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Best Indie games of 2016

The 51 best Indie games released in 2016, ranked from 15,233 critic and player ratings.

The best Indie game of 2016 is Inside, with a critic score of 92/100 — updated November 2026.

How this ranking is built
  • Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
  • A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
  • Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
  • Release window covered: 2016.
  • 50 games are listed on this page, carrying 15,233 ratings between them.
  • Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 13 November 2026.

Top 50

Played them? Give your tier with the + next to each game. No account needed to try — create one to keep your tiers.

01 Inside Inside 2016 · 1,651 ratings An atmospheric 2D side-scroller in which, hunted and alone, a boy finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project and struggles to preserve his identity. 92 /100
02 Pony Island Pony Island 2016 · 153 ratings · finished by 15% Pony Island is a suspense puzzle game in disguise. You are in limbo, trapped in a malevolent and malfunctioning arcade machine devised by the devil himself. It is not a game about ponies. 92 /100
03 Stardew Valley A Stardew Valley 2016 · 1,842 ratings · 3 Tier votes · finished by 13% · 13 h to beat Stardew Valley is an open-ended country-life RPG! You’ve inherited your grandfather’s old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home? It won’t be easy. Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared. The community center, once the town’s most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles. But the valley seems full of opportunity. With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness! 91 /100
04 Hyper Light Drifter Hyper Light Drifter 2016 · 258 ratings · finished by 15% Echoes of a dark and violent past resonate throughout a savage land, steeped in treasure and blood. Hyper Light Drifter is an action adventure RPG in the vein of the best 16­-bit classics, with modernized mechanics and designs on a much grander scale. 89 /100
05 Owlboy Owlboy 2016 · 132 ratings · finished by 11% Owlboy is a platform/action-adventure video game created by Norwegian developer D-Pad Studio. Explore a vibrantly crafted pixel world in this flying adventure platformer. Being a mute, Otus struggles living up to the expectations of owl-hood. Things spiral from bad to worse with the sudden appearance of sky pirates. What follows is a journey through monster infested ruins, with unexpected encounters, and burdens no one should have to bear. 89 /100
06 The Witness The Witness 2016 · 527 ratings · finished by 13% The Witness is a single-player game in an open world with dozens of locations to explore and over 500 puzzles. This game respects you as an intelligent player and it treats your time as precious. There's no filler; each of those puzzles brings its own new idea into the mix. So, this is a game full of ideas. 88 /100
07 Starbound Starbound 2016 · 234 ratings · finished by 7% In Starbound, you create your own story - there’s no wrong way to play! You may choose to save the universe from the forces that destroyed your home, uncovering greater galactic mysteries in the process, or you may wish to forego a heroic journey entirely in favor of colonizing uncharted planets. 87 /100
08 RimWorld RimWorld 2016 · 634 ratings · finished by 9% 87 /100
09 Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun 2016 · 187 ratings · finished by 6% Skillfully hide from and sneak past the enemies fields of view, take their formations apart and hide their bodies to cover your tracks. Quick Save will enable you to execute your plans perfectly. Tactically plan actions for your whole team and execute them all at once. Make use of the vertical gameplay and jump from roof to roof to silently kill your foes from above. 86 /100
10 Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You 2016 · 139 ratings · finished by 7% Using the new governmental security program that has the power to survey the online presence of every person in The Nation, you investigate the lives of citizens to find those responsible for a series of terror attacks. Information from the internet, personal communications and private files are all accessible to you. But, be warned, the information you supply will have consequences… 86 /100
