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Hey everyone,

I think we can all agree that RimWorld is an exception in the indie world and a huge chunk of early access games being released is not very good, or at least lacking in some vital areas (e.g., having few updates, unresponsive devs, or whatever). I have grown to be very apprehensive of buying such games.

So: are there any alpha games you can recommend? Also interesting: are there any you would like to warn us against buying?

To start this off, I can heartily recommend one game: Invisible Inc. by Klei Entertainment. It is on Steam Early Access, and it is a tactical turn-based game about sneaking into and robbing corporations (more or less). The difficulty level is very unforgiving, but I find it adds to the charm.

Don't buy DF-9!

Do buy Broforce, pretty fun 80s action hero ott machismo game!

Factorio. It's not even on Steam yet, but it already has enough content to keep you hooked for a long, long time. There's a short campaign to teach your the ropes and then there's a 'free game' mode with random maps. The devs are currently working on multiplayer, and there's quite a lot of mods there that add even more content. It's the second best alpha game out there in my opinion, after Rimworld of course :D

Starbound

FTL: Advanced Edition

I recommend not buying Godus. I want to also recommend not buying towns as development has been really touch and go, that said I've gotten plenty of enjoyment out of it but the developer abandoned it, decided to go for it again and brought in a new dev who then quit because he wasn't being fairly paid and now it's kinda floating in limbo getting limited updates awaiting another studio to purchase the IP.

Recently out of early access I'd recommend Divinity: Original Sin if you're into RPG's. And Gnomoria if you are looking for something similar to Rimworld.

Quote from: Rahjital on September 21, 2014, 01:37:07 PM
Factorio. It's not even on Steam yet, but it already has enough content to keep you hooked for a long, long time. There's a short campaign to teach your the ropes and then there's a 'free game' mode with random maps. The devs are currently working on multiplayer, and there's quite a lot of mods there that add even more content. It's the second best alpha game out there in my opinion, after Rimworld of course :D

+1 on Factorio. thanks for sharing.  ;D
reminds me a bit of Space Engineers.

though as with both games, they're not very focused on the "survival" aspect.

-------------

anyways. i'm looking forward to Maia (i hope it doesn't get scrapped) it's like a bit of rimworld but with much nicer graphics. (though not much on combat, i hope those guys don't botch it and get faster on developing. it's been a bit slow..)

Folk Tale is another game that i'm definitely looking at it's continued development. it's medieval fantasy city building RTS, that's starting to really look awesome.

7 days to die and Survive the Nights, are really awesome looking zombie survival games.

Pixel Piracy is good if you like FTL.

Starbound also looks good if you're a fan of terraria.

there's also Banished.. though it's a bit too "peaceful" for my taste.

and then there's The Forest... which is just.. wow..

edit :

oh yea, almost forgot : Stonehearth. with it's RPG-esque vibe, city building, and promised titan slaying. i'd be totally stoked if someone manages to mod a shingeki no kyojin in this engine.  ;D

Timber and Stone is a medieval themed game in the same colony management genre as RimWorld, but in 3D. There's a decent bit of fun to be had with what's currently available too.

Kenshi is another, the theme is kind of post-apocalyptic, set on a completely alien planet. Gameplay has a lot of similarities to RimWorld, in that you take command of a person/small group of people and can make a base and fortify against attacks etc. but it gives a lot more freedom to travel the world with your little group of people, to assault enemy camps, trade goods, buy gear from other towns, recruit new people, rather than being entirely focused on base building.

Lastly, avoid Castle Story like the plague - it's all potential, and no development. It looks more and more like towns by the day.

A good example of alpha funding done right is Starsector (http://fractalsoftworks.com/).

Hey guys,

A lot of excellent suggestions, thank you!

My 2 cents:

I own Starbound and I don't think I could recommend it. It gets boring real quick as there is no incentive to build - you keep jumping between worlds.

The Forest looks interesting, I have never heard of it.

Two I did hear about and am interested in are Kenshi and Banished. To the guys who mentioned/own them: how good are they? As addictive as RimWorld?

