This article is part of a directory: Complete guide to the Xbox Series X
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Independently-published games are, in many ways, the lifeblood of the gaming industry - for every huge AAA release that's published by a giant corporation, there are hundreds of smaller games made by tiny teams and released in a much more low-key way.

Some of these are absolutely hidden gems, too, and let you experiment with more esoteric and interesting gameplay and story choices, or experience an art style that's completely unique. We've brought together the very best options from the indie world that you can play on the Microsoft Xbox Series X, or Series S.

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Disco Elysium
1. Best overall

Stunning RPG

This brilliant RPG is a perfect example of how indies can do it better.

Pros
  • Superb writing
  • Great art
  • Amazing freedom
Cons
  • Some will find it wordy

A role-playing game that redefines what it means to deal with your character's internal monologuing, Disco Elysium is a beast totally unto itself, with some of the sharpest, most lacerating writing we've encountered in a very long time.

It's got a lovely, grim art style and puts you in the role of a failing cop trying to figure out a crime that might be much, much bigger than him, if he can only deal with his own crazy urges and foibles.

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Hollow Knight
2. Best side-scroller

This haunting platformer is one of our all-time favourites.

Pros
  • Amazing atmosphere
  • Incredibly cute art
  • Great platforming and combat
Cons
  • Post-game is tough

Hollow Knight makes no secret of its influences, in particular a blend of Castlevania-style exploration with Dark Souls-style risk and reward, and the blend it comes up with is pretty much a triumph. It's got a huge map to explore and you'll do so gingerly and carefully.

As you gain more power you'll meet a fun little cast of characters, all of them living in a subterranean world of bugs and animals, and you'll slowly uncover the cause behind a corruption stifling the land.

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Hades
3. Best roguelike

Amazing storytelling

A brilliant action game that also tells a heartfelt story over time.

Pros
  • So addictive
  • Looks and sounds so clean
  • Great action
Cons
  • Tough at first, a little easy by the end

One of the most successful roguelikes ever made, Hades tasks you with escaping the titular underworld, no matter how many tries it takes you. Each time you die you'll begin again with new random powers to collect and a new set of random rooms to get through.

The alchemy of these potential combinations is just incredible, and by the time you learn the ropes you'll be blitzing through it repeatedly just to see what sort of build you manage to piece together next. It's a rare gem of a game.

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Outer Wilds.
4. Wondrous exploration

Mysterious story

A great mystery game that will keep you guessing throughout its stunning story.

Pros
  • Amazing mystery
  • Doesn't hold your hand
  • Great music
Cons
  • A little clunky at times

If you like solving mysteries without having the solutions pointed to with a map marker, Outer Wilds poses a thrilling conundrum. It takes place in a small galaxy that's eternally fated to collapse in on itself, looping through the same final moments over and over.

You can navigate around it decoding lost messages and figuring out just what on earth is going on, to work out whether you have any hope of stopping things. It's a masterpiece that's best played with as little foreknowledge as possible.

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Sable
5. Best visuals

Incredible art

A simply beautiful story that lets you explore a world in an art style that makes high-budget games blush.

Pros
  • Incredibly beautiful
  • Subtle soundtrack
  • No combat makes for a chill ride
Cons
  • Maybe too slow for some

Sable is a gentle, lovely coming-of-age story that's set on a desert world. You play as the title character, and venture out to discover what your life's calling might be, but the lessons it doles out are so touching that it hardly feels like there's any pressure.

It's got an art style that's just jaw-droppingly beautiful, with pencil-work and a hand-drawn look that make it sing whatever time of the day you visit each region in. It has to be seen in motion to be believed, frankly.

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The Forgotten City
6. Best mystery

Another enigma

Another excellent whodunnit of a game that lets you figure out a mysterious central question.

Pros
  • Excellent story
  • Great characters
  • Looks great
Cons
  • Can guide you too much

Another great mystery game, The Forgotten City is also another time-loop game, a sub-genre that's very hot right now. You're dropped into a Roman city that's under a seeming curse, and have to work out who's causing the whole thing to go sideways each day.

You'll meet devious and helpful characters alike as you figure out who's lying about what, and piecing together one of its multiple endings is as rewarding as you could like.

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Ori and the Will of the Wisps
7. Best graphics

Stunning looks

This lovely adventure game looks about as nice as any game we could imagine.

Pros
  • Looks superb
  • Great simple tale
  • Much better combat
Cons
  • Not the longest

A lovely sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, Will of the Wisps looks simply magical on the Series S or X thanks to detailed environments and superb HDR. It's a side-scrolling exploration game that has much tighter combat than its prequel.

You play as Ori, a delightful little creature whose movement is quick and smooth, even before you unlock a whole bunch of other ways to make things quicker and easier as the game goes on. It looks and sounds sumptuous.

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Death's Door
8. Best secrets

Excellent explorer

A great little game that keeps things simple but plays it all very smartly.

Pros
  • Simple but good combat
  • Nice puzzles
  • Fun story
Cons
  • Can be obtuse

This delightful little game is a clever reimagining of the template laid down by older Legend of Zelda titles, with a series of dungeons to navigate through, and simple but rewarding combat to master as you do so. Death's Door also boasts a wonderful art style to enjoy.

You play as a crow, tasked with ferrying dead souls to the afterlife, but when a soul refuses to be taken you're drawn into a huge contest between mysterious forces, none of which seem to have your interests at heart.

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OlliOlli World
9. Best vibes

Chilled-out

This skating game is the perfect way to kick back and relax.

Pros
  • So chilled
  • Looks brilliant
  • Loads of customisation options
Cons
  • Gets really tricky

For something a little bit more relaxed, OlliOlli World is like playing a love letter to skateboarding, with all of the culture that it brings with it, from fashion to music and language. There are a wide range of levels to tackle and a deep set of skills to master over time.

The game looks amazing, with a new type of art for the series that really reinvents it and makes it easier to get into, and we love that amount of character customisation you can control. It's such a chill ride.

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Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!
10. Best surprise

Extreme horror

A super scary psychological thriller that masquerades as something far more innocent.

Pros
  • Extremely scary
  • Surprising
  • Fun in groups
Cons
  • Some harrowing content

Our final pick is a truly horrendous experience, in a way that's completely intended and highly successful. This visual novel seems simple and wholesome, but you'll quickly start to notice some odd details. We won't say too much more, because the twists that Doki Doki Literature Club has to offer up are legendary.

It's a game that merits the content warnings that have been added to it, though, so only play it if you're okay with settling in for a fairly harrowing tale.

How to pick your next indie game on Xbox Series X or S

There are so many indie games on the new Xbox consoles that it would be genuinely impossible for one person to ever play them all; picking one might be easier, though, if you ask yourself some of the follow quick questions.

Have you checked Xbox Game Pass?

Whenever you buy any game for Xbox right now, it's important to check whether it's on Game Pass first; if so, you might able to take out a month's membership for Microsoft's service and get access to the game at much lower upfront cost. If you really like it, you can always buy it later for more permanent access.

What art styles do you like?

One of the things we love about indies is that they're often more free to experiment with crazy or unique art styles compared to bigger games which often have to play things a little safer. If you really like cel-shaded looks, or are really into hand-drawn styles, for example, there will be plenty of games to tickle you.

Do you have a favourite genre?

Indie games can span all genres, too, so if you're a particular fan of shooters, RPGs or any other genre, you might want to start with that and see what indie games you can find that fit the bill - it'll be a quicker way to make sure that you land on one you like.