Video games have, in the past 20 years, getting a lot more popular than ever before. Back in the 80s, when the Nintendo Entertainment System was first came out, video games were considered little more than children’s entertainment and not really worth the time of day. However, as time passed on, more and more people became enthralled by various games which were more adult-oriented, like Doom, Castlevania, etc. Today, the video game industry is massive, worth over a billion dollars, and people of all ages play video games and attend numerous video game conventions. Needless to say, video games have grown to become a form of mainstream media.
Nowadays, it is almost impossible to find a person who has never played any game in their life. Whether it be the Triple A releases, like Call of Duty, Elder Scrolls, etc., online casino games like the ones that can be found on Spinsify, mobile games like Candy Crush, which have gained mainstream popularity, or some independent releases which have managed to rise through the ranks and breakthrough in the mainstream, video games are certainly one of the most popular media in the modern world.
In the past couple of years, a push has been made towards supporting smaller video game developers, which has resulted in the popularity of certain indie games exceeding even that of some AAA releases. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular indie games in the past ten years.
Cuphead
The release of Cuphead in 2017 took the world by storm. The run-and-gun, inspired by old-school rubber hose animation, was developed and published by Studio MDHR. Cuphead, at first glance, seemed to be little more than an innocent, indie run-and-gun; however, it soon became widely known as one of the most difficult games of the year, with some even placing it on lists of the most difficult games of all time. The game’s popularity has exceeded all expectations, and in 2022, an animated series was released on Netflix inspired by the game.
Hollow Knight
In 2017, Team Cherry released their first video game, which soon became a huge hit in gaming circles. Hollow Knight is a platformer reminiscent to classic Nintendo games like Castlevania and Metroid. The game follows the story of a hollow, only referred to as the Knight, armed with a nail. As the Knight runs through a forest, facing off against various insects (and other Hollows), the player is introduced to the world, building up the Hollow Knight’s skills and unlocking new abilities.
The game gained mass appeal and became known for the dark, moody atmosphere, and the bleak storyline, despite seeming very light-hearted at first.
Hades
In 2018, Supergiant Games released magnum opus Hades. Prior to the release of Hades, the gaming studio had seen some minor success, with games like Bastion that saw popularity on the indie scene. Hades, however, was their first game to break out and gain wide mass appeal. The dungeon crawler sees the son of Hades trying to escape from his father’s Underworld in an attempt to find his missing mother. With changing dungeons and a roster of weapons, Hades’ replay value is immense.
