Generally, you come throughout that one indie sport that grips you intensely, supplying you with top-of-the-line, most participating experiences you have ever had, solely to allow you to go inside a matter of some hours.
On some events, although, you discover that one sport that’s simply as particular to you as the remaining, however it by no means appears to expire of that attraction, always remaining satisfying and replayable it doesn’t matter what.
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I will be itemizing off ten of these indie video games I discover I can at all times come again to, dip in for an additional playthrough, and return to every a part of it with out ever feeling uninterested in it.
As a little bit of a rule, half of this checklist will likely be roguelikes/roguelites, whereas the opposite half could possibly be every other style. With out this restriction, this checklist would primarily be nearly totally dominated by one style, and that is simply not that attention-grabbing.
10
Stardew Valley
Farmed For Hours
Whereas your preliminary response to taking part in a comfortable farming sport would possibly make you suppose it is a kind of hundred-hour video games you solely play as soon as, in actuality, Stardew Valley is a hundred-hour sport you possibly can play 100 occasions over.
From the insane potential of min-maxxing each advantageous element to the multitude of problem runs you may determine to beat, there are a
million alternative ways to strategy
the sport, and it is extremely enjoyable.
Each facet of this sport will be optimized and perfected, from determining the optimum presents to provide for friendship, to routing your fishing and foraging round finishing the group middle in 12 months 1.
It transforms the expertise from a chill farming sport into an extremely routing heavy expertise centered round making essentially the most out of your time and farming up as a lot as you may, and I like that.
9
Hades
Delve Into Loss of life
As a Roguelite, Hades breaks previous the standard expectations within the style, because it would not develop into boring to replay because of its everlasting development, as a substitute solely getting higher as you achieve extra choices.
Each new weapon you unlock feels such as you’re taking part in as a brand-new character with a completely new moveset, and the everlasting upgrades to your stats principally simply make runs extra constant, however nonetheless difficult.
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If I ever must fish in Terraria ever once more, I will lose it.
As soon as you have dived in a pair hundred occasions, you may go forward and enroll
for the pact of punishment
, possibly even perform a little little bit of hell mode, and really get your ass kicked till you are sick of it.
There is a bottomless effectively of various methods to play, and whereas most roguelites find yourself turning into disgustingly straightforward and boring, Hades by no means fails to be probably the most difficult video games ever, when you let it.
8
Hole Knight
Winding Routes
I believe Hole Knight could also be the perfect map a Metroidvania has ever had, primarily as a result of there are 100 routes you may take by way of Hallownest, and all of them really feel equally satisfying and intentional.
Proper off the heels of Forgotten Crossroads, you may go to Greenpath, as is fairly apparent, however you can too enter Crystal Peak, and even Fungal Wastes when you’ve acquired your sequence breaks down pat.
You may watch a blind playthrough, and after the Metropolis of Tears, their route by way of the world will look nothing like yours, and that is an superior strategy to make me wish to replay and uncover each new factor.
On prime of that, the Pantheons are an effective way to self-inflict frustration for per week or two, being a few of the most difficult boss gauntlets ever made, with an countless quantity of how you may deal with them.
7
Lifeless Cells
Fairly Roomy
I’ve performed Lifeless Cells for fairly a while, and I am nonetheless undecided that I’ve seen all of the distinctive areas scattered all through the sport. It is primarily a roguelite metroidvania, and man, does it ship on that.
Each step of the way in which, slashing by way of enemies is immensely satisfying, tearing by way of rooms like no person’s enterprise feels such as you’ve develop into a cosmic pressure of destruction, and I find it irresistible all a lot.
The unlocks all make the sport open up even additional, and none of them ever really feel like I am being compelled into making the sport simpler, however fairly that I am slowly unlocking my full, full toolset.
It looks like I might do a number of hundred runs of this sport, and I am going to someway by no means run out of boss cells to do, content material to discover, combos of weapons and modifiers, and I like that ever-expansive feeling.
6
Rivals of Aether 2
Freedom Preventing
I believe making a mechanically in-depth and totally realized combating sport is a surefire strategy to keep a large participant base that by no means needs to place the sport down, and Rivals of Aether 2 does that excellently.
Each character is extremely distinct and presents some kind of distinctive playstyle I have not seen replicated in a platform fighter, except we’re speaking about Clairen, wherein case I’ve seen that play fashion in each platform fighter.
