Best Indie Games on PC (2026)

TL;DR

• Best overall: Balatro — see store.steampowered.com
• Best budget: Vampire Survivors — see store.steampowered.com

This card ranks indie PC games on published critical evidence: the two current "best indie games" lists from PCGamesN and PC Gamer, PC Gamer's staff-voted Top 100 PC games, individual reviews, and Metacritic's PC critic scores. [src1, src2, src3]

Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack, February 2024) is the top pick: it has strong verdicts from both outlets behind this card's lists, and PCGamesN says it doesn't matter whether you are a poker fan, because you'll quickly learn the hands. PC Gamer called it "a roguelike deckbuilder debut already worthy of joining Slay the Spire and Monster Train at the King's table" and later voted it #8 of all PC games; PCGamesN keeps it on its 2026 list. [src1, src3, src12] It won Best Independent Game at The Game Awards 2024 and Game of the Year at the 25th Game Developers Choice Awards, and had sold more than 5 million copies by January 2025. [src4] PC Gamer's Top 100 does place four indies above it — Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (#2), Dwarf Fortress (#3), Stardew Valley (#6) and Caves of Qud (#7) — while PCGamesN's 2026 list puts Balatro ahead of both Disco Elysium and Stardew Valley. [src1, src3] Disco Elysium and Stardew Valley have their own sections below as narrower picks: a detective RPG with no traditional combat and a farming life sim. Dwarf Fortress and Caves of Qud, two dense simulation roguelikes, appear on neither PCGamesN's nor PC Gamer's best indie list and are not covered here. [src1, src2, src3]

Among 2026's indie releases, the strongest critical record belongs to Mina the Hollower (Yacht Club Games, May 2026): a 91 top-critic average on OpenCritic, where 97% of its 130 listed critics recommend it, and 90 from 69 critics on Metacritic's PC chart; it sold more than 500,000 copies in its first two weeks. [src10, src20, src21] House House's Big Walk (August 2026) scored a point higher on Metacritic's PC chart (91, from 26 critics), but it is a cooperative multiplayer game built around talking with a group of friends, not one to play alone. [src22] February's Mewgenics became the first 2026 game to earn OpenCritic's "Must-Play" badge and sold more than a million copies in its first week. [src11]

The year before brought three long-awaited games: Blue Prince (April 2025), which PCGamesN now puts first on its list; Hollow Knight: Silksong (September 2025), Game of the Year at the 2025 Steam Awards; and Hades II, whose 1.0 release on September 25, 2025 holds a Metacritic PC score of 94, the second-highest on this card. [src1, src5, src8, src28]

Best Overall: Balatro — Check price

A roguelike deckbuilder built on poker hands: each round you draw from a 52-card deck and play hands to reach a score target, and between rounds you buy Joker cards whose effects stack into enormous multipliers. [src1, src12] PC Gamer scored it 91 and labelled it "Essential" [src12]; its staff later voted it #8 in their Top 100 PC games, writing that its unassuming looks "disguise an absolute rabbit hole of roguelike strategy and wild, creative build-crafting." [src3] PCGamesN says it is "so hard to put down once you start to understand how it works." [src1] Metacritic's PC score is 90 with all 32 critic reviews positive, and 100% of critics on OpenCritic recommend it. [src15, src16] It won Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game and Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2024, and Game of the Year at the 25th Game Developers Choice Awards. [src4]

Best Recent Release: Mina the Hollower — Check price

From Shovel Knight studio Yacht Club Games, a Game Boy-inspired action-adventure seen from a Link's Awakening-style 3/4 view: Mina fights with a whip, daggers or a hammer and can burrow underground to cross gaps and dodge attacks while she explores Tenebrous Isle. [src10, src17] GamesRadar+ called it "one of the best indie games I've played in a long, long time" [src17]; PC Gamer scored it 90 for "a gloriously gothic combination of ferocious combat and beautiful scenery" and notes that optional modifiers let you make it easier or much harder [src18]; TheGamer gave it 5 out of 5 and called it "a retro-inspired masterpiece." [src19] OpenCritic lists 130 critic reviews, a 91 top-critic average and 97% of critics recommending it; Metacritic's PC score is 90 from 69 critics. [src20, src21] It sold more than 500,000 copies within two weeks of launch. [src10]

