Sometimes the urge to buy a new game is just too strong to ignore. Thankfully we have you covered, we have found the 10 best indie games that you can download for free from Steam today. Everything in the list below is currently free on Steam and covers a wide range of genres from point-and-click horrors to mind-altering dungeon crawlers, within the Indie space there is something for everyone.
Please, Touch The Artwork 2
Created in honour of the 75th anniversary of the passing of Belgian painter, James Ensor. By a single developer Thomas Waterzooi, this game is as much Art as it is a game. A point-and-click adventure exploring the works of James Ensor, you not only get a cute indie game but also you’ll learn something about Art, a good use of time in our opinion. Find hidden glasses of whiskey and bottles of wine or spot the difference between two scenes while you explore this master painter’s work. Did we mention that the skeleton of the artist is the one leading you through his work? A nice touch in our opinion.Â
If you want a slow and casual-paced game with some cute graphics and a great sense of humour, then we couldn’t recommend this game more. As far as free Indie games go, we couldn’t ask for better. Â
Please, Touch The Artwork 2 Steam Link
Grimm’s Hollow
Craving an RPG experience, but short on time? Well thankfully, Grimm’s Hollow has you covered. A short and sweet Pixel RPG experience is waiting for you, completely free! Explore the afterlife as a newly drafted grim reaper, while you try to recover your brother’s soul. This game has multiple endings ranging from horrible to beautiful and has some good replayability if you want to find them all.
As this game is only around 2 hours you can replay it multiple times to get the best endings possible. That does mean dealing with some adorable ghosts again and again, oh and also some very angry ghosts as well. As if this game wasn’t adorable enough there is also a large amount of comfort food that you collect on your journey that may be important, or may just be yummy, who knows!
Considering this is a free indie game, Grimm’s Hollow has everything you need for a casual afternoon of fun.
Sheepy: A Short Adventure
The cutest of protagonists is now here and available for free! Sheepy, an abandoned plush toy, mysteriously awakens in the sewer below the city he once called home. Explore the sewers in this beautiful hand-crafted pixel world for around an hour collecting lore and secrets as you delve further down into the bowels of the sewer system.
This platformer draws inspiration from games like Portal, Little Nightmares, and even the SCP universe so you know you’re in for a treat, and all for free to boot. Indie games are often works of passion and this comes across clearly with sheepy and how clean and polished the game is for a free indie game.Â
If you have an hour to kill and an appreciation for the craft that is video game design, then Sheepy is the free indie game for you.Â
Sheepy: A Short Adventure Steam Link
Gravitas
We’ve all jumped through portals in our time but have you ever ridden gravity? Well, now you can! This free indie game from Galaxy Shark Studios allows the player to use a gauntlet to create gravity fields to move themselves or objects in their environment. Traverse through levels testing your problem-solving skills and creating new and inventive solutions to unique problems.Â
Unfortunately, during this whole adventure, you are trapped in a gravity-themed museum with an emotionally unstable robot curator. While that may sound like a negative, the humor in this game as well as the level of polish and care taken by the creators makes it an incredible free indie game.
The Supper
It wouldn’t be an indie game list without some horror games. The supper fits the bill quite nicely with a pixel-based point-and-click adventure in an unsettling environment. This game revolves around a humble tavern keeper, Ms Appleton who has a dark secret. This 20-minute puzzle game shows how little is needed to tell an incredible story in a short time.
Free indie games are often pixel-based horror games, but The Supper shows just how effective the use of colour and environmental storytelling is to this genre of video games. I hope you’re ready for dinner because Ms Appleton is serving a full meal that you’ll devour in 20 minutes and that’ll leave you asking for seconds… maybe.
Cube Escape: Paradox
Cube Escape: Paradox is a point-and-click psychological escape game by Rust Lake, a very well-known Indie creator. With a high level of polish and incredible attention to detail, you’ll have no trouble finding yourself lost in this paradox.
