Indie games have made their presence known in recent years. Just because indie studios don’t have the large teams or financial backing of their triple-A counterparts doesn’t mean they can’t deliver some of the best games you play each year. If you own an Xbox Series X or S, you are definitely capable of getting your fill of the best indie games. Here are the indie titles you should definitely consider playing on Xbox Series X and S.
Related: The 10 best Xbox One exclusive games worth playing
The best indie games on Xbox Series X
Among Us
Among Us started out as an unknown title for a while until the 2020 pandemic hit. Once streamers got their hands on the game and started having fun with it, the game exploded in popularity. Now you can enjoy the game on your Xbox, PC, or mobile phone as you play with friends and randoms and try to figure out who the Impostor is cutting down the Crewmates. With the right people, this game is still a blast to play today and receives good updates for as small of a team that works on it.
Celeste
Celeste is one of the best 2D platformers you will ever play. You play as Madeline, a girl struggling with anxiety as she tries to climb Mount Celeste. As she goes, you see her make new friends and work to move past those problems. It’s a touching story about overcoming your inner demons and how the long trek to getting to a healthy state of mind can be like climbing a perilous mountain. The game is tough, but includes a bunch of accessibility options to aid you along the way and has an amazing soundtrack worth listening to outside of playing it.
Cuphead
Cuphead is a tough as nails game that is best recognizable for its 1930s hand-drawn cartoon style. If you grew up loving classic Mickey Mouse cartoons, you will enjoy the aesthetic at play here aided by some jumpy jazz music. The game will test your mettle along the way, with ultra challenging boss fights and side-scrolling levels, but each death feels fair and motivates you to keep trying to be better. It will challenge you, but overcoming it is a great feeling.
Death’s Door
Death’s Door is an action-adventure game where you play as a small crow, otherwise known as a Reaper. Your job is to collect souls from creatures who are living too long and avoiding their final fate. For some reason, Death himself has been missing and people are no longer dying, so you will work to find out the reasoning behind his disappearance and combat the forces clinging to life. This game can best be compared to a combination of The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls. It has challenging combat and promotes exploration regularly, but the gameplay and movement always feels good.
Hades
In Hades, you play as Zagreus, the son of the God of the Underworld, as he fights to make his way to Mt. Olympus to be with the other gods. Hades doesn’t want his son to leave, so you will be put through constant trials where you go up against challenging bosses and endless rooms of enemies. When you die, you start all the way at the beginning and have to work your way to the top with upgrades you earn on each run. This is one of the better roguelike games you will come across and can easily steal hours of your time with its challenging combat and good feeling movement.
Inside
Inside is made by PlayDead, the same people that made Limbo, another indie darling from the Xbox 360 days. Here, you play as a small boy as he ventures his way through perilous environments and overcomes puzzles in those areas. It is challenging to exactly explain Inside without spoiling the ending, so all we can say is the items you interact with in this game are always fun and if you are looking for a dark, gloomy game, this is one of the best choices you can make.
Ori and the Blind Forest/Ori and the Will of the Wisps
While both of the Ori games were published by Microsoft, the developer, Moon Studios, is a small indie company. The Blind Forest and Will of the Wisps are two of the best Metroidvania games you will ever come across. The art style is gorgeous, the music is absolutely beautiful at all times, and the story is heartbreaking from start to finish. Will of the Wisps has better combat, but we can not recommend going into it without playing its predecessor first and getting the full experience.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is an RPG focused on living the country life on a farm near a small town. It was developed by one person and has over time become one of the most popular indie games ever made. You start out by rebuilding your grandparent’s farm, but along the way you forge relationships with nearby villagers and can start a family and do many other activities. There is no shortage of things to do in this game, causing many people to invest so many hours of absolute bliss into the game.
Untitled Goose Game
Untitled Goose Game is a simple game where you play as a goose who begins terrorizing the people it encounters in the surrounding area. You are given a checklist of ways to ruin the day for the humans you encounter. Some of these items include causing a gardener to hammer their thumb, stealing a scared boy’s glasses, and breaking things. Being an absolute jerk to these people is a lot of fun and the game is super calm and relaxing while you play.
Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors is the perfect game to play when you are listening to a podcast or doing something else that doesn’t require your full attention. You select a character and have to try to survive an endless array of enemies for 30 minutes. Along the way, you level yourself up and get new weapons that can be upgraded and turn yourself into an unstoppable machine. There are tons of unlocks to take advantage of along the way, so there is room to explore if you want to. The game is addicting and can have you constantly coming back for more.
