7 Best PS5 Indie Games: Unique Indies You Can’t Miss!
Scouring through the PlayStation store for the best PS5 indie games can be frustrating, but luckily, you’ve come to the right place! Today, I’m bringing you on a deep dive into the PlayStation‘s expansive indie collection to showcase the best of the best, the top tier of the indie world on the platform.
From indie darlings to lesser-known but incredibly well-designed indie titles, these independently developed games dare to surprise us in some unexpectedly incredible ways, which is exactly why they are so worth checking out. We’ll break down their gameplay and what makes them so special so you can find great games to add to your collection.
Let’s get right into it!
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Our Top Picks for PS5 Indie Games
Here’s a quick rundown on a few of our top picks of the best indie games on PS5 included on the list:
- Hades – Wander through hell, looking to escape the Underworld and your dastardly… Father? Hades is a phenomenal roguelike that lets you wield ancient Greek Gods’ abilities as you journey to escape hell and uncover the mystery of your familial bonds.
- Outer Wilds – Enjoy a space-faring adventure? Outer Wilds thrusts you into a world where you’re stuck in a time loop, exploring strange and wondrous planets to uncover the mystery of the loop before you’re burned to a crisp in a never-ending supernova!
- Stray – Play as an adorable ginger feline as he traverses a dystopian, cyberpunk city on his journey to reunite with his equally adorable furry companions! A charming adventure from a unique perspective, the likes we’ve never seen before!
This is but a glimpse into the best PlayStation indies, with plenty more on the way to discover, each giving you a sense of wonder and unique gameplay mechanics that AAA titles simply don’t offer.
Check out the full list and reviews for each of the best indie games on PS5 below to learn more!
7 Best PS5 Indie Games: An Alternative for Every Player
The indie scene is vast, so the list consists of a great variety of genres to choose from. Whether you’re a cozy gamer, adore challenging 2D parkour, or are looking for heart-pumping action, there’s something for every type of gamer:
1. Hades
| Platforms | PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Consoles |
| Year of release | 2021 |
| Developer | Supergiant Games |
| Genre | Roguelike Dungeon Crawler |
| Average playtime | 45 hours |
If we’re talking about the best indie games for PlayStation, it’s hard not to mention one of the most popular games on the platform, Hades. It’s a roguelike dungeon crawler that has you take the role of Zagreus, the son of the ruler of the Underworld, Hades.
Zag’s going through a bit of a rebellious phase and wants to escape the Underworld to reunite with his real mother after being lied to his entire life.
With a desire to leave behind the Underworld for literal greener pastures, Zag takes on the demons that populate the Underworld, battling against stark foes who guard each realm, die, and are reborn in a bath of blood.
To help Zag fuel his escape attempts, he reaches out to his long-lost relatives, other gods in the Greek pantheon like Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Ares, and many other notable gods from Greek mythology.
These powers, called Boons, are the main weapons he uses to fight through his father’s guards and bosses, providing different abilities like shields, AoE attacks, increased crit damage, and other powers depending on the god from whom you receive the Boon.
The gameplay loop is addictive, with random rooms and slight alterations to bosses, gaining power & skills with each successful attempt. What makes Hades widely regarded as one of the greatest roguelike games in recent memory, though, is the story.
As you progress through the game, repeat escape attempts, and die, you’ll eventually make pals with the dwellers of the Underworld.
Each time you meet them, you’ll learn something new, unlock new interactions, or help them with a quest to build bonds that feel meaningful, and the continuous narrative is a great touch to make the game more ‘whole’ than expected.
2. Outer Wilds
| Platforms | PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Consoles |
| Year of release | 2019 |
| Developer | Mobius Digital |
| Genre | First-Person Exploration Adventure |
| Average playtime | 20 – 25 hours |
Outer Wilds is a unique take on the space exploration genre and thrusts you into a disorienting adventure as the newest recruit of the ‘Outer Wilds Ventures’ space program. But as life would have it, you’re no regular recruit; you’re tasked with exploring a mysterious and dangerous solar system.
After venturing to the solar system, you find that you’re trapped among the stars in a never-ending time loop. Each loop lasts 22 minutes until the Sun at the center of the solar system goes supernova.
Then you’re thrust right back into your adventure to relive it all over again.
But the challenge here is that as you explore the worlds in the solar system, you’ll find more and more alien ruins and evidence to help you learn about the time loop and hopefully end it.
