Hello, fellow indie gamers! I’ve been playing lots of indie titles on my Switch over the past couple years, and I have discovered quite a few new personal favorites that don’t seem to be getting that much attention online (at least from what I can tell). To rectify this, I thought I’d share some of my recent discoveries here with you all!
All five games I have mentioned in this post are available on Switch, which is where I played them. Each game listing will also include a link to the game’s eShop page and a link to the developer.
My goal is to be as spoiler-free as possible in these recommendations. I hope you’re able to discover something new and interesting 🙂
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[**Chicory: A Colorful Tale**](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/chicory-a-colorful-tale-switch/) **(2021)** | Developed by [Wishes Unlimited](https://dumbandfat.com/)
*Chicory* has a very special place in my heart, and it is one of my favorite games I’ve ever played. The core premise of the game revolves around the idea that all of the color has been drained from the world, leaving everything a somber black and white. Your goal is to bring color back to the world through the power of a magical paintbrush.
Mechanically speaking, pretty much everything in the game revolves around this paintbrush. Whether it be solving puzzles, exploring around, or even just coloring in the environment to suit your liking, expressing yourself through the brush is central to every action you take.
The game also presents a deeply emotional story. The characters are incredibly well-written, and the world feels very lived-in to the benefit of the greater overarching plot. It’s a game whose themes, emotional beats, and core messages have continued to stick with me since playing in 2022.
Also, as a cherry on top, the legendary Lena Raine composed [the game’s soundtrack](https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/album/chicory-a-colorful-tale-original-soundtrack)! I actually found this game because I was searching for other games she had worked on.
CW (slight spoilers): >!Depictions of characters struggling with anxiety, depression, and mental health issues more generally!<
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[**Patrick’s Parabox**](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/patricks-parabox-switch/) **(2023)** | Developed by [Patrick Traynor](https://cwpat.me/about/)
What starts out as a clever yet unassuming puzzle game quickly evolves into some of the most brilliant puzzle design I’ve ever seen in a video game. The goal of each puzzle is simple: In a grid-based area, push boxes to specific locations and end with the box you control in another specific location. This foundation gradually snowballs from its conceptual thesis into what can only be described as pure insanity — seriously, if you were to see some of the endgame puzzles without knowing anything about the game, it would come off as almost otherworldly in its complexity.
But what I love so much about this game is the pace at which new mechanics are introduced. Every “world” of the game revolves around a new core mechanic, presenting the idea in a few controlled- environment-type puzzles first before ramping up the difficulty in subsequent puzzles. Before you know it, this game will have you pushing around boxes within boxes, getting caught in the infinite, and questioning the very basis of logic itself.
This intuitive, elegant, and deceptively simple design allows *Patrick’s Parabox* to both challenge the player with complex puzzles \*and\* make the player feel well-equipped to solve them. It’s definitely not a game for everybody, but if it sounds like something you might be into, there’s a good chance you’ll really click with it.
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[**Promenade**](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/promenade-switch/) **(2024)** | Developed by [Holy Cap](https://www.holycapstudio.com/en/home/)
This is the game that inspired me to make this post. Imagine the gameplay loop of *Mario Odyssey* (an exploratory, sandbox-style collectathon) translated to a 2D space, with snappy controls reminiscent of games like *Celeste*. That elevator pitch alone was enough to convince me to give the game a try (luckily, it has a free demo!), and after playing the full game, I seriously don’t know why more people aren’t talking about it — it’s an absolutely fantastic and polished platformer.
The main hook to the unique movement in *Promenade* involves picking up enemies/objects and throwing them downward to gain an additional jump mid-air. This is used in a variety of clever ways, often presenting environments that encourage the player to maneuver creatively to reach certain areas. Once things get rolling and some of the more “advanced” tech is introduced, the whole suite of moves comes together into buttery-smooth platforming goodness. I had a blast just messing around with the moveset in all the different areas, and to me that’s the sign of a well-designed platformer.
