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Many indie games are known to craft great, emotional stories with huge shock values. Here are the best emotional indie games for you to play.
With a unique way to convey a story to the audience, indie games can deliver heartfelt and emotional stories that may hit close to home. These passionate developers craft their stories with love and show what is possible even with budget constraints.
Whether it’s a journey of grief, exploring the themes of isolation, or coming to terms with yourself, this genre knows no boundaries with creativity. If you’re looking for indie games that may hit you with a reality check, you’re at the right place. Here are the five best emotional indie games you can play.
1) Until Then
A simple coming-of-age story that seems extremely normal at first sight, but as the supernatural elements slightly reveal themselves, all things turn into pure hell for everyone.
Until Then is a wholesome experience following three BFFs: Mark, Cathy, and Ridel. The game follows their everyday school life in the Philippines in an alternate reality where the world has recently recovered from a series of drastic disasters called The Ruling.
A dialogue-heavy experience with visual novel-esque gameplay, Until Then is so unique and beautiful that I wept almost after completing every chapter. The soundtrack by Kyle Patrick Naval is captivating enough to indulge you in the game’s world.
It’s an emotional rollercoaster with multiple endings that hits you like a truck with its cliffhangers and especially some unexplainable moments. A stunning 2D pixel-art style that blends with low-poly 3D assets to give a realistic look, Until Then’s shock value and character writing are two of the few elements that need to be studied for the years to come.
2) Omori
A cult classic and legendary indie game that follows Omori and his friends in a bright world called Head-space. However, it is a frightful experience behind the curtains that deals with coping mechanisms and self-hatred, and what looks like in a world where everyone’s happy is nothing but an escape from reality.
Handcrafted pixel art combined with exceptional turn-based combat mechanics, Omori is a one-of-a-kind experience where the story becomes as depressing as you progress and learn why Sunny, Omori in the headspace, has created a world in his mind.
The game dominantly follows the themes of self-acceptance and forgiveness, showing the growth of Sunny as a character, for better or worse. With two routes leading to five endings, a beautiful storyline, and surreal characters, Omori is an experience that will stay with you for a long time.
3) A Space For The Unbound
A miraculous indie game nominated for the Game of The Year in the impactful category, A Space For The Unbound is a beautiful story of two lovebirds at the end of their precious school days.
Living in the rural areas of Indonesia, inspired by the 90s era, Atma and Raya don’t realize that simultaneously with their school days, the world is heading towards its end.
While Raya has supernatural powers that can shape the world, Atma has a book called Spacedive, which allows him to dive into people’s minds and clear out the mental hindrances they are facing, seemingly inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Inception. However, they don’t realize their powers are shaking up a cosmic earthquake, disintegrating reality. A sacrifice is needed to stop a cosmic-level disaster, but that’s a pact for you to discover.
A lively yet dystopian world, beautiful pixel art, and a well-crafted storyline make A Space For The Unbound a captivating and emotional experience.
4) Mouthwashing
A tragic storyline following a transportation crew stuck in space, Mouthwashing is a mentally taxing experience that puts you in a chokehold with its depressing and anxious-filled storyline.
You take control of Jimmy, an individual on the crew who thinks he’s befitting of being a leader but fails to take responsibility for the stuff he has committed in the past. A grueling sense of despair constantly looms around the ship, making the game so eerily depressing, which later takes a much darker turn when the atrocities that Jimmy has committed are gradually revealed.
This is the story of a person who has failed to accept his faults and continues to think he can fix the unfixable, ultimately leading all other crew members to the mouth of doom.
Before you play Mouthwashing, consider this a slight trigger warning, as it sheds light on one of the most disturbing topics in today’s society.
5) Celeste
A precision platformer with an underlying story about overcoming anxiety and disbanding your negative thoughts, Celeste is the journey of Medaline, who wants to climb the ‘Celeste’ mountain under extreme conditions.
As Medaline continues her climb to the mountain’s peak, they meet Badeline, a perception of their negative, self-destructive thoughts that demotivates and hunts them down throughout the story.
The precision platformer mechanics make the game as challenging as running back for your souls in Dark Souls, but a good checkpoint system makes it a little less of a grueling experience. The story and well-written comfort characters outshine the frustrating platforming mechanics, making it an emotionally beautiful and mind-breaking experience.
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