Quote from: keylocke on September 22, 2014, 12:37:39 AM
oh yea, almost forgot : Stonehearth. with it's RPG-esque vibe, city building, and promised titan slaying. i'd be totally stoked if someone manages to mod a shingeki no kyojin in this engine.  ;D

Is stonehearth playable yet? I saw the kickstarter a while back and the concept looked awesome, but I wanted to wait a while so there'd be some actual gameplay before committing money to it.

I can't recommend Banished. It feels like a promising early access game that could still be developed a lot further, but the author considers it fully finished and will not add any more gameplay features, all updates are bugfixes. Speaking of which, there were a lot of AI bugs on release and the dev fixed only the more glaring ones before moving on to work on the modding tools. The game itself is quite addictive, but very frustating at times because of how stupid the AI can be at times, and seeing how a single thing like that can cause a downward spiral of starvation and freezing, there are situations where even a well-managed city suddenly self-destructs because a farmer went to chop down a tree half the map away during the growing season. The game is a lot of wasted potential.

I tried Kenshi when it first came out. The controls were clunky and the interface was awful to navigate in, but that was years ago. I wonder if it was improved now? There's certainly a ton of new features added to the game.

Quote from: Snownova on September 22, 2014, 05:30:52 AM

Quote from: keylocke on September 22, 2014, 12:37:39 AM
oh yea, almost forgot : Stonehearth. with it's RPG-esque vibe, city building, and promised titan slaying. i'd be totally stoked if someone manages to mod a shingeki no kyojin in this engine.  ;D

Is stonehearth playable yet? I saw the kickstarter a while back and the concept looked awesome, but I wanted to wait a while so there'd be some actual gameplay before committing money to it.

It still breaks pretty easily, but the main systems are in place and content is now added at an accelerated rate.
So I suggest you check back on it in about a month or two.

Anyhow I already have some fun with it - its just so super cuddly and somehow relaxing. :-)

Quote from: Pirx Danford on September 22, 2014, 06:15:12 AM
It still breaks pretty easily, but the main systems are in place and content is now added at an accelerated rate.
So I suggest you check back on it in about a month or two.

Anyhow I already have some fun with it - its just so super cuddly and somehow relaxing. :-)

yea, alpha 5 seems to be in it's first "actually playable state" since people can build roofs now, some of the basic class systems are already in place, enemy goblins drop by from time to time to attack, and there are traders and other stuff i forgot.

anyways, it's really starting to shape up.

---------------

as for Banished.. it's a bit of a mixed bag actually, it reminds me a bit of Tropico (sans the comedy), but i haven't been watching it's development lately.. (too peaceful for my taste)

---------

The Forest is fine, but still a bit buggy.

it's another one of those survival horror games (just like 7 days to die or survive the nights), but with zombies replaced by a scantily-clad cannibalistic tribe instead.

it's a bit difficult and brutal (without using exploits), and it seems to follow the same "anti-game" hardcore steep learning curve philosophy that made the first DayZ mod so popular.

expect to get murderized and often.

If you've got 3ds (XL, golden with triforce on it #bragrights)

Shantae Risky's Revenge
And Shovel Knight are must to own
They're both on steam aswell, I'd check those out they're rrrreally good
Like rrrrrreeeaaallly good
Both finished products but I can't not pass the change to shove those on everyone's face.

I'd keep eye on Starbound but for now I can't recommend it at all at this point.. maybe when they actually hook in the upgradable ships and questing

Another early access one I really really love is Steam Marines
a procedually generated roguelike (lite?) .. Look don't yell at me!
Basically you start the game with your four (very foul mouthed) Marines waking up in cryochamber
in a huge spaceship. And set out to clean the ship up from all the evil robots and aliens, going through decks
gearing and leveling up and stuff
Each deck has a boss as far as I can tell, I've never made it past the second deck =P your marines can die and most likely will at some point but you get opportunity to randomly recruit new ones after each floor if you've lost anyone

It's also on Steam

Craft the world
was definite bag of fun for me aswell
really, really, rrreaaally dull though. It's too slow paced
I don't have any regrets owning it though I played good 48 hours by the looks of it =P I'd keep an eye on that if nothing else
It just gives me so good Diggers vibes, Cause that's a game I loved when I was realy tiny bugger. Also! it's unplayabe by todays standards =P Diggers that is.

