Given the big swathe of posts about bad behavior from big companies, I figure we could counterbalance that with some positivity about stuff the smaller guys made that often costs us less too.

  • mohab@piefed.socialEnglish
    2·
    5 days ago

    Crimzon Clover: World EXplosion. Top 3 shmups of all-time and best shmup on Steam, IMO.

  • TipRing@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    5 days ago

    Absolute favorite is Outer Wilds. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I can’t experience it again. A true masterpiece of a game.

    After that, probably Noita for sheer insanity. Deeply unfair, but getting a god-run going is that much sweeter. It took me ~100 hours to beat it the first time, now I can consistently win if I try but I’m addicted to doing stupid things to see what happens.

  • yoriaiko@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    2·
    7 days ago

    Anything of Soldak - https://store.steampowered.com/franchise/soldak/ : 2 series - space shooters Drox and hack n slash Dins - Super coarse graphics, action, fighting, but their living worlds, like nowhere else. No other game where worlds freely grow based on player actions. Did You ever left main quest for exploration, lvling up or side games, oh well, here, world will not allow You to, as enemies won’t stay idle or wait for You, they do their business.

    Orb of Creation - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1910680/Orb_of_Creation/ Semi-clicker (intense clicker, not much of idle) and immersive mage simulator, where You don’t make Your mage-avatar, but are the mage. Still beta, but already big.

  • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    7 days ago

    I suppose I’ve plugged it recently, but Another Crab’s Treasure.

    It opens pretty plainly as an ocean-based Soulslike parody with a simple story premise and some self-subverting humor in the dialog with other crabs. As you go on though, every 20th conversation becomes really pointed and real-world-connecting, going beyond just “pollution bad”. It’s not quite Spec Ops: The Line, but it at least has something to say about society.

    The combat is frustrating but addictive, much like Souls games - and it’s okay with handing off a number of allowances like accessibility modes and tip systems. It’s even helpful that, if I die to a glitch or something bogus, I can actually just choose to re-obtain my microplastics (souls) through a menu.

  • missingno@fedia.io
    51·
    9 days ago

    • Skullgirls - Still the best damn fighting game ever made. I’ve been grinding for a full decade now, and I’ll be entering Combo Breaker 2025 once again this year.

    • Slay the Spire - The game that ruined all other roguelikes for me. What I love about StS is that it never lets you get complacent, never lets you lean on just one good synergy that will carry you the entire run. You always have to keep adapting, and you have to have a well-rounded deck to deal with enemies that are designed to counter players who try to rely on only one thing. And when I eventually got to the point where I’d had my fill of vanilla, there’s so much fun stuff from the modding community to play around with. Packmaster is incredible.

    • CrossCode - It’s been years since I finished this RPG and its colorful cast still lives rent-free in my head. This is a game that is perfect in every way and adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Fantastic combat, tons of side content, endearing characters, emotionally powerful story, beautiful visuals, amazing soundtrack.

    • Elevator7009@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
      13·
      9 days ago

      CrossCode is all about how it plays! That’s why there is a free Steam demo! Go give it a try! Take the best out of two popular genres, find a good balance between them and make a great game. That’s what CrossCode does. You get the puzzles of Zelda-esque dungeons and are rewarded with the great variety of equipment you know and love from RPGs. During the fast-paced battles you will use the tools you find on your journey to reveal and exploit the enemies’ weaknesses and at the same time will be able to choose equipment and skills for a more in-depth approach in fighting your enemies.

      Yeah, I took a look because of your comment. Sounds like something I should try. The art is certainly appealing to me. Appreciative that more games are putting out demos lately.

    • H1jAcK@lemm.eeEnglish
      12·
      9 days ago

      I just beat StS Ascension 20 for the first time this week 💀

    • Charzard4261@programming.devEnglish
      3·
      8 days ago

      I’m so glad someone’s mentioned CrossCode! Such a wonderful experience from beginning to end. The world really feels alive with every inch of a mal being used to either enhance the story or hide a puzzle! I loved seeing chests and figuring out how to get to them across several maps.

      I’m really looking forward to their next project, Alabaster Dawn. I hope it’s just as good!

  • inlandempire@jlai.luEnglish
    451·
    9 days ago

    First :

    • Outer Wilds
    • Disco Elysium

    Then :

    • Inscryption
    • Carto
    • Spiritfarer
    • Pyre
  • NONE@lemmy.worldEnglish
    432·
    9 days ago

    Hollow Knight

    I love it so much that I can’t finish it, I always stop when I’m about to fight the final boss. I just don’t want it to end.

    Maybe when Silksong came out I finish it once and for all.

    • Deconceptualist@lemm.eeEnglish
      10·
      6 days ago

      Hollow Knight isn’t exactly over when you finish the story. There are more fights, especially Godhome. If you can beat all that you’re an incredible player.

      You probably know this but just wanted to make sure you’re not unintentionally missing out.

  • Ashtear@lemm.eeEnglish
    32·
    9 days ago

    For me, FTL: Faster than Light still hasn’t been topped. Hades II might get there, though. Disco Elysium, Ikaruga, and Papers, Please are also high on the list.

    • Nailbar@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      3·
      8 days ago

      I’m such a sucker for world simulation! It made me hate games where events happen because they’re programmed to do so.

  • Durandal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    23·
    9 days ago

    Pushing the definition but I started when it was still in beta… Minecraft has gotten hundreds and hundreds of hours put into it.

    Terarria and Starbound are both really good and scratch that same itch as Minecraft. Core Keeper is another one that has some of that feel and I ended up really enjoying.

    Surprised I haven’t seen it mentioned but Cave Story was made by one guy doing everything… and everything in it is immaculate. It’s still free for the original version as well.

    Stardew Valley is awesome and restarted a genre.

    Crypt of the Necrodancer is awesome, and well worth checking out… also goes on sale really cheap.

    Pacific Drive is a fun one to check out. If you’re from the PNW, it will hit even more.

    Really enjoyed Stray. Worth grabbing on a sale.

    OwlBoy was a delightful game with a lot of character.

    Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was a really nice return to form if you like IgaVanias.

    If you like roguelites then you owe it to yourself to check out Enter the Gungeon (isometric) as well as RoboQuest (fps).

    If you want a game that’s beautiful, with emergent story and is hard af… definitely check out Rain World.

    Is Black Mesa still considered indie? It’s how I would recommend anyone play Half-Life 1 these days.

    Rusty’s Retirement… isn’t so much a game… sorta… but yeah… check that out.

    • Maestro@fedia.io
      10·
      9 days ago

      I loved Obra Dinn. If you like that you will probably also like “Case of the Golden Idol” and it’s successor.

  • hades@lemm.eeEnglish
    21·
    9 days ago

    Factorio.

    Honourable mentions:

    • Chants of Sennaar
    • Blue Prince
    • Animal Well
    • Raft
    • Citizen Sleeper