As we wave goodbye to 2024, we celebrate its batch of incredible indie games. It’s the biggest list yet, too–in five years of putting together this end-of-year countdown, the competition is stronger than ever, and plenty of great titles had to hit the cutting room floor.
Here are the 17 best indie games of 2024. As always, this is just one opinion–some of your favorites might not have made the list, but please help spread the good word by sharing your own dearest small-studio games in the comments and wherever else you can. After two or three years of struggles, independent creators need all the support they can get as they face what will probably be another challenging 12 months for the gaming industry.
If you like this list, check out my best indie games of 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020–there’s every chance you’ve missed out on one or many solid gold hits over the last five years.
17) Toy Trains VR
Platforms: Meta Quest, SteamVR, PSVR
Developer: Something Random
The first game I reviewed in 2024 is also one of its most memorable. Toy Trains VR is a charming and cozy sandbox game from Something Random, the creators of SUPERHOT VR, offering a dramatic shift from its previous work. With it, the studio delivers a relaxing VR experience that lets players build and explore whimsical worlds: a nostalgic trip reminding you of simpler times in gaming and life itself.
Read my full review of Toy Trains VR.
16) Aaero2
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Mad Fellows
Rhythm-action hit Aaero2 is one of the most overlooked indie games of 2024: a delightful combination of Audiosurf, Wipeout, and Rez, where players trace light ribbons to music while taking down enemies. It’s far from polished–on Xbox, it still feels like a bare-bones port of a PC build–but it still works beautifully, combining a banging soundtrack with great combat and stunning environments.
15) Botany Manor
Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (PS4 and PS5 TBC 2025)
Developer: Balloon Studios
Few games in 2024 were as cozy or thoughtful as Botany Manor: the most relaxing puzzle exploration game you can imagine, in which you explore a 19th-century English manor filled with plants you discover and cultivate.
At first, it may seem a little dull–and occasionally opaque–but its old-school puzzle mechanics eventually click. If you find yourself stuck, the game masterfully points you in the right direction, delivering constant satisfaction without ever making you feel stupid.
14) Hypercharge: Unboxed
Platforms: PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Digital Cybercherries
Sure, it came out on PC and Switch in 2020, but this year’s Xbox port of Hypercharge: Unboxed was well worth the wait. It’s the toy-based PvE shooter you’ve always dreamed of, blending old-school charm with engaging mechanics, creative level design, and impressively weighty combat.
There’s plenty of replayability between its single and multiplayer modes, and there are no microtransactions–the perfect couch co-op game for friends and family alike.
Check out my review of Hypercharge Unboxed from May.
13) Pacific Drive
Platforms: PC, PS5
Developer: Ironwood Studios
Pacific Drive is an odd proposition: a survival-driving indie game set in the Pacific Northwest, combining elements of STALKER, Jalopy, and Control. As a silent driver, you maintain and upgrade your magical car as you deal with strange phenomena and hazardous environments, unraveling the story behind the disaster as you go.
Pacific Drive doesn’t hold your hand, nor should it–this is seat-of-the-pants stuff and one of the most unique games in recent memory. Throw yourself into its weird world and let it spit you out.
12) Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
Platforms:PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Seedy Eye Software
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore cleverly reimagines infamous Philips CD-i games, turning their awkward charm into a fun, retro-inspired 2D platformer. Developed by the brilliantly named Seedy Eye Software, Arzette blends tight, rewarding gameplay with a hilarious, absurd narrative supported by eccentric characters including a teleporting scarecrow, a pirate cat, and a fairy who may or may not indulge in class-A drugs.
Despite its short playtime, Arzette excels in its replay value, with a wealth of collectibles, mini-quests, and nicely curated progression. It’s a brilliant balance of sentimental celebration and modern polish, offering a fresh take on a largely forgotten, and perhaps unfairly maligned, 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 follow-up to Sayonara Wild Hearts didn’t disappoint. This highly stylized noir murder mystery sees you solve dozens of puzzles in a mansion, which get more devilish as you go. It’s easily one of the most gorgeous games of 2024, stuffed to the brim with creative ideas and unsettling themes, even if its simple mechanics often serve to annoy you–but that sometimes feels like the point.
10) Caravan SandWitch
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS5,
Developer: Plane Toast
Caravan SandWitch is among the most charming open-world adventures of recent years: a title that focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving in a low-stakes environment, offering a refreshing and thoughtful escape.
As protagonist Sauge, you search for your missing sister on your home planet–one that’s gorgeous, but effectively destroyed by anti-environmental greed. With no death mechanics, the game focuses on piecing together the story while helping communities you discover as you drive across the stunning landscape in your Party Wagon-style van. It’s a beautiful and thoughtful experience, underpinned by sadness and regret.
9) Fear the Spotlight
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: CozyGamePals
As the first of four horror games on this list–and one of three inspired by retro titles–Fear the Spotlight is a spectacular debut for Blumhouse Games, and all the more impressive given it was created by the two-person studio CozyGamePals. You assume the role of Vivian Singh, navigating a haunting school tied to a tragic past, while avoiding the game’s sole, menacing foe, The Spotlight.
Its PS1/PS2 aesthetic, atmospheric storytelling, and clever puzzles offer 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 frustrations, but for $20, you can’t go wrong.
Read my full take on Fear the Spotlight from October.
8) Parking Garage Rally Circuit
Platforms: PC
Developer: Walaber Entertainment
Make no mistake, Parking Garage Rally Circuit is the finest arcade racing game of 2024, and probably the decade so far. This charming, nostalgia-filled racer inspired by Sega Saturn classics–the sole vision of Tim “Walaber” FitzRandolph–combines quirky parking-garage tracks with masterfully responsive drifting and boosting mechanics.
