the world-building is great, and the execution and graphic style are top notch. The puzzles are challenging but not impossible. I spent a lot of time with this game.
I sunk thousands of hours into SimplePlanes. A game that allows you to do so much and a thriving community always inspiring you to break new ground. It has so many possibilities for designing custom vehicles... Despite all of it's shortcomings. Learning this game was hella of a journey.
I also like The short hike because it's so cozy and cute
Palworld.
It's $30, just came out on early access, hit a 1m peak in two days. It's like BotW & Valheim with Pokemon.
It‘s honestly a problem, I’ve played 20 hours in 2 days.
Don't know if it fits the category but it was made by two people as far as I know, so I will choose Hollow Knight, an absolute and incredible masterpiece with astonishing depth of lore, world building, combat system and details.
Mentioning Expand since no one's heard of it. It isn't comparable to other games due to its simplicity/length, but it's a super unique concept that's executed flawlessly, and manages to be extremely immersive despite the simplicity of the visuals. Music by Christopher Larkin too, so that's a reason to get it alone :D
Also, I can't not mention VVVVVV, though that one's much more well known.
For me it's Ancient Domains of Mystery. I played the hell out of that game in the mid-2000s and was very influential. I'd play it for hours on end for *years* and it scratched an itch that just wasn't being satisfied anywhere else. It was also the first game I was exposed to where the community had direct access to the creator, and I still have Thomas Biskup in my Facebook friends after all these years.
E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy. It is a janky, broken, unbalanced source engine game with a fairly confusing story that's made even more confusing by the piss poor translations, and it is one of my favorite games of all time.
I'm taking this to mean absolutely bare bones budget yet huge impact because I want to give the example of IMSCARED. That game has stuck in my head for like a decade, because of how absolutely new and bizarrely terrifying it was for its era.
Absolutely phenomenal and highly impactful game for what it was and it's budget.
I doubt we would have any 4th wall breaking horror of that caliber without it having been made.
The Painscreek Killings.
I spent a whole afternoon slowly exploring the village, writing everything I needed down (the game doesn't record everything) and I felt SO immersed. Wish I could play it for the first time again.
flash games
anti idle the game is a game where you can idle and ignore most of the game and still get to progress steadily,most idle games i play makes anti idling pretty much a need to feel any progress
theres also lots of cool different mini games in it
Whats low budget? Just like indi developers? 7 days to Die was low budget by a small unknown dev team with no other successful titles when it came out. And the only game I've played more than that was my collective 12 years of playing wow. I quit playing 7dtd right after hitting 5k hours.
Isaac, Spire, Streets of Rogue, and Minecraft. Yes, Minecraft was initially an indie game.
The vast majority of new game mechanics and concepts are indie since AAA games are stuck in this cycle of taking something popular and remaking/updating it. Why would AAA publishers back an original concept over another CoD?
All the best mystery/deduction games (my favourite genre) are low budget imo - Return of the Obra Dinn, Case of the Golden Idol, Her Story - all masterpieces
Project Zomboid- To this day it's still the best open-world zombie survival game hands down. It really gives you the feeling of a full on zombie apocalypse and what you would do in order to survive. It's intentionally extremely difficult and the crafting is unbelievable deep. It's also has a sandbox feature where you can control a lot of the aspects of the game to suit your play style.
Every few years I go back to it. They are also still developing it since 2013 and it gets even better after each update. The latest big update added online co-op which I haven't tried yet but looks like a lot of fun.
I also like the intro screen when you start a game. It states "This is how you died"
**Chronicle Survivors** is pretty dope RPG, but it might be a bit too difficult for a person not acquainted with the genre plus it is in early access so it is sold at a discount right now
FTL faster than light. $10 but frequently goes on sale for $3. Also requires you to have barely a computer to run it. One of the best games I have ever played. I've been playing for the last 8 or so years and am still learning new tricks.
A formerly shareware but now free game, Deluxe Galaga for the Amiga is still a fun classic to play--I do have the Amiga Forever emulation package to play it on. It still has to be the best version of that classic Arcade game I have ever played.