But I'm not gna recommend buying anything with early access in it
you don't wanna get bored of it before it's finished
But keep an eye on those!

Also! shovelknight, Shantae, Buy them, now! Shoo!!

Edit:
OH! Legend of Grimrock <- if you haven't played it
they're making sequel for it now, too
It's an amaaaazing dungeon crawler

I'm really looking forward to
War for the Overworld and MAIA, too. but I'm not gna spoil myself the fun trying those before they're all polished up and ready to get abused by me

I'm loving this thread!

Thanks for the sugestions.

I would like to add:

The Last Federation
http://arcengames.com/the-last-federation/
Awesome game that I have been having fun with recently. Just releases the Preorder / Beta of it's next expatiation pack. and base game is 50% off on steam today.
It is like a space empire management game where you don't manage any empires, you just influence those who do in various ways to try and unite the races in the solar system into a unified federation, or at least the remaining races.

The expansion has a game more where you can make your own empire and conquer them.

shocking that Project Zomboid and Gnomoria haven't been mentioned yet :D

i also recommend Neo Scavenger

Gnomoria got a quick mention.

Quote from: Neurotoxin on September 21, 2014, 08:16:02 PM
...

Recently out of early access I'd recommend Divinity: Original Sin if you're into RPG's. And Gnomoria if you are looking for something similar to Rimworld.

teach me to skim read a thread at 1:30am :D

Quote from: fernbhoy on September 22, 2014, 08:27:28 PM
shocking that Project Zomboid and Gnomoria haven't been mentioned yet :D

i used to recommend Project Zomboid a lot, but last time i checked they had an exploit for item duplication in the save system for multiplayer since the saves are stored on the client side. (i'm not sure if they fixed it yet)

also..

* most private servers need to "restart" every few hours or so, to avoid the horrible lag.
* it still lags horribly anyways.
* all player-made structures gets removed on server "reset"
* and since there's not much incentive to build and form communities with strangers, most people just amuse themselves with KOS and griefing.
* the isometric view also makes "sniping" somewhat of a moot point.
* etc..

as for single player..

* i guess the crafting system was enjoyable.
* i like the fact that simple things like "cooking stuff" can get quite complex (ie : you need a can opener to eat canned foods, you can cook food in a pot to cook soup, you need to place it in a heat source like oven (if electricity is still on), BBQs (if there's a gas tank on), or craft your own campfire. and you even need to have the right tools to start a fire.. lol.. those "realistic" parts of the game is totally awesome.)
* also, fallout-logic. you can drink water from the toilet bowl, yum!
* but other than that it's another one of those walking-simulators.
* if you're playing on single-player, it can get crushingly lonesome and pointless since there's nothing much else to do after building a decent base.

it's a bit of a mixed bag.. (but maybe just wait until a really good/stable server pops up, and until the devs fix the item duplication/savegame backup exploit.)

I like the way this thread took off. I will surely reference it if I want to try something new.

I have seen someone mention Towns and that we should stay away from it. Why is that? I checked out their website and the game looks pretty interesting.

Quote from: stefanstr on September 23, 2014, 03:05:54 AM
I like the way this thread took off. I will surely reference it if I want to try something new.

I have seen someone mention Towns and that we should stay away from it. Why is that? I checked out their website and the game looks pretty interesting.

Basically, it was an alpha release that never got finished. The developers got slower and slower on updating, and then one day, after something like five months of silence, they announced that they were giving up.

On top of that, the Steam page made it sound more along the lines of Minecraft, which is complete, but still having additional content developed, whereas Towns was still in alpha. It wasn't really until steam users started complaining that the game was shit and the people who owned it before the steam launch started defending it with the "It's not finished" argument that it became clear that it was in fact an unfinished game.