The worlds in the game are incredibly mesmerizing to experience with stormy tornado exoplanets, sea worlds, and rocky hellscapes, which will have you struggle to survive, managing oxygen levels and roasting a marshmallow or two!
It follows a first-person perspective like your favorite FPS games, which makes navigating your ship that much more engaging. Honestly, I can’t delve too much into the game’s story or mechanics since it ruins the experience.
Getting in there blind, uncovering the mystery, surviving, and figuring out how to solve each world’s mechanics is part of the challenge. If you love mystery and space-faring adventure, it’s one of the most impressive single-player games on the platform.
The dev team is small, yet they’ve managed to capture the distinct feel of venturing out into space, lost and alone, unraveling a cosmic mystery that is truly a unique treasure you’ll only find in the indie scene.
3. Stray
| Platforms | PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Consoles |
| Year of release | 2022 |
| Developer | BlueTwelve Studio |
| Genre | Puzzle Adventure |
| Average playtime | 5 – 10 hours |
Have you ever wanted to be a cat, doing cat things, in a futuristic neon-clad cyberpunk city? Then Stray is just what you’re looking for, because it’s not only a great indie title but also a game that takes perfect advantage of the PS5’s hardware features, giving the console a few good points in the PS5 vs Xbox Series X debate.
In Stray, you’re met with the sudden reality of being an adorable orange stray cat. This fantastic TPS game will keep you engaged with the vibrant world and in full view of the highly pettable furry protagonist.
As a stray, you’re lost in a daunting, dystopian robotic city, and the story follows the cat’s journey to return to the surface after falling off a creaky pipe to engage in cat activities with his fellow stray family! You know, like drinking from puddles, jumping on roofs, that kind of stuff.
Eventually, you’ll come across an equally adorable drone companion, B-12, who helps you navigate your animal self through the game’s environs, like hacking tech, translating, and interacting with other technologies.
Most of the time, though, you’ll play as the lost cat to discover the world on his journey to escape the walled city with plenty of cat antics like platforming, napping, knocking over stuff, and scratching doors! Plus, the game (for an indie) looks gorgeous with detailed and immersive environments to explore, and looks great on the best TVs for PS5!
I don’t know about you, but for me, Stray just ranks up there as one of the best PS5 games just for how cute the cat is! If you’re looking for a short, adorable, immersive adventure the likes of which you’ve never seen before, Stray is a treasure to play.
4. Inscryption
| Platforms | PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Consoles |
| Year of release | 2021 |
| Developer | Daniel Mullins Games |
| Genre | Horror Card Game w/ Roguelike Elements |
| Average playtime | 15 – 30 hours |
The next entry on our best indie games list on PlayStation is the critically acclaimed horror game, Inscryption. What starts as a horror-themed roguelike card game that takes inspiration from games like Slay the Spire takes a quick turn to the ‘weird’ and spooky as you uncover the game’s secrets.
While you risk cards battling the sinister gamemaster, you’ll need to keep your wits about you, as at some points you’ll need to get up from the table and march through the dark and desolate cabin. Here, you’ll need to solve escape-room-style puzzles to learn more about the game’s secrets and meta-narrative.
At its core, though, you’ll play quite a few hands of cards with a robust, simple, yet challenging card battle system with unique mechanics and a great variety of enemies to figure out.
But honestly, the game’s drawing point is really about the eerie atmosphere where you never know if you truly saw eyes hiding in the dark, staring at you behind the dim candlelight fire, and it looks especially eerie on monitors optimized for PS5.
It’s a fantastic twist to the often one-dimensional play of other card games, with a successfully spooky atmosphere, making it one of the most unique horror games on PS5.
5. Celeste
| Platforms | PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Consoles |
| Year of release | 2018 |
| Developer | Extremely OK Games |
| Genre | 2D Platformer |
| Average playtime | 15 – 25 hours |
If you prefer brutal, tight-knit platforming games, possibly the most popular and challenging platformer game in the indie scene is Celeste. In this title, you take on the role of Madeline on her journey to conquer Celeste Mountain.
Madeline is looking for an answer to solve her inner turmoil and demons by rushing to the top of Celeste Mountain. On the way, she battles her anxiety and deep-rooted fears but presses on the climb with determination, hoping that reaching the summit will assuage her inner inhibitions.