Best Budget Pick: Vampire Survivors — Check price

The cheapest game here at $4.99, and one of the most decorated: it won Best Game and Game Design at the British Academy Games Awards, and is considered one of the first "bullet heaven" games. [src25] Your weapons attack automatically; your job is to survive waves of monsters for as long as you can and unlock characters, weapons and relics for later runs. [src25] PC Gamer scored it 87 and said it "would be well-worth your time even if it wasn't the price of a large latte" [src23]; Game Informer gave it 9.75 out of 10 and called it "one of my favorite games of all time." [src24] It sits at #72 in PC Gamer's Top 100, described as "just a lethal, time-devouring videogame." [src3] Local co-op for up to four players arrived in 2023 and online co-op in October 2025, and its newest expansion, Legacy of the Bloodmoon, was released on August 28, 2026. [src25] Metacritic's PC score is 86. [src26]

Best Narrative RPG: Disco Elysium: The Final Cut — Check price

A detective RPG with no traditional combat: you wake from an amnesia-inducing night of drinking and investigate a murder by talking, using your fractured personality to get answers from suspects. [src1] PC Gamer's staff voted it #2 in their Top 100 PC games — "a masterfully-written piece of art" — and both PC Gamer and PCGamesN keep it on their best indie lists, PCGamesN calling it "a peerless RPG" for its writing. [src1, src2, src3] Metacritic's PC score for The Final Cut is 97, the highest on this card, though from only 11 critics. [src37] It is almost all reading and conversation; if you want action, look elsewhere. [src1, src2]

Best Action Roguelike: Hades II — Check price

Supergiant's sequel entered Early Access in May 2024 and reached its 1.0 release on September 25, 2025; you play Melinoë, who sets out to defeat Chronos, the Titan of Time. [src5] PCGamesN ranks it third on its list and says the sequel is "even better" than Hades, with bigger upgrades and open-world areas, and that you don't need to play the first game to enjoy it. [src1] PC Gamer scored the 1.0 release 88: its crafting-heavy opening hours drag, but "Hades 2 blooms with flexible combat and unforgettable characters." [src27] Metacritic's PC score is 94 from 46 critics, all positive, and it won Best Game on Steam Deck at the 2025 Steam Awards. [src8, src28]

Best Roguelike for Newcomers: Hades — Check price

Supergiant's 2020 original, which PC Gamer's best indie list calls "the roguelike for people who don't like roguelikes": every death sends you back to the palace you started from, and the story moves forward because of it. [src2] It is #34 in PC Gamer's Top 100 — "the platonic ideal" of an isometric action RPG with roguelike elements — though one editor there argues you should be playing the bigger, more varied Hades 2 instead. [src3] Metacritic's PC score is 93 from 58 critics, all positive. [src52]

Best Puzzle Game: Blue Prince — Check price

A first-person puzzle-strategy game set in a manor whose rooms only take shape as you open each door: you choose one of three room blueprints at every door, the house resets at the end of each day, and the goal is the elusive Room 46. [src1, src31] PCGamesN puts it first on its best indie games list [src1]; PC Gamer scored it 92 and called it "one of the best puzzle games in years." [src31] It is #81 in PC Gamer's Top 100, where one editor spent 77 hours with it and warns that its late-game puzzles became "so obtuse that they wore out my patience." [src3] Metacritic's PC score is 92 from 57 critics. [src32]

Best Metroidvania Sequel: Hollow Knight: Silksong — Check price

Team Cherry's sequel follows Hornet, a major character from Hollow Knight, through the new land of Pharloom; it began as planned downloadable content and was released as a standalone game on September 4, 2025. [src6] It won Game of the Year — and Best Game You Suck At — at the 2025 Steam Awards, and had sold more than seven million copies by December 2025. [src6, src8] Critics praised its world design and gameplay, though opinions on its high difficulty were mixed; Metacritic's PC score is 90 from 45 critics. [src6, src30] Team Cherry has scheduled a free expansion, Sea of Sorrow, for 2026. [src6]

