Indie Gold: 5 Must-Play Games With Less Than 300 Reviews

5 Criminally Underrated Indie Games You Need to Play

Let’s be real—“hidden gem” gets thrown around in the indie game scene almost as much as “this song slaps” on the internet. But today, we’re not tossing that term around lightly.

This is a list of five indie games you’ve probably never played—or maybe even heard of. All of them have less than 300 reviews on Steam. But I’ve played each one, and trust me: they bring heat, heart, and heaps of creativity.

Whether you're into sniper fish, sentient beans, or rhythm-fueled rebellion, there's something in here for your inner indie snob.

1. Hook Line and Sniper

Steam reviews: ~250
Genre: Arcade-style score-chasing action

Imagine Kill the Crows and Ultrakill had a fishy baby with a grappling hook and a sniper rifle—and you're swimming in the right direction.

You're a fish. With a sniper. Grappling through oceanic chaos and racking up combos while your style meter screams SSS. Every new weapon—from cannon guns to explosive anchors—adds wild layers to combat. This game is a tight loop of adrenaline wrapped in absurdity.

Challenges push you hard (some are downright punishing), but they're never unfair. The difficulty scales smartly, and pulling off S-ranks feels like pure dopamine. Also? You can unlock skins that turn your fish into a literal car. Why? Why not.

Highlights:

• Grapple-fueled movement
• Bonkers weapons
• Bite-sized but bold

2. Cavity Busters

Steam reviews: ~180
Genre: Roguelite bullet hell

Take The Binding of Isaac, add wall-running, boomerang teeth, and a dental-themed apocalypse—and you’ve got something grotesquely beautiful.

You play as Gummy, a gum blob with serious agility and a detachable tooth you throw like a boomerang. Combat feels rhythmic and satisfying. There’s a tense push-pull between using goop to heal vs. using it to shoot, which forces smart decision-making every run.

Diseases act as double-edged upgrades—like gaining speed but poisoning yourself. You can abandon them, but that triggers harder enemy spawns. Risk/reward never felt so oddly rewarding.

Highlights:

• Killer (and gross) combat loop
• Weird but wonderful art
• Deep synergy system

3. Garbanzo Quest

Steam reviews: ~90
Genre: Precision platformer

This one’s Super Meat Boy meets Cuphead, if Mario were a bean who attacks with spit.

You’re Garbanzo, on a mission to rescue your fellow legumes from the evil Billy Bones. The levels are brutal but fair, loaded with clever platforming puzzles, enemy patterns, and goofy secrets. Badges let you tweak your playstyle—belly flop for invincibility, slow fall, sprint faster, you name it.

Every level has a boss fight that blends challenge with charm, and the chip-tune soundtrack absolutely slaps.

Also, the NPCs are adorable. Like Undertale-meets-Vegetales levels of charm.

Highlights:

• Goofy yet polished
• Tight controls + great boss fights
• Secrets galore

4. KeyLocker

Steam reviews: ~120
Genre: Rhythm-based cyberpunk JRPG

What if Chrono Trigger, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Daft Punk had a neon-lit baby?

You’re Bobo, a punk musician in a dystopia where music is illegal. Combat is turn-based, but every attack and defense involves hitting notes in rhythm. You can switch between multiple weapons (guitar, katana, violin) mid-fight for tactical depth.

Outside combat, the world oozes cyberpunk attitude—interactable everything, hidden lore, and concerts that double as rhythm games.

The writing swings between revolutionary grit and awkward jokes, but the combat slaps, and the soundtrack (by the Momodora composer!) is 🔥.

Highlights:

• Rhythm + turn-based combat
• Killer music
• Deep class and weapon systems

5. Void Sols

Steam reviews: ~60
Genre: Top-down minimalist Soulslike

A Soulslike… starring a triangle? Trust me, it's worth it.

Void Sols strips the genre down to pure mechanics. Combat is precise, deliberate, and crunchy. You choose your difficulty via sliders—damage, stamina, death penalties—creating your own balance of challenge.

Builds are flexible with relics, artifacts, and consumables. You can be a glass cannon with lifesteal or a beefy parry god. The world is eerie, abstract, and hauntingly geometric. Every zone has its own identity, from insect-infested forests to silent, sterile dungeons.

There’s no hand-holding. No map markers. No lore dumps. Just vibes, death, and discovery.

Highlights:

• Custom difficulty
• Minimalist mystery
• Soulslike purity

Don't Sleep On These

Every one of these games proves that greatness doesn’t need a AAA budget or 10,000 reviews. Sometimes, it’s the weird little fish shooter or the bean with a belly flop that hits hardest.

So if you’re tired of the same mainstream recs, dip your toes into something offbeat. Trust your gut. Follow the weird. And if you fall in love with one of these gems, leave a review—it makes a huge difference to small devs.

🎮 Stay strange, stay indie, and stay hyped with more deep cuts at Land of Geek Magazine!

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