Top 25 Best Indie Games of the Year 2023 (Indie GOTY 2023)

2023 has been AMAZING for indie games, so here are THE BEST OF THE BEST!
Best Indies of 2023: • Top 25 Best Indie Game...
Hidden Gem Indies of 2023: • Top 25 BEST Indie Game...
Fan favorite games of 2023: • Top 25 FAN FAVORITE In...
Best of the rest of 2023: • Top 25 BEST OF THE RES...
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00:00 ► #25 : store.steampowered.com/app/17...
00:48 ► #24 : af.gog.com/en/game/wall_world...
01:18 ► #23 : store.steampowered.com/app/14...
02:00 ► #22 : store.steampowered.com/app/13...
02:47 ► #21 : store.steampowered.com/app/19...
03:20 ► #20 : af.gog.com/en/game/backpack_h...
04:15 ► #19 : af.gog.com/en/game/slay_the_p...
05:18 ► #18 : af.gog.com/en/game/world_of_h...
06:04 ► #17 : store.steampowered.com/app/15...
06:46 ► #16 : store.steampowered.com/app/23...
07:28 ► #15 : store.steampowered.com/app/13...
08:05 ► #14 : af.gog.com/en/game/terra_nil?...
08:50 ► #13 : af.gog.com/en/game/astral_asc...
10:06 ► #12 : af.gog.com/en/game/the_last_f...
11:01 ► #11 : store.steampowered.com/app/14...
11:44 ► #10 : store.steampowered.com/app/22...
13:00 ► #9 : store.steampowered.com/app/19...
14:04 ► #8 : store.steampowered.com/app/10...
14:52 ► #7 : af.gog.com/en/game/bomb_rush_...
15:47 ► #6 : store.steampowered.com/app/18...
16:36 ► #5 : af.gog.com/en/game/blasphemou...
17:27 ► #4 : af.gog.com/en/game/the_last_s...
18:35 ► #3 : store.steampowered.com/app/22...
19:38 ► #2 : store.steampowered.com/app/12...
20:43 ► #1 : af.gog.com/en/game/dredge?as=...
PLAYLISTS
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🔥Pixel Art Indie Games: • Pixel Art Indie Games
🔥Metroidvania Indie Games: • Metroidvania Indie Games
🔥Rogue-lites/likes Indie Games: • Rogue-lites/likes Indi...
🔥Action Platformer Indie Games: • Action Platformer Indi...
🔥Zelda-like Indie Games: • Action Adventure Indie...
🔥Souls-like Indie Games: • Souls-like Indie Games
🔥Monster Taming Indie Games: • Monster Taming Indie G...
🔥Tactics Indie Games: • Turn Based Strategy, T...
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INTRODUCTION
I'm Clement, nice to meet you! I have a passion for Indie Games due to how fun, creative and OUT OF THIS WORLD they can be, so this channel helps get the word out on the Best Indie Games.
Feel free to get in touch via Twitter / email for comments, requests or just to make a human connection and I'll do my best to get back to you.
PS: Most of the links above are tied to some affiliate program where I do get a percentage of the sales, so thank you for supporting the channel.
#BestIndieGames #indiegames #ClemmyGames

[@drstclair]

While AAA gaming is going poorly and stale, it makes me so happy that smaller developers are able to put out so many creative projects.

[@ClemmyGames]

[@ohpeep3723]

Some of them are not small at all, they just hide behind a new studio name but still be made my the big company

[@joaomarcoscosta4647]

Dude, this year we had Baldurs Gate 3 Tears of the Kingdom Super Mario Wonder Spiderman 2 Street Fighter 6 Allan Wake 2 And "Hi Fi Rush" too. (Although this might be more of an AA game) It's true that they are mostly from long running franchises, but at least in 2023, AAA games have been doing pretty fantastic! We can enjoy games from both budget levels without trying to knock the other down.

[@drstclair]

@joaomarcoscosta4647 I think I was using poorly in the idea that their unoriginal from their competition. CoD is going to succeed financially, but people will dislike it. I'm happy this was a good year overall for gaming Also BG3 is in some eyes technically an indie game.

[@TheRelen222]

We also had the Dead Space Remake and Resident Evil 4 Remake. I do believe this is one of the strongest years for gaming ever.

[@MTLGSE]

Now that ive started to delve into game dev Im absolutely floored at how talented these indie teams are. Thanks for the vid and for being a voice for the communitt.

[@jurtheorc8117]

And there's still a lot more to discover. Stuff like Nobody Saves the World, Cookie Cutter, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, Soulstice, and the upcoming Genokids, Enenra and Blud.

