Best Indie Games of 2023: Top 10 Picks

It’s been an unbelievable year of blockbuster games, from Super Mario Bros. Wonder to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Baldur’s Gate 3 to Alan Wake 2. It’s been a busy (and sometimes tumultuous) time for the games industry.

As players, it’s hard to know where to begin with tackling the backlog at this point, and there have been some incredible indie games out this year – from platforming challenges to point-and-click puzzles to absorbing writing, we’ve been spoilt for choice.

Top 10 Best Indie Games 2023

A few notes before we get going: first of all, it was too hard to put these indie games into a ranked list. Because there has been such a variety of indie games this year, one person’s number one might look very different to someone else’s.

Secondly, we’ve tried to include a fairly even spread of available platforms. Most games on this list can be played on all major consoles and PC, so they should be accessible to many players.

Plus, many of these indie games are available on Game Pass, so if you have it, you’ll have plenty of indies to check out from this list if you missed them this year.

With that in mind, let’s get going – here are 10 of the best indie games of 2023!

Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)

How can we talk about indie games without mentioning Sea of Stars? An incredibly beautiful adventure RPG, it follows the two protagonists, Valere and Zale, as they learn to become Solstice Warriors. It’s their job to wield Eclipse magic to fight monsters known as the Dwellers.

Developed and published by Sabotage Studio, Sea of Stars made waves this year as a standout indie game not only because of the incredibly rich, detailed pixel art style, but also because of the interesting gameplay.

It has turn based combat, as you’d expect from a retro RPG, but it’s fun and dynamic, with timed hits and combo attacks spicing things up a little.

The lore around Sea of Stars is interesting, and it has a solid story. It’s a genuine joy just to wander around the world, popping into taverns for a game of Wheels, chatting to the locals, and taking it all in.

For fans of old-school RPGs, it’s nostalgic enough to provoke a warm and fuzzy feeling, but interesting enough to keep you engaged. A gorgeous game, and a worthy contender for one of the best indie games of the year.

You can play Sea of Stars on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and on Xbox Series X|S.

Venba (Visai Games)

Venba, developed and published by Visai Games, is a beautiful indie game about family, food, and the concept of belonging. Players control Venba, an Indian woman trying to settle into life in Canada with her husband.

Venba, an interesting and relatable character, connects to her family by cooking, and it’s the players’ job to cook traditional dishes from Venba’s childhood.

The catch is that Venba’s cookbook is smudged in places, meaning that she has to reach back into her memory to try to fill in the gaps.

As the game progresses, the recipes become more difficult to read, and Venba must experiment to complete each one.

Venba and her husband eventually have a son, and Venba is determined to keep his Indian heritage alive.

It’s a beautiful and touching story about trying to hold onto your identity and your past, and the sometimes bumpy ride that comes with settling into a new place.

You can play Venba on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale (Glee-Cheese Studio)

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is a little gem of a game that offers abundant humour and joy. Developed by Glee-Cheese Studio and published by Team17, Headbangers is a rhythm-action battle royale game. Think Fall Guys, WarioWare, and Parappa the Rapper all mixed up. Only with pigeons.

Pitched against other players, it’s your job to complete mini games without being eliminated, progressing to the next game until they are the last pigeon standing.

Minigames include Stereo Ga Ga (hit the button every time a pigeon makes a sound), The Stunt Moles (like whack-a-mole and the old-school memory game Simon), and The Battle Box (copy the rapping pigeon to defeat your opponent).

If you can survive each round, you’ll be crowned as Master Headbanger. An enviable title, and well worth playing through several games to achieve.

This is a sweet, fun, silly indie game that is perfect for the moments where you really need to switch off; it has a good balance of mildly frustrating challenges and ridiculous pigeon-related humour, and it feels like a wholesome kind of a game that the whole family can enjoy together.

A good way to spend your free time, for sure, especially if you’ve exhausted Fall Guys and you’re looking for something new.

You can play Headbangers: Rhythm Royale on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza)

The debut game of Tour de Pizza, Pizza Tower is a super-fast-paced 2D platformer that ’90s kids will love.

With an art style echoing some Nickelodeon classics (think Rocko’s Modern Life/Catdog/Aaaahh!!! Real Monsters), this is a fun, frantic nostalgia-fest. If you’ve ever played Wario Land 4, this will feel super familiar.

A side-scrolling platformer, it follows Peppino Spaghetti, defending his pizzeria from the strangely mean Pizzaface (a floating pizza).

Peppino must climb a tower and defeat a series of bosses in order to defeat Pizzaface and be able to, you know, serve pizza again. Obviously.

This is a vibrant little game with some excellent references to other franchises, and while game designer McPig offered early access to Patreon supporters a few years back, it was officially released in January 2023.

If this one passed you by, it’s worth a play, and it’s one of the most fun indie games of the year.

You can play Pizza Tower on Steam.

Jusant (Don’t Nod)

Jusant combines stunning visuals and an intriguing, quiet sort of story. Developed and published by DON’T NOD, it’s an action-puzzle game that involves rhythmic climbing of a strange, mysterious landscape.

Players step into the role of an adventurer as they scale impossible heights with a strange companion, Ballast, a kind of glowing frog with useful climbing-based powers.

One of the best indie games of the year, it’s an example of environmental storytelling done really well, and it feels very calming to climb: players must hit the left or right trigger to grab onto the next ledge or notch, and while you’re always attached to a safe area with your rope, it still feels dizzying when you get to the higher levels.

The landscape is odd to explore, and it’s peppered with small houses set into the cliffs, which give you a little bit of background information on the people that used to live there (and where they might have gone).