It’s one of the most satisfying 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 Garage Rally Circuit.
7) UFO 50
Platforms: PC
Developer: Mossmouth LLC
Why play one indie game when you can get 50 at once? UFO 50 gives you a bumper pack of 50 retro-styled games created by a fictional developer between 1982 and 1989, spanning popular genres of the era like shoot ‘em ups, platformers, and RPGs. It’s eerily similar to the spectacular Atari 50, and nearly as believable as a historical record–you come away from UFO 50 wanting UFO Soft to have existed IRL.
UFO 50 isn’t like Mario Party–every outing is a full game, and some even offer versus and co-op experiences. Like any collection, some are better than others, but you’ll enjoy most of them. A good 10 to 15 of them are stone-cold belters–personal favorites include Bushido Ball and Elfazar’s Hat, which could have had standalone releases. Maybe that’s the plan–Mossmouth has laid the foundations to build a fictionalized retro gaming empire.
6) Animal Well
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Billy Basso, Shared Memory
As one of the most delightful surprises of 2024, Animal Well offers the perfect mix of atmosphere, tension, discovery, and puzzles. It’s also one of the year’s more difficult games to explain: you can clear Animal Well in a few hours, but there’s so much more to its compact and carefully designed world than meets the eye, because it just keeps getting deeper.
This Metroidvania experience lacks combat and guidance, encouraging you to explore its ideas with tools and conundrums. Stick with it–regardless of your skill level, it feels great to play and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Whatever you put into it, it’ll reward you double.
5) Conscript
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Jordan Mochi, Catchweight Studio
Top-down PS1-style survival horror Conscript, set in the trenches of WW1, delivers a thrilling, challenging, 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.
Conscript was developed solo by Jordan Mochi, and his dedication is as inspiring as the game itself. Despite going into his magnum opus with no coding experience, he spent six years crafting this masterpiece. Conscript proves that passion and persistence can deliver something extraordinary, making it a must-play for fans of survival horror and historical storytelling alike.
Here’s my full take on Conscript from August.
4) Crow Country
Platforms: PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: SFB Games
Crow Country is a masterclass in retro survival horror–a game that feels old yet refreshingly modern. Inspired by 90s PS1 titans like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, this five-hour gem from SFB Games blends drab, foreboding environments with a quirky, colorful cast to create a world that’s as haunting as it is captivating. With a gripping story and top-tier dialogue, it keeps you on edge without descending into parody; every interaction feels meaningful and every twist hits hard.
An atmospheric art style is complemented by perfectly tuned puzzles, delightful theme park staging, and grotesque enemies, offering something both challenging and rewarding. Its rough edges–finicky combat, cumbersome controls, and weirdly hidden items–add charm. This is survival horror at its best: a love letter to a genre that still stands tall in its OG 3D format.
Read my Crow Country review from May.
3) Still Wakes the Deep
Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: The Chinese Room
Set on the decaying Beira D oil platform in the 1970s, Still Wakes the Deep taps into countless common fears like heights, darkness, loneliness, and drowning, but the inevitability of death is its real terror.
Its true strength lies in its exceptional voice acting and the vulnerability of protagonist Caz McCleary, a fundamentally flawed man who seeks personal redemption–just not like this. As you explore the oil rig, the horrors are less about fighting enemies and more about survival, as your colleagues mutate into horrific forms. The tension is constant, especially as Caz–known to be pretty tasty in a fistfight–remains unarmed and powerless against the monstrosities on board.
While occasional platforming issues and intrusive prompts can sometimes break the immersion, Still Wakes the Deep excels in its narrative and emotional storytelling. It may not be the scariest game of the year, but its character-driven performances make it an unforgettable experience.
Check out my June review of Still Wakes the Deep.
2) Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Platforms: PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5
Developer: Coal Supper
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is the funniest game of the last decade: a surreal, slapstick, stupid, and surprisingly spicy sketch show set in a bizarre caricature of Yorkshire. This two-hour fever dream oozes charm and originality, and its laugh-out-loud writing is complemented by an incredible voice cast featuring, but certainly not reliant on, the iconic Matt Berry.
Whether you’re fixing beer lines, feeding chips to a cow, or enduring a David Lynch-esque existential body horror crisis inside a piece of ham, every moment of Thank Goodness You’re Here is filled with humor and surprises. Developer Coal Supper has crafted a unique, must-play experience that celebrates irreverent British humor in its finest form.
Get my thoughts on Thank Goodness You’re Here! in my review from July.
1) Balatro
Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Developer: LocalThunk
Balatro isn’t just the best indie game of 2024–it’s the best game of the year outright. It’s even more than that: Balatro is a gaping chasm you will initially dip your toe into, and before you know it, you’ve spent 150 hours playing and you’re still falling deeper and deeper into its bottomless pit.
This poker-infused roguelite needs to be played to be understood. Once it clicks, it’ll be the only thing you think about. Its risk-and-reward mechanics are insane, and the mental gymnastics you endure will regularly drive you mad–in a good way. All the while, its soundtrack keeps you hooked–even though, after a few hours, you realize Balatro has just one surprisingly depressing song on a loop.
Let me make just one recommendation: don’t get Balatro on your mobile phone. I’ve somehow held off–only because I’ve made so much progress on the Xbox version, which I’ve now installed and uninstalled four times–but it will take over your life. During two days of using the London Underground in December 2024, I saw at least a dozen people playing it.
They’re all lost now. They’re probably facing foreclosure and divorce, but I bet they still feel happy–they have Balatro in their hands. They gaze up at the enormous joker. Many weeks it had taken them to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the face paint. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving game! Two Red Bull-scented tears trickle down the sides of their noses. But it is all right, everything is all right, the struggle was finished. They had won the victory over themselves. They love Balatro.
