The best indie games to play in 2024 – so far!

As we reach the halfway point of 2024, one thing has become clear – indie games have punched well above their weight and delivered some of the best stories and gameplay thus far.

Without further ado, here is a taste of some of the best indies of the last six months. Spanning every genre, there’s sure to be something for everyone to play below.

We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

Palworld

Earning over 25 million players in just one month, Palworld’s breakout success earlier this year was undeniable. Nicknamed ‘Pokémon with guns’, the game blends mechanics from several popular IPs, including Fortnite, Minecraft, and, of course, from Pikachu and friends.

While the debate is still ongoing on whether Palworld is more a copycat than a tribute, it was the first instance of indie game domination. An upcoming expansion recently teased at Summer Game Fest shows that we can expect plenty more content for the foreseeable future.

Palworld is available to play on Xbox and PC.

Berserk Boy

Fans of Sonic and Mega Man rejoice! With Metroidvania elements throughout and vibrant pixel art, Berserk Boy reminds you of the power, magic and undeniable fun of high-speed, side-scrolling platformers.

Set in the futuristic New Hope City, where an evil scientist is trying to enslave humanity, you play as Kei. A rookie hero, he’s been mysteriously transformed by an Orb into the titular Berserk Boy. With the help of a magical bird known as Fiore, Kei tries to make sense of his expanding abilities and rise to the challenge of saving the world.

The gameplay is quick and slick, and you’ll always be looking for the next enemy to bounce off of, an ability to chain into your combo or a platform to dash to. And with music from Sonic Mania composer Tee Lopes setting the tone, expect the music you hear while playing to live long past your play session.

Berserk Boy is available to play on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Nintendo Switch.

Manor Lords

With over 1 million sales in just one day, Manor Lords is another example of the power of an indie idea. Set in the late 14th century, you are the titular Lord of the Manor, complete with your own coat of arms. Your aim is to plan, create and manage a medieval settlement, all the while building up an army to conquer the region and dethrone rival lords.

To do this, you’ll harvest nearby resources and use them to expand your infrastructure. This leads to more villagers interested in joining your settlement, more building options, and more technology to research. But like any great city-builder, Manor Lords throws a series of dramatic decisions your way.

You’ll always need to address your villagers’ happiness, manage resources, and organise expansion. A blend of real-time strategy, where raiders can take sights upon your settlement, forces you to invest and upgrade your military. Altogether, Manor Lords takes the best out of the genre, providing impressive realism and a plethora of strategies that will sate the appetite of any aspiring medieval mayor.

Manor Lords is available to play on Xbox and PC.

Balatro

Balatro is a roguelike card game that reinvents poker in a new, exciting and utterly addictive way. You’re given a hand of cards, and each turn must play your best hand to earn as many points as possible. Sound simple enough?

But then, the roguelike elements creep out, as between rounds you must upgrade your deck. This includes buying simple bonuses like score multipliers, adding more cards to your hands, and more. Joker and tarot cards can quite literally bend the game’s rules, adding a unique twist to every run you start.

But no matter what kind of unique deck you’re sculpting, the objective will always be the same: try and beat the round’s score targets as quickly as you can. It’s in this way that Balatro is not only fun and unpredictable, but incredibly competitive – as you search and search for better ways to raise your score and beat your target in as few moves as possible.

Balatro is available to play on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Nintendo Switch.

Crow Country

With its signature polygon graphics and old-school horror vibes, Crow Country looks and feels like it was made in the PS1 era. With classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill vibes found throughout it is the perfect dose of nostalgia – but with a distinctly modern twist.

You play as special agent Mara Forest, who is set on exploring an abandoned theme park closed over unusual circumstances. With a gun in hand, you’ll venture deeper into the park’s labyrinth, meeting all sorts of grotesque creatures and uncovering the park’s dark secrets along the way.

With two game modes, survival and exploration, gamers of varying degrees of courage can still enjoy what the game has to offer – without the added fear of combat. The abandoned theme is home to a library of environments that beg for investigation. This game radiates charm, where every nook and cranny you explore is a horrifying delight.

Crow Country is available to play on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Hypercharge: Unboxed

Hypercharge: Unboxed is a first and third-person shooter in which animated toys engage in an all-out war with each other. Recently released on the Xbox platform, the game has enjoyed a surge of attention.

It’s a blend of Toy Story meets Call of Duty, with no blood or gore but tonnes and tonnes of mayhem. From the offset, you’ll grab your weapons, set traps, and build defences to protect objectives from waves of incoming hostile toys. Environments like toy shops and playgrounds are full of charm and whimsy and offer the perfect backdrop to the plastic carnage about to unfold.

A full-story campaign, multiplayer and competitive PVP offer a little something for everyone – though arguably the most fun is in the multiplayer. So recruit three friends and break out of your box for this inviting shooter full of potential.

Hypercharge: Unboxed is available to play on Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Animal Well

Animal Well is a pixelated action-exploration game that is as fun to play as it is beautiful to look at. You start your adventure as a blob-like creature down in a well. With limited jumping abilities, you must use your environment cleverly to manoeuvre around and explore.

What do you need to do? Well, that’s for you to find out. Animal Well is a game that does not hold your hand. It forces you to problem-solve and experiment with the network of biomes around you to advance.

From a firecracker that wards off ghosts to a yo-yo that can trigger distant switches, you’ll unlock new abilities and items that urge you to revisit zones and search for answers. All the while, haunting music plays in the background, upping the atmosphere. Needless to say, this is a well that you will gladly get lost in.

Animal Well is available to play on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Paper Trail

Paper Trail is a dynamic puzzle game set in a gorgeous origami-style world. You control Paige, a young woman with the ability to fold time and space. Her quest to go to university seems simple enough, at least initially.

To progress, players will brainstorm and literally fold levels to create new paths for Paige to walk across. In true puzzle fashion, the game introduces new mechanics and problems to keep your brain active and test your patience, creativity and ingenuity.

But along the way, you’ll soon discover that Paige has a tragic past that slowly comes to the surface. Couple this with beautiful watercolour environments, enchanting music, and Paper Trailer feels almost like a living, breathing piece of interactive artwork.

Paper Trail is available to play on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Apple and Android devices.

Little Kitty, Big City

No indie roundup would be complete without the cosy cute factor, and in this sense, Little Kitty, Big City has you covered. You play as an adorable, curious cat that travels throughout a city to find their way back home.

But this is a journey you’re in no rush to finish. In true feline fashion, you’ll cause a bit of mischief to the city folk nearby throughout your adventure. You’ll also make friends with various other city animals, each of whom gives you quests to complete and puzzles to solve. Couple that with a huge list of achievements, collectables and charming animation, and this low-stakes indie game is the perfect way to unwind.

Little Kitty, Big City is available to play on Nintendo Switch, Xbox X/s, and PC.