Small studios and developers are the heart of our gaming community. So, this list will look at the Top 5 best Indie Games to play in 2025.

If you want to take a break from bloated open worlds and the heavily stuffed narrative of the Triple-A games, look towards the indie gaming community. Over a decade ago, digital distribution came to fruition in the gaming industry, and that opened the floodgates. We saw title releases from small teams to solo developers in a plethora of new directions.
The indie gaming genre is so diverse that you would have a hard time categorizing the games in it. There are countless niches and sub-genres for players to choose from when they get tired of the same old formulas of Triple-A titles. Let’s discuss a little more about the indie games, shall we?
5 Best Indie Games To Try In 2025
Indie games can be a great alternative to play when you are tired of the Triple-A titles and their general hand-holding approach. Fans have complained that the recent Triple-A games have become too cinematic, where everything important happens in a cutscene.
Compared to this, indie games go in the opposite direction most of the time. They often have cold openings, and the storytelling happens in the gameplay itself. The indie gaming catalog is massive. There are many genres, sub-genres, and niches. So in this article, we will rank the 5 best indie games you can play in 2025.
5. Animal Well

Animal Well falls in the Metroidvania genre. Billy Basso, a solo developer, developed the game, and Bigmode published it on May 19, 2024, for PC and PlayStation, and on October 17, 2024, for Xbox. The game launched with critical praise and quickly became one of the best games in the genre and a popular title in the community.
Animal Well is considered to be one of the most layered and packed Metroidvania games in recent years. The game follows a non-linear structure with its platforming and focuses on puzzles, like most Metroidvania games.
You will get a lot of tools and utilities throughout the game, and you will have to find ways to effectively use them. Some tools may not be useful right away, but hold onto them because they will be of use to you in the later stages.
Additionally, the creator, Billy Basso, has promised the fans that the main game is just the beginning, and fans will be finding hidden puzzles for years to come.
4. Signalis

Signalis is a survival horror game that was developed by Rose-Engine. Humble Games and Playism published the game on October 27, 2022, for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Signals’s gameplay is similar to the top-down shooter games of the old days. The game evidently draws inspiration from classic horror titles like the original Silent Hill and Resident Evil. In terms of graphics, Signalis takes a low-poly aesthetic reminiscent of the PS1 era. The game successfully creates an eerie atmosphere that will keep players uncomfortable during the entirety of it, and this is only enhanced by the sound design.
The characters of the game also come across as inhumane and odd but in a good way, and the blurry graphics give you the impression of a dream. Puzzle-solving, resource management, and combat are the core of the gameplay. If you want a memorable horror game, then Signalis is a game you should try.
3. Balatro

Balatro is a rogue-like card game in which your goal is to build the best deck possible. LocalThunk developed the game, and Playstack published it on February 20, 2024, on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. They had multiple nominations in the 2024′ Game Awards and won in the Best Independent Game, Best Mobile Game, and Best Debut Indie Game categories.
Balatro is essentially poker with various twists. The game introduces unique cards and new mechanics to change the rules of Poker and create something completely different but familiar. Each playthrough is called a Run. At the beginning of each run, players will choose decks; each deck has a different effect and eight antes of difficulty. The purpose of each run is to defeat the “Blind,” which is a boss. In each run, you will be given a target score, and you will need to make sure that your deck is good enough to match or cross that score. The blind will give you certain conditions to make that goal a lot harder, so prepare accordingly.
2. Hades 2

Hades 2 is Supergiant Games’ latest installment. The game is the sequel to Hades (2020), which took the community by storm when it came out. In the game, we play as the princess of the underworld and Zagreus’s sister, Melinoe. Our task in the game is to defeat Chronos, a titan and the god of time, to save our family.
The combat is an absolute joy. It is fun and engaging, but you can’t just button-mash your way out of it. In order to defeat your foes, you will have to experiment and master the game’s mechanics. It is easily the most addictive part of the game.
The cast of Hades is another highlight. The various gods who appear and speak to you are entertaining, and their bickering provides the much-needed humor and lore. Not only that, but your relatives from the Greek pantheon also provide buffs and information to you. Hades 2 is also much bigger than its predecessor with more upgrades and open areas and characters. And you don’t need to play the previous title to understand the sequel.
1. Dredge

BlackSalt’s Dredge is a fishing role-playing adventure horror game. Team17 published the game on March 30, 2023. You play as a fisherman in the game who travels the open seas and comes across various Lovecraftian-inspired monsters.
At the beginning of the game, you take charge of a small boat and set out in the haunted open world of Dredge. Your primary job is to catch fish by playing some mini-games, find artifacts, and manage your inventory. The game’s atmosphere becomes increasingly eerie and uncomfortable as night falls; it serves to drop you into a feeling of isolation and melancholy.
There are various biomes, and each of them has their own adversaries and bosses. There’s hardly any combat in the game. Instead, the game focuses on exploration. If you encounter an enemy, then most of the time, instead of fighting, you will have to look for a different way out. Dredge is quite accessible and fairly easy to get into. Its story unfolds with each fishing trip, and its world is something every player should experience.
Conclusion
So this is our list of the Top 5 Indie Games you can try in 2025 if you are tired and need a break from the Triple-A titles. It is difficult to pick only five games from such a vast pool of indie games, but we have tried our best to choose the ones that we feel will give you the best experience of the genre.
Looking For More?
Thank you for reading the article. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, ARK Survival Ascended, and more. Also, watch Deltia play games on Twitch or visit his YouTube channel!