5 Indie Games that Rocked the Gaming World in 2019

Remember Getting Over It, the game that people went, quite literally, crazy for in 2017 and 2018? It was played by over 2.7 million players and won the Independent Games Festival Competition Awards’ Nuovo Award. It was just as popular, if not more, as many AAA titles released alongside it, and was a lesser game by no means.

In contrast, it was created by a single guy — Bennett Foddy. Indie developers take risks to make advancements that big developers simply can’t. Their games fill a market gap and, best of all, they’re cheap as heck.

If that’s not enough to show you the impact of indie games on the gaming industry, you can look at other indie games like Cuphead, Celeste, and Outer Wilds. But which are the indie games that swept us off our feet in 2019? Let’s take a look.

Celeste

Towerfall developer Matt Makes Games is back with a deceptively simple puzzle-platformer called Celeste. You play a young girl called Madeline on the journey to reach the top of the titular Celeste Mountain. But along the way, we gradually learn about her emotional troubles and meet a colourful cast of characters she meets.

The game is filled with hundreds of creative levels which you’ll need to tackle using the simple-yet-deep jumping mechanics. The hazards thrown in your way will get harder as you play but will keep the whole experience fresh and exciting. The game also features tons of collectables and multiple B-side levels to unlock. You can play Celeste on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.

Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is a role-playing game presented in isometric perspective in which the player character is controlled. It features an open world and dialogue-heavy gameplay mechanics and has no combat, at least in the traditional sense. Instead, the challenge is presented in terms of dialogue trees and skill checks.

You play a detective on a murder case who suffers from alcohol-induced amnesia in a fictional city of Revachol in the island chain of Insulinde, and specifically in the Martinaise district which is plagued by corruption, crime, and poverty. Your aim is both solve the murder case as well as help your character rediscover his identity by filling in the holes in his memory.

The game won the awards for the Best Narrative, Best Independent Game, Best Role-Playing Game, and Fresh Indie Game at The Game Awards 2019. You can play Disco Elysium on Xbox One, PS4, and Microsoft Windows.

Gris

If you’re looking to have a visual experience playing a game like no other, Gris should be your choice. After all, it won the Best Visual Art award at the Game Developers Choice Awards, Best Visual Design at the 2019 Webby Awards, Best Gameplay at the Games for Change Awards, and the Games for Impact award at The Game Awards 2019. Gris is a platform-adventure game by Spanish indie developer Nomada Studio.

You play a girl named Gris, a young girl who awakens after falling from grace, in a world devoid of colour. Your main objective is to restore colour to your world through exploration and light puzzle platforming. You can pick up Gris on Windows, Switch, PS4, macOS and even on iOS, so you may just be able to use the PayByMobile option whose payment is directly added on the mobile bill.

Baba is You

Baba is You is a puzzle video game released originally for PC and Switch and created by Finnish indie developer Hempuli. The main focus of the game is the manipulation of “rules” to reach a specified goad. The rules themselves are represented by tiles with words written on them.

Baba is You contains over 200 levels where you control a character known as Baba. The rule tiles can correspond to various types of objects and obstacles on the field like goal flags, walls, environmental hazards, Baba itself, and other creatures. The game was nominated for the Best Independent Game and the Best Indie Game at The Game Awards 2019 and Golden joystick Awards respectively. It won the “Best Student Game” and “Excellence in Design” at the 2018 IGF Awards.

Untitled Goose Game

Let’s get the main question out of the way — why is this game called the “Untitled Goose Game”? The developers had to make a last-minute decision on their game’s title as an entry for a games festival. The name stuck since then. It’s a puzzle-stealth game developed by House House and available on Windows, macOS, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

In the game, you control a goose that bothers the inhabitants of an English village. You’ll have to use the goose’s abilities to manipulate objects and NPCs to complete objectives and make progress in the game. The game received positive reviews and a lot of praise for its gameplay and humour. And if didn’t already know, it became quite a popular Internet meme.