Recommended Indie(ish) or 'novel (for novelties sake)' games to buy?

[Cooper42]

So I'm looking to buy a couple of new games to tide me over until Clear Skies.

I've bought few games this year, and instead been immersed in that weird world of 'indie games' (whatever that means). Playing a whole host (mostly free) of excellent indie games out there (Cave Story / Wesnoth / Defcon / Knytt etc.). I generally like games which tend to do something new/different, whether in gameplay or aesthetics, even if it's not that well executed, and even if it's just for the sake of it. Or that take very old concepts and just do them very well (iwtbtg...)

I've been considering the Space Rangers 2 game - but with a half-hour demo, I've got no idea of what the game is actually like? I hear good things - mostly as a 'game for game fans' - anyone else played it?

Also, anyone played Immortal Defence - I enjoyed the demo, but am not sure if the gameplay could encompass a whole game?

Strange adventures in infinte space - I keep hearing about this?
I'm looking forward to Noitu Love 2

I'm not too fussy about the genre - except for adventure games - which are fine if they make sense, but I don;t like that whole 'try everything in your inventory with every pixel on the screen in order to fathom the internal logic of the game' and games which are overly strategic (unless they're pretty a la Wesnoth)

Any other recommendations?

(yay for more lists)
Also - if it's free and been on anything like Tigsource / Play this thing - chances are I've played it the past few months - but feel free to recommend anyway...

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Killer 7 is very interesting to play.

 

[Janus Vesta]

Phun is pretty fun. It's a 2D physics based sanbox game. And it's free. Here's a download link if you want to try it. ''A good time eater, 5/5' Janus Vesta' -Janus Vesta

http://phun.cs.umu.se/wiki/Download

 

[yonsito]

Aquaria is pretty neat. It does get old after a while but it's beautifully done.
Also, if you haven't already tried Puzzle Quest you probably should (don't know whether it's indie or not).

 

[Melaisis]

Peggle is indie(ish).

Hell, that'll tide you over until STALKER IV comes out.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

If it's aesthetics you are after, look no further than Rez.

 

[VikingRhetoric]

What the hell does indie mean?

 

[Easykill]

Independent, but it has more meaning than that I believe.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

You've already got Audiosurf I'm assuming?

'Immortal Defense' gets more interesting as the game goes. Some campaigns have multiple warp paths, the warp paths start changing colors and affecting how fast ships travel on them, and the units get a lot trickier to handle. The gameplay had me hooked like crack all the way to the end and the plot was brilliant.

http://studioeres.com/immortal/

'Strange Adventures in Infinte Space' um, it's basically if Star Control 2 and Solitaire had a baby and then fed it a lot of RPG elements. Try the demo. I still play it when I need to kill ten to fifteen minutes.

www.shrapnelgames.com/digital_eel/Weird_worlds/1.htm

Someone already said Aquaria...

These are some of the best indie adventure games on the web. They all have demos and the writer generally uses dialogue puzzles rather than inventory screwing around.

http://s238485241.onlinehome.us/

This game is fun if you like incredible, incredible, amounts of pain.

http://kayin.pyoko.org/iwbtg/

 

[Strafe Mcgee]

Indie gaming you say? Look no further than the introversion back catalogue! I'm a little surprised that no-one's mentioned these yet, so here's the link. http://www.introversion.co.uk/

Uplink and Defcon are both fantastic games that I love to bits. Uplink is basically Elite with computers and hacking instead of spaceships and trading. You sell your services as a hacker to change qualifications, create bank transfers illegally to your own account, fire people from jobs... and many more seedy and vastly entertaining things. Defcon on the other hand is a dark strategy game that's based around launching nukes at your opponent's cities and trying to wipe out his population before he does the same to you... Top stuff.

Darwinia, their most well known game, has been lauded as the best of the bunch, but it's not to my taste. Many others have played it and love it so despite my opinion it's well worth a try too. All the games are dead cheap too

 

[Batadon]

Try La-Mulana. Freeware like Cave Story, It's a Castletroid set to "bullet-hell" levels of cry. It looks like an old 1980s game, but the area to explore is easily twice the size of the SNES's Super Metroid...

 

[Cooper42]

I haven't got Audiosurf yet. The campus blocks steam even for us postgrads. My friend has it, and I've spent a good while playing the 2 player format with her the past few days. I'll be getting it the day I move out in September...

I'll pick up Immortal Defense this weekend. I loved the demo, but was just unsure the gameplay could hold a whole game.

The Aquaria demo /looks/ very pretty. I'm gonna see how I get on with playing it.

La-Mulana looks great, thanks for the tip.

@Strafe: I've been playing Introversion games since I borrowed my mate's copy of Uplink about 3 years ago. Been hooked since. Defcon, Darwinia and Uplink have collectively swallowed more of my time than any other games developer since Bullfrog... I especially love the strategy of Defcon - even though I generally dislike RTS games, Defcon is something different - especially as the various tactics seem to constantly shift and change.

 

[knumpify]

a really good strategy freeware game is 12-13, the graphics look a little dated but it runs smoothly and it plays well.

 

[Mr_Cynical]

Indie gaming you say? Look no further than the introversion back catalogue! I'm a little surprised that no-one's mentioned these yet, so here's the link. http://www.introversion.co.uk/

Uplink and Defcon are both fantastic games that I love to bits. Uplink is basically Elite with computers and hacking instead of spaceships and trading. You sell your services as a hacker to change qualifications, create bank transfers illegally to your own account, fire people from jobs... and many more seedy and vastly entertaining things. Defcon on the other hand is a dark strategy game that's based around launching nukes at your opponent's cities and trying to wipe out his population before he does the same to you... Top stuff.

Darwinia, their most well known game, has been lauded as the best of the bunch, but it's not to my taste. Many others have played it and love it so despite my opinion it's well worth a try too. All the games are dead cheap too

I second this recommendation! I literally lost 2 months of life to Uplink, it's horrendously addictive.

 

[Lord Krunk]

"The White Chamber." If you like a good scare. Its a free game, so you can just type it into Google and download it.

 

[antman877]

"Ballistic Wars" is pretty fun for a day. It's browser based and pretty short, BUT its a pretty interesting idea. Kinda Advanced Wars meets Marbles. I'd say it is worth a quick look at least

http://jayisgames.com/archives/2007/12/ballistic_wars.php

 

[CommanderCool]

Cortex Command. Pixel physics warfare at its finest.
http://www.datarealms.com/

 

[Kiytan]

well, its free. but hammerfall is well worth trying. DAMN that game is addictive, sadly there is no full version as yet to buy (there are ways to remove the timer however - in the comments in the link search for M_roots to find it)
http://www.fun-motion.com/physics-games/hammerfall/

Toribash will eat up a while also if you haven't played it. (again free). To sum it up its a physics based way of beating people up, like say...wrenching off you arm and beating someone to death with it, all hail the power of physics.

 

[Sylocat]

If you want a really novel game, try Kafkamêsto [http://www.abc.net.au/gameon/kafkamesto/]. It's a free casual game, and it's... well, let's just say you won't forget it anytime soon. ^_^;

 

[bulletproof12]

i have heard good things about dwarf fortress, (its free) but due to the fact i have a laptop with no number pad it makes scrolling around in the game to much damn work for me to bother.