I would say Hades.
The gameplay loop, the art direction and the story are all very good.
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Subnautica. One of the best experiences I've had in gaming.
Outer Wilds. One of the most creative and thought-provoking games I've played. Definitely go into this one knowing as little as possible about it.
Hollow Knight also deserves a spot here, but personally I preferred Salt and Sanctuary.
Subnautica
Tunic
The Legend of Grimrock 1 and 2 (I've convinced 0 people to try these)
Subnautica is horror in its most subtle form.
"Detecting multiple leviathan class lifeforms in the region. Are you certain whatever you’re doing is worth it?”
A ton of great suggestions here already. Let me add some more.
Dead Cells: amazing 2D action rogue lite with metroid Vania elements. A game that keeps getting updates faster than I can play them. And they are good.
Battle Brothers: hex based tactics and management game where you play a band of mercenaries in a fantasy world. It's insanely deep and we'll made.
There are a lot I'd recommend, but I think the only must-play for me is Cave Story.
When I was growing up, Cave Story was like the paragon of games as art, and was a major inspiration behind me making games as a hobby and getting into software development professionally. Cave Story was made by a single talented auteur, not for profit, and released for free. And it was as good as Metroid and Mario, or maybe even better. It proved to everyone that such a thing was even possible.
I think the only indie game that could possibly compete with Cave Story for the title of "most influential" would be Minecraft. Though Minecraft should probably be disqualified from that title for having sold out to Microsoft as soon as it started to get big...
Gris. Gorgeous visuals and stress-free gameplay
Not incredibly long either
I usually only play the large bombast blockbuster titles, but Actual Sunshine did leave me speechless.
We will need a topic for the AAAs as well. 🙂
Do you mean Actual Sunlight?
Yes. My bad on the name. It’s been a couple of years.
Factorio has been my crack-torio for many years. Satisfactory may have better graphics, but I prefer the simplicity and depth of Factorio.
Disco Elysium blew me away with the writing, absolutely a must-play.
Gone Home.
Celeste.
Most of Pokemon fan games (my boyfriend loves fangames)
FTL, Into the Breach, Celeste, Hollow Knight, Banished
Stardew Valley
There is this little hidden gem called The Witcher 3.
Ok, real answer: To the Moon and Doki Doki Literature Club are two indies that really left a mark on me, specially the former. Both games are fantastic.
Shovel Knight + DLC, what a fantastic MegaMan clone!!!
Superhot, Katana Zero, Hotline Miami, Celeste
Oh disco elysium for sure. Fantastic crpg.
The games that stuck with me are (in no special order) Paradise Killer, Sable, Disco Elysium, Gris and of course What remains of Edith Finch.
Risk of Rain!
First, second, or both?
First. Second is nice, but it's 3D, makes it a little harder. Also they are releasing a new revamped version of the first.
My partner and I loved playing Plate Up! We've also played Overcooked 1 & 2, but spent more time playing Plate Up!.
Upvoted, we had so much fun with PlateUp! I think we also have more playing time for PlateUp than for Overcooked 1 & 2 combined (both completed). I love the roguelike element in it and building our own restaurant.