Indie Arcade #1: Indie Games Every Steam User Should Own

Are you tired of waiting months at a time for the “good” games to release on the consoles? Are you sick of shelling out 60 bills just to play a game for two weeks that you’ll trade-in for only $20 in store credit? Are you done being asked if you want to reserve the same game that came out last year (I’m looking at you, Madden)? Look no further, fellow gamers, for I have the solution. You’ve likely heard about how big the indie game scene is becoming over the past couple of years, and while you’ve wanted to get into some of those games, you still don’t know where to begin. Fear not, for I am here to tell you all about the best indie games around.

Note: I may or may not have accidentally picked some of the most aggravating indie games this week.

Sorry about that.

VVVVVV

If you’re a fan of those classic side-scrolling 8-bit NES games a la Zelda or Megaman, and you enjoy chiptune music similar to Anamanaguchi, VVVVVV (that’s 6 “V”s and yes, that’s actually the name of the game) is the game for you. It’s a relatively straightforward story about a spaceship captain whose ship gets stuck in another dimension, and it’s up to you to navigate some crazy timing-sensitive puzzles by reversing gravity to find his crew and return home in one piece. It may look easy at first, but the difficulty ramps up, and many of the shiny trinkets you can find on the way will leave you headbutting your keyboard in agony. You can pick it up on Steam today for only $4.99.

Awesomenauts

Imagine a 3v3 version of Megaman X with a tower-defense premise similar to that of League of Legends, except this game has a really badass theme song and animated intro movie when you boot the game. Awesomenauts is that fun pick-up-and-play MMO you’ve been looking for that doesn’t involve grinding a bipedal cow to level 85, and the character designs are better. It’s incredibly easy to learn and follow, and it also supports local multiplayer. Jump into a match with one of 12 different characters (and more on the way) and have a blast. It’s fun, it’s addicting, and it’s only $9.99 on Steam. (Also available on Xbox Live Arcade)

Super Hexagon

All I can say about this game is that not only is it harder than it looks, but it might make you want to punch a few walls. Super Hexagon is, by far, one of the hardest, most addicting games I have ever played. Very simply, you move a small arrow around the outside of a spinning hexagon while trying to avoid the walls moving toward the center of the screen. Sounds easy? It speeds up after a few seconds and gets harder over time. The ultimate goal is to survive for 60 seconds, but I can guarantee it might take longer to do this than you’d think. Catch Super Hexagon on Steam for the low, low price of just $2.99. (Also available on iOS, Android, and Blackberry)

The Binding of Isaac

The Binding of Isaac is like combining the dungeon randomization of Diablo with a puzzle-less version of the dungeons from the first Legend of Zelda and adding more than double the power-up and item variety than your average Super Mario game. The game is simple and easy to pick up, yet addicting, and my 58 hours of gameplay are a testament to how mind-numbing it can be to get 5 floors in and lose to those damn teleporting babies, but still show just how enjoyable the game can be. For just $4.99 on Steam, you can experience one of the best, most addicting games I have ever played.



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