18 Best Indie Games Of The Decade (So Far)

15. Axiom Verge

One of the newest entries on the list, and one that's being rightfully haled and damned for it's one-to-one Metroid comparisons.

Basically ideas-man Tom Happ put the entire thing together as a passion project to very much welcome this mindset, because it's in the little details where Axiom comes into its own. It refines things like manoeuvrability through levels, shows off enemy boss encounters that end in graphical flourishes never possible back in 1986, and uses what were crippling graphical glitches caused by cartridges on the blink to become unique gameplay mechanics.

As a side-scroller purpose-built to get you into Metroid's mindset of making mental notes of places in the map that are inaccessible (only to revisit them later and double-back on yourself) it more than delivers. Then you factor in a pretty awesome story that's got just the right level of humour, a HUGE amount of weapons that are all fun to experiment with and a bevy of powers that appear at a pretty steady pace, Axiom Verge's execution on the Metroid formula is the best there's been in decades.