Triple-A games tend to be quite anticipated because of their high budgets and potential to elevate otherwise common mechanics. However,indie gamesare just as important, if not moreso. They’re usually made by small teams (and sometimes even mostly one person, like in Undertale’s case), which means more freedom to experiment with mechanics and genres.
Many indie games have a heart behind them that’s like no other because the developers are free to tell their own stories without as much risk of things getting cut by upper management. With the PS5 generation, there are a lot of quality indie games that will blow your expectations out of the water.
Updated on Jul 18, 2025, by Mohamed El Ouardighi:It’s been a while since we last updated this list, so it’s about time! We’ve added even more fantastic indie games for you to check out.
Animal Well is perfect for anyone who enjoys games that throw you into their worlds without tutorials or hand-holding, such as Tunic or The Witness. Instead of sitting through a lengthy prologue that establishes characters and lore, you begin the adventure with nothing and must figure out what to do naturally or by looking at environmental clues.
This Metroidvania is full of wonderful surprises for you to discover and a dazzling visual style that creates the perfect ambiance for your journey. Try going into Animal Well with as little knowledge as possible for the best experience.
Balatro is a deceptively simple roguelike deck-building game that takes a familiar concept and turns it into something fresh and endlessly satisfying. You must earn enough points to clear blinds and defeat bosses by using a deck of cards and unique Jokers that provide multipliers and other bonus effects for each run.
You can use endless strategies and card combinations to your advantage, and discovering a new way to earn points quickly is always rewarding. It’s a phenomenal game toplay while listening to music or a podcast, and even if you’re unfamiliar with the rules of poker, Balatro will teach you everything you need to know before hooking you with its amazing gameplay and aesthetic.
Thank Goodness You’re Here is easily one of the funniest games on the PlayStation 5. It often feels like you’re playing through a lost episode of a fictional show co-produced by the BBC and Adult Swim as you help the citizens of a small town in Northern England with minor tasks like mowing lawns or watering crops.
The game begins on a relatively normal note before snowballing into delightful chaos. It’s impossible to predict where the story goes, but the feeling of joy that constantly shines throughout the short adventure is unmatched. Humor in video games can be tough, but Thank Goodness You’re Here will tickle you with its abundance of gags and jokes.
Shovel Knight had a bunch of expansions in the past, and now they’re all neatly packed together in Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove. Most of the campaigns feature a different main character with their own abilities, but the core gameplay is the same: it’s a2D side-scroll platformerreminiscent of older titles like Castlevania, though the style and atmosphere are less dark and more lighthearted. The more treasure you acquire, the better you can make the protagonist with special upgrades and bonus abilities.
But every time you die, you lose a bit of that treasure. You can get it back if you manage to survive and retrace your steps when you respawn, but if you die again before getting to that point, the treasure is gone forever. And if you like high stakes, there’s a mechanic that gives you the choice of destroying checkpoints that you reach for even more treasure. If not done well, this could’ve turned the game into a nightmare to play, but Shovel Knight’s tight controls and ongoing humor make it anything but.
21Paradise Killer
Paradise Killer is a detective game that’s on the quirkier side, from characters' designs to their personalities. You play as Lady Love Dies, an investigator who was once exiled from Paradise Island, only to be brought back to investigate the murder of the island’s entire council. Sounds like a normal enough setting… until you add in the aliens, demons, experiments, and sacrifices.
Unlike many other detective games, Paradise Killer hands you the reins on who and how you investigate. You won’t be led down a linear path; what you discover and conclude is totally up to how you spend your time. For example, you may keep it professional with suspects or choose to build relationships with them, giving you more access to evidence but also possibly affecting your objectivity. You may need multiple playthroughs to figure absolutely everything out, but that’s a pleasure, considering the game’s quality.
Cuphead is impressive in more than one way. Thehand-drawn graphicsand animations with an art style reminiscent of 1930s cartoons are always a wonder to behold, no matter how many times you see them. It’s almost enough to distract you from the difficulty of some stages.Almost. But that’s another great aspect of the game: it may seem way too hard at first, but figuring out every stage’s mechanics and moves is like learning a dance that you gradually get better at.
Because of this, the thrill and satisfaction of finally beating a stage’s boss is like no other, and you’ll find that you’ve been having fun figuring out the patterns rather than tearing your hair out over them.For the most part, anyway. And if you have a friend who also likes a challenge, they can join you in co-op.
No matter how admittedly archaic retro games are, there’s a certain charm to them that’s usually missing in modern games. Fortunately, games like Sea of Stars seek to bring back the beloved aspects of older games, such as their graphics, while modernizing the actual gameplay.
You follow Valere and Zale, two Children of the Solstice who’ve combined their powers in the hopes of defeating the Fleshmancer and his abominations. The pixelated graphics, UI, and themes are reminiscent of the retro RPGs you know and love but without the old-fashioned aspects like grinding and random encounters. Check outour review of Sea of Starsto learn more.
Let’s face it: Kung Fu is awesome, but you probably haven’t invested time into learning it yourself. Good news, you don’t have to! Sifu lets you get in on the Kung Fu action without having to move off your couch. And if you happen to die in the game, you’re brought back to life via a mysterious amulet in your possession. The only downside is that every time you’re brought back to life, you age a little.
But that’s a small price to pay in yourquest for revenge. You’ll be facing crowds of enemies, and they’re not the forgiving type. Use your skills and the environment around you to counter and defeat them all in this fast-paced, challenging, and ultimately satisfying action game. Just how challenging could it be, you ask? Find outin this reviewof the game.
Death is never an easy topic to think about, but it’s a reality that nobody can escape from. Games dealing with the subject can make it easier to come to terms with, and one of those games is Spiritfarer. In it, you play as Stella the Spiritfarer, a guide to the spirits of those who have recently passed. Despite the heavy themes, the game itself isactually pretty cozy.
How you go about your travels is up to you. You can cook, craft, fish, and more as you get to know the spirits you escort and experience their stories–until it’s time to say goodbye to them. Basically, if bittersweetness were a game, it would probably be this one.
You’ve heard of Palworld its success speaks for itself. When it first launched, it was only available for PC and Xbox players. However, last year, the developers decided that PS5 players should also get to enjoy this masterpiece.
If you’ve been waiting to play Palworld on PS5, now is the perfect time, especially if you’re a fan of survival games with a unique twist. The game lets you team up with Pals to build your base, fight alongside you, and more. Plus, it’s still receiving regular updates to this day.