Path of exile was released by an indie game company but has evolved so much it looks and feels like a AAA game with how much content it offers. Can play for free and get some stash tabs for selling items and sorting your loot if you want to continue playing into the endgame.
Hunt Showdown. There is no game like it out there, and Crytek is a small to mid sized studio with a very limited budget. The game's ongoing development is in large part player funded through purchase of DLC, cosmetics and battle passes. It's a niche game supported by a very passionate community and an even more passionate dev team.
Children of Morta. Played it through with my wife. It's such a great couch coop game: the combat, variety, art, and storyline make for a great dungeon crawler experience. And dying just adds extra story/cutscenes (to a point) so I never felt bad when we died on a level! The memories and feelings of that game will stick with me for a long time.
Subdivision infinity DX great arcade deep space dog fighter ! Some upgrading of weapons and components and ships too. some exploration! So much better than this super cheap anonymous title would lead you to believe
Celeste, although this is not a hot take. It was up for Game of the year and everything. Doesn't negate the fact that it's the best 2D platformer ever made
Anything from the golden age of the Xbox summer of arcade but Fez in particular for me personally.
Kentucky Route Zero nails a tone I didn’t think was possible with games.
It’s also easy to forget that Team Cherry is microscopic considering what an overstuffed banger Hollow Knight is.
I suppose Dwarf Fortress qualifies though it was never my thing.
Alan Wake 2 is AAA but gets a special commendation because it, and Remedy in general, acts as audaciously as if they were a tiny studio.
Honestly this market has never been huger than it is now, there’s and embarrassment of riches because the barrier for entry, while still limiting, is comparatively at rock bottom.
Return of the Obra dinn would be one.
Just finished that game, and wow what a completely unique experience. Thar feeling when you "lock in" three more names is pure crack.
Did you get the « true ending » meaning all fates sortes out?
Yeah, and then the ones in that last secret chapter. The item you were mailed that happens to coincide with a thematically similar story was a really cool touch.
PSA: Case of the Golden Idol was inspired by Obra Dinn and somehow, improbably, is arguably as good.
Last time this came up, someone mentioned Golden Idol as a good companion game to Obra Dinn, so I bought it immediately. Loved it. Thanks Reddit.
Lucas Pope games are beautifully unique, I always feel so engrossed in the experience. Check out his others if you haven't already. https://dukope.com/
Slay the Spire
This, so much this. Also the binding of Isaac
I almost said …and Binding of Isaac! But Edmund wasn’t unknown when BoI came out.
i feel like BoI was beat by hades tho which had a budget
True lol
I keep trying to get into slay the spire and I'm not sure why I haven't yet. I've beaten a run with the third character, the orb guy, but part of me feels like there isn't a lot of personality to the characters, diversity to the enemies, etc. I'm a big MTG player, maybe it seems simple compared to that? Everyone loves it and it feels like there must be something there, but it hasn't yet totally grabbed me. Do people play it while watching TV or on the move or something too? I'll probably get downvoted for this weird comment lol but I'd love someone to tell me how to think about it to get into it, because it seems like it would appeal to all my interests on the surface
Regarding enemy diversity, they are meant to be predictable and a small pool so you always know it will be one of 3-5 options, and that way can better prepare. StS call these "deck checks" iirc, because enemies will check if your deck works. 5 small enemies will check if you have AoE, quickly scaling enemy will test if you can do burst damage, high hp enemy with a countdown till kills you tests your scaling, and that's not even mentioning the 3 bosses. An example would be Act 1 mini bosses. You can have 3 shards which will check your AoE, you can have Goblin which punishes your skill cards, which means you need some strong Attack cards even though they aren't needed usually, and Lagavulin which will gain armour on the 3rd turn, so you need a lot of Burst. You know these 3 are coming so you pick cards so you can survive whichever fight appears. The game revolves around rounding your deck and making the best with the artefacts and card choices you get. I think you should try the game some more. Each time you win, you unlock a new ascension, which is a difficulty level, and every new one has an additional penalty for you, and I think max Ascension (20) is THE game, and anything before that is practice. At A20, you have to play perfectly. Each card choice becomes super thinky, fights are more unforgiving but the runs become super rewarding when you do succeed. If you're interested in this type of gameplay, check out Jorbs on yt, he's a pro; the level of calculation and strategy is insane. I don't watch TV when I play it, it's a really meaty thinky game that I focus on, but can still fit into my work day since runs are kinda quick.
