# Top 18 Indie Games of the Mid-2010s

> Genre-defying breakouts, haunting art-house experiments, and pixel-perfect throwbacks that proved small studios could rewrite the rules. Cast your vote!

*By YPB Team · Published July 14, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-18-indie-games-of-the-mid-2010s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Undertale** — score 1000/1000
   Toby Fox's genre-bending 2015 RPG where mercy and morality reshape the whole game.
2. **Rocket League** — score 813/1000
   The 2015 car-soccer smash hit that became a global competitive sensation.
3. **The Talos Principle** — score 665/1000
   A 2014 first-person puzzler weaving philosophy into its intricate challenges.
4. **Ori and the Blind Forest** — score 664/1000
   A visually stunning 2015 metroidvania praised for its art and emotional story.
5. **Shovel Knight** — score 596/1000
   A 2014 retro-styled platformer that revived the 8-bit adventure with modern polish.
6. **Firewatch** — score 596/1000
   A 2016 first-person narrative adventure set in the Wyoming wilderness.
7. **This War of Mine** — score 517/1000
   A 2014 survival game depicting civilians enduring a besieged city.
8. **Enter the Gungeon** — score 517/1000
   A frantic 2016 bullet-hell roguelike dungeon crawler.
9. **Darkest Dungeon** — score 517/1000
   A brutally punishing 2016 gothic roguelike about the psychological toll of dungeon-crawling.
10. **SOMA** — score 423/1000
   Frictional Games' 2015 sci-fi horror exploring consciousness beneath the ocean.
11. **Axiom Verge** — score 423/1000
   A 2015 retro-inspired metroidvania built almost entirely by one developer.
12. **Her Story** — score 423/1000
   Sam Barlow's 2015 interactive-fiction mystery told through fragmented video clips.
13. **Stardew Valley** — score 310/1000
   Eric Barone's 2016 farming-life sim that became a defining indie phenomenon.
14. **The Witness** — score 310/1000
   Jonathan Blow's 2016 open-world puzzle island full of intricate line mazes.
15. **Downwell** — score 310/1000
   A minimalist 2015 arcade descent shooter with gunboots.
16. **Inside** — score 310/1000
   Playdead's haunting 2016 puzzle-platformer follow-up to Limbo.
17. **Transistor** — score 172/1000
   Supergiant's 2014 sci-fi action-RPG with a striking painterly aesthetic.
18. **Broforce** — score 172/1000
   A 2015 run-and-gun action platformer parodying 80s action heroes.

Tags: games, indie, 2010s