The Offworld 20: 2008's Best Indie and Overlooked

Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto 4, Left 4 Dead, Metal Gear Solid 4, Rock Band 2, Mirror's Edge, Spore, LittleBigPlanet -- as we've reached the end of the year, the lists have become as plentiful as they have predictable. So, instead of reshuffling the same list of 10 (admittedly amazing) games as everyone else, I've taken a different path and put together The Offworld 20.

Covering every current platform (PC/Mac/Linux, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360, DS, iPhone, N-gage), the 20 isn't just a list of independently made and under-appreciated games, it's a list of the games that celebrate what makes Offworld Offworld: the beautiful and the bizarre, and the games trying to push the medium forward and give us something we've never seen before, in whatever incremental way.

In it you'll find time-manipulators, slacker assassins, satellite viewed superheroes, vector vegetation, bubble blowers and balls of tar, techno invaders, spirits of the wind, and, refreshingly, not one single space marine.

I've compiled and written up the list in no particular horse-race order other than alphabetical, and included the best examples of gameplay so you can see it in motion -- let us know via the comments below if there's anything you think we missed.

On to the list...

13 Comments

simonemarie

#1 – 1:32 PM December 22, 2008

i love this blog.

alexlitel

#2 – 1:32 PM December 22, 2008

I wish I were the Moon

digit

#3 – 3:04 PM December 22, 2008

im suprised the Penny Arcade game Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness didnt make the cut. Great Artwork, Good Design, Fun Game. http://www.rainslick.com/

werdswerf

#4 – 3:19 PM December 22, 2008

Great list! I'd definitely add World of Goo though. It's amazing how much humor and charm 2D boy crammed into what was basically a physics simulator.

cory

#5 – 3:24 PM December 22, 2008

I second the call for Rain Slick Precipice #1 and #2. I guess the PA guys will be gratified that at least two other games from Playgreenhouse.com made the list: World of Goo and Hinterland. (I wasn't that impressed with Hinterland, though.)

Eschalon Book I could easily have been there too (I'm eagerly awaiting Book II). DEFCON got a shout out but didn't make the list; I didn't know about Multiwinia and I'll definitely be checking that out.

theawesomerobot

#6 – 8:56 PM December 22, 2008

The Mother 3 translation came out, that was pretty win.

Anonymous Anonymous

#7 – 2:00 AM December 23, 2008

Noitu Love 2, surely? Or was that an '07 release? It's as good as Treasure's best, or better - and one guy did the whole thing.

Lemon

#8 – 3:20 AM December 23, 2008

Sins of a Solar Empire should get a mention too. A really fresh approach on the RTS genre. Plus the post-launch support/content is better than what most of the big companies deliver.

urshrew

#9 – 5:33 AM December 23, 2008

It didn't come out during 2008, but it was updated this year, Mount and Blade, which is I vote for the best Pirates! remake based on land.

Strophe

#10 – 7:12 AM December 23, 2008

I'll admit--I saw the dreaded List Format post and was a-feared. But about 12 of these were very enlightening. It is an excellent time to be a gamer.

Great post!

Joel Johnson

#11 – 8:15 AM December 23, 2008

@Lemon: I *did* love Sins. I can't say I got very deep into it, but I loved slinging ships around space. I need to fire that up again.

tiny45

#12 – 11:08 AM December 23, 2008