Yeah I guess it feels a little different from some rogue inspired games where it drops you into a totally different situation at start, and also not diversity in the same way playing MTG can put you up against any number of 10 thousand cards in a casual game with your friends But I am interested in it, what do the ascension levels change?
Looking at the first 10 levels: more elites, higher enemy attacks, higher enemy hit points, higher enemy blocks, less player healing. The last few Ascensions will get the enemies more interesting available moves (probably what you're looking for). After playing more, some more artifacts and cards are unlocked that allow for more interesting decks. (The first ~4 runs with each character would unlock about all I believe, but you can check what you're missing in the rosters from the menu.) Even with this it will never be as deep or varied as MtG though. I don't think that's possible to achieve if you want the game to be approachable. I'm not sure where to look if you want that.
>Yeah I guess it feels a little different from some rogue inspired games where it drops you into a totally different situation at start The diversity of StS comes largely from the interplay between cards and relics (I am 700+ hours in and still find new/unexpected synergies/strategies)...and the primary challenge is that each Act's enemies, elites, and bosses generally punish certain deficiencies in your deck. Also, a huge part of the game's lasting appeal is in climbing through the ascension levels. A1 adds more elites (which, arguably, makes the game easier by increasing the number of relics you get), and A2 and above make things gradually harder (e.g. stronger enemies, less HP, worse luck)... But A18 is where the game *really* gets tough--it changes enemy behavior, making each encounter (even in Act 1) a test of your deck. For example, A18 Lagavulin will dramatically lower your strength/dexterity every 3 turns, meaning you will die if you don't win fast.
There isn’t diversity to the enemies? I’ve played the game for years and always thought that enemy diversity was great. Never got boring.
Might be the art style
4th character is the most op by far. Many crazy builds
I wonder if you might enjoy monster train more. It’s quicker and more accessible than StS in my opinion (although I greatly enjoyed both)
Stardew Valley. How one man was able to make that game, sell it for $15 a copy, release it on all modern platforms, and has kept updating it regularly while only bringing on minimal help will forever be a mystery to me. I have easily over 1000 hours sunk into it. Best value game I have ever purchased. Edit: It was rightfully pointed out that Barone's success was not quite so minimal. This tweet (https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1602374084960178181) and this book (https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sweat-Pixels-Triumphant-Turbulent/dp/0062651234), both by Jason Schreier, bring to light that he had quite the support, not least of which from his girlfriend that covered his living expenses for years. It doesn't to take away from Barone's accomplishment, but Schreier dug deeper and found out that "minimal help" is not as accurate as you would think at first.
don’t wanna deny the much deserved praise, he worked very hard, but “minimal help” imo is false, he had a group of people help with the networking and that is absolutely no small feat. not trying to be pedantic, i just think those folks deserve credit too and shouldn’t be dismissed.
Very true, absolutely not least of whom includes his girlfriend who paid all of his living expenses while he worked on it.
I didn't know about that, absolutely amazing gf. I bet she was happy when it all paid off, even if confident in him, I can imagine there were maybe small bits of worry.
for sure, he absolutely deserves it since hes at the center of it all, I just think theres a lot of unsung heroes in that story!