[@tommyflavio]

"The more you know, the more you know that you don't know." It pains me to see whiny people completely target small/indie devs about aspects that may not be their strong suit yet. When Splitgate got overwhelmed a few years ago, 1047 Games was getting berated about what was going on. I reached out to them to help them out since it was a data processing/architecture issue rather than a game dev issue and was correct in assuming the 2 young college game devs haven't handled processing billions of data points a second, which is more of a common IoT issue than anything. It was completely unwarranted and destroyed their trajectory. Grime faced a similar issue when they started (and still kinda are with their Switch port) dealing with resource management of an overly graphically complicated (but beautiful) game. I love it when I see people take their first step in something wayy more complicated then publicly viewed and vocalize their admiration once they have some experience

[@Kogarana1]

Man, Nobody Saves the World was such a masterful game. I remember really liking that one. But I wonder what some of these other games you mentioned are: do you mind giving me some insight?

[@drakewarnock1239]

I just want to take a moment to thank you for all the work you do! The indie game market gets better and better every year, and keeping track of everything good would be so difficult without your videos and recommendations. You make finding good games easy, and for that I really can't thank you enough!

[@trickycheat3570]

I didn't play a single one of these games yet i played a few fantastic indie games this year and that is why indie scene is great for any medium.

[@kaspauf06]

Thank you for all you do! Your KZbin channel gives so much light to a world of gaming many miss with triple A titles, that is again and happy holidays!

[@leojones1964]

Love this! I feel like Gravity Circuit deserved a spot but to each their own. It's wonderful to see so many great titles I missed this year.

[@rhebbhulett]

Love that Dredge made #1. I don’t think the greatness of this game can be overstated. How a game manages to be both cozy but anxiety inducing is amazing.

[@eduardoprata5599]

Chants of Senaar is given so little credit for how well crafted of a "detective" game it is. Few games have scratched that itch that well lately

[@commentarytalk1446]

A beyond superlative line of fascinating and diverse indie games! What a quality line up. Agree with many of these at the same time as having found one of my all-time favourites indie games in Pocket Bravery! And, staggered by the "artistic genius" of Yeo's Fading Afternoon amongst many other stellar indie games out there, beyond name.

[@authormichellefranklin]

Slay the Princess is amazing. Love Viewfinder-- the puzzles were great. Still have to finish Cocoon and Last Faith. Dredge and Sea of Stars also great. Trine 5 I also loved, though I don't think many tried it. Thanks for another amazing year, Clemmy!

[@ekkogamerxd7835]

Hace poco empece a introducirme en el mundo de los indies y ahora espero con mas ansias cada video tuyo, eres todo un master

[@hafaball]

Incredible job this year Clemmy, another stellar group of indies. My obligatory pick for missing game is Destructure Amoung Debris. Let's all hope for the indie scene to continue to thrive!

[@schorleschorschoise]

I am so happy I disovered your channel 2 1/2 years ago. Since then I never faced any AAA game (except Elden Ring, if you wanna call it so) again and the fun I have with games increased so immensly! Thank you for your work my dude❤ For 2023 my biggest hopes def. are the ER DLC, a pretty big load of Zelda Like 2d Pixel Art top down Action adventures and, If it comes in '24, World of Anterra.

[@salitz91]

My heart jumped when I saw Dredge. It really is a fantastic game, especially on Steam Deck. So much fun, and you can make it as relaxing or creepy as you want. Great list!

[@elektriccobra]

100% Dredge

[@TriggerCrazedLunatic]

No Laika? Damn, thats a shame, I put it up there among my favorites.

[@tommyflavio]

TEVI is a sleeper homerun! Grabbed it even though I didn't enjoy Rabi Ribi but after 50 hours, I absolutely love TEVI. Like everything about it. I even love the juxtaposition of the Chibi gameplay aesthetic vs the Anime Girl cut scene art. That game seemed to come out of nowhere and fixed everything I did not like about RR. I'm so happy I finally have a second Bullet H377 Metroidvania game I can recommend besides Luna Nights!

[@malkilthewizard]

Absolutely insane that Void Stranger isn't on this list. Not only is it my indie game of 2023, it's probably in my top 10 best *games* of all time.

[@stevenmcdonald5837]

good taste, just curious, whats your top 10

[@ElieHaykal]

Hell yeah for Cocoon! I enjoyed every frame of it to the extent of creating a video review for it. It is a puzzle game with the right amount of difficulty for me with an awesome mechanic and to forget how abstract it was, yet you were able to connect things.