And after that, I completely understand why Tynan wants to hold off on the Steam release of RimWorld.

Quote from: fernbhoy on September 22, 2014, 08:27:28 PM
shocking ... Gnomoria haven't been mentioned yet :D

It was

Quote from: Neurotoxin on September 21, 2014, 08:16:02 PM
And Gnomoria if you are looking for something similar to Rimworld.

Quote from: Neurotoxin on September 23, 2014, 03:20:43 PM

Quote from: fernbhoy on September 22, 2014, 08:27:28 PM
shocking ... Gnomoria haven't been mentioned yet :D

It was

Quote from: Neurotoxin on September 21, 2014, 08:16:02 PM
And Gnomoria if you are looking for something similar to Rimworld.

Getting corrected for not reading the tread by someone who didn't read the thread :D

already mentioned that i misread

This one is not yet released, but it seems to be worthwile to watch:

That Which Sleeps. To say it simply, it's a game where you are a Sauron-like demon and try to destroy the world, either by being sneaky and corrupting people to do your bidding, or by openly waging war against them.

It's on Kickstarter now. Most people will probably think twice after what happened to DF-9, but the devs say the game is actually done and the kickstarter money is to go mainly towards art. The game appears to be worthwhile to watch, though, whether you decide to support them or not.

Quote from: fernbhoy on September 23, 2014, 03:32:42 PM

Quote from: Neurotoxin on September 23, 2014, 03:20:43 PM

Quote from: fernbhoy on September 22, 2014, 08:27:28 PM
shocking ... Gnomoria haven't been mentioned yet :D

It was

Quote from: Neurotoxin on September 21, 2014, 08:16:02 PM
And Gnomoria if you are looking for something similar to Rimworld.

Getting corrected for not reading the tread by someone who didn't read the thread :D

already mentioned that i misread

Lol, well, looks like I'm just as guilty as you. Haven't had enough coffee this morning.

Quote from: Rahjital on September 23, 2014, 04:10:08 PM
That Which Sleeps.

Link for the lazy.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingdinosaurgames/that-which-sleeps?ref=popular

Quote from: stefanstr on September 23, 2014, 03:05:54 AM
I have seen someone mention Towns and that we should stay away from it. Why is that?

This sums it up pretty well
http://indiegameinsider.com/2014/05/21/the-dark-side-of-early-access-towns/

to tack onto the end of it, it IS currently back in development but ONLY because they got an offer to purchase the game from some undisclosed publisher.

Wow, That Which Sleeps looks seriously amazing. I haven’t been this excited by a promo video for a long time... I am considering actually supporting a Kickstarter project for the first time.

i'm interested in the game That Which Sleeps as well.. but i'm still unsure 'coz they seem to rely more on UGC (user generated content) scenario modders rather than providing totally randomly generated worlds, kingdoms, politics, heroes, etc..

but the concept of the game is very interesting indeed.

Quote from: keylocke on September 24, 2014, 08:55:44 AM
i'm interested in the game That Which Sleeps as well.. but i'm still unsure 'coz they seem to rely more on UGC (user generated content) scenario modders rather than providing totally randomly generated worlds, kingdoms, politics, heroes, etc..

but the concept of the game is very interesting indeed.

Yes, but I am not sure this is actually a bad thing...

And, more importantly, they already have a working game and are only lacking in art assets. Which is what Tynan did, as well, more or less. I feel this approach much more believable than "hey, I got a cool idea, fund me so I can code it."

They are actually trying to be realistic with their goals, which is why random generation was scrapped. It's a shame, but I would still rather have a nice game with fixed scenariors rather than vapourware or another DF-9 with tons and tons of features.

It's still in the stretch goals, though, so if you want random maps, throw a lot of money at them! ;D

Quote from: BetaSpectre on September 22, 2014, 06:57:07 PM
I'm loving this thread!

Me too!

