While there are hardly any more wholly unique games being made, that doesn't stop indie developers from using popular formulas to make truly great games that offer be𝔍tter versions of titles we love. That doesn't mean the old titles have nothing to offer, only providing sustenance to gamers in dire need of more fuel after beating those games over and over.

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Best Platfor﷽mer Games Of Al𒁏l Time

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Whether inspired by the tropes that made the genre iconic or directly inspired by the game itself, these titles tend to enhance every aspect that gave them life while updating the story, graphics, and gameplay for a modern audience. While some say you can never outshine 🐈the originals, there are some gems that glimmer in their light.

10 ✤ Stardew Valley ෴

Better Than: Harvest Moon

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Stardew Valley
Released
February 26, 2016

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Developer(s)
൩ ཧ ConcernedApe
Publisher(s)
🅠 ConcerꦰnedApe
Platform(s)
PC, Xbox One, Android, iOS, PS4, Switch

Taking the 2D farming simulator to the highest possible level a solo developer can achieve, Stardew Valley follows in the footsteps of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Harvest Moon, a Japanese farm sim made for the SNES. In both games, you inherit a farm from your grandfather and maintain animals and grow crops while interacting wi🔯th NPCs in town.

This is where the similarities stop, as Stardew Valley is consistently updated with new content that makes every year in-game full of surprises, secrets, exploration, and in-depth interaction with its many residents. Even Harvest Moon's many sequels fail to capture the magic of Stardew, and hopefully, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the next game by ConcernedApe, Haunted Chocolatier.

9 The Witne🍸ss

Better Than: Myst

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: The Witness
Puzzle
Systems
Released
January 26, 2016

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Developer(s)
Thekla Inc. 🎶
Publisher(s)
🔴 Thekla Inc.
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, PC, iOS

Myst was one of the first games available that focused on relaxinཧg exploration and unique puzzle interactions that took patience and dedication to solve. The Witness also takes you to a mysterious island full of puzzles, but won't have you scratching your head even with the wiki open on your browser, but takes direct inspiration from the classic adventure game.

That's not to say The Witness isn't challenging, as its puzzles can be both unique and deceptive, requiring lateral thinking and trial and error. Myst, however, doesn't offer the same satisfying solutions to its puzzles, instead fꦬorcing you to flick switches, pull levers, and turn wheels until something unseen happens on the other side of the map.

8 Rimworld

Better Than: Dwarf Fortress

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: RimWorld
Simulation
Systems
Released
October 17, 2018

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Developer(s)
✨ 🤡 Ludeon Studios
Publisher(s)
Ludeon Studios ౠ
Platform(s)
PC, PS4, Xbox One

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dwarf Fortress revolutionized colony sims with excruciatingly in-depth m👍echanics and interactions that can result in your entire colony dying through various mishaps. The original game is entirely text-based, representing colonists and terrain with colored symbols, with later versions adding graphics and animation.

Rimworld is essentially Dwarf Fortress in space,♔ crash-landing your colonists on an unforgiving planet. Like Dwarf Fortress, there isn't a structured goal to accomplish; rather, following along with a complex and evolving story based on your choices. Equally as complex as Dwarf Fortress in some areas and thankfully streamlined in others, Rimworld is one of the strongest colony sims available.

7 📖 Goose Goose Duck ꩲ

Better Than: Among Us

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Goose Goose Duck
Strategy
2D
Social Deduction
Systems
Released
October 3, 2021

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Developer(s)
🔴 🐠 Gaggle Studios, Inc.
Publisher(s)
🦹 Gaggle Studios, Inc.
Platform(s)
Android, iOS, PC

Exploding in popularity during the pandemic due to everyone staying indoors and becoming increasingly bored, Among Us is a social deduction game where the crew m🐲ust sus out the impostor, killing the rest one by one. Although not the first social deduction game, Among Us popularized the format, forcibly separating players to perform tasks and giving the impostor ample opportunities.

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Goose Goose Duck is a shameless copy of Among Us, where players must find and vote out the duck among tꦕhe geese. While both games are strikingly similar, Goose Goose Duck offers far more variety, such as unique roles and more map variety. Better yet, it is also free, making the only barrier between you and Goose Goose Duck are friends to pla♛y with.

6 Undertale

Better Than: Earthbound

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Undertale
Released
September 15, 2015

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Developer(s)
Toby Fox
Publisher(s)
Toby Fox, 8-4 𝕴 ꧅
Platform(s)
PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Switch, PC

More likely to recognize Sans and Papyrus than Poo, Jeff, and Paula, Undertale emulates the style of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Earthbound but offers intense and memorable skill-b🌱ased encounters. Both games also have similar themes and tone, with a final boss of your nightmares, with Undertale even featuring homages to the classic SNES game.