The game’s areas are all distinct, each coming with its own unique mechanics and themed settings. There are plenty of secrets to discover, some optional bonus areas for challenge-seeking completionists, and even a central hub world to explore! The game’s charming art style and almost complete lack of dialogue also help to place additional focus on the excellent gameplay at its core.
If you’re a fan of 2D platformers or 3D platformers, *Promenade* is a must-play in my book. I would love to see more developers make more games like this!
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[**SANABI**](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/sanabi-switch/) **(2023)** | Published by [NEOWIZ](https://store.steampowered.com/developer/NEOWIZ) with development by Wonder Potion
I firmly believe that every game is made better with a grappling hook, so I was sold when I heard that *SANABI* was a 2D platformer centered around using a grappling hook to zip and swing all over the place.
I was not prepared for everything else *SANABI* had in store for me.
In *SANABI*, you play as an older war veteran whose steel-arm-modification-thing allows him to employ a grappling hook to navigate his surroundings. In doing so, he is able to maneuver around with more agility than almost any other soldier he served with. And… that’s kind of all I want to say about this game.
I think *SANABI* in particular is one of those games that benefits from going in as blind as possible, but the TL;DR of it all is that it’s a 2D platformer with fast, fluid movement set to a truly remarkable story. As the story began to unravel, I became more and more captivated by it to the point where I was on the edge of my seat trying to make sense of the world and its mysteries — and that was barely even a third of the way through the game.
This one is definitely more challenging than the other games I’ve mentioned in this post, and tonally it’s significantly darker and more serious. That said, if you don’t mind the difficulty/heavier themes and enjoy action platformers like *Katana Zero*, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to check out this game.
Big asterisk that’s worth noting, though: There is a HUGE amount of dialogue in this game, to the point where many cutscenes will go on for quite a long while without any gameplay to break it up. I didn’t have any issues with it (I loved all the dialogue and cutscenes and thought they were really well done), but I could totally see how it would turn someone away from the game. Just a heads up!
CW (spoilers): >!Graphic violence, murder, death of children, death of family members, childhood trauma, survivor’s guilt!<
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[**Lil Gator Game**](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/lil-gator-game-switch/) **(2022)** | Developed by [MegaWobble](https://linktr.ee/megawobble)
*Lil Gator Game* combines some *Breath of the Wild* inspired mechanics (stamina-based climbing, faster world navigation with the paraglider, etc.) with a focus on letting go and being a kid again. You play as the titular lil gator, and you’re trying to convince your older sister to play a make-believe adventure game with you. She’s busy with school work, though, so it’s up to you and the friends you make to create a game so enticing that she’ll have no choice but to join in and play.
In lieu of traditional collectibles, the game focuses on making friends, which you do by interacting with the game’s delightful cast of characters and completing a variety of off-kilter side quests. There’s a real personal touch to the writing here, with the dialogue being equal parts silly and exceedingly genuine.
On top of that, there’s plenty of environmental puzzle-solving, open-world-style exploration, an in-game camera, outfits/accessories, and, quite possible my favorite feature in the entire game, an equippable item exclusively dedicated to toggling full ragdoll mode.
It’s a playful romp with a lot of heart and some heavy-hitting story beats to boot. It’s a shorter experience (took me 3-4 hours to get 100% completion), but it’s very all-killer-no-filler in that sense. The characters are a blast to interact with, the environment is a joy to explore, and the thematic exploration of what it means to “grow up” stuck a much deeper chord with me than I initially anticipated.
If you’re looking for a game to reignite your sense of childhood wonder and imagination, *Lil Gator Game* would be my first pick.
CW (slight spoilers): >!Some emotional sibling stuff!<
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That’s all I have to share for now. I would love to know what you think of these games, or if you have any might-have-missed-it indie recommendations of your own!
Edit: Added mention of the large amount of dialogue in SANABI