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There is no objective list of “unmissable” indie games. These picks offer a starting point across distinct genres and moods: each has a clear hook, and several have recognition from a named awards body. Use genre and play style to find the best fit for you, then check regional platform availability before buying.
What are the best indie games to play?
These games are not ranked against one another. The selection favors a legible, distinctive premise and a useful point of entry for different tastes. Awards are included as context, not as a shared score: a juried category award and a user-voted PlayStation award reflect different processes.
| Game | Best fit | Distinctive hook | Recognition |
|---|---|---|---|
| And Roger — TearyHand Studio | Short, narrative-led play | An interactive novel told from the protagonist’s perspective, arranged in three chapters playable in about an hour, according to Taipei Game Show. | Grand Prix and Best Audio, Taipei Game Show 2026 Indie Game Awards. |
| BALL x PIT — Kenny Sun & Friends | Action and roguelite systems | Combines brick breaking and ball fusion with base building, survival, and roguelite progression. | Best Design, Taipei Game Show 2026 Indie Game Awards. |
| Aeruta — FromDawn Games | Action with management | Fight monsters for materials, bake bread, and help a town recover in a side-scrolling action game with shop management. | Best Visual Art, Taipei Game Show 2026 Indie Game Awards. |
| the Berlin Apartment — Blue Backpack | Narrative and historical stories | Stories connected to residents of one Berlin apartment building across different eras. | Best Narrative, Taipei Game Show 2026 Indie Game Awards. |
| INDIKA — Odd Meter | Atmospheric, unusual narrative action | Religious themes and world building set apart a game whose underlying third-person action structure is comparatively familiar. | Game Designers Award, 2025 Japan Game Awards, awarded by CESA. |
| Hollow Knight: Silksong — Team Cherry | Platforming and action | A notable pick for players drawn to platforming and action; the recognition below signals PlayStation audience enthusiasm, not a universal verdict. | Recognized in multiple categories, including the PlayStation 4 game category, in PlayStation Blog’s user-voted 2025 awards. |
Which indie games should you play?
For a brief, concentrated story: And Roger
Choose And Roger if you want a compact narrative experience rather than a long progression loop. Taipei Game Show describes its three-chapter interactive novel as playable in about an hour. The event’s 2026 Indie Game Awards named it both Grand Prix winner and Best Audio winner; those are the event’s awards, not a guarantee that every player will respond to the story or sound in the same way.
For layered action systems: BALL x PIT
BALL x PIT is the clearest fit here if you like a game loop that keeps adding systems. Its combination of brick breaking, fused balls, base building, survival, and roguelite progression gives it a broader pitch than a single-mechanic arcade game. Taipei Game Show awarded it Best Design in its 2026 Indie Game Awards.
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- Start your own cult in a land of false prophets
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For a mix of fighting and running a shop: Aeruta
Aeruta moves between side-scrolling combat and shop management: monster fights supply materials, which feed into making bread, while the town’s recovery gives those activities a larger purpose. Taipei Game Show’s 2026 Indie Game Awards selected it for Best Visual Art. Consider it if you enjoy alternating action and management rather than staying in one mode.
For connected stories across time: the Berlin Apartment
the Berlin Apartment centers its narrative on a shared place: a Berlin apartment building links residents’ stories from different eras. Taipei Game Show gave it Best Narrative at the 2026 Indie Game Awards. That recognition makes it a natural option for readers looking for story-first games, though the award itself does not establish whether its particular tone or structure will suit you.
For an unusual, atmospheric take on action: INDIKA
INDIKA may appeal if you want religious themes and atmosphere to shape a third-person action adventure. CESA named it the Game Designers Award winner at the 2025 Japan Game Awards, highlighting its religious themes, world building, and atmosphere despite a comparatively familiar action structure. CESA lists PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Windows, and Steam as platforms; that award-page list is not confirmation of current availability in every region or storefront.
For platforming and action: Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hollow Knight: Silksong received recognition in multiple categories in PlayStation Blog’s 2025 user-voted awards, including the PlayStation 4 game category. Treat that as a signal of enthusiasm among the awards’ participating PlayStation audience, rather than a universal ranking of indie games. PlayStation Blog reported nearly 1.5 million votes across its 19 award categories; that figure describes voting in Sony’s awards, not the indie-game market.
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How to interpret the awards and recommendations
- Event awards: Taipei Game Show’s 2026 Indie Game Awards recognized the four listed games in specific categories. These results offer a reason to look closer, but each category reflects that event’s own award process.
- Juried recognition: CESA’s 2025 Japan Game Awards named INDIKA the Game Designers Award winner. This is a distinct award, with its own scope and criteria.
- User voting: PlayStation Blog’s 2025 awards were decided by voters, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Manager of Content Communications, Gillen McAllister. The result represents those voters’ choices, not a critic panel or all players.
- Editorial recommendations: Genre guides such as PC Gamer’s current guide are editorial selections, useful for breadth across categories but not official award results.
For a wider genre sweep, PC Gamer’s guide is one editorial reference; its recommendations should be read as editorial judgment, separate from the named awards above. Because platform lineups and storefront availability can vary by region and change over time, confirm the current listing for your country and preferred system before purchasing.
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Best Value
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- Play 2 beloved and critically acclaimed masterpieces
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Choose by the experience you want
- Pick And Roger for a short, chaptered interactive novel.
- Pick BALL x PIT for a roguelite loop built from several interacting systems.
- Pick Aeruta for combat paired with baking and shop management.
- Pick the Berlin Apartment for stories linked by a place and its different eras.
- Pick INDIKA for religious themes, atmosphere, and third-person action.
- Consider Hollow Knight: Silksong if platforming and action appeal and you value its PlayStation audience recognition as one signal among many.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