On prime of the
already stable base mechanics
, the truth that we’re always getting fed new characters, modes, skins, and no matter else means this sport is a straightforward strategy to rack up a number of hundred hours.
I’ve run by way of the traditional mode campaigns manner too many occasions, and I am unable to wait to try this identical factor with story mode. The motion is crisp, and optimizing your occasions is manner too satisfying.
5
Balatro
Absolute Cinema
If you happen to’re a completely based mostly playing enjoyer, you in all probability have a number of hundred hours in Balatro already, however when you do not, you would possibly wish to hop on essentially the most addictive online game ever placed on this earth.
There’s one thing so entrancing about this sport. The music is similar tune all through the whole expertise, but I’ve by no means gotten uninterested in it, and it enhances my need to play just some extra runs earlier than I cease.
Sadly, 99% of gamblers give up earlier than their large win, so most individuals do not even discover out that this sport has lots of and
lots of of hours of content material
from unlocking every part alone.
Attempting to get to gold stake on all of the decks is a large process that takes a large variety of makes an attempt, even when you’re at all times profitable, which you will not be, as a result of the sport did not really feel like supplying you with that fifth diamond for the flush.
4
Celeste
Tremendous Prolonged Hyperdash
Simply earlier this week, fully unrelated to scripting this checklist, I used to be replaying Celeste only for enjoyable. It is an
superior precision platformer
, and the issue mixed with the unimaginable degree design simply makes it unimaginable.
The talents you will have are all extremely easy, simply leaping, dashing, and climbing. But, you may mix these three issues in a myriad of various ways in which makes this sport top-of-the-line speedrunning titles ever.
It is extremely enjoyable to wavedash by way of ranges far faster than you performed them the primary time, and even undergo the whole sport as shortly as you may, by no means thoughts the huge modding group with hundreds of customized ranges.
This sport is unimaginable, and I revisit the whole factor every year on the naked minimal. It is about as replayable as a totally linear 2D platformer can get, with all of the methods and tips you’d ever need.
3
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Digital Madness
Most roguelikes with unlockables for future runs normally go along with a pair new characters, a great handful of latest objects, and a few levels, however The Binding of Isaac was daring sufficient to check the restrict of how a lot content material could possibly be in a single sport.
There are somewhat over 700 unlockables on this sport, most of that quantity taken up by the huge quantity of things with extraordinarily particular unlock circumstances and achievements tied to them, making for a hell of a 100% run.
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I really feel previous, having performed Cave Story for my complete life.
I genuinely do not suppose you may get by way of the bottom sport with all of the DLC and have every part unlocked inside 100 hours, and it is virtually unimaginable to expire of latest stuff to do on this sport.
It might already be extremely replayable by way of the deserves of being a terrific roguelike with enjoyable mechanics and managers that make the common particular person want to commit a felony, however this makes the sport infinitely replayable.
2
Terraria
Hold Digging
I’ve roughly 2000 hours in Terraria, and albeit, as soon as the subsequent replace releases, I am going to gladly get by way of a number of hundred extra. It is top-of-the-line Sandbox RPG experiences, and it solely ever will get higher.
Each replace supplies a ton of latest stuff whereas by no means being too scared to overtake and alter all of the previous stuff for the higher, and I personally suppose it solely will get extra satisfying as you get extra expert.
The whole lot has some kind of counter, some area you may construct to fight each boss, some mixture of armor to provide the greatest stats for that time within the sport, and there is at all times an even bigger fish to fry.
Taking part in this sport vanilla has at all times been nice, and since TModLoader is an official DLC on Steam,
taking part in mods has develop into far simpler
and makes it so I can by no means escape Terraria earlier than it consumes me totally.
1
Threat of Rain 2
Viscious Cycle
I imagine my greatest stint of taking part in a single sport each single day was after I found Threat of Rain 2 again in 2023, then managed to log 200 hours in just some months, because it’s genuinely addicting.
Each character is extremely distinctive and attention-grabbing with enjoyable kits that make them really feel nice, all of the objects produce other objects to synergize with, and the scrapping system places any luck again into your palms.
It has essentially the most ability expression of any roguelike I’ve ever performed, and it is no coincidence that it is simply the roguelike I’ve performed most, and even after getting all of the achievements, I am nonetheless not executed with it.
There are such a lot of logs to get, so many eclipse climbs to beat with every character, and so many extra runs that every one really feel distinctive from one another, and I am unable to wait to leap again in a number of hundred extra occasions.
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