When people discover I host a podcast dedicated to indie games, the most frequent question I am presented with is: "What games do you recommend?" That's an extremely broad question that can't be answered in just a few titles because there are so many great games available ranging from indie to AAA titles. That being said, here is a smattering of indie titles that are worth exploring. They're completely free, so you really have nothing to lose.
Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is an off-shoot of Linley's Dungeon Crawl that was conceived in 2006 to address the stagnant development of the original. While it features an ASCII version that most hardcore Roguelike and NetHack players will enjoy, the tileset that is included is incredibly helpful for those who are like me and have trouble discerning what's going on in an ASCII setting.
Players are tasked with descending the ranks of 27 dungeon floors to retrieve the Orb of Zot and return to the surface alive. It's easier said than done but the gameplay is addicting and you'll find yourself wanting just one more crawl.
(Note: Like any roguelike, Stone Soup is pretty extensive in commands and gameplay. It's a lot to take in at first, but there is a tutorial included in the game. However, if you have any questions, a Stone Soup Wiki is available to answer most of them.)
Spelunky
Spelunky is a mixture between Nethack and La Mulana; it carefully crafts the side scrolling fun of La Mulana with the random encounters, permanent death, and procedurally generated dungeons you'll find in Nethack. Players take on the role of the Spelunker who must reach the bottom of a 16 floor cave to obtain the ultimate treasure.
Along the way you can rescue damsels to earn an extra life, purchase items or gamble at shops, and experience four different distinct level designs accompanied with traditional 8 bit music. The game's 8 bit atmosphere is charming and because everything is procedurally generated, no dungeon exploration will be the same. Since Spelunky is such a vast game with many different items, monsters, and secrets, fans have created a wiki.
Hydorah
The game features 16 levels of action packed shooting with 27 different sublevels and 30 bosses to defeat, not to mention nearly 70 different monsters you can encounter. Locomalito designed the game with a single difficulty but the game has been so well balanced, as you progress through the levels, your skill floor increases with the difficulty perfectly.
Locomalito did a fantastic job of recapturing the spirit of old fashioned shoot 'em ups not only in the game, but with the soundtrack that was composed. In addition to downloading the game, Locomalito provides a sort of collector's edition by offering posters for the game, a DVD cover, a manual, and a Making of Hydorah .PDF file. Definitely check it out if you love the SHMUP 16 bit genre of games.