[@movies5080]

brew i almost never agree with your top 3 pics but i appreciate the work you are doing. keep going

[@rkclinite]

Awesome work this year, Clem! 👏👏👏👏

[@azuarc]

Thank you for remembering Afterimage and Cassette Beasts.

[@HexonineGames]

Great video. We are always looking forward for more of your content.

[@meugameb7567]

Bacana o seu Goty amigo. 🎉🎉🎉 Parabéns pelo ano do canal e suas conquistas!

[@Sandboxcode]

Nice list! Good to see a few of my favs are present

[@teraformerr]

Dredge is also my indie GOTY, I couldn't put the game down until I finished it. One of the best atmospheres in a game ever, the inventory management made sense, wasn't tedious at all. Truly one of the best games of the year

[@ClemmyGames]

Nice

[@Draffut2003]

I was enjoying it. Then I found my first refined metal, got hit by an underwater monster literally 10 seconds later and lost the metal. After it never respawned or anything I got frustrated and quit.

[@tommyflavio]

I have been avoiding Dredge purposefully because every trailer video makes it seem uninteresting. My cousin keeps recommending it to me but can't articulate why. What's the draw behind Dredge? Atmospheric Fishing Sim? I played Dave the Diver and lost interest pretty quick with that fishing sim.

[@teraformerr]

@@tommyflavio just play it, you will see. It won't take more than 10 hours to finish. I didn't play Dave the diver, don't know if it has a story or it's just a fishing sim but Dredge has a nice story, ofc you can play it as a fishing sim but it's not what it's meant to be. Also play the game at night, will make the experience a lot better

[@tommyflavio]

​@@teraformerralright. I have time off next week for the holidays and am looking for a new game now that Tevi is just about done. I will bite the bullet and finally buy wind waker's idle transportation with a sepia filter :-)

[@AsimDakarai]

Great video! Really interesting choices mixed in with some of the more expected great titles of the year.

[@AttnDefDis_]

I'm not a fan of JRPGs, but I loved Sea of Stars. Waited a couple years and it did not disappoint. Can't wait for DLC.

[@crisbercutov7405]

Cocoon is probably my favorite indie game this year, one of the most unique ideas I've seen in gaming in a good while that is also really well executed, never got stale nor overstayed its welcome. Great game.

[@13Sunkenrock]

Thanks for the list. Took out a few games to play.

[@thomashooper2451]

Slay the Princess, SANABI, Blasphemous 2, and Cassette Beasts are outstanding. (I couldn't get into Astral Ascent or Sea of Stars, though. They bored me to tears, and I returned them both on Steam.) What a great year for games. 2023 really spoiled us.

[@Demo-Dash]

I've been a fan of Indie titles for a very long time now - started many years back with walking sims. Give me Indie over AAA any day of the week! Great video!

[@Bala-zw1lk]

I'm happy to see afterimage here, i loved this game and the art style they brought inside the game. Good work by the team 👍

[@franciscovelasco5422]

Glad to see that early access games will have a separate category for themselves.

[@Mr__Mario]

Was eagerly waiting for this 😊

[@evaander]

Dredge on 1 is well deserved but Dave the diver not being here is a crime

[@movies5080]

its not an indie game blud

[@ClemmyGames]

Dave the Diver is probably my favorite game of the year but it's not indie

[@Deceneu66]

11:17 you had me at "designer of INSIDE & LIMBO".

[@maurice5402]

Bomb rush cyberfunk is my favorite indie game ever!! It's just so perfect and I keep coming back to it

[@murphrichard]

My personal favorite indie release was the Golf Mode update for Goblin Rules Football

[@user-zh3vs7nm2g]

Surprisingly, that Lethal Company not on the list. It`s definetely not top1, but still deserves to be in list

[@ramoncf7]

It's been a while like this, he focuses more on pixel art kind of games than shooters and multiplayer coops, Battlebit has been out of the radar completely in any list and is one of very few indiedevs success story of the year.

[@helmeren3828]

nah. that game is gonna be forgotten in some months. Its just like every other popular indie game. Its something you play with your friends because its popular and then you never touch it again

[@XiLock_Alotx]

Cocoon and the recently released Cookie Cutter 100% were my favorite indie titles of the year. Straight BANGERS

[@sidokouki670]

12:37 to 12:42 love how you synced the music to the charchter stunts

[@AndieBlue]

Sea of Stars was amazing. Art style is gorgeous, the storyline and characters were intriguing and dynamic. Everything was balanced, it was a simultaneously relaxing yet stressful adventure. And I don’t usually play turn based fighting type games, but they made fighting enemies super fun, not too easy but not excruciatingly difficult either. It’s definitely a game I see myself coming back to over and over again!

