Indie games have a wide variety of difficulty, ranging from quaint farming games to brutal roguelikes. In recent years, indie games have made a name for themselves, ranking up there with triple-A releases. Now, popular indie games like Hades are taking the world by storm.
Some indie games are naturally more difficult than others, but if you are up for the challenge, they can be extremely satisfying. Here, you can check out some of the hardest indie games that are currently available to play. The games on this list vary in genre, so you are bound to find something that interests you.
8 Hollow Knight
- Available On: PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox
Prior to starting Hollow Knight, it may just seem like a cute game about a little bug with a blunt sword. Once you start playing, you will shortly realize why it deserves a place on this list. Hollow Knight has a bit of a learning curve, with surprisingly complex combat mechanics.
Enemies that you come across will progressively get stronger and have the ability to wipe you out in just a few seconds. The Metroidvania-style of the game requires you to revisit dangerous areas multiple times, performing precise jumps and attacks.
7 The Binding Of Isaac
- Available On: PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox
Unlike Hollow Knight, The Binding of Isaac doesn’t have an aesthetically pleasing appearance that looks harmless at first glance. The Binding of Isaac is a rougelike game, where you must navigate through a series of floors filled with terrifying enemies in order to escape your mother.
This biblically inspired game has some incredibly tough enemies, capable of instantly killing you. Enemies in the game are downright scary. The game even has a death counter, allowing you to see all the times you have perished. With convoluted mechanics, this is definitely a game to play if you like a challenge.
6 Rain World
- Available On: PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4
Rain World is a survival platform game, where you control Slugcat. This game has randomly spawned enemies and allows you to go pretty much anywhere you want.
This randomness earns Rain World a place on our list. This RNG can cause you to die quickly, or survive for long stretches of time. Developers of this game even stated that they wanted players to feel like a ‘rat living on subway tracks’; you will need to adapt and learn to survive in this deadly environment.
5 Celeste
- Available On: PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox
Celeste is a platform game that demands extreme precision and timing. As you make your way up Mount Celeste, you will face countless dangers that can kill you and send you back to the start of the stage.
There is no traditional combat where you fight enemies standing in your path, but you will need to move at exactly the right time to survive. Celeste is also packed with hidden bonus stages, that are even more challenging.
4 Cuphead
- Available On: PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox
At first glance, Cuphead looks like a classic cartoon with unique, cup-shaped characters. While this may be true, Cuphead is one of the most challenging indie games that you can find.
As you play Cuphead, you will inevitably die, but this is part of the learning experience. Each death will teach you what you should be doing. This can become slightly frustrating when you have died dozens of times to one boss, but once you finally beat them, you will definitely feel accomplished.
3 Furi
- Available On: PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox
Furi is a fast packed hack-and-slack game that requires you to rely on your own skill, rather than upgraded equipment and weapons. The game is fast-paced, forcing you to perform actions perfectly.
Like the other games on our list, Furi is all about trial and error. You will need to be defeated a few times before you figure out what you are supposed to do. Even after you learn what you should be doing, the game can still be incredibly difficult.
2 Super Meat Boy
- Available On: PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox, Wii U, PS Vita
Super Meat Boy is another platformer game, first released back in 2010. This cartoonish-looking game is face-paced, with instant deaths. Upon dying, you will immediately be able to try again to figure out what you did wrong.
Although difficult, Super Meat Boy will teach you what you need to do in each level. Unfortunately, you will need to learn quickly, or you will meet another death. The main campaign of the game can be beaten, but the real challenge starts when you make it to the ‘dark world’.
1 FTL: Faster Than Light
- Available On: PC, Mac, iOS
FTL: Faster Than Light is a rougelite game where you must control a spaceship and escape enemies that are endlessly chasing you. Because of this, you will need to be an expert at multitasking while surviving in space. Like many of the games on our list, death can sometimes be unavoidable in FTL.
Justin Ma, the game’s designer, stated that he wanted the game to have around a ten percent success rate, even if you know what you are doing. Overall, this is a low success rate, which means that if you play this game, you should expect a challenge.