27 Indie Storyline Games That Won Awards

Indie games have made their place in the gaming world. People love them for the original stories they tell, the unique art styles they use, and the emotional connections they make.

Look at 27 great independent story games with incredible stories and fun gameplay that have caught people's attention. From the beautiful scenery of "Journey" to the creepy atmosphere of "LIMBO," each game is different and connects with players in their way.

Action-art games like "Hades" and "Cuphead" really show off that excellent mix, while "Spiritfarer" and "Venba" go deeper into things like love, loss, and national identity.

You can tell that independent makers put a lot of thought and love into these games when you play "Little Nightmares" or "Kena: Bridge of Spirits," which both have scary and touching parts.

Follow me as we discover this wonderful collection of independent games that have won awards and won the hearts of gamers everywhere.

Journey

• It's an Ancient Mystery Game
• Players soar above ruins and glide across sands to discover its secrets.
• The game features stunning visuals and a Grammy-nominated musical score.

LIMBO

A boy, unsure about his sister's future, joins LIMBO.

Shovel Knight

• It's a classic action-adventure game.
• It has a unique mix of 8-bit retro graphics.
• The main character is a tiny warrior whose job is to beat the evil Enchantress and find his lost love.
• A group of evil knights called The Order of No Quarter stands between Shovel Knight and his love. They are determined to stop Shovel Knight from getting her.
• The game is a simple but challenging platformer where enemies flip, jump over gaps, fight, dig for treasure, find secrets, and improve their weapons and armour.
• The music in the game is excellent, with songs by Jake "Virt" Kaufman and Manami Matsumae.
• The game has humour, joy, and heart, so it's fun for new and experienced gamers.

Cuphead

• Cuphead is a run-and-gun action game set in the 1930s focusing on boss fights.
• The game is made to look like cartoons from the 1930s and uses hand-drawn animation, watercolour backgrounds, and original jazz records.
• You can play as either Cuphead or Mugman.
• As you try to pay off your bills, you can explore strange worlds, get new weapons, learn powerful moves, and find hidden secrets.

INSIDE

• INSIDE is an award-winning indie adventure game from Playdead about a boy who gets involved with a dark project by himself.
• It's a story-driven platformer with a moody art style, ambient music, and a creepy atmosphere.

Hades

• Hades is a god-like cave crawler that takes ideas from some of Supergiant's well-reviewed games, like Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre.
• You must use Olympus's skills and mythical weapons as the Prince of the Underworld to escape from the god of the dead.
• You must also unlock the myth of the Olympians, which includes Zeus, Athena, and Poseidon, and pick from their many powerful Boons to improve your skills.
• Make friends with gods, ghosts, and monsters to expand your circle of friends and go through thousands of different story events.
• You'll find something new each time you go into the Underworld, which is constantly changing. The Mirror of Night makes you more robust over time, which helps you when you're running away from home.
• Thanks to permanent upgrades, nothing is impossible, but if you're a god, you can test your skills with intense action.
• Beautiful hand-painted landscapes and an original score make the Underworld come to life.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

• Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an action-adventure game where you can explore and fight quickly.
• As a young Spirit Guide, Kena works with her firm Rot friends to free demons stuck in a long-lost town.
• The game's world is charming, and players can find rewards and secrets by exploring every part of the town.
• Players can also change how their Rot friends look by collecting Rot Hats and Spirit Mail that lost souls leave behind.
• You can improve your skills with different close-quarters and far-quarters attacks and control the powers of your Rot allies.
• The New Game+ lets players start a new adventure after finishing the game, and The Trials adds new enemies, tasks, and ways to fight them.
• You can also use Charmstones to change how you play and unlock new clothes for Kena.
• The picture mode has more fun poses, lighting, and a moving camera.

Stray

• It's a cat adventure game set in a dying cybercity.
• A stray cat must solve an old riddle to get out of the city that no one remembers.
• The game takes players through the city's dark alleys, where they must protect themselves from unknown threats and solve riddles inhabited by strange robots and dangerous animals.
• The cat plays with its surroundings and makes friends with B-12, a small flying drone that helps them escape.
• The game is an exciting journey for both cats and people.

