If you like space, you should play Homeworld and its sequels. Incredible game.

If you like chill strategy, try Terra Nil, Islanders, and Terrascape – they’re all really fun and Terrascape has turn-based multiplayer!

If you like puzzle games like Myst, Cyan has Obduction and the slightly controversial Firmament, which I thought was a lot of fun. Quern - Undying Thoughts is in the same vein and feels a lot like Myst or Riven.

If you like Halo’s multiplayer with an added Portal gun, try Splitgate. The developer isn’t going to be adding more content as they are shifting focus to a new game, but it’s still really fun.

If you like boomer shooters, try Amid Evil it feels like Quake, Unreal, and Hexen/Heretic. It’ll get your heart racing for sure.

noita PC - a rougelike witch Sim full of secrets.

Dead Cells everything - Flawless metriodvania rougelite

The Forgotten City PC, PS, XB - A short time loop game that is just fantastic. I think it started as a skyrim mod

Noita. It’s just so good. Easily in my top 5 games of all time.

• CrossCode - Phenomenal action RPG. Combat is fast and explosive, dungeons are very obviously Zelda inspired but with way more puzzles. Packed with tons and tons and tons of sidequests, many of which put unique twists on the combat system to keep you on your toes. Make sure to grab the epilogue DLC.

• FOOTSIES - Minimalist one-button fighting game, with rollback.

• OneShot - Fairly reminiscent of Undertale, if you liked that you’ll probably enjoy this too. And like Undertale I don’t want to say too much, take my word for it and let it surprise you.

• Petal Crash - Absolutely fantastic versus puzzler, and a perfect entry point into the genre. I wrote a very long review of how in love with this game I am, so I’m just going to link that.

• Them’s Fightin’ Herds - Another great fighting game, been waiting a long time for this port to bring us up to a grand total of two good fighting games on Linux. Has a lot of really cool features like a big story mode with overworld exploration, a cute lobby system with cosmetics to collect and treasure chests to fight for, a dynamic music system that reacts to the fight, and even a semi-cooperative dungeon crawler mode. Has crossplay with consoles as well. Full review.

• Ultimate Chicken Horse - Start on a nearly empty platformer map, each round everyone adds one object somewhere on the map then you all try to finish the level. Whoever finishes gets a point, plus bonus points for whoever finished first or collected coins that have been placed. Then you add another set of objects and repeat. Quickly becomes hilariously chaotic as you try to figure out how to balance screwing everyone else over while still making sure you can win, only to realize that after a few rounds you have all built a horrifying monstrosity. Has full crossplay with console versions.

• Anything by Zachtronics - A bunch of different engineering puzzle games where you have to write code or build a machine to solve problems. Once you’ve solved the puzzle, you can see a histogram comparing your solution to everyone else’s on a few different metrics, encouraging you to go back and try to optimize it further. I recommend Opus Magnum as the best entry point.

night in the woods!

recently got completely addicted to a text-based Indie RPG called Roadwarden. The story and characters are incredibly rich and the gameplay is full of satisfying little moments of “oh, I have just the item for this!” or “another character told me this tavern keep doesn’t appreciate jokes; I better get straight to business”. I haven’t beaten it yet, but I can’t wait to see where it leads!

Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor is one of my favorite indie games of all time. The city design really captures the feeling of wandering around an unfamiliar, large, bustling place. The diary mechanic at the end of the day is a great way to get in character, and I like that you can decorate the apartment. I did some light data-mining (mostly item info and dialogue strings), and I even have fridge magnets of some of the pixel art!

Depanneur Nocturne is also a great evening’s worth of exploration and vibes, but I mention it because it has a reference to Spaceport Janitor and it made me SO happy when I realized that. :)

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead isn’t really indie, it is straight up Open Source and a freaking good roguelike. The DDA variant focus heavily on the realism aspect of survival, but there are forks that try to gamefy it more.

There is also Rain World, which I am addicted for 3+ months now. It is also on sale, but before you buy it, know that you are going to die A LOT, but it really isn’t a big issue; it’s actually funny most times lol. Great lore too.

And one that I’ve rooted for a long time and I think flopped hard in its release is Below, but I very much still love it.

Also, one that I played for a bit last week and the soundtrack slaps hard is APE OUT.

How did I forget about Noita? This one is a masterpiece. Crafting a wand just to fucking obliterate yourself out of existence .3 seconds later is just chef’s kiss. Also hämis.

Does Tunic count?

Best to jump in without spoilers, but it’s way more than a Zelda/Souls like. So. Many. Layers.

And at a similar depth, but from many years ago. The Ur-Quan masters (space game) https://sc2.sourceforge.net/

I really enjoyed Songs of Syx. It’s a city builder and economy game, but with a lot of extra detail that you don’t often see.

I played the hell out of Slipways

Their slogan “Build vast trade empires, still be done in time for lunch” is on point here. You connect planets with different resources and different industries to an interconnected network in a (turnbased) race against the clock. Easy to learn and always great fun to cram into a 30min slot in your day.

Brotato is a fun, mindless game if you like bullet hell games. Omori is a funny, wacky rpg with some horror elements. Good story to boot as well!

I don’t know what’s considered a “hidden gem” so I’m just going to shout out all the indie games that I think are at least 8/10 and recommend:

Rimworld Dead Cells Dredge Inscryption 7 Days to Die Mount and Blade: Warband Factorio Mordhau FTL: Faster than Light Raft Gunfire Reborn Into the Breach Hollow Knight Dome Keeper DUSK Golden Light Vampire Survivors Void Bastards

You want short and weird? Check out Crypt Worlds. Free too.

You want a bit longer and weird? Check out Hylics 2. One of the most unique aesthetics in gaming.

You want a very streamlined 3D version of Dwarf Fortress? Try Going Medieval. I have over a hundred hours in it.

You want a Czech version of Duke Nukem 3D with the art style of Quake? Well that’s very specific. But good news, you should check out Hrot.

These are all indie games that I think aren’t quite as popular as they should be. Not the most explicitly unknown, but definitely under-known.

If you liked Hades, play Ember Knights. It’s in early access but I legit put 6 hours in my first session cuz it scratched that Hades itch juuuuuust right