Yet, it is no wonder that Undertale has a massive fanbase today, which has grown over the years, mostly due to its fully realized characters and lessons of empathy and care amidst a bleak yet iconic 𝓀setting. However, Super 💧Smash Bros. has Ness and Lucas but no Undertale characters, so who is the real winner?

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Omori is another game inspired by Earthbound, adding a ﷽hand-drawn style to its cast of quirky characters in a dark world.

5 Litꦓtle N✅ightmares

Better Than: Limbo

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Little Nightmares
Survival Horror
Puzzle
Platformer
Systems
Released
April 28, 2017

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Developer(s)
🔴 Tarsier Studios
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Stadia

Although not the first side-scrolling puzzle game with horror elements, Limbo is one of the most iconic for its memorable and unique art style, along with its dark and unforgiving tone. Little Nightmares emulates Limbo in many ways, maneuvering objects to avoid monsters and playing as a s𒁃mall and helpless character.

However, Little Nightmares has a much more detailed and rich world, made even grander in Little Nightmares 2, which acts as a prequel to the first game. While Limbo is a more accessible title, Little Nightmares is every 🎐bit as atmospheric, rewarding, and challenging while giving you more to explore and discover.

4 Celeste

Better Than: Super Meat Boy

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Celeste
Platformer
Systems
Released
January 25, 2018

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL

Developer(s)
♉ Extremely OK Games
Publisher(s)
🎃 🦄 Extremely OK Games
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Stadia, Steam

Precision platforming parkour games are not for everyone, requiring patience and dedication if you want to make it past the hardest levels they have to offer. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Meat Boy is one such game, 🅺balancing extreme difficulty and rewarding pacing if otherwise unnotable outside the recognizable bloody cube.

Celeste also has a recognizable character, intense parkour sections, and rewarding platforming, in addition to an emotional story that makes it stand out among other games in the genre. Although Celeste takes many of the mechanics of Super Meat Boy, it also expands upon them and offers more accessible options for more to enjoy and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:strawberries to collect.

3 🌠 Bomb Rush Cyberfunk 𓂃

Better Than: Jet Set Radio

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Action-Adventure
Platformer
Systems
Released
August 18, 2023

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
4.0/5

Developer(s)
ඣ Team Rept🍒ile
Publisher(s)
♏ Team Reptile

Featuring a quirky cast of teens using skates to battle rival crews while listening to head-pumping tunes, both Jet Set Radio and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk feel like they can be set in the same universe. However, Jet Set Radio focuses on the graffiti tagging aspect, incorporat🐟ing it into most of its gameplay and story elements while 🔜grinding on rails.

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Bomb Rush Cyberfunk expands vastly on the concept, giving you more traversal options and incorporating combat mechanics involving unique boss battles and a story that is subjectively more engaging. Although entirely up to taste, both games have an amazing soundtrack worthy of your playlist, making it hard to define which game has ꦏthe best songs despite the difference in gameplay.

2 The Messenger 🦩

Better Than: Ninja Gaiden

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: The Messenger
Platformer
Systems
Released
August 30, 2018

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Developer(s)
Sabotage
Platform(s)
PC, Switch

More resembling the classic 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ninja Gaiden ga💙mes of the eighties and nineties than its modern iterations, The Messenger also has you side-scrolling an action-packed pixelated adventure as a blue ninja. The style seems to directly emulate the world of Ninja Gaiden, albeit with modern graphics and cleaner animation than what was available three decades ago.

While a beloved classic, the NES versions of Ninja Gaiden definitely feel their age, with excessively arcade-like gameplay that forces constant restarts. The Messenger modernizes the classic well, giving you access to a plethora of unique skills that allow you to adapt to new enemies and platforming challenges, making it morওe than just a spiritual successor.

The same devs behind Blasphemous are 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:making Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, which also e💮mulates the classic SNES games𒁏 and very much resembles The Messenger.

1 ⛄ ꧒ Axiom Verge

Better Than: Super Metroid

AxiomVergeTagPag
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Axiom Verge
Released
March 31, 2015

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Developer(s)
💎 Thomas Happ Games
Publisher(s)
Thomas Ha🍸pp Games ඣ

A controversial take as the classic Metroid games are hailed as the only true Metroidvania games where many modern titles take root and inspiration from, but that doesn't stop indie developers from improving on the formula. Although emulating the style and animation of those retro titles, Axiom Verge improves 𝓰the gameplay in almost e꧟very way.

The main noticeable difference is the sheer amount of weapon variety, offering enough diversity to adapt your playstyle as much as you want while experimenting with game-changing upgrades. Although the main character is not nearly as iconic as Samus, it more than j🌳ust scratches the itch for any Metroid 🔜fans wanting more while being able to dive into a deep story.

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