So, let’s all be a bunch of dirty hipsters and praise indie titles.
Or, more sensibly, there are lots of indie titles which make up for their low budget by doing something different, particularly well or having a unified vision. They tend to go under the radar, unfortunately.
For example, Hotline: Miami is a product of mixing A Clockwork Orange, Scarface and Drive and having it cooked by Timothy Leary and Charles Manson.
Monaco: What’s yours is mine is a great heist game that’s even greater in coop.
Lone survivor is a game that made me stop playing a few times because I was getting too scared.
Gunpoint is a game noir mixed with near-future science fiction.
Closure is a solipsist puzzle game.
Osmos is a hypnotizing puzzle game that produces a state of awe at the universe from invisibly small to galaxial.
The swapper, after an initial bout of hilarity, produces wonder and existential pondering.
I can only hope they’ll become mainstream.