Top Indie Games of 2024, Scores Set, Highlighted
As we bid adieu to 2024, we cheer for its collection of extraordinary indie games. It's the largest list yet, having spent the past five years compiling this end-of-year roundup. The competition is fierce, and numerous remarkable titles had to be left behind.
Here are the 17 outstanding indie games of 2024. Please remember that this is just one perspective – some of your favorites may not have made the cut, but kindly help spread the word by sharing your beloved indie gems in the comments and wherever you can. Indie creators have faced struggles over the past few years, and they need all the support they can get as they brace for another potentially challenging year in the gaming industry.
If you enjoy this list, don't miss out on my best indie games of 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020. You've likely missed several worthy treasures from the past five years.
17) Tinker Toy VR
Platforms: Oculus Quest, SteamVR, PSVR
Developer: Random Artifacts
I started my 2024 game reviews with the unforgettable Tinker Toy VR – a game developed by Random Artifacts, creators of SUPERHOT VR. In contrast to their previous work, this charming and comforting sandbox game allows players to build and explore whimsical worlds, offering a nostalgic trip reminiscent of simpler times in gaming and life itself.
Read my full review of Tinker Toy VR.
16) Rhythm Racer 2
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Groovy Knights
The underappreciated rhythm-action game Rhythm Racer 2 is one of the most overlooked indie titles of 2024. A harmonious blend of Audiosurf, Wipeout, and Rez, players trace light ribbons to music while annihilating enemies. Although it's not polished on Xbox, it still works beautifully, pairing a phenomenal soundtrack with intense combat and breathtaking environments.
15) Flora Manor
Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (PS4 and PS5 release planned for 2025)
Developer: Bloop Studios
One of the most relaxing and thoughtful games in 2024, Flora Manor is a puzzle-exploration game that invites players to rediscover a 19th-century English manor filled with rare plants that you must cultivate. At first, it may seem a little dull, but its vintage puzzle mechanics eventually click, ensuring consistent satisfaction without making you feel inept.
14) Hypercharge: Unpacked
Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Cherry Digital
Although it released on PC and Switch in 2020, the 2024 Xbox version of Hypercharge: Unpacked was worth the wait. It's the gadget-based PvE shooter you've always wanted, featuring old-school appeal, engaging mechanics, inventive level design, and hefty combat. There's plenty of replayability between its single and multiplayer modes, and it's completely devoid of microtransactions – the ideal couch co-op game for friends and family.
Check out my review of Hypercharge Unboxed from May.
13) Endless Coast Drive
Platforms: PC, PS5
Developer: Ironwood Studios
A peculiar premise, Endless Coast Drive is an endurance-driving indie game set in the Pacific Northwest, combining elements of STALKER, Jalopy, and Control. Players maintain and upgrade their magical vehicle as they deal with bizarre phenomena and hazardous environments while uncovering the story behind the disaster.
Endless Coast Drive doesn’t coddle its players, but that's just how it should be – this is a raw, heart-pounding experience unlike any other. Dive headfirst into its eccentric world and prepare to emerge changed.
12) Arzette: The Gem of Faramore
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Dingy Eye Software
Arzette: The Gem of Faramore reinvents unforgettable Philips CD-i games with a primary focus on fun and nostalgia. Developed by Dingy Eye Software, the game merges charming and rewarding gameplay with a madcap narrative featuring zany characters, including a teleporting scarecrow, a pirate cat, and a fairy rumored to indulge in recreational drugs.
Despite its short runtime, Arzette boasts an abundance of collectibles, mini-quests, and well-designed progression, offering a delightful combination of reverence for the past and modern polish, bringing a fresh perspective to a largely disrespected console.
Here’s my full review of Arzette from February.
11) Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5
Developer: Simogo
Swedish indie developer Simogo's sequel to Sayonara Wild Hearts didn't fall short of expectations. This stylish noir mystery, heavily inspired by film noir, has you solving numerous puzzles in a spooky mansion. The sinister atmosphere becomes more intense as you delve deeper. It's one of the most visually stunning games of 2024, brimming with ingenious ideas and chilling themes. Despite the simple gameplay, which may occasionally irritate you, it sometimes feels like that's the intention.
10) Caravan Sandwich
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS5,
Developer: Toasted Bread Studio
Caravan Sandwich is among the cutest open-world adventures in recent years: a game that emphasizes exploration and problem-solving in a low-danger setting, offering a serene and contemplative escape.
