2023 was a banner year for AAA gaming releases, but there are plenty of indie games that deserve far more attention than they received.
The past 12 months have been a pretty incredible time to be a gamer. 2023 saw highly-anticipated releases like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Diablo 4, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Starfield, as well as surprising triumphs like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty.
There’s been no shortage of games to play, but the sheer number of acclaimed AAA releases meant a lot of great indie games were overshadowed. Though some did break through – Sea of Stars and Cocoon are both widely acclaimed and won at The Game Awards, and Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios is technically independent – there are plenty of indie games that deserve far more attention than they got.
While by no means a comprehensive list, here are four of the most underrated indie games released in 2023 that are absolutely worth your time.
Sun Haven
These days, Stardew Valley clones are a dime a dozen. 2023 introduced plenty of new titles to the ever-growing genre of farming sims with their own twist on those tried-and-true mechanics. However, Sun Haven stands out among the crowd.
Released in March 2023 after nearly two years in early access, Sun Haven blends those farming and relationship-building elements fans of the genre love with a fantasy world and RPG mechanics that make it perfect for fans of games like Dungeons & Dragons or Baldur’s Gate 3.
It even allows up to eight players to explore and fight together in multiplayer, though the experience is just as good solo.
Thirsty Suitors
Publisher Annapurna Interactive had another good year in 2023, releasing titles like the critically acclaimed Cocoon. However, its most recent game, Thirsty Suitors, deserves far more attention than it’s so far received.
Part skateboarding adventure and part turn-based RPG, Thirsty Suitors offers an impressively unique gaming experience all wrapped up in a powerful story about queerness, cultural differences, and generational trauma. It centers on Jala, a young South Asian-American woman who has, to put it mildly, made a lot of mistakes in her romantic and familial relationships.
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Thirsty Suitors is all about confronting the past and seeking forgiveness through deep, honest conversations – which are framed as epic and extravagant boss battles. The gameplay itself is engaging, but it’s the brilliant writing and masterful storytelling that will have you coming back for more. Jala can be frustrating, but watching her put in the work to improve herself and make amends is both rewarding and a lesson in empathy that all of us could benefit from.
Wargroove 2
The original Wargroove filled a gap in the gaming market when it released in 2019. At that point, it had been over a decade since the last Advance Wars, and most fans of the turn-based tactics series were convinced the series was never coming back.
Fast forward to 2023, and we have both a Wargroove sequel and the long-awaited (and long-delayed) Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp.
It may not be groundbreaking – Wargroove 2 is, at its core, more Wargroove – but it’s a solid extension of the series that shows there’s plenty of room in the oft-overlooked tactics genre for more players. If anything, Wargroove 2 launching just months after Advance Wars’ return proves that it’s not just an indie replacement for a dormant series; it’s a real competitor.
Chants of Sennaar
Chants of Sennar is one of those innovative games that sticks with you. This single-player puzzle adventure is all about navigating a world in which everyone speaks and writes in fictional languages. You’ll have to pay attention to signs, patterns and other clues to translate the game’s text.
All of this makes for a unique gameplay experience where you really feel like an outsider learning a new language in real-time. It starts off pretty easy, using a simple puzzle to teach words like “door,” “open,” and “close,” but it quickly gets more complex as the game throws more and more words at you. Chants of Sennar is a creative concept for a puzzle game that provides both challenge and intriguing storytelling.