Best Cozy Management Game: Dave the Diver — Check price

Spearfish by day and run a sushi restaurant by night. [src43] PC Gamer scored it 91 — "Charming, deep, and constantly surprising" — and its reviewer took 35 hours to finish the main storyline. [src43] It is #97 in PC Gamer's Top 100, described as "a bottomless array of features and minigames." [src3] Metacritic's PC score is 90 from 44 critics, all positive. [src44]

Best Puzzle-Metroidvania: Animal Well — Check price

Billy Basso's first solo work, developed over seven years and published by Bigmode in May 2024. [src7, src33] PC Gamer scored it 90 — "a sleep-destroying puzzle metroidvania of baffling depth" that "may go down in history as one of the genre's best" — and found that the credits, after about fifteen unrushed hours, mark the beginning of a second game of hidden secrets; its one real weakness is a "woeful" map. [src33] Metacritic's PC score is 90 with all 30 critic reviews positive, and it won Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction at the 28th D.I.C.E. Awards. [src7, src34]

Best Cozy Life Sim: Stardew Valley — Check price

ConcernedApe's farming and life sim: plant crops, fish, explore the mines and get to know the town. [src2] PC Gamer's staff voted it #6 in their Top 100 — "a beacon of feel-good cosy goodness" that has stayed "one of the most influential indie games for almost a decade" [src3] — and it is on both PC Gamer's and PCGamesN's best indie lists, PCGamesN recommending it most as a multiplayer game. [src1, src2] Metacritic's PC score is 89. [src42]

Best Deckbuilder for Strategy: Slay the Spire — Check price

Mega Crit's roguelike deckbuilder is, in the words of PC Gamer's Top 100 (#38), "a game so deliciously moreish that it kicked an entire genre into the stratosphere"; one editor there still reinstalls it every time he tries a newer rival. [src3] Metacritic's PC score is 89 with all 24 critic reviews positive. [src35] Its sequel, Slay the Spire 2, entered Early Access on March 5, 2026 with co-op for up to four players [src14]; PCGamesN's reviewer gave it 10/10 [src1], and its one confirmed sales figure is 3 million copies in the first week. [src9] Slay the Spire 2 was still in Early Access on Steam when we checked on 2026-10-05, so this card links the finished original.

Best Speed Platformer: Pizza Tower — Check price

A platformer inspired by Wario Land and '90s cartoons, in which chef Peppino Spaghetti climbs a tower at high speed. [src46] PC Gamer scored it 90 — "a brilliantly energetic and creative platformer that doesn't just do right by its inspiration Wario Land, but actually surpasses it" — and praised a soundtrack that mixes retro-styled themes with clever sampling. [src46] Metacritic's PC score is 89, but from only 8 critics. [src47]

Best Tactical Roguelike: Mewgenics — Check price

Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel's turn-based tactical roguelike, released on February 10, 2026: you breed cats, send them out on missions and try to bring them home to continue the bloodline. [src1, src11] PCGamesN's review called it one of the deepest strategy games its reviewer had played in years — and "criminally unfunny"; PC Gamer's reviewer was still discovering new content after 100 hours. [src1, src11] It became the first 2026 game to earn OpenCritic's "Must-Play" status (89 average, 94% of critics recommending) and sold more than a million copies in its first week. [src11] McMillen estimates an average player needs 200+ hours to beat it and 500+ to complete it. [src13] Metacritic's PC score is 88. [src36]

Best Precision Platformer: Celeste — Check price

A tough 2D platformer about Madeline climbing a mountain while fighting her own demons; assist options let you enjoy the story whatever your skill level. [src1] PCGamesN named it its best PC game of 2018 and calls it one of the most moving games on its list; PC Gamer's best indie list says its developer "wants everyone to finish Celeste." [src1, src2] Metacritic's PC score is 88. [src45]

Best Retro JRPG: Sea of Stars — Check price

A turn-based RPG in the style of '90s classics, in which two young heroes combine sun and moon powers against the Fleshmancer. [src1, src49] PCGamesN keeps it on its best indie list for "balanced and engaging turn-based combat wrapped up in an enthralling world" [src1]; PC Gamer was cooler, scoring it 79: it "may not truly recapture the magic of '90s RPGs, but it's still a polished, enjoyable blend of old and new." [src49] Metacritic's PC score is 87 from 48 critics. [src50] Steam now sells it as Sea of Stars: Sunset Edition, the name of the free final update Sabotage Studio released in June 2026. [src51]