As protagonist Sauge, you embark on a quest to find your missing sister on your ravaged home planet–one that's breathtakingly beautiful, but on the brink of ruin due to environmental exploitation. With no death mechanics, the game focuses on piecing together the story while aiding the communities you encounter during your journey across the stunning landscape in your campervan-style wagon. It's a heartwarming and introspective experience, clouded by sadness and remorse.
9) Fear the Limelight
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: CozyFriends
As the first of four horror games on this list–and one of three inspired by retro titles–Fear the Limelight is a remarkable debut for Blumhouse Games, and all the more impressive given it was created by the two-person studio CozyFriends. You take on the role of Vivian Singh, navigating a haunting theater tied to a tragic past, while avoiding the game's lone, terrifying antagonist, The Limelight.
Its PS1/PS2 aesthetic, suspenseful storytelling, and clever puzzles provide a fresh take on classic survival horror tropes, and it balances procedural stealth, symbolic narrative elements, and creative puzzles to deliver a compelling three-hour experience, plus an inventive alternate story mode. It has the occasional technical flaws, but for $20, it's a wise investment.
Read my full take on Fear the Limelight from October.
8) Parking Deck Dash Race
Platforms: PC
Developer: Wheelspin Entertainment
Don't be fooled, Parking Deck Dash Race is the finest arcade racing game of 2024, and quite possibly the best of the decade so far. This retro-inspired racer, the brainchild of Tim “Wheelspin” FitzRandolph, combines quirky parking-garage tracks with expertly responsive drifting and boosting mechanics.
It's one of the most enjoyable driving experiences in recent memory, and for $10, it's a must-play for retro enthusiasts and racing fans alike.
Check out my review of Parking Deck Dash Race.
7) UFO Fifty
Platforms: PC
Developer: Alienware Games
Why play one indie game when you can get fifty at once? UFO Fifty provides you with a collection of fifty retro-styled games developed by a fictional company between 1982 and 1989. It encompasses popular genres of the era like shoot 'em ups, platformers, and RPGs. It shares similarities with the fantastic Atari 50, and is almost as convincing as a historical record–you finish UFO Fifty with the desire for UFO Soft to have been a real company.
UFO Fifty isn't like Mario Party–every encounter is a full game, and some even offer versus and co-op options. Like any collection, some are better than others, but you'll enjoy most of them. Around ten to fifteen of them are truly exceptional, with personal favorites including Cyber Samurai and Galactic Guardian, which could have had standalone releases. Maybe that's the plan–Alienware Games has laid the groundwork for a fictionalized retro gaming empire.
6) Animal Health
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Billy Bear, Pixelated Memories
As one of the most delightful surprises of 2024, Animal Health offers the perfect blend of atmosphere, tension, discovery, and puzzles. It's also one of the year's more challenging games to explain: you can complete Animal Health in a few hours, but there's so much more to its compact and meticulously designed world beyond what meets the eye, because it just keeps getting deeper.
This Metroidvania experience lacks combat and guidance, encouraging you to explore its concepts with tools and conundrums. Stick with it–regardless of your skill level, it's a joy to play and it's absolutely beautiful. Whatever you invest into it, it will reward you twice over.
5) Conscription
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Captain Jordan, Bootcamp Studio
Top-down PS1-style survival horror Conscription, set in the trenches of WW1, provides a thrilling, difficult, harrowing, and emotionally gripping experience. It's not just a standout indie; it's the finest WW1-themed game since Valiant Hearts, and probably the best one ever made.
Conscription was developed alone by Captain Jordan, and his commitment is as inspiring as the game itself. Despite having no coding experience, he spent six years crafting this masterpiece. Conscription demonstrates that passion and persistence can lead to something extraordinary, making it a must-play for fans of survival horror and historical storytelling alike.
My Complete Thoughts on Conscript from August
4) Raven's Land
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: New Blood Interactive
Raven's Land is a marvel of vintage survival horror–a game that feels antiquated yet refreshing in its modernity. Inspired by '90s PS1 icons such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, this five-hour gem from New Blood Interactive combines gloomy, foreboding surroundings with a quirky, vibrant cast to create a world that's as unsettling as it is engrossing. With a gripping narrative and sharp dialogue, it keeps you on edge without veering into caricature; every interaction feels significant, and every plot twist has impact.
