Nintendo has published a video that lists the best-selling indie games for the Switch this year. The two minute video, posted on YouTube (as seen below), shows a montage of the titles, soundtracked by crashing rock music, and their names, covering the most popular indie games for 2021 on the Switch system.
The video doesn't contain any information about sales numbers so we don't know exactly how many copies were sold, nor is there any indication of a ranking system. But the indie games listed, in the order they appear as part of the Nintendo Indie World video, are:
- Cyber Shadow
- Unpacking
- Tetris Effect: Connected
- Stick Fight: The Game
- Curse of the Dead Gods
- Ender Lilies
- Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!
- Spelunky 2
- Road 96
- Subnautica/Subnautica: Below Zero
- Littlewood
- Islanders Console Edition
- Slime Rancher: Plortable Edition
- Eastward
- Axiom Verge 2
As pointed out by Kotaku, around 40 percent of these indie titles feature pixel art styles while a significant number are ports or remasters. Meanwhile, Nintendo happens to have an end-of-year sale on many of the games listed above. Picking out highlights, Unpacking carries an emotional punch and is one of the most innovative titles to launch this year. Tetris Effect: Connected is a definite pleaser, while many have been drawn to Axiom Verge 2 and its distinctive retro looks and feel. Doki Doki Literature Club is a twisty, Japanese manga-style game with a compelling style; while Subnautica, with its underwater base-building game, and Spelunky 2, a roguelike, have drawn plenty of dedicated fans.
Sitck Fight: The Game isn't a well known one among critics, however, but evidently sells very well, possibly because of word of mouth popularity. 2022, meanwhile, promises yet further indie delights as the most recent Indie World Direct showcased the likes of JRPG Sea of Stars; skateboarder Olli Olli World, and 2D point-and-click adventure and murder mystery Loco Motive.