Sea of Stars

• It's a modern role-playing game with turn-based combat, storytelling, exploration, and interactions with the world.
• It offers a lot of fun and brings back many memories.
• The game has boosting, multi-character combo strikes, and a strategic "locks" system that lets you block enemies while you use powerful spells or attacks.
• Since the game is a platformer, the navigation method doesn't use the usual "bound-to-the-grid" tileset movement.
• Thanks to the custom-made render process, the world is stunning and pushes the limits of 2D-pixel art games.
• With twists and turns you didn't see coming, the game covers classic themes like adventure and friendship.
• You can enjoy Sea of Stars in many ways: sailing, cooking, fishing, going to a tavern, or playing the popular board game "Wheels".

Ori and the Blind Forest

• It's a beautiful action platform for PC that takes place in Nibel's dying forest.
• The story is about a young orphan who needs to get brave and face a dangerous enemy to protect his home.
• The game art is painted by hand, and the characters move and talk.
• The game has themes of love, suffering, and hope.

Hallow Knight

• It's an action-adventure game in a broken-down, old country.
• To solve ancient secrets, players must find their way through dangerous wastelands, twisting caverns, and ruins of cities.
• The game has modern touches to the classic side-scrolling action, well-tuned 2D controls, and a massive world with abandoned highways, wilds that have grown over, and towns that have been destroyed.
• People can pick their way and gain new powerful skills, like spells, strength, and speed.
• There are also a lot of cute and scary characters in the game. All of them are animated in the classic 2D frame-by-frame style.
• There are more than 130 enemies and 30 epic bosses waiting for players.
• In The Dream Nail, players see a new side of the people and the enemies they fight.
• The world of Hollow Knight comes to life with moody, vivid details. Creatures big and small move around in the tunnels by hand in a traditional 2D style.
• Each new area is strange and different, with new characters and animals.
• Finish Hollow Knight to get to Steel Soul Mode, the most challenging mode.
• If you like old-school games with cute but creepy characters, big adventures, and beautiful, dark worlds, you should play the game.

Venba

• Venba is a family, love, and death theme cooking game.
• Players take on the role of Venba, a mother from South India who moved to the United States and bonds with her son through food.
• South Indian foods like idlis, dosas, and biriyani are made in the game, and players can learn how to make them from a worn-out recipe book.
• The family deals with culture, self-discovery, and acceptance. The game also tells a touching story of love and loss.
• The game has catchy Tamil music, an original score, and an in-game radio that lets you listen whenever you want.
• The bright, stylized art in the game brings the story and food to life, making it a pleasure to look at.
• The game is excellent for people who like cooking and trying new South Indian foods.

Saltsea Chronicles

• "Saltsea Chronicles" is a new adventure game from Die Gute Fabrik.
• It takes place in a world called "Saltsea" after a flood.
• The game's world is after a flood, and towns are built on top of ruins before the flood.
• The game imagines a rich world where people have come together to rebuild their communities after a disaster, building a society of hope, connection, and strength.
• Players must pick which island to visit and who to send on the journey. By doing this, they can unlock new content and build relationships.
• They can also learn about a plot by watching Murl's Log and putting stickers in the Almanac to record meetings.
• The themes in Saltsea Chronicles come from award-winning writers who have worked on movies, plays, books for teens, poems, and video games.
• The game deals with deep themes in a funny, light, and caring way.

SEASON: A letter to the future

• Ride around a new planet and photograph and record seasonal memories to preserve memories for future generations.
• Make a journal that you can customize to dive into the mysteries of the season before everything is turned upside down by a cataclysm.
• Get to know a variety of characters as they come together to share their experiences and a special moment at the season's end.