Quote from: a89a89 on September 24, 2014, 05:09:55 PM

Quote from: BetaSpectre on September 22, 2014, 06:57:07 PM
I'm loving this thread!

Me too!

I'm glad that I started it, then. ;)

I have discovered That Which Sleeps through this thread which looks awesome, so I am happy. On topic of the lack of procedural generation in that game: it made me think of Crusader Kings. The universe is always the same, but it is a living universe, so things might shape up differently every time you play. If it has half the replayability of CK, I will be a happy camper.

Plus, with the good modding support, a Game of Thrones scenario is bound to happen. Playing as The Other awakening in the North and making the Seven Kingdoms war each other? I am considering backing them on Kickstarter with the beta-moder tier just to make that happen.

I'm currently toying with the idea of buying Sol 0 ( http://www.solzerogame.com/ ) it looks very interesting, but I'm not sure if there's enough there for sustained gameplay. Has anyone here tried it yet?

Quote from: Rahjital on September 21, 2014, 01:37:07 PM
Factorio. It's not even on Steam yet, but it already has enough content to keep you hooked for a long, long time. There's a short campaign to teach your the ropes and then there's a 'free game' mode with random maps. The devs are currently working on multiplayer, and there's quite a lot of mods there that add even more content. It's the second best alpha game out there in my opinion, after Rimworld of course :D

What a Game! i bought that 6 months ago, easily one of the best upcoming indie's on par with Rimworld.

Can you guys tell me some more about Factorio? What is so great about it? I have watched their promo video and wasn’t impressed.

On topic of That Wich Sleeps: they got funded on Kickstarter in about 3 days. Couldn’t resist and backed them, too.

Quote from: Snownova on September 25, 2014, 03:52:36 AM
I'm currently toying with the idea of buying Sol 0 ( http://www.solzerogame.com/ ) it looks very interesting, but I'm not sure if there's enough there for sustained gameplay. Has anyone here tried it yet?

holy crap! that looks like a rimworld / kerbal hybrid.  :o
that totally got my attention! trying out the demo now..

Quote from: stefanstr on September 25, 2014, 07:11:13 PM
On topic of That Wich Sleeps: they got funded on Kickstarter in about 3 days. Couldn�t resist and backed them, too.

good for you, stefanstr.. i still have plenty of "games to play" in my backlog, so i've been a bit picky lately. but it would be great to hear more about your experience from that game.


edit :

i just finished the demo of sol0, it's not really much like rimworld / kerbal hybrid. (i'm a bit disappoint)(but who knows? i'll check it again later if they made it more awesome)

first impressions :

* rocket launch mechanics are fairly minimal. (all you really have to worry about is the total weight of all the stuff you want to ferry to mars)  you don't need to worry about flight paths and travel time, etc.. (unlike kerbal) mars is just a quick loading screen away.
* you don't actually get to see your astronaut use the airlocks to enter habitats and consume food (as compared to maia), you just need a water tank, a solar panel, a greenhouse and a hallway. then your astronaut can survive outside almost indefinitely. the astronaut feels more like a robotic construction unit that siphons food and water remotely, rather than an actual person.
* the survival aspect of the game still seems fairly basic. (but who knows? maybe they'll add more features)
* no combat (yet?), but there's a way to declare "independence" from earth.. which i found interesting.. (now all i need is to build a gundam..)

--------

* starsector is fun. the combat mechanics and the fleet control is really enjoyable. reminds me a bit of escape velocity nova, but with less content (for now).
* thanks a lot to the guy who suggested this. :D

hmm, try Kenshi (http://www.lofigames.com)

The early access games I've bought into and enjoyed a lot are:
Kerbal Space Program
Project Zomboid
Prison Architect
Space Engineers

Some awesome things here in this thread.
Certainly found a few games here that have been put on my watchlist now.

