Best Current Indie Games for PC - Recommendations?

[UnknownGunslinger]

"Surprisingly" getting a degree in Game Design involves very little actual time spent playing games
And after getting my degree and dashing off to the job market and the path of adulthood it leads to, I came to realise I've spent the past 3 years at UNI analysing a lot of AAA titles and reading clever studies and articles about them, but have very little actual familiarity with current Indie games!

Reading todays Comic strip [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/namegame/9109-Name-Game-Putting-the-Bash-in-Bastion] on Bastion, and listening to Jim Sterling's [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/3937-Deus-Ex-Human-RevolutionComic strip] talk on the state of PC gaming and all the current mods left me feeling very un-easy... I havent played any of them!
Seriously my familiarity with the PC Indie market extends to Torchlight, and that's not exactly recent

So Escapists (Is that correct?!) what would you recommend?
What have I been missing that I need to play?
Seriously I would greatly appreciate any input

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Bastion was amazing.

If Mount and Blade counts as indie, and I believe it does, it is also amazing.

 

[DazZ.]

Super Meat Boy for a 2d platformer based on trying to be immensely hard and take multiple times to get through a level then do it at speed.

Minecraft. 'Nuff said.

Terraria is not like Minecraft, much, worth looking at them both.

Frozen Synapse, it's a tactical turn based game that I describe as the tactical overlay of the first Ghost Recon and Rainbow 6 turned into a whole game. Very good.

That'll do for now, if you say a genre you like I'm sure I could hone in on something more your fancy. I've extensively followed PC indy games for a while as I was without a decent computer.

 

[Zantos]

'Splosion Man is good fun. It demonstrates how a single game mechanics can be so robust that it can allow for any number of different outcomes to a scenario and... to hell with it, it's a game where you platform by exploding. You can read deeper into it if you want but it's still fun to just muck about with.

Cthulhu Saves the World is really fun. It's a fairly standard old RPG with a few upgrades made to the gameplay, but it's a solidly designed game with funny characters and script. And it's like £2, with another game free. You can't argue with that.

 

[castlewise]

Bastion is super hot.
Spacechem is good for puzzle addicts.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH is a good trance/reaction/go really fast game.
Machinarium has great art and is good for point and click fans.
VVVVVVVV is a unique platformer with throwback graphics and music.

Edit: Added some more after looking at my list

BitTripBeat is like pong got mixed with Rez or something.
Braid is amazing, but has an (intentional) incomprehensible story
Cogs is another good puzzle game.
Defense Grid is a fun indie tower defense game (surprisingly good voice acting)
World of Goo is a really neat physics/puzzle game.
Super Meat Boy is an old school really hard platformer.


Pretty much all of these are good (or at least well known)

 

[Retronana]

VVVVV is immensely good, hard reset is technically an indie game and from what I've played of the demo it's absolutely awesome chaos, carnage and raw fun. Graphically it's top notch as well.

 

[Ross Gilligan]

I'm going to have to agree with some of the suggestions above.

Bastion is well worth the money and will definitely keep you entertained.

Terraria is far better than you'd expect after hearing it referred to as "2d Minecraft" (trust me, it's not and has it's own gameplay style, charm and fun).

And of course, Minecraft. I'm not sure how many hours I've sunk into this game, but looking at the hundreds of structures, contraptions and mines I've built (not to mention all the mods I've sampled) we're looking at all of the hours.

Get all three and you'll suddenly notice you've missed a few hours/days/years of your life.

 

[MightyRabbit]

Bastion as an action-game, Fate of the World for a strategic/intellectual challenge, Puzzle Agent for a puzzle game, Ben There, Dan That for point and click & The Stanley Parable for well, thought provoking use of narrative technique.

This really isn't a complete list, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet looks great but I haven't played it and the demo for And Yet it Moves was really interesting, if a bit frustrating.

 

[tzimize]

Bastion was amazing.

If Mount and Blade counts as indie, and I believe it does, it is also amazing.

First thing I thought of too. Bastion was great, fun gameplay, decent story and a fucking kickass atmosphere that rivals most AAA games.

Super Meat Boy is fantastic too if you like that kind of gameplay. The other suggestions are great too. I have 50+ hours invested in Terraria and VVVVVV is also great. There is lots to do OP, have fun!

 

[Caliostro]

Bastion seems like the current "it". I'll get it as soon as I have cash.

That said, depending on your particular cup of tea, other recent indie "hits" would include (in no particular order):

- Limbo
- And yet It Moves
- Braid
- Machinarium
- Terraria
- Minecraft
- Crayon Physics

 

[UnknownGunslinger]

Bastion is super hot.
Spacechem is good for puzzle addicts.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH is a good trance/reaction/go really fast game.
Machinarium has great art and is good for point and click fans.
VVVVVVVV is a unique platformer with throwback graphics and music.

Edit: Added some more after looking at my list

BitTripBeat is like pong got mixed with Rez or something.
Braid is amazing, but has an (intentional) incomprehensible story
Cogs is another good puzzle game.
Defense Grid is a fun indie tower defense game (surprisingly good voice acting)
World of Goo is a really neat physics/puzzle game.
Super Meat Boy is an old school really hard platformer.


Pretty much all of these are good (or at least well known)

Thanks, I appreciate the recommendations
It seems I've already played World of Goo and Machinarium
Guess I'm not so out of touch *sarcasm

 

[Illessa]

No one's mentioned Amnesia: The Dark Descent yet? Or indeed the Penumbras - which I think have better story than Amnesia, they're just not quite as utterly terrifying.

Aquaria is a lovely and evocative 2D adventure game

Ben There Dan That/Time Gentleman Please are classic point & click hilariousness and dirt cheap

Telltale are set on reviving point & click in the Lucas Arts vein with loads of episodic stuff - their Sam & Max revival starts decent and gets really good with the second season and Puzzle Agent is like someone mashed up Professor Layton, Twin Peaks and Fargo

Naturally, seconded on And Yet it Moves, Braid, Cogs, Magicka, Minecraft, Recettear, SpaceChem (OK, especially SpaceChem, sooooooooo addictive, particularly if you've got a programmer/maths geek mindset), Super Meat Boy, Terraria, VVVVVV...