Underrated Sci-Fi Indie Games That Deserve More Attention

05/05/2024

Science fiction has been a popular genre for AAA games for ages. From early text adventures like Space Quest to the likes of Mass Effect, Dead Space, and Halo, there is no shortage of sci-fi games from big companies. Even some big franchises normally considered outside the genre have dabbled in it. Call of Duty, originally a WWII shooter, experimented with science fiction aspects in Ghosts, Advanced Warfare, and Infinite Warfare. But while many of the most iconic titles might be properties of big companies like EA, Ubisoft, or Activision, they do not have exclusive rights to the genre. Smaller independent games have also enjoyed exploring imaginative technology or strange new worlds. Sometimes, these end up exploding with popularity and gaining a huge following.

16 Best Indie RPGs Of The Last 5 Years

Indie games are progressively becoming more thoroughly integrated into mainstream gaming culture, as exemplified by these fantastic RPGs.

Indie game developers often lack the resources to set up advertising campaigns on the scale of those put out by AAA developers, and information about their games is often spread more through word-of-mouth. There are a lot of great indie science fiction titles, but they do not always get the fanfare reception deserving of their quality. Instead, they often settle for a fairly niche audience. While there is nothing inherently wrong with being a hidden gem, such games show such an impressive amount of effort that they deserve wider recognition.

Harold Halibut

An Emotional Claymation Adventure On An Alien Planet

Harold Halibut

Platform(s)Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Switch, PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox OneReleased2024Developer(s)Slow Bros.Genre(s)Adventure

Slow Bros’ curious science fiction adventure had one thing that made it stand out from other indie games of 2024 — a unique claymation-based aesthetic. It was a complicated process that took fourteen years to complete and included hand-making everything to then scan into digital form. It’s actually quite impressive. There aren’t very many games that use claymation, so the aesthetic choices drew some attention before release.

However, the game itself has generally flown under the radar. This is unfortunate, since it is actually a very enjoyable game. The core gameplay might be pretty simple, but it makes up for that with some impressive worldbuilding and lots of fun characters. If anything, the claymation aesthetic only enhances what is already a pretty engaging story.

Lightyear Frontier

A Relaxing Game About Building A Farm On An Alien World

Lightyear Frontier

Platform(s)Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PC, Xbox OneReleasedMarch 19, 2024Developer(s)Amplifier Studios, Frame BreakGenre(s)Farming, Open-World, Adventure

Mechsuits are a classic staple of science fiction, but how are they typically used? Usually as a weapon. They can come in different sizes, but most of the time, in everything from Warhammer 40k to Pacific Rim, they are designed for fighting armies, monsters, or other mechs. Frame Break’s open-world adventure decided to try something different.

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Putting a mech front-and-center of a game is nothing new, but unlike Titanfall or Armored Core, Lightyear Frontier is all about more creative uses for it. The player character gets to use their mech for farming, exploration, building, resource-collection, and crafting. On top of that, it also takes place on a vibrant alien world full of colorful wildlife and even some history involving an ancient alien civilization.

Manic Miners

A Simple Game About Mining An Alien Planet

Platform: PC
Released: 2023
Developer: Baraklava
Genre: RTS

This fan remake of the classic 1999 RTS LEGO Rock Raiders easily looks like it was made by a team of professionals. Between its amazing graphics, meticulous attention to detail, careful replication of actual LEGO pieces, and the way it actually improves on its predecessor, it might be hard to imagine this is a free-to-play game made almost entirely by one person on next to no budget. But it was, and it is really well-done.

Much like the original, Manic Miners is a real-time strategy game centered around managing a crew of asteroid miners stranded on an alien planet in a distant galaxy. This often means building bases and mining resources, while also dealing with challenges like rapidly flowing lava, limited oxygen, unstable caverns, and dangerous fauna. It also acts as a loving homage to classic LEGO, especially with the fun detail of allowing players to customize their crew members with actual prints used between the ’80s and early 2000s.

Rollerdrome

A Game About Fighting Dirty In Style

Rollerdrome

Platform(s)Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS5, PS4, PCReleasedAugust 16, 2022Developer(s)Roll7Genre(s)Third-Person Shooter

Rollerdrome takes place in a dystopian future where a new bloodsport has gained popularity, one that allows for a very unusual mix of genres. Tony Hawk-inspired skating mechanics are combined with gunplay to create the “Rollerdrome”— an arena in which roller-skating contestants fight to the death while also making use of all the things one might find in a skate park. It is a strange concept, but the unique mixing of mechanics adds a fresh spin on both the skating and third-person shooter genres to deliver something wholly different and entirely too fun.

Sable

An Open-Ended Coming Of Age Story

Sable

Platform(s)Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox OneReleasedSeptember 23, 2021Developer(s)ShedworksGenre(s)Adventure

This coming of age adventure from Shedworks offers an impressively detailed open world, combined with an art style that makes it feel like an animated graphic novel. While it remains a somewhat obscure title among players, it did receive favorable reviews from critics on release.

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One of the biggest draws it had was its open-ended structure — the basic setup involves an adolescent girl starting a journey to find her place in the world, but how that happens is entirely up to the player. The planet that functions as its main setting can be freely explored and has lots of options when it comes to quests, character interactions, and hints about its ancient past. Devoted entirely to exploration and discovery (no combat here), Sable offers a quiet, contemplative experience worth your time — despite some persistent performance bugs.

Voidtrain

A Strange Game About Traversing A Very Unusual Railroad

Voidtrain

Platform(s)PCReleasedMay 9, 2023DeveloperNeargaGenre(s)FPS

Nearga’s FPS adventure might be in early access, with only the first act playable at the moment, but what can be played is great. The player character is a customizable engineer who gets stranded on a railroad through a mysterious void and must navigate it with their own train. This makes for a curious retro-science fiction experience as the player begins with a small handcart and gradually learns to build cars and a locomotive, as well as various other tools that help with collecting resources needed to survive the void’s many dangers.

Problems come in the form of hostile wildlife, minefields, and the ominous “Blue Light Corporation” that seems to have an authoritarian grip on the void. There are definitely some interesting mysteries to this world that should get players excited for the full release.