I don't think i've seen Limit Theory mentioned here yet.
http://ltheory.com/

It's a space exploration game that's almost entirely build with procedural generation.
All created in an engine built from scratch and has it's own programming language to support for easy modding.
This game is being made by one very dedicated developer.
He posts a page long blog post every day on the forums and makes an update video every 1 or 2 months.
Can't purchase the game yet though, so far the only way to 'purchase' anything was during it's kickstarter.


And also this game: Ultimate general: Gettysburg
http://www.ultimategeneral.com/

A strategy game designed by a notable modder from the total war community.
It focuses on making the game challenging by having a good AI.
And as you have guessed by the name it's about the battle of Gettysburg.

I have tried dozens of indie games but the ones that I consider amazing(besides Rimworld) are:

https://www.kerbalspaceprogram.com (https://www.kerbalspaceprogram.com) aka KSP - Its so good even NASA engineers play it in their free time and have praised it. Not to mention their Asteroid Interception update was developed in collaboration with NASA(officially)! Includes an amazing modding community as well and creators have even implemented some of the best mods in the official game. And its TONS of fun and hilarity. I've had an amazing time with it and in one of the upcoming updates multiplayer is promised!

p.s. I had a competition with one of my friends of who can reach an altitude of 70'000m the fastest(no mods) in sandbox mode. My time was 52 seconds - beat it.

www.darkoutgame.com (http://www.darkoutgame.com) - Not very well known but there is something about this game that kept me playing it for days. What I love about it is the sense of achievement. When you get new stuff it feels awesome, but it doesn't stop there... I have had countless moments of me thinking that the stuff I have (jetpacks/rebreathers/jump boots/combat armor/lazer rifles etc...) are the best you can get....... aaaaaaand I've just met research perquisite for a planet destroyer or something :D

Alright, you guys got me to write my first post on the forums, just to give a shoutout to UnReal World

Copied from the game's homepage (http://www.unrealworld.fi/)
"UnReal World, or UrW, is a unique graphical roguelike RPG taking place in the Far North long, long ago. It brings you a realistic game world rich with historical atmosphere in which northern folklore, knowledge and way of life play an important part. The atmosphere and game features are highly original and compelling. The world of the game is based on the ancient Finland in the late Iron Age.
Throughout the years, UnReal World has been praised for its depth, realism, atmosphere and immersion.
"

On my experience, the game offers a lot of gameplay, awesome and unique environment and lots of fun! The game includes some real-world artwork, including character portraits with real people, that definately improves the immersion of the game. I should probably give it a shot once again, when I get semi-bored to RimWorld (not going to happen too soon though)

I can't but promote this game, it seriously deserves a lot more attention! Oh, did I mention that it has been developed since 1992?

And a pic from the game, here ya' go!



"A fellow hunter disappeared on a rainy night. His tracks were found, and there were wolf tracks as well. The trail was easy to follow, but he was found too late."

I can really recommend Shovel Knight, there's so much nostalgia in that game and the art, soundtrack and mechanics are so neat.

I also recommend Nuclear Throne, a really fun but difficult rogue-like game thats in Early Access and updated every week with new stuff.

Another Early Access game,Lethal League is really exciting to play too. I recommend that for some awesome PvP dodgeball-thingy action game. If you're not sure if you should get it, you should watch Ster / Jerma play it, *really* entertaining.

timber and stone has updated finally.....and im unhappy, what did they doooo. The model and texture changes are awful....very dissapointed, i loved the original models. :(

Recently I recalled a game I played a long time ago. It is neither indie nor early access - in fact it is a pretty old game - but has been released and rebuilt as an open source - therefore for free. You might call it vintage-indie.  :D

The game is called Fish Fillets (http://fillets.sourceforge.net) and it's most likely the best puzzle game I've ever played. It has a great humorous story, characters and dialogues plus nice hand-painted graphics as well as intricate music. The puzzle mechanics are really fun and after you beat the first few levels the difficulty can get *really* high (in fact even my brother with PhD of Mathematics wasn't able to solve the last levels).

Basically you have two fish in a room with obstacles and you need to get them out. After you get out, there's a next level, etc. You can manipulate with the obstacles but you must be careful because you can easily kill your fish. There is a tutorial in the beginning and the rules are easy.