11 Salt and Sanctuary Salt and Sanctuary 2016 · 121 ratings · finished by 10% 85 /100
12 SuperHot SuperHot 2016 · 557 ratings · finished by 28% 85 /100
13 The Banner Saga 2 The Banner Saga 2 2016 · 120 ratings · finished by 15% 84 /100
14 OneShot OneShot 2016 · 193 ratings 84 /100
15 SpeedRunners SpeedRunners 2016 · 117 ratings · finished by 6% 84 /100
16 VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action 2016 · 150 ratings · finished by 20% 84 /100
17 Thumper Thumper 2016 · 94 ratings · finished by 8% 84 /100
18 Darkest Dungeon Darkest Dungeon 2016 · 462 ratings · finished by 7% 83 /100
19 Minecraft S Minecraft 2016 · 588 ratings · 13 Tier votes · finished by 28% 83 /100
20 Don't Starve Together D Don't Starve Together 2016 · 274 ratings · 1 Tier vote · finished by 5% · 34 h to beat 83 /100
21 Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight 2016 · 127 ratings · finished by 9% 83 /100
22 Enter the Gungeon D Enter the Gungeon 2016 · 343 ratings · 2 Tier votes · finished by 8% 82 /100
23 Grim Dawn B Grim Dawn 2016 · 214 ratings · 1 Tier vote · finished by 8% 82 /100
24 SuperHot VR SuperHot VR 2016 · 93 ratings · finished by 19% 82 /100
25 Overcooked! Overcooked! 2016 · 358 ratings · finished by 14% 82 /100
26 American Truck Simulator American Truck Simulator 2016 · 115 ratings · finished by 2% 81 /100
27 Abzu Abzu 2016 · 477 ratings · finished by 23% 81 /100
28 Move or Die Move or Die 2016 · 208 ratings · finished by 4% 80 /100
29 Beholder Beholder 2016 · 126 ratings · finished by 9% 80 /100
30 Kingdom: New Lands Kingdom: New Lands 2016 · 95 ratings · finished by 6% 80 /100
31 Ultimate Chicken Horse Ultimate Chicken Horse 2016 · 122 ratings · finished by 6% 79 /100
32 Firewatch Firewatch 2016 · 1,207 ratings 79 /100
33 Hue Hue 2016 · 338 ratings · finished by 8% 79 /100
34 Furi Furi 2016 · 198 ratings · finished by 12% 79 /100
35 Samorost 3 Samorost 3 2016 · 91 ratings · finished by 13% 79 /100
36 Oxenfree Oxenfree 2016 · 423 ratings · finished by 20% 79 /100
37 Hue Hue 2016 · 102 ratings 78 /100
38 The Jackbox Party Pack 3 The Jackbox Party Pack 3 2016 · 82 ratings · finished by 10% 78 /100
39 Layers of Fear Layers of Fear 2016 · 275 ratings · finished by 13% 76 /100
40 Reigns Reigns 2016 · 109 ratings · finished by 15% 75 /100
41 Rusty Lake Roots Rusty Lake Roots 2016 · 94 ratings · finished by 16% 75 /100
42 ClusterTruck ClusterTruck 2016 · 99 ratings · finished by 9% 74 /100
43 No Man's Sky No Man's Sky 2016 · 639 ratings 74 /100
44 Human: Fall Flat Human: Fall Flat 2016 · 265 ratings · finished by 11% 73 /100
45 Stories: The Path of Destinies Stories: The Path of Destinies 2016 · 89 ratings · finished by 7% 71 /100
46 Bad North Bad North 2016 · 143 ratings · finished by 5% 70 /100
47 Aragami Aragami 2016 · 85 ratings · finished by 9% 70 /100
48 Punch Club Punch Club 2016 · 95 ratings · finished by 9% 68 /100
49 Virginia Virginia 2016 · 91 ratings · finished by 19% 68 /100
50 Dear Esther: Landmark Edition Dear Esther: Landmark Edition 2016 · 97 ratings · finished by 7% 64 /100
Browse all Indie games

Other years

Best Indie games of 2026Best Indie games of 2025Best Indie games of 2024Best Indie games of 2023Best Indie games of 2022Best Indie games of 2021Best Indie games of 2020Best Indie games of 2019Best Indie games of 2018Best Indie games of 2017Best Indie games of 2015Best Indie games of 2014

Same year, other platforms

Best PC games of 2016Best PlayStation 4 games of 2016Best Xbox One games of 2016Best Mac games of 2016Best Linux games of 2016Best iOS games of 2016Best Android games of 2016Best Nintendo 3DS games of 2016Best PS Vita games of 2016Best PlayStation 3 games of 2016Best Wii U games of 2016Best Xbox 360 games of 2016

Nearby rankings

Best Indie games of 2015Best Indie games of 2017Best Action games of 2016Best Adventure games of 2016Best Casual games of 2016

Catalog statistics

Most abandoned gamesMost completed games

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Indie game of 2016?

Inside currently tops the ranking with a score of 92/100 across 1,651 ratings. Ranking updated November 2026.

How is this ranking built?

Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.