In a year dominated by corporate titles like GTA IV and Fallout
3, the independent video game industry has begun to strike
back. Designed in basements, bedrooms and offices by small,
dedicated startups, indie gaming is about something that many
corporate titles have missed– pure, unadulterated fun. To
celebrate the work of the unsung heroes of gaming, here is
GearCrave’s list of the 10 best indie games of 2008.
Number Ten: ROM CHECK FAIL
Like a bad dream after a long night at the
arcade, you’re at one moment driving the Spy Hunter car and
shooting Goombas over the backdrop of a Pac-Man level, when
suddenly you hear the crunch of a computer glitch and everything
has changed. Now, you’re Mario, trying to stomp Space Invaders in a
maze of Arkanoid bricks. It’s a hilarious mashup that tests not
only primitive gaming skills, but the ability to change gears at a
moment’s notice. [Free Download]
Number Nine: N+
The instant replay mode of this platform
jumper is a testament to the impressive ninja skills you’ll be
showing off in every level. With speed, timing and the ability to
jump from walls, your tiny avatar narrowly avoids rockets, lasers,
machine guns and electric drones, all in the name of reaching the
next exit as quickly as possible. [$10 Xbox Live, $20 DS and
PSP]
Number Eight: You Have to Burn the
Rope
It’s pointless to read too deeply into this
two-minute flash gag and its eponymous hand-holding. But maybe
Swedish developer Kian Bashiri is right about games becoming too
easy. Yes, you have to burn the rope to beat the boss. Also, YHTBTR
has the catchiest credits theme song since Portal. [Free
Flash]
Number Seven: Gravitation
Jason Rohrer’s breakout game, Passage, dug deep and jumpstarted his career of
using computer games to make small, abstract gestures instead of
sweeping blockbusters. Gravitation sports the same simple play
mechanics and intentionally pixilated graphics, but with a “Cat’s
In The Cradle” message that’s typically unfound in game culture.
That’s because Rohrer proudly exists outside of it. [Free Download]
Number Six: “The C Word” (NSFW)
The game that gets its name for a part of the
female anatomy, and features a part of the male anatomy attacking
it, is fiendishly fun. Too bad you can’t play it around anyone who
isn’t in on the joke. Edmund McMillen created this shoot-em-up
mostly to assert his artistic independence, but he suggests there
could be subconscious hints of misogyny lurking about. No kidding.
[Free Flash]
Number Five: Aether
Because it wouldn’t be fair to present only
McMillen’s sick side, Aether is a meditation on the dangers of
introversion. A boy meets a monster when delving into his own
imagination, and together they swing from planet to planet,
encountering happy-looking, but deeply disturbed creatures at every
turn. The looping soundtrack is appropriately dreamy. [Free
Flash, or check out McMillen's compilation CD for
$10]
Number Four: Crayon Physics
Deluxe
The imagination runs wild in this physics
puzzle game, in which you draw ramps, see-saws, pulleys and big,
swinging hammers to move a ball around the screen. Each level
captures that youthful sense of wonder, where anything seems
possible. Even though the PC version doesn’t drop until this week,
we’re counting this one because of its late-December iPhone port.
And because it’s awesome. [Pre-order for $19.95]
Number Three: Karoshi 2.0
The expanded version of Karoshi, which is
Japanese for “death from overwork,” has little respect for the
fourth wall or other standard gaming conventions. The goal of
killing yourself in each level starts with a few cathartic leaps
onto spikes, but quickly becomes a game of developer vs. player.
Don’t be surprised when you’re booted out to Windows, only to move
your mouse and have the game launch again while being told that the
joke’s on you. [Free Download]
Number Two: Braid
Braid is this year’s golden boy of indie
games, garnering buzz phrases like “long-awaited” that are
typically reserved for AAA titles. The hype is justified though, as
this title plays on the platform genre with mind-bending time
manipulation puzzles. The plot, of a man who wonders about changing
the past in the wake of lost love, is masterfully applied. [$15 on
Xbox Live]
Number One: World of Goo
No game in 2008 so deftly combined all the
things that we love about indie games. The task of stacking goo
balls into wobbling towers and connecting them to drainage pipes is
easy to learn but ruthlessly difficult by the game’s end. Wry humor
and a cartoon art style make World of Goo personable, and its
download-only availability for the Wii hints at a retail-free
future where even the little guy can shine. [$15 on WiiWare, or $20
for PC]
Thanks for reading, GearCravers, Diggers, Stumblers and
otherwise. Did we miss any indie game that you would have
included here? Would you have arranged this list
differently? Leave your thoughts in the comments! Also,
if you enjoyed the article, be sure to share it with your friends
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soon, ya hear?