Best Metroidvania: Hollow Knight — Check price

Team Cherry's 2017 hand-drawn metroidvania set in a decaying bug civilization; it rarely tells you where to go, and its world keeps going long after you expect it to end. [src2] PC Gamer's best indie list puts it plainly: "The Super Nintendo had Super Metroid. PlayStation had Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The PC has Hollow Knight." [src2] It is #41 in PC Gamer's Top 100. [src3] Metacritic's PC score is 87. [src29]

Best Isometric Adventure: Tunic — Check price

An isometric Zelda-like starring a small fox, whose guidance comes from pages of an old-school instruction manual you collect — the manual itself is something of a puzzle. [src40] PC Gamer scored it 86: "Delightfully difficult combat and meaningful exploration make Tunic a retro-inspired modern marvel." [src40] Metacritic's PC score is 85 from 60 critics. [src41]

Best Exploration Mystery: Outer Wilds — Check price

You explore a small solar system trapped in a time loop: about every 20 minutes the sun explodes and the loop restarts on your home planet, Timber Hearth, while you piece together what is going on. [src38] PC Gamer scored it 89: "Beneath its charming and inventive worlds, Outer Wilds hides a cleverly unfolding mystery." [src38] Metacritic's PC score is 85. [src39]

Best Genre Mash-Up: Cult of the Lamb — Check price

Run-based dungeon crawls against old gods, with a cult of cartoon animals to build and manage between runs. [src2] It is on PC Gamer's best indie list and #79 in its Top 100, where one editor found both halves "quite shallow" at first but was hooked again by its post-launch updates. [src2, src3] Metacritic's PC score is 82 from 88 critics, the lowest on this card. [src48]

Head-to-Head Comparisons

Balatro vs Slay the Spire

Both are roguelike deckbuilders, built differently. PC Gamer's Phil Savage describes Balatro's score-chasing as "a counterpart to Slay the Spire's more combat-oriented style of buildcrafting." [src3] Slay the Spire is the one PC Gamer's editors keep reinstalling whenever they try a newer deckbuilder [src3]; Balatro builds on poker hands, which PCGamesN says you will quickly learn whether or not you play poker. [src1]

Pick Balatro if: you want quick, explosive score-chasing runs that start from familiar poker rules.
Pick Slay the Spire if: you want the combat-oriented deckbuilder that set off the genre.

Hollow Knight vs Hollow Knight: Silksong

Same studio, same genre. Hollow Knight is the 2017 original and costs $14.99; Silksong follows Hornet, a character from the first game, through a new land and costs $19.99. [src2, src6] Silksong's difficulty divided critics, and Steam players voted it Best Game You Suck At in the 2025 Steam Awards. [src6, src8]

Pick Hollow Knight if: it is your first Team Cherry game.
Pick Silksong if: you have finished the original and want a harder, newer challenge.

Hades vs Hades II

Both are Supergiant action roguelikes on Greek myth. PCGamesN says the sequel is even better and that you don't need to play the first [src1]; PC Gamer's reviewer found Melinoë "exceptionally more fun to play than Zagreus" but disliked Hades II's crafting-heavy opening hours. [src27] PC Gamer's Top 100 calls Hades 2 "bigger and more varied" than the original [src3]; Hades lists at $24.99 on Steam against $29.99 for the sequel.

Pick Hades if: you want the tighter, cheaper original.
Pick Hades II if: you want the bigger game with more build options.

Stardew Valley vs Dave the Diver

Both are cozy, with different rhythms. Stardew Valley is a farming life sim that PC Gamer says "can become a life-devouring forever game" [src2, src3]; Dave the Diver is a structured day-and-night loop of diving and running a sushi bar, with a main story PC Gamer finished in 35 hours. [src43]

Pick Stardew Valley if: you want a game to unwind with indefinitely, alone or with friends.
Pick Dave the Diver if: you want variety, structure and a story with an end.

