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Mento

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Best Indies of the 2010s

(A List in Progress.)

Coming up on the big two-five-oh on Indie Game of the Week, and I realize I've acquired a pretty good base of knowledge on what's been happening in the Indie scene over the last decade. That is, the slightly more modest tier of game development that is usually digital-only, usually of a short duration, and open to studios of any size and budgetary means; and one that we still don't have a better name for than "Indie game."

With that in mind, I've just thrown together a top 100 here of what are really just my favorites of the ones I've played so far, though I've curated it a little to elevate those that maybe pushed the envelope or introduced us all to a new style of game. Conspicuous absences will abound - and I'll forever be utilizing that Indie Game of the Week feature to catch up on anything that piques my interest - so don't be too forlorn if your favorite isn't on there: it may well be when I revisit this list in another year or so.

Each entry includes the year of release. For deep dives and other musings, I've written about everything on this ranking in a GOTY list somewhere I'm sure. Those can be found here:

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

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Mento

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[Reserving this reply to note any addition/removals I later make.]

Meanwhile, here's a breakdown of how much each year is represented:

  • 2010: 4
  • 2011: 3
  • 2012: 10
  • 2013: 6
  • 2014: 8
  • 2015: 14
  • 2016: 16
  • 2017: 17
  • 2018: 10
  • 2019: 12

2017 having the greatest representation isn't a surprise - it was a strong year, and I've been exploring it a lot recently - but that 2012 bump is surprising. It might've been the first truly strong year for Indies (Spelunky, Fez, Journey, Dust, Hotline Miami, etc.).