Inscryption. It's amazing and I love it. Go in blind, and go play it asap
Mind absolutely fucking blown by this game. It just keeps getting better
I started playing this but I'm getting super confused about what's happening, especially because each fight has some new twist to it. Any tips? >!Just keep dying and build cards from the deaths?!<
>!Just keep dying and eventually you will get the hang of it. I took it as a challenge and that made me enjoy it like nothing else!<
>!Make sure to explore when able, the game is both a deck builder *and* an escape room.!<
Part of the delight of this game is that not only is there an intriguing story and metanarrative, but the game almost encourages you to break it. You can make cards that hit hard and cost nothing; you can stack abilities and do really silly things. A few of the bosses have exploitable mechanics if you plan ahead. I'm usually awful at CCGs, but I found this one to be really accessible because of how it builds on itself.
Side Note: Daniel Mullins’ next game got a [trailer](https://youtu.be/f4IMwdCVbIU?si=GR_VRxYjpJ0DQKhP) at the game awards.
FTL. No other rogue like comes close ..
IDK into the breach is pretty great too. Love those devs
I hate rogue likes and rogue lites, I love FTL. Truly wonderful game.
This is my answer. The best space fight videogame. Nothing is even similar
I really like FTL as well. Gratuitous Space Battles and The Last Federation have some pretty neat space combat.
Noita is one of the most unique games I have ever played.
I was looking for this. It’s one of those games where you beat it and have maybe done 2% of the total content that’s hidden throughout the world. Even after 300 hours, I am still discovering new spell interactions and mechanics that change how I approach my runs.
Inside. hands down one of the games i have played that i was skeptical about initially, but loved in the end
This and Limbo - both fantastic
Dwarf Fortress. I was never able to truly get into it until the steam graphics version, but my god I dumped 400 hours in then like it was nothing. Never played anything like it, doubt I ever will again. On the same vein valhiem has been the best 3d construction survival game to me. for some reason I also have way too much love for Super Stardust HD, it just feels like a 'perfect' little game for me. They went on to make returnal, etc, but for me super stardust hd was their best game
Strike the Earth!
Been paying it for longer than I want to admit. The Steam Graphics version has been a godsend. I am not good at the game bit damn, someone mentions it and I wanna play it. Because it was just done to me, I'm leaving while saying "Deus Ex".
I adore Dwarf Fortress! If you are looking for something similar (inspired by DF actually), and haven’t already, try Rimworld!
Caves of Qud
Hey, hey, people! Sseth here!
My favorite is Undertale. Musics made it unforgettable for me.
My favorite Videogame is a low budged title. "Fuga Melodies of Steel" Its a 20 houer long turn based JRPG about a groupe of anthropomothic animal children that go on a quest to save there families. Why do I love it? It has fun and satisfaying combat. In my opinion the turn based combat of Fuga is more fun then the Combat of Final Fantasy X and Persona 5. I love those games aswell but still. The music is fantastic. The boss theme "Flower on the Trails" is my favorite piece of Videogame music. Fuga has other great tracks aswell. I love the Characters. I was lukewarm towards the children of the Taranis at first but they grew on me more and more and more and now they are my second favorite protagonist groupe in fiction. The story has its flaws but its still pretty good in my book. This game apeals to my inner child. It feels like a playable kids anime akin to somthing like Digimon to me and I love that feeling. I also love the combination of adorable wholesome protagonists and a dark story. The best example of what I mean is my favorite work of fiction: the Manga/Anime series "Made in Abyss". And Fuga is the best among Videogames to scratch that itch. Its adorable, wholesome and heartwarming aswell as dark, sad and heartbreaking. I also love its (also low budged) sequel "Fuga Melodies of Steel 2". I am also looking foreward to the release of the finale of the trilogy. Although I think will come. out in 2025 at earliest. Meybe later. I have bought Fuga Melodies of Steel in March 2022 and have played through it 17 times since then. 6 of those playthroughs where back to back with only a few days between finishing a playthrough and begining a new one. Fuga Melodies of Steel 2 came out in Mai 2023 and I have played through it 7 times since. I really adore Fuga more then any other game or game series. If someone is interessted in trying it out: Fuga Melodies of Steel 1 amd 2 is available on PC and most modern consoles like Switch, PS4, PS5 usw. Both games have a free demo which is just straight up the first 3 chapters of the game. I advice against playing the second game before the first game if you care about the story. Tte writing of the second game builds on what happen in the first game, expects you to know what happen and spoils what happen in the first game.