South of the Circle

• It's an emotional narrative game in Cold War Antarctica.
• It tells the story of Peter's relationship with fellow academic Clara, highlighting the weight of his promises.
• Developed by the BAFTA-winning team at the State of Play, it boasts a stunning aesthetic and thoughtful writing featuring actors you might recognize from various films.
• The game dives into how our choices affect our careers and love lives.
• With its engaging narrative, emotional choices, and fully motion-captured performances, the game creates an authentic atmosphere through environmental storytelling and a unique art style.
• This game is for those looking for emotional and heart-wrenching experiences, and its mix of past and present is bound to stick with players long after they finish.

Road 96

• Road 96 takes you on an exciting journey through the authoritarian nation of Petria, where you hit the road for a daring trip to break free from the regime.
• The game has many roads, and each one lets you make choices that can change your adventure, the characters you encounter, and even the world around you.
• Road 96 is a story-driven adventure filled with action, exploration, reflective moments, and meaningful human interactions.
• It takes place in a world filled with rule and oppression, showcasing a beautiful visual style, a soundtrack that vibes with the 90s, and tons of routes for players to craft unique stories.

This Bed We Made

• Bed We Made is a mystery game that runs for about 3 to 6 hours, letting players dive into the intriguing lives of hotel guests by uncovering the odd items they bring.
• The game has a relaxed neo-noir vibe with exploration, guilty pleasure, secretive relationships, and consequences.
• Players get to dive into the three atmospheric floors of the Clarington Hotel, connect with the employees and guests on a personal level, and decide between the street-smart Beth and the book-smart Andrew.
• The game comes with heavy themes like alcohol and tobacco use, cheating, emotional and domestic abuse, depression, PTSD, homicide, and violence.
• The developers suggest that players take a moment to read the content carefully and consider any possible risks and outcomes.

Spiritfarer

• People have loved this game, calling it one of the best from 2020.
• Spiritfarer® is a warm and inviting management game centred around the theme of dying.
• As a player, you step into Stella's shoes, a ferrymaster for the departed, as she constructs a boat to navigate the world and look after spirits before guiding them into the afterlife.
• The game has many activities, like farming, mining, fishing, harvesting, cooking, weaving, and crafting.
• The Farewell Edition features stunning hand-drawn art and animation, customizable options for your boat, character, and cat, and remote play capabilities.
• The game is about having fun and taking it easy, with around 30 hours to complete and more than 50 hours to dive into everything Spiritfarer has in store.

ABZU

• It's a fantastic underwater adventure game from the creators of Journey and Flower.
• The name "ABZÛ" has roots in some of the oldest mythologies. It means water, which symbolizes the vast ocean of wisdom.
• You know, some dangers are hiding down there.
• The game dives into aquatic ecosystems like never before, showcasing incredible detail.
• A colorful ocean world packed with mystery and life.
• As a Diver, you can pull off some fantastic acrobatics, explore hundreds of unique species, and interact with thousands of fish.

Behind the frame: The Finest Scenery

• Behind the Frame is a fun interactive fiction game where you follow an artist trying to complete her gallery submission.
• Every painting tells a story, making it a captivating and engaging experience.
• The game provides a chill and expressive experience packed with bright colors, hand-drawn visuals, and a soothing soundtrack.
• The main character is on a quest to find the missing colors that will make her paintings come alive while enjoying some coffee and breakfast breaks along the way.

Firewatch

• Firewatch takes you on a solo adventure in the first-person perspective, diving into a mystery unfolding in the beautiful Wyoming wilderness in 1989.
• Henry, a guy who's stepped back from his chaotic life, takes on the role of a fire lookout to help protect the wilderness.
• The game has a gorgeous wilderness setting, a custom story, a thrilling mystery, and plenty of secrets and discoveries waiting to be found around every corner.
• The game has some fantastic characters that come to life thanks to the talents of Cissy Jones and Rich Sommer.
• The wilderness setting is stunning, created by Olly Moss and Jane Ng. You'll find a gripping story and script from Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin, along with a moving original soundtrack by Chris Remo.
• The first-person animation flows smoothly, thanks to James Benson, while Patrick Ewing and Nels Anderson handled the gameplay scripting and design.
• And let's remember the programming done by Will Armstrong, Ben Burbank, and Paolo Surricchio.
• Here, adults engage in meaningful conversations about real-life topics, which could be an excellent experience for young gamers.

