We are truly in a golden age of indie games. While there are still several AAA franchises topping sales charts on release, many of the most viral games of the last decade have come from small development houses. But those games would not get off the ground without the help of a strong publisher.
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In that space, one name has helped bring hit after hit to life. Looking at some of the most beloved and successful indie titles of the last 10 years, Devolver Digital has found big wins across a wide array of genres. If you’re looking for a unique, fun indie experience, it’s tough to go wrong with a game that has that Devolver Digital logo attached to it.
Updated by Stefania Ikeda-Stavridi on March 15, 2024: We have updated the list by adding five more great titles to check out, as well as, new information on past entries.
15 Loop Hero
An Innovative Gameplay Loop
- Endless replayability, with no two playthroughs ever being the same.
- Vast and immersive lore to be discovered.
Loop Hero offers a unique blend of deckbuilding and roguelike gameplay, perfect for fans of both genres. Its excellent soundtrack, available for separate purchase, adds to the immersive experience. However, some players express disappointment with the lack of content, finding the lore exhausted after 15 hours.
Despite this, the game remains addictive, providing around 20-30 hours of enjoyment. It's meta-progression and satisfying map-building mechanics make it a standout roguelike. While it can feel grindy at times, Loop Hero offers enough substance to keep players engaged, making it a worthwhile addition to any gaming library.
- Released
- March 4, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Four Quarters
See at SteamSee at Amazon
14 Carrion
Take On The Role Of The Monster
- Play the villain seeking revenge.
- Stealth, strategy, and environmental destruction.
Carrion delivers an exceptional sci-fi horror experience, allowing you to embody the villain seeking revenge in a gore-filled adventure. Its great soundtrack adds to the atmospheric immersion. While the game's six-hour length may disappoint some, its smooth gameplay and engaging abilities make every moment enjoyable.
The art style is visually pleasing, and the game introduces enough movement and puzzle mechanics to keep things fresh without overwhelming players. Carrion's focused approach to storytelling and gameplay is commendable, with playtesting ensuring a polished and seamless experience. Despite its lack of a map, Carrion's pacing, music, and animation make it a must-play indie gem.
Carrion
- Released
- July 23, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Phobia Studios
13 The Messenger
Fast-Paced Ninja-Action
- Time-traveling mechanics.
- Challenging boss-battles accompanied by a catchy soundtrack.
The Messenger offers a retro platformer experience with Metroidvania elements and pixel art aesthetics. Players embark on a ninja's journey through a cursed world, delivering a vital scroll to save their clan. Dynamic gameplay and tight controls make for an epic adventure, with character upgrades, hidden levels, and branching paths to discover.
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The game features meticulously designed animations, accompanied by a memorable soundtrack. While the Metroidvania elements may not resonate with all players, The Messenger delivers entertaining gameplay and humorous dialogue. Despite some difficulty spikes and progression challenges, it remains a fun and engaging experience overall, blending classic and modern platforming elements seamlessly.
The Messenger
- Released
- August 30, 2018
- Developer(s)
- Sabotage
12 Wizard With A Gun
Unique Sandbox Survival Adventure
- Play alone or with a friend.
- Endless replayability with procedurally generated environments.
Wizard With A Gun is an online sandbox survival game offering cooperative play in a magical wilderness. While fun with a friend, it lacks depth and suffers from inventory management issues. The two-player limit feels restrictive, and the game's easy difficulty may disappoint.
Despite intriguing story ideas and weapon synergies, it feels incomplete, with unresolved story elements and cosmetic-focused base items. However, frequent updates promise improvements, making it worth keeping an eye on for future content. Additionally, its immersive art and captivating soundtrack enhance the overall experience. Overall, it's an enjoyable experience with growth potential.
- Released
- October 17, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Galvanic Games
11 Downwell
Vertical Roguelike Action
- Permadeath mechanics adding tension and excitement.
- Fast-paced action perfect for quick gaming sessions.