It just randomly popped in my mind yesterday and now I saw the topic so I thought about sharing it. Be sure to check it out!

Kenshi is good, and is updated regularly, the game its self is abit grindy to start out.
Terraria is awesome but, you guys should have it by now.

That Which Sleeps has officially gotten to the RWG ( Random World Generation ) stretch goal! Rejoice!

Quote from: MyNameIsSpyder on January 24, 2015, 09:12:51 PM
That Which Sleeps has officially gotten to the RWG ( Random World Generation ) stretch goal! Rejoice!

That’s old news... They finished their KS campaign a few months ago. I am a backer of this game at the Beta level. Their current release schedule for the Beta is somewhere in March. Whenever the Beta launches, I will update this thread with my opinions.

Random comments thanks to this thread:

I'm glad to see people are liking Kenshi. I remember seeing that a long time ago on Steam and added it to my wishlist. I haven't followed it, but I may have to go check it out again as it sounds like it's right up my alley.

Also, I need to check out Survive the Nights as that also sounds like something I'd enjoy. I had actually been trying to remember the name of it since I stumbled onto it months ago and had since forgotten its name. So, thanks!

Just thought I'd throw some love to 7 Days to Die again. I know it's been mentioned a few times, but the last major update (alpha 10) added a fair bit of stuff and alpha 11 (another month or so) should also add several new systems that'll shake the game up.

My toplist
1. Project zomboid - loot, survive, craft. I find loot aspect rather fascinating. Also it has a lot of content and mechanics. Playable through multiplayer. For that one who finished vanilla there is a Hydrocraft super mod. Like RimWorlds Hardcore SK
2. Cataclysm DDA  - same as PZ, but 100 times more content and hardcore. Like Dwarf Fortress compared to RimWorld
3. Factorio - epic game. Main idea - you build factory that do all work for you. I like producing, belts here. And you have even trains and liquids here.
4. Kenshi - rimworld in 3d. Less content, but cool swords and stylish graphics/atmosphere. I like fights there and ability to travel across the world
5. Dwarf Fortress - king of colony building games. Unbeatable and unstoppable. Spend months of real time there.
6. [RIP] Gnomoria - one of the best DF with graphics
7. Shelterred - another loot and craft game. You have a base and get loot from expeditions.
8. Battle Brothers - cool mercenary simulator. Nothing with Rimworld, just waiting for Bannerlord)
9. Kerbal SP - cant play this (my best achievement to orbit Kerbal). But love to watch how my friend play this rocket science (literally)
10. Ark Survival - big 3d survival game. I like to breed and catch, and here you have Dinos! And you can ride them!And some of them can even fly! And Ships! And underwater! And dungeons! And constant updates.
11. Rust - MMO survival. Nude, hardcore, brutal, unfriedly. When you feel that your life is too easy.
12. Dont Starve Together - cool game, more arcade survival with a lot of challenges. I dont like creepy atmosphere but cool to play with friends

Generally I found that better to skip all indie games that do not survive at least 2 years. Extended modder community is also good indicator of good indie game (Hardcore SK, Hydrocraft, Prophesy of Pendor, Bobs mod, KSP mods)

might be considered less indie, but binding of isaac is pretty interesting : it is a blend of rogue like, legend of zelda style dungeons, and grotesqueness. Pretty challenging too.

Also, its not indie, but an oldie : original x-com ufo defense, on openxcom, with mods

... it does so much different than with most tactics games, having a suprising amount of flexibility and dynamics to it, to the point I really cannot enjoy the newer xcom. Its a lot to learn, mind but its worth it, bringing some of the most interesting tactical fights around.

I play with either xcom files (a mod), or piratez

I support Fish Fillets - it may look a bit old, but it's a very good puzzle game with witty writing.