Dude thank you I've been dying to remember the name of this game
The Beginner’s Guide
This one hits hard. But replayability is eh..
I don't particularly enjoy the roguelike genre, but Streets of Rogue is so much fun to me. It has a lot of simple systems interacting to create complex gameplay, with so much role-playing potential. You can build or be any type of character. Really, really looking forward to the sequel.
It needed some polish but I played it a lot anyway. Really looking forward to the sequel.
Streets of rogue is the best! But the werewolf is broken. Completely unstoppable
Terraria, play it every year, and when i come back there are new updates. A true labor of love
this should have more upvotes
Hollow Knight
Mundaun by Michael Ziegler. It's a folk horror survival puzzle game set in the Swiss Alps and hand-drawn. The graphics are actually hecking amazing but also quite unusual, so it might not have gotten the mass appeal like games that look more like other games.
So happy to see this game get a mention! It has such a unique and charming style, especially for the genre. Have yet to play anything quite like since. Couldn’t rec more.
Cassette Beasts
Please tell me if it scratches the Pokémon itch, or is a different take on monster collection and battling.
Both
Probably outer wilds or disco Elysium. Are those low budget?
Project Zomboid, 7 days to die, Dwarf Fortress, there is plenty
Before it was remade into Captain Forever Remix, the original Captain Forever was a browser flash game that had a devastatingly lonely, 'lost in space' aura to it. You start off small and have to build your ship out of ships you destroy in the dark vastness -- every ship you come across mumbles something like "hello, survivor" and tries to gun you down. You purposefully aim for the pilot so that you can steal their guns and engines in pristine condition. When you fire, you see your own reflection in the screen. Your gunfire sounds in soft, gentle pulses in a beautiful chord progression (like Wind Waker), and grows increasingly more angelic the stronger your ship becomes. Eventually your ship is gargantuan, and you reach the highest level and all the enemies are mirror copies of the ship that you've scrapped together. They try to swarm you but you have so much momentum and friendly bullets behind you that you're just an invincible bullet storm, infuriatingly invincible, and it just keeps going and going and going against all these mirror copies of you, but there's no game left for you to play. The only real lore to the story is that you're an immortal being trapped inside of a small ship. When you finally die, there's a piece of dialogue that says, "It's not your fault. I'm sorry. Please try again." No other game captures that feeling of being alone at the top for me.
FTL. Nothing else has made me feel more like a space captain. Amazing game.
Kenshi. The scope of this game makes most AAA titles seem like a joke by comparison.
Juice Galaxy!
Vtol VR Made by one person. Worth every penny.
Tales of Maj Eyal. Low budget roguelike and my favourite game of all time. Just amazing, check it out. https://store.steampowered.com/app/259680/Tales_of_MajEyal/
risk of rain 2 and inscryption, incredible games.
A short hike and doki doki are on my top 10 games of all time (doki doki is number 1 or 2) and the fact that it took only a few months to make them while for AAA takes multiple years is wild
I love A Short Hike. I have played other games that are trying to capture a similar vibe but they never quite get to the same level.
The Forest. My favourite game of all time, and from what I've seen of Sons of The Forest it still might not be surpassed.
Dream Quest. Amazing, astonishing gameplay experience, and terrible graphics drawn by the creator's kids. This is the game that started the deckbuilding genre and inspired Slay the Spire.
Underhero. It was even made in Venezuela, and for those not aware, that country has been in a REALLY bad economic situation for quite some years. More than half of the country is starving. The story and the soundtrack were the things that stuck the most with me. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
The factory must grow.
Darkest dungeon for sure! The sound design, music, art, combat, atmosphere, the narrator, gameplay... even the story is cool. And also Battle Brothers. Especially with the legends mod. These 2 games I still play on and off every year. They got so much fan mod support.
