Too rarely do Indie games get the recognition and praise they deserve. These hidden diamond mines are often the most unique and memorable kinds of games. So, in order to enlighten all of the gamer and non-gamer types out there, I would like to name a few Indie games I find to be highly amazing, and provide links for you to download and play as well. Why? Because you need to play them and not rely on my word. Experience is key.

So, the first one I'll be tossing about is Every Day The Same Dream, created by Molleindustria. It's a short 2D game where you play the role of a man who is about to experience a life change. You can play it here - http://www.molleindustria.org/everydaythesamedream/everydaythesamedream.html

I am going to resist saying any more about the game and your objective, except spice things up a little. Take different steps. Do not repeat the same routine. I adore this game so much because it's such an incredibly stunning game with a horrendously bleak outlook. It reflects a very existential outlook on life and the results of it all. You can call it "overly artsy" and "pretentious" if you'd like, but it gave me a long week of intensive double-take thinking when I originally played it. There are a lot of depressing conclusions you can come to, like no matter what you do or how you try to change, it doesn't matter - all you are is a tragic being waiting for your predetermined tragic end. Alternatively, you can discover the varieties of life and all of its wonders before life discovers it no longer needs you. Though both sound depressing, it's all up for YOU to determine when you play it. Oh, and the music by Jesse Stiles makes me shiver - it's delightful and awful in all the best ways. It's really like a heart attack on repeat, and music like that is very hard to come across.

The next Indie game is one chance, playable here - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/555181
This game is excellent because all you get is one chance to play it. Well, unless you're a cheat and mess about with some technical settings in order to replay it and explore the various options. Any road, you play a scientist who has developed what is celebrated as the cure for cancer. This is short-lived as it's soon realised the cure is actually a giant death sentence for all living things on Earth. You are given six days before life ends, and it is entirely your choice on how you spend those remaining days. Will you work relentlessly to discover a cure? Will you comfort your daughter and spend your last days with her before it all ends? You can only choose one thing to do a day, and there is no repeat.
As the creator of the game wrote - "One Chance is a game about choices and dealing with them. Scientist John Pilgrim and his team have accidently created a pathogen that is killing all living cells on Earth. In the last 6 remaining in-game days on Earth, the player must make choices about how to spend his last moments. Will he spend time with his family, work on a cure or go nuts?"

This game expresses and emphasises choices - one they're made, there's no going back. They're what you live with. They're why you are where you are or why you are who you are. Choices, simple to catastrophic but always irreversible. It's a rather emotional game and one you will carefully play and think over.

The End of Us - http://www.the-end-of-us.com/
It's a new take on an old tale - about friends and how they can come and go as all things pass. You play as a purple comet flying through space, whizzing about the stars and inky black backdrop of space. You are soon joined by a playful orange comet. Together you twirl about the cosmos, bumping into each other, racing for collectible stars, ever ageing as shown by your fading intensity. Soon enough, you come upon an asteroid belt where either you can take both hits for your friend or let them get rather splintered by the impacts. Then, the end approaches - who will be the one left behind, who will be the one to leave?

I find it a very relaxing to touching game you may find yourself relating to when you think of new and old friends and the inner workings of each relationship. It also keeps alive the old question - who has it harder, the friend who leaves or the friend left behind? Perhaps this game will offer a new perspective on it.

Loved - http://www.alexanderocias.com/loved.php

To say much would be to give much away, so I’ll keep it sparse. You are a pig-appearing entity guided by a mysterious, abusive voice. It’s a psychological game of sorts and everything – from the spikes, the ground, the paths, and even the harmful attackers later on in the game – change due to your decision to listen to that cruel voice or to go your own path. It’s a game that, to me, examines human tendencies and attitudes toward others, even if their harsh, and slips within the supposed love within much of that. Worth many a replay to experiment with the choices.

Today I Die - http://www.ludomancy.com/games/today.php?lang=en

First off, I'd just like to say the music in this game is mesmerisingly gorgeous, and it is perfect how it changes with the environment you're in. Today I Die is a short game, albeit a wonderful one. You only have the option of interacting with a few trace elements on screen as your character endlessly drifts toward the bottom of the ocean, a rock tied about her waist and vicious black fish waiting below.
"dead world
full of shades
today I die"

Below the poem are two oppressive words, "dark" and "painful". You can click on them and replace the highlighted word in the poem to enter a new world. Although as bleak as the first, by lighting up a dead jellyfish (clicking on it and keeping it away from the fish as it warms up to a hopeful glow) you gain a new word - "shine", which can replace the word "die". After playing around with the words, it's apparent gaining new words can aid your escape and bring you life. By completing another task, you gain the word "swim" (replaces "die" still) and embark on a journey upward toward the surface, attacked by the sinister creatures working to drag you deeper and only spurred away by frantically switching between "shine" and "swim" to go on rising and keep the creatures well away as a new word forms - "free". Without spoiling much more of what you need to do, the poem can end in two ways depending on how you choose to shape it -
"free world
full of beauty
today I swim
until you come"
or
"free world
full of beauty
today I swim
better by myself"


I personally prefer the latter, but it's all up for you to decide when you play it.

As the text goes for the second poem (EXTREME SPOILERS AHEAD), "But whichever one I picked, whether I let him go or snagged him, it was okay. I had stood up to the shades, I had allowed my head to clear of the scary thoughts, and I had done it by simply willing it, by not waiting for something to come along and pull me out without my doing anything, by not letting the world run me over and trying to ignore it. And now, I wasn't feeling the insane desperation or loneliness. I didn't need to be saved. So, even if I remained by myself now, I still had something I had never dreamed of before.
I had a choice."

I find that quite inspirational, but within the depths of so many other unrecognised Indie games rarely receiving the support they deserve could hide another spark of inspiration, warming and touching. Keep on the lookout for them.