Beacon Pines

• Beacon Pines is a spooky adventure that unfolds in a mysterious book, where you get to step into the shoes of the reader and the main character, Luka.
• It's a fun story adventure that changes and expands based on your choices.
• The book is full of intrigue, and you'll need to join Luka in uncovering the odd events at the old warehouse.
• You gather these golden charms with words engraved on them, and you can use them at crucial moments in the story to shift the direction of fate.

GYLT

• GYLT is a spooky adventure game that takes you through a gloomy world where nightmares come to life.
• Sally, a girl from Bethelwood, Maine, is dealing with tough times after her cousin Emily goes missing.
• The game mixes fantasy and reality in a spooky way, letting players tackle the challenges of this wicked world.
• After getting chased by bullies, she finds herself pulled into a bizarre version of her town, where her fears and memories come to life in a dark and unsettling way.
• The game has a mix of puzzles, stealth, and action, allowing players to confront or sneak past creatures while developing clever strategies to distract them.

A Memoir Blue

• Explore the life of a superstar athlete.
• The game has an excellent mix of hand-drawn and 3D art.
• Explores themes of sacrifice, heartbreak, and victory.
• Help Miriam strengthen her connection with her mom.

Unforeseen Incidents

• Unforeseen Incidents is a classic interactive mystery in a beautifully hand-painted world.
• Harper Pendrell, a handyman, stumbles upon a wicked conspiracy tied to a mysterious disease that's making its way across the country.
• He has to team up with a scientist, a reporter, and a reclusive artist to put a stop to it.
• Harper is up against a group of dangerous fanatics and needs to muster the courage to reveal the truth and stop the epidemic.
• The game has a challenging investigation, clever dialogue, and diverse characters.
• The game features a well-crafted soundtrack and includes voice acting in English and German.
• The game has stunning, hand-painted 2D graphics and offers more than 60 backgrounds, plus many intriguing characters to meet.

Jenny LeClue - Detectivu

• It's a captivating mystery-adventure game set in the sleepy town of Arthurton, featuring memorable and complex characters.
• The game is about making choices and has a relaxed look, letting players dive into the story and become the detective they've always wanted to be.
• Jenny is an intelligent young detective who always looks for details that could show whether someone is guilty or innocent.
• She's got a keen eye and a knack for figuring things out, and she doesn't hold back when it comes to getting to the truth.
• The game is set in a sleek, hand-drawn world with vintage mid-20th-century aesthetics and mystery squished into every corner.
• By making choices that change how Jenny's story is written, players can help unravel the tangled mystery and become the detective they were born to be.

Little Nightmares

• The Little Nightmares series has been drawing players from all over the globe since 2017.
• Six, a young child lost in a vast metal place called the Maw, filled with creepy, twisted versions of adults.
• Six has to rely on sharp eyes and quick thinking to find a way out of this place that's not meant for kids.
• Climb drawers and shelves to escape and squeeze through tiny openings that adults can't fit into.
• The folks in the Maw have a grim view of children, so it's best to stay hidden and creep when they're around.
• If you catch their eye, they might just come after you. Sometimes, the only option is to dash for your life, and if you can find a spot where the Residents can't follow, you might make it.
• Six is counting on you to help them escape the Maw and find freedom.

Conclusion

Finally, the 27 award-winning independent story games on this list cover a lot of different styles and themes, and each one offers something unique in terms of gameplay and emotional storytelling.

With their stunning graphics and great music, these games show how creative and full of new ideas the independent gaming world is. When it comes to platforming tasks, story-driven adventures, and emotional journeys, indie games shine.

They made a significant impact in the game community and got a lot of praise for how creative and good at telling stories they are.