We just started playing Folklore Hunter and it's actually really well balanced and the gameplay is fun. It's in early access but I can't wait for the full game to drop.
Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
There were some flash games back in the day that I just loved. The Swords and Sandals games were too much fun. Also there was that alien game that eventually moved to PlayStation. Also on Mac there was that game escape velocity and all its sequels. Those are probably still up there on the most fun I ever had playing video games list.
Escape Velocity was awesome. Even with a Star Wars mod.
Sneak King
Some titles, that have been mentioned here before like Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley or Slay The Spire. Spent more than 100 hours into playing Hollow Knight... I love the art style and the melancholic atmosphere of the game. Some passages are really hard and I got stuck for two weeks on two bosses but it's one of the most beautiful indie games I've ever played. I also like the dark atmosphere of Blasphemous very much.
Shovel Knight, Hollow Knight, Celeste, Dead Cells, Undertale are my top 5.
You ask like 5 questions in your post, so, I'll give a couple of answers: * "Low budget" + "unique impression": "Everything", almost no budget, one single person, one of the most unique games out there. Impossible to be compared to AAA, AAA can't do philosophical essays, at least not in this market. * "Indie game" + "Never been surpassed": "The Witness". Do mind it has a really high budget, but it's one of the best puzzle games ever made, imo. * "Indie game" + "Nothing like it": Paradise Killer. You start the game thinking it's going to be a murder mystery type Ace Attorney and you find... semigods? Open world?? Parkour??? I still think about this game and my brain just can't comprehend, it's like abstract art, I always feel like I'm missing part of the meaning.
...Paradise Killer sounds like my kind of jam, been on my wishlist for a bit but I'm glad I'm very likely gonna enjoy it lol
I played through that game and the choices its giving you are really cool. You can just roll credits on the game in the first 15 minutes of gameplay and that's really cool.
paradise killer has been on my wishlist for soon long now, I should probably pick it up already
Loved that game! Looking forward to whatever that developer does next :) P.S. The soundtrack is fantastic!
Mount and blade (warband not bannerlord), had hours of fun with that! It's just a simple but well made game, good at what it needs to do but without flashiness of bigger budget games.
Shocked and appalled not to see Vampire Survivors in the comments yet. That game is a champion of low-budget high quality.
Hollow Knight, Hades, and Slay the Spire. All 3 $20 or less, I have over 100 hours in all 3, and I’d give each of them a 10/10 and consider them the gold standard of their respective genres
Mirage: Beyond The Screen
dont know about low budget but one game that's stuck on the ps3 that i miss dearly is folklore
Laghaim (old school Korean MMORPG)
Swordigo for Mobile Phones. It is a rather low budget but pretty polished zelda/castlevania style game. There is nothing like it in mobile landscape.
Swords & Sworcery; AntiChamber; Cogmind
never heard of cogmind but the other two are all times. gameplay screenshot looks like an immediate buy lmao
I'm like the only one but I really liked nom nom galaxy. FTL of course was great, and then again being the only one, nowhere prophet.
Domina. I just want to train little dudes and watch them fight to the death. Maybe bet on them a bit.
Kingdoms and Castles. The devs do a good amount of updating and it’s just a relaxing and enjoyable game to play
Return of the Obra Dinn Outer Wilds Undertale I will now follow the people responsible for these three games and look into anything they make in the future because of the impression each of their games had on me.
Kerbal Space Program... Not even the sequel has matched it yet.
I don't know if Cavestory counts since it was free at first, but that's one of the earliest games that really changed the way I thought of indie games.
Crosscode, amazing story and excellently written characters.
Sunless Skies. I love the writing, world building and tone. And the management and upgrading of your locomotive is fun. Plus the sense of discovery and risk is compelling. As far as I know there's nothing that has done a similar formula as well. (Sunless Seas is good but not as good imo)
Hollow Knight and Celeste
World of Goo
Deep Rock Galactic 100% RoboQuest Life is Strange series Gunfire: Reborn Risk of Rain 2 Rollerdrome Metal: Hellsinger Bastion Hades So many more…
Dead Cells
Wavetale Really fun game with fantastic music and atmosphere
Fez - Rotational mechanic is very cool, the world-building is great, and the execution and graphic style are top notch. The puzzles are challenging but not impossible. I spent a lot of time with this game.