[@ElderBard00]

Happy Cocoon made the list. Discovered this game a few days ago and I had fun. Looks simple at first.

[@osmosisp]

Blasphemous 2 is my GOTY

[@pablosimo4879]

What about Laika: Aged Through Blood? I didn’see any mention and it is a great metroidvania.

[@JohnD131]

To anyone who has played both Toho Luna Night and Afterimage, which do you prefer? I'm trying to decide which to pick up with the Luna Night physical coming out next month.

[@alarsenal10]

Amazing year for indie games, indeed. Let's go for another great year in this jewel of a channel :)

[@LadyMaria128]

I just ordered a physical sea of stars off a ebay. Now we need a physical version of the last faith

[@sergiofloray1993]

I want part 2 of 25 goty indies!

[@purringraven3648]

I was expecting Dave the Diver to be on the list

[@jeffrey5976]

Brotato is my favourite game this year, so addictive:)

[@drezworthy]

Seeing Dredge at number one just made me realize Dave the Diver wasn't on the list! At any rate it was a great list! Thanks for all you do in bringing attention to all these amazing indie games Clemmy! Best wishes to you and your family in the new year!

[@brands2k7]

Ye I was surprised too but there was discussion on Dave the diver not really being indie at Game of the year awards as it is part of a massive studio but a small team 🤔 maybe Clemmie also thought about this

[@drezworthy]

@@brands2k7 Ohh I did not realize!

[@ClemmyGames]

Dave is probably my favorite game of the year but it's not indie

[@XionSteel]

Despite seeing these, there are a few that i somehow never heard of so the Steam Wishlist is a hell of a nice thing to have. But yeah i did 100% Rabi Ribi so picking up Tevi was needed, playing through it now and it's certainly a fun game that has nice exploration and things to find everywhere. Quite surprised that some people still haven't heard of the former Rabi Ribi but i guess that's the life of an indie dev.

[@ijustneedanamex7153]

cassette beasts is a vibe

[@controladortv]

Cassette Beasts should've been higher

[@TysonJensen]

I would pick the same for #1 of the year. Sometimes it's not about the number of hours a game grinds out of you, but the sheer experience of playing it.

[@ClemmyGames]

Exactly

[@tristanwegner]

I can confirm that all games from the list that I have played (Cocoon, Viewfinder, Brotato, Slay the Princes, Backpack Hero) are great!

[@caramelisedcashews4849]

pseudoregalia and bomb rush cyberfunk were great this year!

[@rendy.t9680]

if you love wandering sword, there is also similar game you should check out, it's called "hero's adventure", same as wandering sword it's also a pixel Chinese themed rpg, but instead having a linear plot and ending like wandering sword, hero's adventure has multiple ending which depends on your choices and who you meet through out the game, you also can choose which sect you want to join not like wandering sword who forced you to join only wudang sect

[@chumbosaurio7099]

What amazing year for INDIEA and A3 Gaming, thanks for your hardwork!

[@chumbosaurio7099]

flipwitch and Princess y conquest goty

[@Miiidorii]

Thanks my Wishlist grows massive

[@ayush17]

It's clear that this channel loves Metroidvania and Rogue like RPGs more than anything because they were 20 out of 25 games here. Such a shame as they missed a lot of good games just to include all these similar games

[@ClemmyGames]

75 more games here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaetnJ1oqNRkick

[@dino56ac49]

So happy to see Dredge at #1. I wish there were more variety across the ranking in terms of genre, too many 2D platformers but if they're good I can't complain too much. Readding through all the comments to get some bonus recommendations ;-)

[@FearfulFellow]

The animation quality in pizza tower is insanely good

[@dominicjohnson8955]

Another really good indie game is Roboquest which is a rougelite FPS with inspiration of Doom and Borderlands. The music, gun/gameplay are amazing a simple story but definitely worth the play

[@BrooksSoljah]

Luck be a landlord is so addicting and fun. Pumped a solid 20hrs in easily

[@peterc504]

Blasphemous 2 is so far my fav game of the year...I still have to play Sea of Stars but the demo was great..I just dont have the time or patience for turn based RPG...

[@felipessca]

This games are awesome, i will add most of them my wishlist.

