Indie Games With the Best Graphics

For a long time in gaming, graphical fidelity has been the domain of AAA gaming companies that can afford the expense of developing gorgeous landscapes, facial animations, cinematic lighting, and more.

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By  Joey Criscitello

With the recent advancements in technology and tools like Unreal Engine 5, photorealistic graphics are now within the grasp of solo and indie developers looking to bring their vision to life. That said, photorealism is not all there is to great graphics, and indie games with the best graphics cannot be categorized simply by how closely the game emulates reality; art style matters, too.

7 No Rest for the Wicked

Top-Down Soulslike Set In A Grim World

No Rest for the Wicked is a top-down Soulslike developed by Moon Studios, the same studio that brought players the breathtaking Ori games. Unlike the Ori adventures, No Rest for the Wicked is set in a grimdark world plagued by disease, monsters, and dangers around every corner. At first glance, this seems like the sort of game that would put graphics down at the very bottom of the priority list, but that is not the case at all.

The gloomy atmosphere doesn’t prevent the game from looking downright gorgeous. The island of Sacra drips with character and a twisted sort of beauty. Fire reflects off of surfaces, moonlight lights up the night, and leaves sway with the wind. As an Action RPG, No Rest for the Wicked places great importance on combat, and the excellent art direction is showcased here as well in the form of excellent weapon animations and unique enemy variety.

6 Hades 2

Greek Mythology In An Addictive Roguelike

Hades 2 is an indie roguelike game developed by Supergiant Games, an indie studio known for producing games like Bastion and Transistor. Hades, released in 2020, was already one of the prettiest indie games in existence, but Hades 2 elevates the Greek depiction of the Underworld to new levels.

Hades 2’s Underworld offers a more in-depth look at the Greek mythos, showing players new areas and locations to explore. Each area Melinoe explores has a distinct visual style and a different flavor, none more impressive than the home base where the protagonist spends most of her time. All of these things would allow Hades 2 to stand out as a true successor to the original, but where Supergiant Games went above and beyond is in their depictions of the deities who give boons to Melinoe to aid in her journey. Each one is incredibly detailed, fully voiced with dozens of lines, and a treat to interact with.

5 Indika

Mind-Bending Journey Into The Devil’s Designs

Indika, released on May 2, 2024, is one of the more recent additions to the indie space, impressing players with incredible visuals and a clear art direction that is unmistakable for anything else. Indika is a third-person adventure game laced with horror elements, a combination quite unlike anything else out there.

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The game follows Indika, a nun who can hear the devil inside her head, forced to listen to his commentary and dance to his whims whenever he feels like it. Most of the time, Indika traverses a dark, gloomy world, trying to navigate her version of reality, but whenever the devil wants, he can transport her to surreal places that don’t follow the laws of physics. The unique combination of real and unreal, dull and vibrant, glacial and fiery, is what Indika is all about.

4 Tchia

Cozy Islander Adventure With Gorgeous Visuals

Tchia is a cozy third-person open-world adventure sandbox game released in March 2023. It follows the story of Tchia, a little girl trying to find her father, who was kidnapped and taken to an archipelago.

Tchia is a very exploration-heavy game, rewarding players with breathtaking visuals of tropical forests surrounded by beaches on every side. Tchia can head into the water at any time using her raft, taking in the scenery of the water, or jump down mountains using her glider to give players an eagle’s view of the landscape.

3 Firewatch

Slow-Burn Adventure In The Wyoming Wilderness

Firewatch is a first-person narrative-driven adventure game set in the Shoshone National Forest of Wyoming. A massive indie hit, Firewatch should be a name familiar to players interested in the genre, but for those who haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing the world through the eyes of Henry, it’s a must-try.

The players take up the role of a Fire Lookout stationed out in the forest, all alone. His only companion throughout the game is Delilah, a voice on the radio guiding him along the journey. Firewatch has a cohesive style from start to finish, unfolding the story slowly, in small chunks, so players take the time to walk in Henry’s shoes and appreciate the scenery. The forest feels like an actual forest, not a dozen trees slapped together in a clearing and called a forest like other games tend to do. Excellent use of lighting is used to highlight the important bits of the story, slow down the game’s pace, or add momentum when it is needed.

2 Ori and the Will of the Wisps

3D Fantasy Metroidvania With Amazing Music

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, which takes the stunning visual art direction of the first game and brings it to new heights. Graduating from the 2D landscapes, Ori and the Will of the Wisps now features a fully rendered, multi-layered 3D environment for Ori to navigate. The game is still a Metroidvania platformer, but now with a depth to the world setting that wasn’t there before.

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By  Harry Ted Sprinks

Ori explores new areas, not present in the first game, allowing players to explore new locations and make new discoveries. While visuals are definitely one of the main selling points for Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the game is the complete package. Graphics, character design, skills, and, most impressively, music surpass what Moon Studio was able to achieve with the original title. It doesn’t feel like a copy-paste of what came before but rather a worthy sequel to an all-time classic.

1 Kena, Bridge of Spirits

Lush And Vibrant Action RPG

Kena, Bridge of Spirits is a third-person ARPG set in a luscious world that is being slowly corrupted by monsters and pestilence. Kena, a girl with magical abilities, is the only one who can fight this growing plague and return the forest to its original state. Much of the gameplay revolves around trying to return a corrupted, diseased area to its former glory.

This puts the environment at the forefront, making it the core reason for players to do what they’re doing. And once the corruption is lifted, the sight of lush greenery returning to its rightful place is the reward. Ember Lab’s world is full of life, vibrant, and flushed with color at every step. The setting is spectacular and progressing to new areas is a prize all on its own.

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