Good Indie Steam Games

[ksn0va]

Botanicula - It's from the makers of Machinarium and Samorost. It's pretty much a classic point-and-click adventure game but they do a lot of interesting and quirky stuff with the puzzles that's not just "click at this" and "combine this".

Dustforce - A 2d platform that encourages speed running through levels. this is pretty much what Sonic should've been, a game about speed and style.

Crayon Physics Deluxe - You have to draw the objects needed to solve puzzles. It has tons of levels and for the most part the physics of the boxes and ropes that you can create seem to behave properly.

Lone Survivor - If Silent Hill was in 2d, this game would be it.

Then there's the stuff everyone already knows like:
Limbo
Braid
Bastion
Sword & Sworcery
Super Meat Boy
Sideway: New York
World of Goo

 

[Tallim]

Another FTL vote here.

Lone Survivor is good
English Country Tune if you like puzzle games

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

Shank
An indie beat em up with an awesome, comic book art style. gets a bi repetive, but it has a nice amount of content for your money. Also, get Shank 2 if you can.

Bastion

Need I say more


Jamestown

Isometric shooter. Super fun and hard.

Cave Story

One of the mos popular indie games. Can get pretty challenging though. It reminds me of the Mother series, one of my favorite rpgs of all time.

 

[BENZOOKA]

SpaceChem. Excellent puzzle game.

Bastion.

 

[veloper]

Atom Zombie Smasher - original real-time tactical game

The Binding of Isaac - original and brutal mix of a rogue-like and a top down shooter

Capsized - 2D puzzle plaformer and shooter, remnicent of Abuse

Defense Grid - one of the most polished tower-defense games out there

FTL - mix of the rogue-like and real-time tactics, as you captain your own spaceship

Super Meat Boy - hard platformer with short levels that you'll retry many times

VVVVVV - fast-paced retro styled platformer with checkpoints everywhere(you'll need them)

 

[Razentsu]

You'll want to check out Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale. I don't think there's anything else quite like it.

 

[Lokoloshe]

Since it hasn't been mentioned, I'd recommend Trine. It's a fun puzzle platformer with a great visual style. Very pretty game.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

If you're into Tower Defense, look up Defense Grid: The Awakening. It's pretty fun. I've sank like 100+ hours into that game.

 

[DarklordKyo]

Sequence, a nice self-aware take on the typical RPG with a unique battle system (which can be well described as Dance Dance Revolution: The RPG).

Spoiler: This is a pretty good video on it

 

[Jimmy Sylvers]

All the Edmund McMillen games so that's

-Super meat boy
-Binding of Isaac
-Gish
-Basement collection

If you like Point and click get the Wadjet Eye games I have only played the 'Blackwell' series but they were great. Also look into the Animata games:

-Samarost 2
-Machinarium
-Botanicula

Trine and Trine 2 are really good, they are not hard but they are a lot of fun and quite pretty, the second one is a lot of fun with a friend or 2.

All the big 'indie' games: Braid, Limbo etc. A lot of the ones mentioned here already are great.

 

[viranimus]

None.

If its an indie game, it can usually be picked up out of indie bundles eventually, without DRM and without signing your rights away, especially now that the bundle sites have started making managing what you have bought easier via collections. Really there is no reason to use steam for indie games any more... Well unless you really like going out of your way to screw indie developers and other gamers.

 

[Corven]

Get Terraria, It's more akin to a randomly generated metroidvania exploration game than a minecraft clone. Sure there's some mining, and crafting, but there is also dungeon exploring, boss killing, loot to find, and the game gets ten times as interesting once you kill the wall of flesh boss in hell and switch the game to hard mode.

 

[00slash00]

based on games ive played...

terraria is a very fun and addicting game. not really similar to minecraft at all. you gather resources and build stuff, but its mostly so you can craft more powerful weapons and armor. really it has more in common with castlevania.

audiosurf and beat hazard are rhythm games without much purpose. you use your own music for the levels and they are basically just a fun way to kill like 20 minutes or so

super meatboy is hard but rewarding. it can be very frustrating but getting so watch every time you died in a level, all at once, is always entertaining

vvvvv is possibly even more frustrating but its also adorable. i wouldnt recommend this as much as i would super meatboy, but there just something so charming about this game

bastion is a solid hack and slash rpg. it has a decent story, not amazing but enough to keep things going and make you want to know how things will end. most people found the story to be fantastic and deeply moving. i wasnt one of those people but i still thought it was well written and very fun

 

[Baralak]

If you want a cool bullet hell/fighting game mashup, I have to recommend Acceleration of Suguri X. I don't think it's on Steam, but it's been in one of the indie bundles, and is really good!

 

[Bocaj2000]

Pyroblazer - a modern starfox style racing game with the feel of XG2

Lone Survivor - Silent Hill 2 if it was 16 bit

Killing Floor - try it during Christmas time when it's free; if you like it, buy it

Splice - Very atmospheric puzzle game that has no tutorial

Titan Quest - Torchlight sucks and Diablo III feels more like WoW. Titan Quest has the atmosphere of a Diablo game as well as a friendly community.

Soooooooo... yeah. Those are the five indie games I would recommend.

 

[Upbeat Zombie]

I don't play many Indie games.

But when I do I prefer Bastion. (It's amazing I would recommend everybody try it.)

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

To The Moon.
I'm saddened that only one person mentioned it, and only that they heard good things.
It is the best indie RPG I have ever played. Can't wait for the possible sequel.
It's a really emotional game. No combat/looting, but it is all story.
If you get one indie RPG on Steam, make sure it is To The Moon.
So good, I bought three spare copies to share around. Still have one left.