Catacomb Kids is a randomly generated platformer somewhat similar to Spelunky, except much harder. There's a crazy number of item, enemy and spell interactions. You can kill a sticky goo enemy, throw it at a wall to get an extra grip. Or throw it an enemy's face to blind it and make it run into lava. Or throw it at a trap to temporarily disable it. Unlike Spelunky, it supports many playstyles and has no ascension kit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxDjQLKSC-g

"SUBNAUTICA"
In short :
- underwater
- survival
- exploration
- building

A video say all :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ8I_JIFiDE

Info dump :
- I played it for 88hours and it had less features than it has now
- There's alas, no multiplayer. It was planned but dropped until launch at which point the dev said it would take a lot of work.
- How close it is to be complete ? Mid-may according to their roadmap (https://trello.com/b/KbugnSRJ/subnautica-roadmap)
- Cost : "20buck" (http://store.steampowered.com/app/264710/) for now
- Fully compatible VR and that's one of the few game I would believe to make good use of it.
- there's a MECHA
To follow the development :
https://trello.com/b/yxoJrFgP/subnautica-development

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"TRANSPORT FEVER"
Aka : Transport Tycoon but with more realist train, more difficult, more rigid, still FUN.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/446800/

- Played it 66hours, only finished one of the two campaigns, didn't even start "free game" yet.
- Vehicles aren't ordered around individually, "lines" get used to, but it is much better than Transport Tycoon.
- The developer is coming back to give it a big UI improvement.
- it technically have less "feature" but the while rail-building & save money is  much harder.

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"CHILDREN OF A DEAD EARTH"
aka "Most scientifically accurate SPACE WARFARE game created"

Trailers here :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiIh4Xw2bnQ

This website do a better job talking about it, and about pretty much everything SF.
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/sealofapproval.php#id--Computer_Simulation
If you followed the link, I don't think you'll still be here reading this.

Info dump
- The tutorial phase is surprisingly good, but that's like a nice trek before discovering the Himalaya behind.
- Ship are controlled by giving them simple order individually or by group, but you have to micromanage (patch are making them more intelligent)
- Haven't been playing a lot, but that's because I waited some UI improvement (half of which are in now) and simply didn't get back yet.
- This is NOT MULTIPLAYER, part because you need timewarp to do anything and then because you could only play it with friends like Wernher vaun Brown

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"ARK SURVIVAL EVOLVED"
Aka : fight dinosaur, ride atop dinosaur, kill stuff using dinosaur, build base with dinosaur, eventually make power-armor...for dinosaur, and shark, yes LASER SHARK.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/346110/

I don't think you actually needed me to hear about it so I'll just leave you info that you don't get at first glance

- The physics is alas pretty simple, Dinosaur drive a little like car that bite. However the immersion is still excellent once you know how to maneuver properly.
- It's MULTIPLAYER at its core. It's playable alone but every game mechanic are made to encourage teamplay. It's kind of hard to fight  Dinosaur with sling and spear.
- You can create a private server, but unless it's dedicated your friends can't get far away from you.
- Developers hinted at solo-focused contents but...
- Developers produce a LOT of crazy cool new features but...
- Features and new dinosaur keep coming like it will never end but...

...it will take a while before everything converge into something more organic. (see physics)
(technically it will soon stop being Early access)

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"SPINTIRES"

Exactly what it look like : Drive big trucks in MUD
http://store.steampowered.com/app/263280/

info dump :
- It's pretty short but multiplayers (4 persons)
- It ask you to make your own challenge after a while (and try fanmade map)
- Please assume that update stopped completely, even if the dead forum tell you one is coming.
- You'll still wish the development didn't looked dead.
(the main developers insist something big is coming)

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Dropping some few other good things that you probably already know about if you use the "Explore" feature of STEAM.

"CHROMA SQUAD" (http://store.steampowered.com/app/251130/)
aka : turn by turn power ranger making sentai series

"FACTORIO" (http://store.steampowered.com/app/427520/)
Aka : build factory lines, and consume more and more resources per second
(multiplayers, have a free demo)
Don't wait for a "sale", the developers said they'll never do one.

"RIMWORLD"
A very good game ab ...wait a second, nevermind.