On the way, she’ll meet a whole host of kooky characters who help her with guidance or allow her to be heard. But the core of the game is some intense but incredibly satisfying platforming, with over 700 challenges and secrets to uncover.
The charming pixel art style combined with stylized environments makes the challenge even better, but it’s almost like you’re in a fight with the mountain, so expect to die quite a few times from a mistimed jump or running into some nasty spikes.
Personally, I felt like the challenge was quite similar to Super Meat Boy, if you’ve played it, a super uncompromising and brutal platformer. But the tight-knit controls that are ‘simple’ to play but hard to master make Celeste such a darling platformer for hardcore aficionados.
And lastly, as a bonus, if you want to play it on the go, Celeste will be perfect not only for your PS5 but also for your beloved gaming laptop as well. Its 2D-style pixel art graphics mean that the game isn’t overly demanding, and the platformer gameplay makes it perfect for playing without any kind of mouse.
6. Blasphemous 2
| Platforms | PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Consoles |
| Year of release | 2023 |
| Developer | The Game Kitchen |
| Genre | 2D Pixel Art Action Metroidvania |
| Average playtime | 25 – 30 hours |
For fans of unforgiving combat that requires careful planning and reflexes, the likes of Elden Ring and other Soulslikes, but in a gorgeous 2D pixel art game design, Blasphemous 2 is an excellent action RPG game.
Blasphemous 2 is a sequel and massively improved version of the original Blasphemous, with new mechanics, weapons, and tools to best your grotesque and monstrous foes.
You take on the role of The Penitent One as you prepare to test your mettle and march against titanic monsters, giant snakes, and a humongous blindfolded baby. Safe to say, Blasphemous 2 has some incredibly distinct and eye-catching bosses and enemies that add greatly to the overall atmosphere you’ll only see in an indie title like this.
Its structure is essentially a metroidvania with a mix of side-scrolling platforming and intense fights. You’ll find a multitude of quests and a gorgeous open world game design filled with secrets that reward backtracking.
It’s hard to quantify what makes Blasphemous 2 so great, but if you’re a fan of 2D action goodness in a highly stylized world with excellent pixel art, it’s a hard one to miss. And if you like this one, I highly recommend checking out the original Blasphemous since the story does continue over to the sequel!
7. Darkest Dungeon II
| Platforms | PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Consoles |
| Year of release | 2023 |
| Developer | Red Hook Studios |
| Genre | Turn-based Strategy Roguelike |
| Average playtime | 65 – 90 hours |
The last of the bunch of the best indie games on PlayStation is none other than Darkest Dungeon II. It’s a unique take as one of the most challenging PS5 strategy games in the turn-based roguelike stylings set in a grim, dark, eldritch-horror backdrop and an incredible gothic aesthetic.
Darkest Dungeon II is a stark evolution from the original, transforming into a proper roguelike centered around your arduous endeavor towards The Mountain.
The Mountain plays host to all evil and darkness, and you recruit mercenaries to take on fell beasts and wayward humans alike. Before you start a run, you’ll build your party from a ragtag group of mercs, soldiers, and miscreants.
There are plenty of characters to choose from, each with their preferred playstyles, positioning, and abilities. Like a warrior who can tank hits, a bandit who’s got a trusty dagger & pistol to shoot down enemies, or a cleric to heal your wounded.
In Darkest Dungeon II, as in all the greatest strategy games, positioning is crucial, as it determines what abilities your characters have access to. The game also has a unique ‘stress’ and relationship system, which determines the course of your run.
As you progress through the country, your heroes will face unspeakable horrors and tough decisions, which determine whether they get along with their other party members, dishing out positive and negative quirks that affect the run.
One wrong move and you’ll pay the price, meaning that when you run into the ruthless enemies in your way, you’ll die a lot. All you can do is move forward with the Candles you earn from previous runs to stock up and craft new items, gain powerful new abilities, and get character upgrades.
FAQs
What is the best PS5 indie game?
The best indie game on PS5 is Hades, for its excellent mix of challenging & varied combat mechanics, charming storytelling and narrative, and overall style when it comes to character designs, art style, and environments.
Are there any cross-platform indie games on PS5?
Yes, there are cross-platform indie games on PS5, but they’re few and far between. Some notable cross-platform PlayStation indies that have multiplayer with other platforms/consoles include Among Us, Rust, and No Man’s Sky (although it’s in a bit of a grey area due to Sony’s promotion).