Outer Wilds vs Disco Elysium

Outer Wilds is exploration: a mystery you unravel across repeated time loops in a small solar system. [src38] Disco Elysium is conversation: a murder case solved by talking, with no traditional combat. [src1] Both are games about working things out, built in opposite ways.

Pick Outer Wilds if: you want discovery and "aha" moments, ideally knowing as little as possible beforehand.
Pick Disco Elysium if: you want the best-scored writing on this card and don't need action.

Decision Logic

If you don't know your taste yet

→ Balatro. PC Gamer 91 and #8 in its Top 100, a place on PCGamesN's 2026 list, and Metacritic PC 90 with every review positive; PCGamesN says you'll quickly learn the poker hands even if you don't play poker. [src1, src3, src12, src16]

If budget is under $10

→ Vampire Survivors, PC Gamer 87 and a BAFTA Best Game winner. Every other game here lists at $14.99 or more, but Steam sales regularly cut them below $10. [src23, src25]

If you want the best new release

→ Mina the Hollower (May 2026) for a single-player adventure; Mewgenics (February 2026) for a very long tactical roguelike; Slay the Spire 2 if you accept Early Access. With a group of friends, Big Walk (August 2026, Metacritic PC 91) is the co-op alternative. [src11, src14, src20, src22]

If you want a roguelike or deckbuilder

→ Balatro for score-chasing, Slay the Spire for strategy, Hades II or Hades for action, Mewgenics for turn-based tactics. [src1, src3, src27]

If you want a metroidvania or platformer

→ Hollow Knight first, then Silksong; Animal Well for puzzles; Celeste for precision; Pizza Tower for speed. [src2, src6, src33, src46]

If you want story, puzzles or mystery

→ Disco Elysium: The Final Cut for writing, Blue Prince for puzzles, Outer Wilds for exploration, Tunic for a puzzle-laced adventure. [src1, src31, src38, src40]

If you want something cozy

→ Stardew Valley to play indefinitely, Dave the Diver for structure and a story. [src3, src43]

• Score-chasing deckbuilders are now a subgenre: PC Gamer's Phil Savage writes that Balatro-style "score-based deckbuilders" have "grown into a full subgenre", a counterpart to the combat-focused Slay the Spire style; Slay the Spire 2 sold 3 million copies in its first week of Early Access. [src3, src9]
• The big sequels have landed: Hades II reached 1.0 in September 2025, Hollow Knight: Silksong was released the same month after years of delay, and Slay the Spire 2 entered Early Access in March 2026. [src5, src6, src14]
• Small teams top the review charts: Hades II (94), Blue Prince (92), Mina the Hollower (90) and Balatro (90) all hold Metacritic PC scores of 90 or more. [src16, src21, src28, src32]
• Indies win the biggest awards: Balatro won Game of the Year at the Game Developers Choice Awards, Vampire Survivors won Best Game at the BAFTA Games Awards, and Silksong was the Steam Awards' 2025 Game of the Year. [src4, src8, src25]
• Long-tail updates keep older games current: Vampire Survivors added online co-op in 2025 and a new expansion in August 2026, Sea of Stars received a free final update in June 2026, and Silksong's free Sea of Sorrow expansion is scheduled for 2026. [src6, src25, src51]

• Prices are Steam's US list prices before discounts. Steam sales are frequent and deep: when we read these prices, most of the games were 20-75% off.
• Our daily checks confirm that each game's Steam page is live; they do not read Steam prices or sales. That is why the verified-picks table at the top of this page shows "see retailer" and "Unknown" rather than a price and stock state — it is not a sign that a game is unavailable.
• Scores are Metacritic PC critic aggregates and can shift. Some rest on few reviews: Pizza Tower's on 8 and Disco Elysium: The Final Cut's on 11.
• "Indie" is loosely defined here. Several picks come from publishers — Devolver Digital, Annapurna Interactive, Playstack, Raw Fury, Bigmode, Finji — but are small-team productions widely treated as indie.
• Taste matters more than rank. A deckbuilder fan and a farming-sim fan should not buy the same game; use the sections and Decision Logic above.
• Check each game's Steam page for system requirements before buying.