Cult of the Lamb
Build a murderous cult by day, clear roguelike dungeons by night — an adorable, sinister mashup that became an instant phenomenon.
Indie Backlog
Ori and the Blind Forest
A platformer so beautiful it looks painted, wrapped around a story that opens with one of gaming’s great gut-punches.
Spiritfarer
A cozy management game about death — you are the ferrymaster who builds a boat, cares for departed spirits, and eventually says goodbye to each one.
Cuphead
A run-and-gun boss-rush of staggering difficulty, drawn frame-by-frame in the style of a 1930s cartoon — there is nothing else that looks like it.
Slay the Spire
The deckbuilding roguelike that spawned an entire genre — climb the spire, build a deck on the fly, die, and immediately need to play again.
Into the Breach
Tiny, perfect turn-based tactics from the makers of FTL — defend the last cities of Earth from giant bugs, two minutes of agonizing decisions at a time.
Dead Cells
A roguevania that fuses Metroid exploration with souls-like combat into a frantic, addictive loop you’ll be chasing for a hundred runs.
Hades
The roguelike that finally made the genre’s endless deaths feel like the best part of the story — and the highest-rated game on this whole list.
Hollow Knight
A tiny knight, a vast ruined kingdom, and one of the most beloved games of the last decade — the metroidvania by which all others are judged.
Celeste
A game about climbing a mountain — and about anxiety, self-doubt, and not giving up — wrapped in the tightest platforming ever made.