You play a detective named Dale who needs to solve puzzles within his own mind to recover his memory of the case he’s working on. With fantastic voice acting and a well-thought-out set of puzzles this really is a game that sets the mind racing and on edge at the same time. Considering this is a free game with a paid DLC it really shows the care and skill the team from Rusty Lake have for their work.
We highly recommend trying this and the other Rusty Lake games. With so many options, you’re sure to be spoiled for choice. This absolutely gets our approval for a free indie game you must try at least once.
Cube Escape: Paradox Steam Link
Cats Hidden in Paris
Could you ask for a cuter, more simplistic game than Cats Hidden in Paris? Or really, Cats Hidden Anywhere? Paris is just the crème de la crème of the ‘Cats Hidden In’ games! This game is just a simple point-and-click to find the cats. That’s all the description it needs! They must be doing something right as at the time of writing this is the highest user-rated game with the indie tag that is free to play.
A cute set of hand-drawn locations with hidden cats is what awaits you in this gentle and relaxing experience. Find all the cats while listening to the calming soundtrack, and that’s all that it takes to play this game.
With the Travellin Cats franchise having over 13 games already out and 5 more on the way from free to £1 I would say it’s worth your time and effort to find and click these travelling cats. This is a title that really shows what having a very specific niche in a genre can do for an indie creator, with so many people loving finding cats, no wonder we have many more iterations in store for us!
Cats Hidden in Paris Steam Link
Psychopomp
A true Psychological horror can be found in Psychopmop, with original doom-style dungeon crawling gameplay and horrific being beyond description, you know you’re in for a terrifying when you begin this journey. An atmospheric journey into the bowels of the earth awaits you in Psychopomp as you try to uncover why everything is wrong. Or is it? maybe it is just you who is wrong? Or is it the whole world?
In this bizarre and deranged journey, you’ll meet a plethora of mad creations and mind-bending scenes that will make you truly wonder what you got yourself in for. For a free indie game, Psychopomp really shows how gaming is a space as much for enjoyment as it is for creativity and expression. We see a lot of this in the indie space and Psychopomp is a nice free foray into the world.Â
Perspective
A game from 2012 has made it onto a 2024 list of best indie games that you can play for free. This is not a mistake, this is a concept that everyone must witness and it shows why this game is still so highly rated. Perspective is a simple 2d platformer with a twist.
The goal is to move the little blue avatar to the goal, simple right? Well no, you also need to change the perspective of the viewer to ensure that the avatar can make his way to the goal. Pull the camera out to make him smaller to fit through gaps, and push in to make him bigger. Spin the camera around the obstacle to bypass it entirely, you can create so many solutions to problems that seem impossible with just this one gimmick.
Considering this was a game made by a student for a project it has such an amazing concept. Even 12 years later it still gets positive reviews frequently. For a free indie game, you can really see the development of this idea throughout the game.Â
DYO
DYO shows you just how restrictive your thinking can be when you get your mind stuck on a concept. We all know and love 2D co-op platformers when you work together to solve puzzles and reach the goal. But these games are always about the characters, not the maps having some special ability to solve the puzzle. Not here, in this game you play as 2 minotaurs trying to escape the maze, without any special powers. But what you can do is join the two screens together to form an entirely new pathway to escape.
DYO isn’t just a simple platform but it shows you what can happen to a genre when someone has an out-of-the-box idea. The best part is you can play it solo as well as local co-op so you don’t need to miss out if you don’t have local friends!
You need to see DYO to believe just how amazing this gameplay truly is. On top of all that you get this indie game for free.Â
Indie games are often free or very cheap to buy and this might lead some to think that because they’re free they’re worthless. This list shows that this is anything but true, with some amazing concepts, amazing art styles, gameplay mechanics, and storylines, indie games don’t disappoint.
There are hundreds of indie games on Steam and other platforms that offer a fantastic experience for absolutely no cost to you. There is never a better time than now to try out some free indie games.
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