It’s a meditative kind of experience with a good sprinkling of magic and mystery, and it’s definitely one of the most intriguing indie games this year.

You can play Jusant on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Cocoon (Geometric Interactive)

Cocoon, developed by Geometric Interactive and published by Annapurna Interactive, is a third-person puzzle video game.

Players explore strange, abandoned landscapes using strange orbs that they can ‘step into,’ jumping between otherworldly places in an alien environment.

Each orb has an unlockable ability, and players will need that both to power the weird machines dotted around and also to defeat the boss at the end of each stage.

If you love puzzle games with interesting new machines to wrap your mind around, this is one of the more intriguing indie games to try. It also has an excellently atmospheric soundtrack.

You can play Cocoon on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Dredge (Black Salt Games)

Regarded as one of the best indie games of the year, Dredge is a must-play. Developed by Black Salt Games and published by Team 17, Dredge puts you in the role of a fisherman on a tiny boat, looking for fish, and trying to avoid Lovecraftian horrors in the darkness.

The job starts out normal, but the feeling of dread starts to kick in as soon as the locals on this mysterious island start emphasising the dangers of being out at night.

What could go wrong if you stay out to catch a few more fish? Well, it turns out, quite a lot can go wrong, actually.

Time moves in chunks, with actions (like fishing or sailing) moving time on quickly. Players can catch fish or look for salvage, but they’ll have to rearrange their boat to make it all fit, which is very satisfying when you manage to squeeze in a good haul for the day.

If they do stay out late, the panic meter appears, and things start to become strange.

It’s a very interesting indie game, and Lovecraft fans will really enjoy this one. It’s exciting and, at times, very tense: any calming moments you might have in the daytime are quickly replaced with fear at night.

A fantastic addition to the best indie games of the year, and a must-play if you want a unique gaming experience – it’s a memorable experience for sure.

You can play Dredge on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Xbox Series X|S

A Space for the Unbound (Mokijen Studio)

A Space for the Unbound, developed by Mokijen Studios and published by Toge Productions/Chorus Worldwide, is a gorgeous narrative adventure taking the player through the story of Atma and Raya, two young people with extraordinary powers.

Players must solve puzzles and move through the story as they grapple with the responsibilities of having these otherworldly skills – of course, being able to intrude into other people’s minds is challenging for your moral compass!

It’s set in 1990s Indonesia, and this sense of place is super important; it’s a big part of Atma and Raya’s identity, and it adds a richness and authenticity to the story.

Quickly, the player realises that there’s something more going on here than using fun supernatural powers to manipulate things around them; there’s a sense of sadness underneath it, too.

Atma can dive into the minds of other characters, and do some mind-bending Inception-style dives-within-dives. These dives are varied, fun, and extremely strange at times.

It’s a thought-provoking indie game, and it’s the kind of story that sticks with you long after you’ve finished it.

You can play A Space for the Unbound on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Cassette Beasts (Bytten Studio)

Cassette Beasts had a release date way back in April, so it’s one of the earlier games of the year. If you missed it, it’s well worth a play! Developed by Bytten Studio and published by Raw Fury, this is an indie game that Pokemon fans will find familiar (and probably love).

So, what makes Cassette Beasts a contender for one of the best indie games of the year? It’s kind of a turn based RPG and kind of a monster-configuring game that is very nostalgic and sweet, appealing to gamers of the ’90s/early ’00s.

As the main character, the player must transform their monsters, fusing them together using a cassette player, completing quests in order to try to get home.

There are up to 14,000 available ‘fusions’, which give you an advantage against other monsters in battle. This means you have to think strategically in order to defeat certain monsters.

This makes it a fun journey as you try to figure out all the combinations available to you. It’s fun to explore, and it’s a nice cosy game to escape into for a while.

Cassette Beasts is available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S.

Dordogne (Un Je Ne Sais Quoi/Umanimation)

Dordogne has to be one of the most beautiful indie games of the year. Developed by Un Je Ne Sais Quoi/Umanimation and published by Focus Entertainment, the painterly style of Dordogne is unique and a gorgeous treat to explore.

Players will step into the role of Mimi as she explores her late Grandmother’s house. Mimi spent a lot of time there as a young girl, and stepping back there is a strange experience; you get to relive her memories, completing some basic puzzles and unfolding the story slowly, bit by bit.

The story is interesting, and Mimi has a lot of blocked memories to uncover as she works her way slowly through the house: it turns out that Mimi’s childhood wasn’t as idyllic as her gorgeous surroundings, and as the player, you get to witness the important progress she makes in coming to terms with her past.

As you go, you get to build a scrapbook; this is a very sweet way to recap each section and get Mimi’s thoughts in order in a creative way.

Mimi’s journey is well worth playing, even if you just want to enjoy the artwork for a while. It definitely deserves a spot as one of the best indie games of the year.

You can play Dordogne on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

The Best Indie Game of 2023

As we mentioned earlier, it’s really hard to pick one game of the year that is the absolute best.

Plus, we haven’t had time to mention some of the indie games with a later release date (like A Highland Song, for example, which was released on the 5th of December, and looks to be a good game to play over the Christmas break).

If you want a long, epic journey, Sea of Stars is well worth playing; if puzzles are more your thing, Cocoon is a very absorbing tale; and if you want an emotional and engaging story, A Space for the Unbound is a must-play.

But having said that, any of these indie games are worth playing, and if you’ve exhausted the big releases this year, you should add some of these to your list for 2024: you can catch up with some of these before the next big wave of games comes around!

Megan Bidmead

Megan is a freelance writer based in Somerset, England. She writes about videogames, books, and pop culture.