Hotline Miami for its immersive gameplay, its cult soundtrack and its "Tarantino-esque" story.

Antichamber
It's a pity that such a gem has no place in GOG. A great FPP, with lots of great puzzles and unique visual style.

FTL

An amazing game. Hard. Even when I cheated, I would sometimes lose.

Mine is Axiom Verge. Hands down the best Super Metroid-like game. Besides the awesome graphics and music. it also communicates that same type of loneliness feeling, that I get while I play Super Metroid.

The game that brought indie games to attention, Super Meat Boy. It was a tough but highly rewarding game. Never did beat it, but I do have some fond memories of playing it.

My favourite indie game is She sees Red.
A cool Russian movie but making interactive decisions.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom…


And no, I am not in!

1) You have a wrong set of rules posted. §2 talks about "your proudest gaming moment", not indie games.

2) By whose/what definition are we to choose indie games? The definition for "indie" has never been crystal clear.

3) Assuming that it somehow fits "indie", I say Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today.
Maybe not the very most bestest game ever, but overall a great game with unique graphics and an engaging story. It was originally Kickstarted, so even though it is distributed by Daedalic, it's still indie, by someone's definition at least.

Into the Breach:

It helps keep my mind sharp by demanding critical thinking for planning orders of movement/actions and allowing available actions to be used creatively in (possibly) unexpected ways to go for perfect results. Lots of weapon and enemy variety really keeps my mental gears grinding in a good way.

I've really been having a lot of fun with Ring of Pain.

It has a very addictive "one more run" gameplay loop and is a fun twist on the deck-builder dungeon crawler. The artistic representation of aphantasia along with the spooky and mysterious atmosphere just adds to the mystery. Plus the developer has been continuing to release new updates and content regularly over the last nine months.

I love a lot of indie games (more than mainstream ones, in fact) but if I had to pick one, it would be Mount and Blade Warband. Played it during a rough time in my life and gave me so much distraction and satisfaction.

Started out as a nobody, hired as a mercenary, became a vassal to a king. Earned enough to found several businesses across the continent, got locked out of my lucrative enterprises because of political conflicts, started a war with the erring kingdom. Broke away from allied kingdom to found my own, took over neighbors and eventually my former allies.

Took me hundreds of hours in my first play through and it never grew old. If that isn't a good indie game, I don't know what is.

Disco Elysium because you can be killed by a ceiling fan in the first minute of play.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

A beautiful and heart-warming tale and perhaps even heart-wrenching. You won't be just playing a game, but living the story through these brothers.

Journeying with these two brothers as bravely explore their wondrous and mysterious world while searching to find a cure for their father.

Along the way, they will run across situations and puzzles that require both brothers working together to solve. Their adventures aren't without it's share actions and thrilling moments.

The journey may not be a long one, but it is a memorable one.

[Disclosure: I didn't get to finish the game, but instead got distracted by real life matters and forgot to come back to it. I don't know how that happened as it was beautiful to play. Likely because I have too many unfinished games still installed. But I will get back to it as soon as I get done with Divinity Original Sin EE]
.

I'd have to say The Cat Lady, even though it does have a publisher, and by some folks' account that would disclassify it as a "proper" indie game. Why? Because I went into it not expecting much other than the shock value a couple of youtubers showcased on their channels, I knew David Firth had a couple of roles, and that was it. But, then, I played it, I finished it, and it pretty much became a turning point in my mental health condition(s). The Cat Lady is *NOT* a horror game. It's a study on depression, anxiety, loss and grief. And, I mean, sure, you can play it mindlessly, "roleplaying" an awful person, but if you allow yourself the sincerity, the honesty of playing the game while feeling empathy and sympathy for the characters in it, it's sure to punch you right in the guts. And maybe you'll leave the whole experience feeling like you're worth something, feeling like you're not as crappy a person as your paranoia might make you think you are, like it happened to me. Depending on your choices throughout the game, The Cat Lady can be an extremely heartwarming experience, despite the creepiness, despite the creepy looks, despite the violence and the (sometimes gratuitous) abuse. That's why it is my favorite indie game.

I'm entering the contest for my girlfriend, who would definitely pick any of the Blackwell titles as her favorite, games, by the way, which she bought on GOG and made her fall in love with what video games can be. If I'm not eligible because I'm entering for someone else, then at least I hope my post gets a couple people interested in giving The Cat Lady a try, if they haven't already.

Game on!

Gris - for being brave enough to touch topics that not many dare to touch in games (depression, grief) and for creating a really fun, engaging and non-violent game at the same time!