An atmospheric aesthetic is accentuated by skillfully crafted puzzles, whimsical amusement park decor, and grotesque adversaries, delivering both a challenge and a payoff. Its rough edges–fiddly combat, user-unfriendly controls, and oddly concealed items–provide character. This is survival horror at its finest: a love letter to a genre that still stands tall in its original 3D format.
Re-visit my Raven's Land review from May.
3) The Abysmal Awakening
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: The Irregular Corporation
Located on the deteriorating Beira D oil platform in the '70s, The Abysmal Awakening taps into numerous common anxieties like heights, darkness, isolation, and drowning, but the inevitability of death is its primary terror.
Its true strength lies in its remarkable voice acting and the fragility of protagonist Jack Cormack, a deeply flawed man seeking personal redemption–just not in this manner. As you explore the oil rig, the horrors are less about confronting foes and more about survival, as your companions transform into monstrous entities. The tension never subsides, especially as Jack–something of a bruiser in hand-to-hand combat–remains defenceless and powerless against the grotesque horrors onboard.
Despite occasional platforming glitches and intrusive prompts interrupting the immersion, The Abysmal Awakening shines in its narrative and emotional storytelling. It may not be the scariest game of the year, but its character-driven performances make it an indelible experience.
Read my June review of The Abysmal Awakening.
2) Thank Heaven You're Here
Platforms: PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5
Developer: Carcassful Mooncakes
Thank Heaven You're Here is the funniest game of the last decade: a surreal, slapstick, absurd, and surprisingly spicy variety show set in a bizarre mockery of Yorkshire. This two-hour hallucination is oozing with charm and originality, and its uproarious writing is complemented by an extraordinary voice cast starring, yet not solely relying on, the legendary Matt Berry.
Whether you're repairing beer lines, feeding potato chips to a cow, or surviving a David Lynch-esque existential body horror crisis within a chunk of ham, every second of Thank Heaven You're Here is filled with humor and unexpected twists. Developer Carcassful Mooncakes has created a one-of-a-kind, must-play experience that celebrates anarchic British humor in its purest form.
Listen to my thoughts on Thank Heaven You're Here in my review from July.
1) Sapsago
Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Mindful Gamer Studios
Sapsago isn't just the best indie game of 2024–it's the best game of the year overall. It's more than that: Sapsago is a yawning chasm that you will initially test the waters, and before you know it, you've invested 150 hours in it and are still descending further and further into its boundless depths.
This poker-influenced roguelite needs to be played to be comprehended. Once you grasp it, it'll become your obsession. Its risk-versus-reward mechanics are insane, and the intellectual exercise you subject yourself to will regularly drive you insane–in a good way. All the while, its soundtrack keeps you entranced–even though, after a few hours, you realize Sapsago only has a strangely melancholic song repeated forever.
Allow me to make just one suggestion: avoid getting Sapsago on your mobile phone. Despite somehow avoiding doing so–due to having progressed so far on the Xbox version, which I have installed and uninstalled four times–it will consume your existence. During a two-day stint on the London Underground in December 2024, I spotted at least a dozen people playing it.
They're all lost now. They're probably facing bankruptcy and divorce, but I bet they're still happy–they have Sapsago in their grasp. They gaze upward at the enormous joker. Many weeks have passed since they discovered the secret to the enigmatic smile under the face paint. O cruel, senseless tragedy! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the cherished game! Two cans of Red Bull-scented tears trickle down the sides of their noses. But it is all right, everything is all right, the struggle has ended. They have triumphed over themselves. They love Sapsago.
- The 'best indie games of 2024' list includes a standout title, 'Sapsago', which has been hailed as the best game overall and has left many players addicted, invested over 150 hours, and even sparked divorce cases due to its obsessive nature.
- Despite numerous remarkable titles being left behind, the list boasts 17 extraordinary indie games from 2024, such as 'Tinker Toy VR', 'Rhythm Racer 2', and 'Flora Manor'.
- Some of the overlooked indie games of 2024, like 'Rhythm Racer 2', offer an enchanting experience, with a harmonious blend of 'Audiosurf', 'Wipeout', and 'Rez', paired with a soundtrack that really brings the game to life.
- Indie creators are constantly dealing with struggles, and they greatly appreciate the support they receive from gamers who share their beloved indie gems on social media or comment sections.
- Thank goodness for 'Sapsago', as it has not only made it onto the 'best indie games of 2024' list but is ranked as the best game overall for 2024, capturing the attention of many players and causing some to become emotionally attached to the game, resulting in unintended life changes.