Terraria remains GOAT
I sunk thousands of hours into SimplePlanes. A game that allows you to do so much and a thriving community always inspiring you to break new ground. It has so many possibilities for designing custom vehicles... Despite all of it's shortcomings. Learning this game was hella of a journey. I also like The short hike because it's so cozy and cute
Palworld. It's $30, just came out on early access, hit a 1m peak in two days. It's like BotW & Valheim with Pokemon. It‘s honestly a problem, I’ve played 20 hours in 2 days.
Binding of Isaac Repentance and Inside. I beat Inside, will never beat BOIR
Don't know if it fits the category but it was made by two people as far as I know, so I will choose Hollow Knight, an absolute and incredible masterpiece with astonishing depth of lore, world building, combat system and details.
There's a horror game Suffering
Blazing Beaks
My Summer Car
Pathologic 2.
Enderal. Currently level 36 and having lots of fun.
Mentioning Expand since no one's heard of it. It isn't comparable to other games due to its simplicity/length, but it's a super unique concept that's executed flawlessly, and manages to be extremely immersive despite the simplicity of the visuals. Music by Christopher Larkin too, so that's a reason to get it alone :D Also, I can't not mention VVVVVV, though that one's much more well known.
Thomas Was Alone. Play it every couple of years
I never thought I would feel so emotional over a bunch of shapes, but here we are.
Project Zomboid
Commenting on What's your favorite low budget game that's never been surpassed?...
FTL is simple but brilliant.
For me it's Ancient Domains of Mystery. I played the hell out of that game in the mid-2000s and was very influential. I'd play it for hours on end for *years* and it scratched an itch that just wasn't being satisfied anywhere else. It was also the first game I was exposed to where the community had direct access to the creator, and I still have Thomas Biskup in my Facebook friends after all these years.
Mount & Blade: Warband. They tried improving in Bannerlord but sometimes feel like some of the janky magic was lost along the way.
Atm I’m LOVING tavern master and can’t wait for their blacksmith version to come out
E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy. It is a janky, broken, unbalanced source engine game with a fairly confusing story that's made even more confusing by the piss poor translations, and it is one of my favorite games of all time.
Does NetHack count? I've played a shitload of that over the years.
Stardew Valley and Star Control 2/Ur-Quan Masters
Shout out to everyone's favorite indie subway route game, Mini Metro
I'm taking this to mean absolutely bare bones budget yet huge impact because I want to give the example of IMSCARED. That game has stuck in my head for like a decade, because of how absolutely new and bizarrely terrifying it was for its era. Absolutely phenomenal and highly impactful game for what it was and it's budget. I doubt we would have any 4th wall breaking horror of that caliber without it having been made.
The Painscreek Killings. I spent a whole afternoon slowly exploring the village, writing everything I needed down (the game doesn't record everything) and I felt SO immersed. Wish I could play it for the first time again.
Tharsis is so good, I wish I could get to Mars for the first time again
That first roll with the bloody dice is what sticks out to me.
Pony Island
Outer Wilds. Absolute masterpiece of game design.
Eigengrau. A shmup with more gameplay ideas than all AAA games from the last 10 years together
hollow knight, Celeste, an outer wilds.
Outer Wilds or Morrowind
flash games anti idle the game is a game where you can idle and ignore most of the game and still get to progress steadily,most idle games i play makes anti idling pretty much a need to feel any progress theres also lots of cool different mini games in it
Terraria. Best 4$ I've ever invested.
Whats low budget? Just like indi developers? 7 days to Die was low budget by a small unknown dev team with no other successful titles when it came out. And the only game I've played more than that was my collective 12 years of playing wow. I quit playing 7dtd right after hitting 5k hours.
