Best Indie games of 2017
The 94 best Indie games released in 2017, ranked from 14,195 critic and player ratings.
The best Indie game of 2017 is Doki Doki Literature Club!, with a critic score of 94/100 — updated augusti 2026.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
The Literature Club is full of cute girls! Will you write the way into their heart? This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.
94
/100
02
Opus Magnum
Master the intricate, physical machinery of the transmutation engine— the alchemical engineer’s most advanced tool— and use it to create vital remedies, precious gemstones, deadly weapons, and more. Design Machines - Design and build machines that carry out alchemical processes using a variety of components. Open-Ended Puzzles - Compete against your friends and the world to build the simplest, fastest, and most compact solutions. Export animated GIFs to show them off. Steam Workshop - Make and share your own puzzles with full Steam Workshop integration and an easy-to-use puzzle editor. Solitaire Minigame - Take a break with Sigmar’s Garden, an original alchemy-based solitaire game.
92
/100
03
SteamWorld Dig 2
SteamWorld Dig 2 takes you on a platform mining adventure forged in Metroidvania flames. When an old trading town is struck by mysterious earthquakes, it’s up to a lone steambot and her unlikely companion to uncover what trembling terrors lie beneath. Dig your way underground and explore vivid worlds riddled with treasure, secrets and traps. Combat dangerous enemies at every turn of the underworld’s twisted paths, including shadowy creatures and the haunted remains of an ancient electrical threat. Upgrade your gear to forge deeper into the earth and take on bigger challenges. Swing across large chasms with your Hookshot and fly through caves with the Jet Engine! And finally, learn the truth about your long lost friend…
89
/100
Nex Machina
89
/100
05
Night in the Woods
Night In The Woods is an adventure game heavily focused on story, characters and exploration, with some platforming to get around town. Mae's a cat so the roofs and ledges and powerlines are all her playground, and she's not the only one up there by a long shot. You'll also be doing various activities and interacting with the world in different ways, getting to know the townspeople, hanging out with friends, exploring Possum Springs inside and out, and venturing into the surrounding areas.
88
/100
06
A
Hollow Knight
A 2D metroidvania with an emphasis on close combat and exploration in which the player enters the once-prosperous now-bleak insect kingdom of Hallownest, travels through its various districts, meets friendly inhabitants, fights hostile ones and uncovers the kingdom's history while improving their combat abilities and movement arsenal by fighting bosses and accessing out-of-the-way areas.
88
/100
07
West of Loathing
88
/100
08
Cuphead
Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional cel animation (hand drawn & hand inked!), watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings. Play as Cuphead or Mugman (in single player or co-op) as you traverse strange worlds, acquire new weapons, learn powerful super moves, and discover hidden secrets. Cuphead is all action, all the time.
87
/100
09
Sunless Skies
87
/100
10
What Remains of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of short stories about a cursed family in Washington State. Each story offers a chance to experience the life of a different family member with stories ranging from the early 1900s to the present day. The gameplay and tone of the stories are as varied as the family members themselves. The only constants are that each is played from a first-person perspective and that each story ends with that family member's death. It's a game about what it feels like to be humbled and astonished by the vast and unknowable world around us. You'll follow Edith Finch as she explores the history of her family and tries to figure out why she's the last Finch left alive.
87
/100
11
Pyre
86
/100
12
Oxygen Not Included
86
/100
13
Paradigm
86
/100
14
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
84
/100
15
Thimbleweed Park
84
/100
16
Rakuen
84
/100
17
Detention
83
/100
18
The End Is Nigh
83
/100
19
Bleed 2
83
/100
20
Cat Quest
83
/100
21
Torment: Tides of Numenera
82
/100
22
She Remembered Caterpillars
82
/100
23
Hand of Fate 2
81
/100
24
Rising Storm 2: VIETNAM
81
/100
25
Battle Chef Brigade
81
/100
26
Emily Is Away Too
80
/100
27
Battle Brothers
80
/100
28
EVERSPACE
80
/100
29
Faeria
80
/100
30
Nidhogg 2
80
/100
31
Hidden Folks
80
/100
32
Flinthook
80
/100
33
Darkwood
80
/100
34
A Hat in Time
80
/100
35
Battle Chasers: Nightwar
79
/100
36
Last Day of June
79
/100
37
Heat Signature
79
/100
38
Splasher
79
/100
39
Stories Untold
78
/100
40
Tacoma
78
/100
41
Pit People
78
/100
42
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
78
/100
43
Slime-san
78
/100
44
Little Nightmares
78
/100
45
Life is Strange: Before the Storm
77
/100
46
Observеr
77
/100
47
Old Man's Journey
77
/100
48
Day of Infamy
77
/100
49
Cosmic Star Heroine
77
/100
50
Ruiner
76
/100
What is the best Indie game of 2017?
Doki Doki Literature Club! currently tops the ranking with a score of 94/100 across 521 ratings. Ranking updated augusti 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.