Something magical about indie games is how they stand out. They don’t have to follow the big-budget conventions of traditional gaming, and so creativity is allowed to roam. You will see quirky, weird, and just unique games that you wouldn’t see anywhere else.” Let’s take a look at some of the most inspiring out-of-the-box indie games to show us that small can be mighty.

Untitled Goose Game

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

You can be a hero or a villain in plenty of games, but how many let you be a goose? That’s right — Untitled Goose Game lets you play as a mischievous waterfowl creating havoc in a serene village.

You hunch and honk and steal things. Your mission? Miserable at life as possible for everyone. It’s the type of game that reminds you that you don’t need a fancy plot to have fun. Also, it’s just kind of fun to honk at people for no reason.

Papers, Please

Release Date: August 8, 2013

Platform(s): PC, PS Vita, iOS

Do you like puzzles? How about moral dilemmas? In Papers, Please, you are an immigration officer in a fictional dystopian country. Your job? Check passports, approve or deny people, and — here’s the twist — make hard choices that impact your character’s life.

It may sound boring, but believe us, it’s anything but. It’s surprisingly intense: you’ll actually find yourself thinking about whether you’d follow the rules or do the right thing if you had to make that choice. It’s like being trapped in a month-long moral dilemma, but for paperwork.

The Stanley Parable

Release Date: October 17, 2013

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One

The Stanley Parable is a game about doing… nothing. You are Stanley, a man in an office with no real goal beyond following the narrator’s directions (or completely ignoring them).

The fun part? Your choices affect the game in new ways. You follow the rules, you get one outcome. If you do the opposite, you get another beast altogether. It’s a hysterical and surreal exploration of free will, and you can spend months playing through it again and again just to find all the strange endings.

Journey

Release Date: March 13, 2012

Platform(s): PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, personal computer

A game that makes you feel a part of an art exhibit isn’t something you get to experience every day. Journey is a short but incredible experience in which players take on the role of a traveler making his way through a desert and towards a distant mountain. The catch? There’s no dialogue and not the slightest bit of hand-holding — it’s all about the feelings transmitted through gameplay and visuals.

The unique part? You may come across other players, but will be unable to speak to them. Instead, you speak in music and gestures. It’s the kind of game that will make you reconsider what video games are—sort of like, Can a game make me cry over a sand dune?

Celeste

Release Date: January 25, 2018

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch

Celeste is a platformer, but it’s not simply the act of jumping over spikes and dodging enemies. It’s mental health, perseverance and climbing a literal and figurative mountain.

The protagonist of the game, Madeline, climbs Celeste Mountain, contending with both physical barriers and her own inner demons. The gameplay is tight and punishing, but it’s the story and message that truly distinguish it. If you want a game that tells you that life is hard, but totally worth climbing, Celeste will hit you right in the feelings. And possibly rage-quitting a couple of times in the meantime.

Disco Elysium

Release Date: October 15, 2019

Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch

Have you ever wanted to be a memory-free detective with a curious sense of morality and an array of quirky skills? Disco Elysium does all that and more. It’s a dialogue-heavy RPG in which your character can solve crimes — or, you know, completely muck things up while getting pulled away by idiosyncratic philosophical issues.

That’s the beauty of Disco Elysium: You can play it any way you want, as a charming, morally bankrupt genius or a bumbling mess who can barely hold it together. It’s like being inside a detective novel, but you’re the one making the mess in the first place.

Indie games are also the playgrounds of creative minds. They break the rules, skew genres and leave you thinking, “I can’t believe this is a game.” Whether you’re stealing veggies as a goose or solving existential crises in a dystopian world, these games show that the most singular experiences often spring from the smallest ideas. So, if you’re interested in trying something different, take a look at these indie gems — your next favorite game will likely be a bit stranger than you’d anticipate.