These Indie Games Have Unforgettable Stories

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home April 5, 2025 4 Views 10 Min Read
These Indie Games Have Unforgettable Stories
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Summary

  • Story-driven indie games prioritize rich narratives over action, focusing on complex characters and impactful choices.
  • Titles like To the Moon and What Remains of Edith Finch offer emotional journeys through captivating storytelling.
  • Games like Hades and Disco Elysium blend gripping narratives with engaging gameplay, offering unique player experiences.

Story-driven indie games have truly taken off in the last few years. These narratives linger long after the credit rolls. These games prioritize complex characters and often let you make meaningful choices that impact the plot. Sometimes, these games have lots of action, but the story is always front and center.

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Melinoë from Hades 2, Jot from The Plucky Squire, and the Duck Detective from Duck Detective: The Secret Salami

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These stories vary widely. Some are heartfelt journeys through grief, while others are mind-bending mysteries. Most touch the heartstrings in at least one way or another. Indie developers often thrive on creating story-driven narratives since they have lots of creative freedom. Let’s take a look at some indie games that use powerful storytelling.

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To The Moon

To the Moon is a heart-wrenching story in a very simple RPG format. It follows two doctors who enter the memory of a dying man to grant him his final wish of traveling to the moon. You slowly uncover an emotional tale full of love and regret. The game has a minimalistic pixel art style and very straightforward gameplay, so it’s almost solely about the story.

The soundtrack is also breathtaking and does a lot to carry the game. Few games handle strong emotions as well as this one does, making it an unforgettable story-driven experience.

8

Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer is a story-driven game that also has a great deal of gameplay. It’s a game about death and forgiveness. You play as Stella, a ferrymaster guiding lost souls to the afterlife while building relationships with them along the way. The gameplay is mostly about managing your ship, collecting resources, and figuring out the secrets of those in your care.

This game represents death as a journey towards acceptance, not as fear. Plus, it’s a couch co-op game and suitable for children with basic gameplay skills. There is no dying or failure in the game, so it’s accessible for all skill levels.

7

What Remains Of Edith Finch

What Remains of Edith Finch weaves together a bunch of short stories about the Finch family’s tragic history. Each story has a unique gameplay style, which keeps everything interesting. However, the gameplay doesn’t take center stage and is exceptionally simple.

You play as Edith, the last surviving member of the Finch family. You explore Edith’s family home to learn more about what happened to her family, tackling complicated themes like mortality. This game is rather short, but the stories are deep.

6

Oxenfree

Oxenfree is a very emotionally charged game with a bit of the supernatural sprinkled in. You play as Alex, a teenager visiting an abandoned island with friends, only to accidentally open a ghostly rift. The game focuses on natural, flowing conversations that are time-based. Each conversation shapes your relationships with others and will ultimately decide the fate of your friends.

Oxenfree has an eerie atmosphere and a great soundtrack, which allows it to carry the blend of psychological horror and heartfelt storytelling.

5

Night In The Woods

Night in the Woods is a narrative-driven adventure about returning home and realizing everything has changed. You’ll take control of Mae Borowski, a college dropout struggling with adulthood and mental health. As she reconnects with old friends in the dying town of Possum Springs, a deeper mystery unfolds.

Mae looks into the mirror after the party in Night in the Woods

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The gameplay is mostly focused on dialogue, exploring hard themes like depression and economic hardships. Its hand-drawn art style is also loved by many.

4

Hades

Hades is a fun roguelike action game with smatterings of gripping, character-driven narrative. You play as Zagreus, the rebellious son of Hades. Your goal is to escape the underworld, but you’ll need to rely on relationships with several characters to do that. Every time you die, new dialogue options are available that help you evolve your relationships.

The game’s storytelling is integrated into its gameplay. Every time you die, you move the story and character development forward a bit, so all is not lost. However, the gameplay is also exceptionally important in the game.

3

Undertale

Undertale redefines RPG storytelling by giving you the freedom to shape the game’s world through your actions. You play as a child who falls into the Underground, a world of monsters. Each monster is a unique being with fears and desires, though. Instead of being faceless enemies, you can befriend these monsters (or not).

The main character at the very start of Undertale in a flower bed and later hugging Toriel in the ruins in Undertale

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The game tracks all your decisions, leading to multiple endings. There are some very well-done character arcs and some very witty writing. Undertale can often be just as funny as it is emotional!

2

Celeste

Celeste is an extremely tough platformer, but it’s also an emotional journey. Many people play it for the story, and with its accessibility modes, it is open to just about any level of skill.

You play as Madeline, a young woman climbing Celeste Mountain while battling her inner demons, literally and figuratively. The gameplay is designed to mirror her inner struggles, exploring topics like mental health and anxiety. It’s easily one of the most touching indie games ever created.

1

Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is an RPG unlike any other. You play as a washed-up detective with amnesia who is trying to solve a murder in a crumbling city. There is no traditional combat in the game. Instead, the gameplay is solely about dialogue and internal monologues that drive the story.

Your choices shape the story, leading to wildly different outcomes based on your skills and ideologies. It’s a game that’s worth playing a few different times if only to see all the different story options.

Three indie games arranged side-by-side.

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