Games have never looked better now, thanks to the capabilities of high-end PCs, the Xbox Series X/S, and the PS5. It’s hard to believe that games like Pong ever existed next to something breathtaking like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. That said, as great as these AAA games are, sometimes they can blend together too much, which is why indie games tend to trend.
Not only can indie games experiment more with mechanics, but the small teams have a lot more agency with how their worlds are created. Because so much time is spent on color, animations, and the fluidity of combat, these pixel art games are gorgeous and can even rival 3D games. They harken to the past, but surpass it in every way thanks to dedicated craftsmen.
Sea Of Stars
Chrono Trigger’s Spiritual Successor
Sea of Stars is a spiritual successor to great RPGs of the 90s like Chrono Trigger, and it has some excellent designs. The world map is full of life, even though the playable party is so tiny.
All NPCs and monsters are well-designed, from their color schemes to their animations, and it all sounds good, too. In battle, there is an active element like the Mario RPG games, and the animations on these special abilities look mesmerizing for a 2D RPG.
Shovel Knight Dig
Dig Deep
Shovel Knight is one of the best-looking games that tries to emulate the NES, and its sequel/spinoff, Shovel Knight Dig, tries to go for a more advanced SNES look. Instead of an action platformer, this game is all about digging vertically below the surface as a roguelike.
Players will try to collect gems to get temporary items and upgrades, all while trying to tackle bosses in each biome. It may not be as well-known as the original game, but Shovel Knight Dig is a great roguelike with satisfying digging mechanics and an amazing art design.
Mullet Madjack
Anime Doom
Mullet Madjack is a roguelike first-person shooter with a killer 80s anime vibe. On runs, players need to keep their adrenaline above a certain level, as shown on their phone, or else they will die, so time is of the essence.
The color scheme is almost hypotonic with how bright everything is, and each room is detailed with various ways to kill each and every large, sprite-based enemy. Players can simply shoot or slash them, but it’s more fun to be creative, like by kicking them into fans, nudging them into electrified walls, or hurling them into vending machines.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Who Smells Feet?
When it comes to expressive sprite-based models, there is no better team than Tribute Games, and every one of their indie titles could make the list. Nostalgic 80s players perhaps have it the best with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, one of the best TMNT games in decades.
Players can choose from a wide variety of characters, from the tubular turtles to Master Splinter and even April O’Neil, and each one is fully animated in battle, from moves to expressions. Even though this is a sprite-based brawler, players may mistake it for an interactive episode of the original cartoon series, as it looks that impressive.
Eastward
EarthBound Plus Zelda
Eastward is an homage to the strangeness of EarthBound, but it is an action-adventure game more akin to a Zelda title. Players will begin as a miner, John, who then finds a little girl, Sam, and the two soon embark on an adventure to find her true past.
In each village they go to, players will find the wildest character models and intricately detailed backgrounds almost too good for an indie game. Eastward is the type of game where each frame could be taken as a screenshot, framed, and then hung on the wall as a fine piece of art.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