[@georgenorten4760]

was the last spell updated? damn i wanna play that again

[@claypot882]

les fucking goo, i don't see anyone talking about sanabi so i'm glad it made the list, one of my favourite games

[@leifmochi5082]

Bomb rush cyberfunk my pick for indie goty. Its so fun and its ost is a banger as well

[@EduSolsa]

I only played Cassette Beasts. So many good games, I can't play all.

[@TheOdsystem]

Dredge is a lot of fun. Surprised me!

[@NikitosyaTheGodGamer]

Nice vid!

[@ClemmyGames]

Thanks!

[@DanSilverhound]

Yeah you guys did right by the music. That shit is wild

[@matanrevivo5860]

Afterdream is not only the best indie game I played this year, It's one of the best games I played. I cannot state enough how much it is missing in a list like this.

[@SalmonSushi47]

Dredge truly is the game of the year I agree.

[@johndaniel21343]

The Last Spell 🙌

[@dougdeming3115]

As someone who has got a Metroidvania in the works (early stages not much to show yet) this both encourages and disheartens me. I'm excited that there is so much buzz around the genre, and why wouldn't there be it's probably one of the best well rounded genre's in video games, with the ability to tell stories, insert the player right into the action, and sate our penchant for wanting to explore, it really does have it all. It disheartens me a little because there is SOOOOOOO much competition, which is honestly good for the fans because it means that they are going to get a lot of excellent titles just means that there can be genre fatigue which is worrying. Anyway I'm so very excited for many of these titles I hope that the developers are rewarded for their efforts.

[@eaglelyy5780]

The True Ending of Sea of Stars is too fking good ngl lol

[@jayakumar9652]

Dave The Diver deserved to be in this list

[@ClemmyGames]

Probably my favorite game of the year but it's not indie

[@deoxxys]

@@ClemmyGames Oh really? Interesting. Glad I skimmed the comments first. Thats surprises me.

[@olivierdube809]

I wish The Last Faith was a little less bloated, but it's quite good and is the closest to a new Castlevania we could wish for. I'll get Sea of Stars for sure soon, but there were so many games in 2023 that I have quite a bit to complete before getting it. Still, pixel art games are the ones who age the best. Sea of Stars will be as good in 10 years, but I sure won't wait this long! What a year it's been! Wish for a near future : a new old school Castlevania that will be better than all those that emulate it. Konami sure keeps quiet about it for now, but I bet we'll hear about it soon. Hopefully, in pixel art, bloody, dark with whip combos and awesome music!

[@nercu743]

indies are life ❤️🎮

[@zammich3649]

Sea of Stars was a massive swing and miss for me outside of visual presentation, so I'm kinda desperate to find something that'll fill me up instead. Dredge was great at least.

[@mateusroschemant796]

Good year for indie games.My game of this year is Blasphemous 2, because my most hyped game was The Last Faith,it's very good,great art style but still not better than Blasphemous 2. Waiting for the the most important list " The Year in Metroidvanias."

[@daviddobo55]

I waited this for a while

[@eduardonnajo]

Where is Ember Knights?

[@loxzone1]

You're just guna forget about Worldless like that? That game is ultra sick!

[@vrgs_]

couldnt agree more! Dregdge is #1

[@controladortv]

Sea of Stars is gorgeous 🥰

[@flagutierrez]

yeah but nothing original just a Chrono Trigger rip off

[@FMSB21]

sadly you didn't put voidigo i think it deserve a spot in this list one of the best games I've played this year

[@ToonGoten559]

Will u talk about some mobile android games ?

[@zacharysweet1849]

Dude, i would really appreciate it if you could tell me what your favorite game of all time is, i dont care if its indie or main stream, i just want to know what your favorite one is, because i want to play it. if you read this, please let me know.

[@Gibbo81]

great video

[@maxmustermann-hx3fx]

I hope some of them are on sale

[@meysamghahremaninejad6809]

3:06 You know us very well!

[@freakydeaky1435]

I actually didn't like dredge very much.. I don't think the sound design is good enough and it lets it down. Like, they need better realistic sea sounds to make it more immersive. Also, the music is underwhelming. I also think the perspective from which you view the boat is wrong, I'm no expert on this but I feel like changing perspective could create a more claustraphobic feel... more varied/extreme weather events would also help.

[@ClemmyGames]

Thanks for sharing. What was your GOTY?

[@75338]

This is the only channel I care about GOTY awards from.

[@RacknRuinGame]

Needs more Voidstranger and Lunacid.

[@ghost8339]

not including dave the diver in top 5 is a crime imo

[@Ohmagawdjr]

Dave the diver is not indie

[@ClemmyGames]

Probably my favorite game of the year but it's not indie