Downwell is an awesome vertical roguelike action game, offering fast-paced action perfect for quick gaming sessions. Despite its challenging difficulty and lack of healing options, its well-designed mechanics, enjoyable style, and satisfying controls make it worth trying.
With its low price and rewarding gameplay, it provides hours of fun, especially for fans of brutally difficult, classic arcade-style games. The clean art style and variety of palettes add to the overall appeal. Overall, Downwell offers a challenging but rewarding experience that's definitely worth a try for its price.
Downwell
- Released
- October 15, 2015
- Developer
- Moppin
10 Hatoful Boyfriend
The One And Only Pigeon Dating Sim
- A hilarious dating simulator, where all the targets are pigeons.
- Unique concept with surprising depth.
Originally garnering some notoriety in Japan, it was the 2014 international remake release that brought Hatoful Boyfriend to a broader audience. The game became an instant YouTube sensation thanks to its truly off-the-wall premise.
Hatoful Boyfriend is a visual novel experience where you play as the only human attending a school for sentient birds. Dubbed “the pigeon dating simulator” by the general gaming public, Hatoful Boyfriend stands out in a genre crowded with anime waifus and husbandos, very few of which are birds.
Hatoful Boyfriend
- Released
- August 14, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Hato Moa , MIST[PSI]PRESS
9 Katana Zero
Colourful Fast-Paced Action With An Addictive Soundtrack
- Fast-paced action with a visually stunning cyberpunk aesthetic.
- An immersive soundtrack.
Released in 2019 and developed by solo designer Justin Stander, Katana Zero is a fast-paced 2D platformer with crazy movement and satisfying combat. The goal of the game is to traverse each level destroying enemies without being hit a single time. To do this, the player has a variety of movement options as well as time manipulation abilities.
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Katana Zero was a breakout success, reaching over 500,000 copies sold in under a year. While its story received a divisive reception, Katana Zero remains a fun, classic action game accompanied by a great soundtrack. Its only true drawback is that it can be completed in just five hours, leaving you wanting more.
Katana ZERO
- Released
- April 18, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Askiisoft
8 Gris
Aesthetically Pleasing Emotional Journey
- An emotional journey all about grief and personal growth.
- Beautifully composed music and stunning hand-drawn visuals.
With gorgeous visuals and a high-concept story, Gris is a unique adventure game experience. Developed by Spanish team Nomada Studio, the game follows a young girl named Gris traversing a strange and fantastical world. She works to restore color to the world while avoiding strange ink-like monsters who try to consume her.
It’s a beautiful story full of engaging music, offering a captivating escape for players seeking a respite from reality themselves. The experience was well-received by audiences, allowing Gris to surpass 1 million copies sold and earning re-releases on modern consoles in 2022.
GRIS
- Developer(s)
- Nomada Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Devolver Digital
7 Hotline Miami
Neon-Filled Brutality
- Pixel art design with a retro aesthetic of the 80s.
- Brutal and fast-paced combat.
A critical darling for its off-the-wall story and tight gameplay, Hotline Miami is an all-time indie classic. The game is a top-down shooter set in Miami in the late 80s, starring a silent protagonist who the community would eventually refer to as “Jacket.” He’ll need to defeat enemies and collect their weapons in order to clear each level and defeat the boss.
The game is especially known for its high lethality. Where most games give the hero extra stats to survive waves of enemies, Jacket is just as brittle as his foes. The game's intriguing and cryptic storyline, coupled with mesmerizing neon-filled art, make it a true gem. The difficulty only adds to its appeal.
Hotline Miami
- Released
- October 23, 2012
- Developer(s)
- Dennaton Games
See at Amazon
6 Cult Of The Lamb
Adorable Cult Management Adventure
- Adorable yet dark aesthetic.
- Unique blend of civilization builder and dungeon-crawling elements.
Cute and creepy should not work this well together, and yet Cult of the Lamb is an adorable experience brimming with darkness. This Roguelike civilization builder focuses on a possessed little lamb who has been charged with building up a cult to appease its deity.