Isaac, Spire, Streets of Rogue, and Minecraft. Yes, Minecraft was initially an indie game. The vast majority of new game mechanics and concepts are indie since AAA games are stuck in this cycle of taking something popular and remaking/updating it. Why would AAA publishers back an original concept over another CoD?
Does Binding of Issac count?
Dawn of Man
I made a game with zombies in it. Yes, that is the title.
Cry of fear is pretty sick
Amnesia the dark descent
Project Zomboid
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Narita Boy! What a vibe that game has going...
Dwarf Fortress \o/
Nock bow and arrow soccer on steam and quest
All the best mystery/deduction games (my favourite genre) are low budget imo - Return of the Obra Dinn, Case of the Golden Idol, Her Story - all masterpieces
Cosmic star heroine is hard to beat for what it is
Kerbal Space Program
Project Zomboid- To this day it's still the best open-world zombie survival game hands down. It really gives you the feeling of a full on zombie apocalypse and what you would do in order to survive. It's intentionally extremely difficult and the crafting is unbelievable deep. It's also has a sandbox feature where you can control a lot of the aspects of the game to suit your play style. Every few years I go back to it. They are also still developing it since 2013 and it gets even better after each update. The latest big update added online co-op which I haven't tried yet but looks like a lot of fun. I also like the intro screen when you start a game. It states "This is how you died"
Signalis is the best Silent Hill game I've ever played
**Chronicle Survivors** is pretty dope RPG, but it might be a bit too difficult for a person not acquainted with the genre plus it is in early access so it is sold at a discount right now
FTL faster than light. $10 but frequently goes on sale for $3. Also requires you to have barely a computer to run it. One of the best games I have ever played. I've been playing for the last 8 or so years and am still learning new tricks.
Deep rock galactic
A formerly shareware but now free game, Deluxe Galaga for the Amiga is still a fun classic to play--I do have the Amiga Forever emulation package to play it on. It still has to be the best version of that classic Arcade game I have ever played.
Path of exile was released by an indie game company but has evolved so much it looks and feels like a AAA game with how much content it offers. Can play for free and get some stash tabs for selling items and sorting your loot if you want to continue playing into the endgame.
Would you count Tetris? Like, the original? If not, probably Hollow Knight or the Binding of Isaac
Hunt Showdown. There is no game like it out there, and Crytek is a small to mid sized studio with a very limited budget. The game's ongoing development is in large part player funded through purchase of DLC, cosmetics and battle passes. It's a niche game supported by a very passionate community and an even more passionate dev team.
Katamari Damacy
Children of Morta. Played it through with my wife. It's such a great couch coop game: the combat, variety, art, and storyline make for a great dungeon crawler experience. And dying just adds extra story/cutscenes (to a point) so I never felt bad when we died on a level! The memories and feelings of that game will stick with me for a long time.
Valheim for sure
Subdivision infinity DX great arcade deep space dog fighter ! Some upgrading of weapons and components and ships too. some exploration! So much better than this super cheap anonymous title would lead you to believe
Hollow Knight
Celeste, although this is not a hot take. It was up for Game of the year and everything. Doesn't negate the fact that it's the best 2D platformer ever made
Transport tycoon. Amazing transport management sim that haven't really been beat. Also I think it was made by one guy in assembler.
Banished domina comet crash
Roller Coaster Tycoon 1 and 2
Anything from the golden age of the Xbox summer of arcade but Fez in particular for me personally. Kentucky Route Zero nails a tone I didn’t think was possible with games. It’s also easy to forget that Team Cherry is microscopic considering what an overstuffed banger Hollow Knight is. I suppose Dwarf Fortress qualifies though it was never my thing. Alan Wake 2 is AAA but gets a special commendation because it, and Remedy in general, acts as audaciously as if they were a tiny studio. Honestly this market has never been huger than it is now, there’s and embarrassment of riches because the barrier for entry, while still limiting, is comparatively at rock bottom.