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The randomly generated world is full of enemies to slay and potential followers to recruit. The Lamb and its followers will need to gather resources, build new structures, and perform various other tasks to grow the cult — all while preventing the flock from turning against their new god.
Cult of the Lamb
- Released
- August 11, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Massive Monster
See at Official SiteSee at Amazon
5 Death’s Door
An Adorable Crow's Hack & Slash Adventure
- Unique concept of a bird grim reaper chasing a mysterious door.
- Souls-like game with an approachable difficulty.
Dark Souls meets Super Metroid in this quirky story about a bird grim reaper trying to open a big door. Death's Door combines Metroidvania-style exploration with the punishing combat of a Souls-like to produce a unique challenge that rewards attentiveness and persistence. Plus the bird is really cute.
A follow-up to developer Acid Nerve’s Titan Souls, Death’s Door was well received upon release due to its quirky tone, eye-catching art style, and challenging yet approachable combat. The music is also something you don't want to miss, while nothing revolutionary, it is quite immersive.
Death's Door
- Released
- July 20, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Acid Nerve
4 Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Wholesome And Colorful Battle Royale
- Free-to-play battle royale with accessible gameplay.
- Constant updates, seasons, and events.
The game that took over Twitch in late 2020, Fall Guys is perhaps the wackiest entry in the battle royale genre. Players control an odd little bean creature who has to traverse Wipeout-style obstacle courses while racing against 59 other beans. The game's accessibility is one of its strongest suits, thanks to easy controls, an adorable and colorful art style, and its transition to a free-to-play model, making it a great title for gamers of all ages.
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While it was originally published by Devolver, Fall Guys’ massive success led to its developer Mediatonic’s acquisition by Epic Games, who also obtained the publishing rights. Following the acquisition, Fall Guys would move to a free-to-play model, which helped boost its player base to over 50 million.
Fall Guys
- Released
- August 4, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Mediatonic
3 Enter The Gungeon
Rogue-like Bullet Hell
- Challenging and action-packed gameplay with a dose of humor.
- Skill improvement is essential for advancing in the game.
Considered one of the all-time greats in the Roguelike space, Enter the Gungeon is a top-down bullet hell from the small team at Dodge Roll. The player controls a Gungeoneer who needs to conquer the titular Gungeon, defeating its bullet-shaped monsters to acquire the gun that can kill the past.
Like most true Rouguelikes, Gungeon has a punishing difficulty curve that erases all progress on death. While new potential weapons can be unlocked between runs, the player does not keep their progress.
Enter the Gungeon
- Released
- April 5, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Dodge Roll
See at Official SiteSee at Amazon
2 The Talos Principle
Thought-Provoking Puzzle Adventure
- Immersive environments inspired by ancient ruins and futuristic technology.
- Rich and intricate narrative with challenging puzzles.
A breakout hit in the puzzle genre, The Talos Principle exploded onto the scene in 2014. The player controls a seemingly autonomous robot exploring a gorgeous 3D world with a variety of unique environments. Players will need to solve more than 120 puzzles, collecting sigils to access more of the world.
Throughout the adventure, players can discover computer terminals and audio recordings that further the game’s narrative. A DLC pack called Road to Gehenna was released the following year to expand the story and add even more challenging puzzles.
The Talos Principle
- Released
- December 11, 2014
- Developer(s)
- Croteam
See at Amazon
1 Inscryption
Breaking The Fourth Wall Through Innovative Deck-Building
- Immersive narrative full of unexpected twists.
- Horror, puzzles, and deck-building blend seamlessly together.
It’s difficult to talk about Inscryption much beyond vague praise without spoiling the experience in some way. While nominally a deckbuilder Roguelite with a dark, creepy aesthetic, Inscryption is an experience that combines deckbuilder elements with classic adventure game mechanics to tell a truly unique story.
The gameplay in the card battles is surprisingly tight and unique for a fairly crowded genre, but there is so much to the experience of playing Inscryption that it simply must be played with an open mind.
Inscryption
- Released
- October 19, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Daniel Mullins Games
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