I cover a lot of new or upcoming indie games here at TNT, but if you’re looking for something new to play, the past holds a lot of hidden gems that seem to have been largely forgotten over the years. The 2010s in particular were a good time for indie games, from the weird to the wonderful. 

Whether you’ve just got into the indie scene or you’ve been playing for years, there is a whole world of indie games that you might not have heard of due to the time that’s passed since they were released. Here are nine epic indie games that came out over 10 years ago, but are still worth playing if you want a new gaming experience. 

Crayon Physics (2009)

Crayon Physics is a game that essentially gives you half a level, a stack of crayons, and the challenge to think outside the box to get a ball from point A to point B, all with a delightfully childlike aesthetic that’s soothing to everyone’s inner child. You collect stars by completing levels, and those stars are then used to unlock new islands and new puzzles to complete with your trusty crayons. It’s like Harold and the Purple Crayon, but actually good. 

I have to admit, my talents in Crayon Physics tend to lean towards the panicked, spur-of-the-moment scribbles that get the ball where it needs to go, even if the solution I found likely wasn’t intended and is definitely inelegant. Still, that goes to show that you don’t need much skill to get through the levels, making this weirdly therapeutic. 

Super Hexagon (2012)

This game should come with a solid warning of motion sickness if you’re particularly susceptible to getting dizzy by things constantly spinning around, because this feels like trying to focus on a merry-go-round in the middle of a drum and bass-filled nightclub. With that said, though, Super Hexagon is possibly the most infuriatingly addictive experience I’ve ever had. 

You’re an arrow in the middle of the screen, and a bunch of hexagons are coming rapidly towards you with safe gaps in them that your arrow can get through. You need to move your arrow in circles around the central hexagon, without hitting a wall, while the entire screen spins in circles. It’s overwhelmingly difficult, and absolutely infuriating, but I can’t help going back for more. 

Splice (2011)

Splice is possibly the strangest little puzzle game I’ve ever played, but it is also experimental and artistic in a way that will have it permanently etched in your memory with just one play. You need to rearrange cells into a certain configuration within a fixed number of moves, completing a level by finalizing a ‘strand’. 

The first few levels are easy enough, but then there’s a steep increase in difficulty that will have you scratching your head, although no level feels impossible if you really take your time and think about what you’re doing. Eventually, you gain the power to mutate cells, which adds to the difficulty, but it’s easy to lose track of time while you work your way through the levels. 

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (2012)

In Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, you are an inexplicably American, beefed-up chicken fighting a battle against an army of Soviet penguins, which might be the strangest sentence I’ve ever written to date. You violently fight your way through a bunker, taking out those who would take you out first if given the chance. It’s an unbelievably fun follow-up to a browser-based flash game, and totally inspired. 

This side-scrolling shoot-’em-up platformer is filled with music from New World Revolution, and you’ll be hard-pressed not to get their lyrics stuck in your head after playing, but what really stands out in Hardboiled Chicken is the animation. The settings are gorgeous, the characters are filled with charm, and the battle animations are cartoonishly gory but satisfying. 

Eets Munchies (2014)

Eets Munchies feels like a mobile game that never quite made it to mobile. Think Cut the Rope, except you navigate various levels using the build items at your disposal, while trying to eat as many lollipops as you can of the three per level. My favorite item in Eets Munchies is the chilli, because it makes your little Eet stompy and angry, but also makes them jump higher. There’s also the whale, which sucks you in and then shoots you into the air. 

While this is likely not a game that you’ll spend hours deep diving into, it’s one that will definitely kill some time if you want something to play that doesn’t require your full attention. If you’re a fan of mobile gaming but want a similar experience on your PC, then Eets Munchies is wholly worth your time. 

A Virus Named TOM (2012)

If you enjoy puzzles that involve spinning pipes to connect them and make the current/water/whatever flow through all of them, then A Virus Named TOM is the perfect game for you. You are, as the name suggests, a little virus inside various machines, and you need to spin tiles to complete the circuit of each level and make your evil scientist creator happy. 

Some things stand in your way, such as antivirus tech bugs that drain your energy if you touch them, but that extra little bit of challenge definitely serves to keep things interesting. One thing that stands out is the animation that introduces you to the story and world of TOM, with a whole villain arc that’s surprisingly compelling. It’s also multiplayer, so you can drag friends to help.

Spoiler Alert (2014)

If you want something that’s going to mess with your mind in the weirdest of ways, then Spoiler Alert might be the best game on the list for that purpose. You start at the end of the game, and then everything starts going backwards, including you. You need to restore each ‘completed’ level, avoid paradoxes, bring enemies back to life, and return the coins that were taken. 

It’s such a bizarre sensation because it’s so ingrained in us to collect coins, kill enemies, and otherwise do everything we can to get a high score. In Spoiler Alert, you’re trying to do the opposite of everything, and even the fact that it scrolls from left to right feels unsettling. It’s like going from reading a Japanese textbook to an English one, and it’s enough to mess with your head in a weird and wonderful way.

Detective Case & Clown Bot in: Murder in the Hotel Lisbon (2014)

Detective Case & Clown Bot is a point-and-click adventure comedy game that’s controlled exclusively with a controller and has a ‘live’ studio audience that reacts to moments that occur as you play. You’re a detective, and your sidekick is a domestic robot who holds an infinite number of terrible jokes and hides a tentacle-based inventory system. 

You have to look for items, find clues, and then interview people to get to the bottom of the crime at hand. Be warned, though, if you miss some cues, then you could fail the interrogation and need to start all over again. On the plus side, if you’re a fan of dad jokes, you can ask for one from Clown Bot at any time. 

Another Perspective (2014)

Another Perspective is a puzzle platformer in which you need to work with yourself (another version of yourself) to navigate through puzzles that look different depending on which version of yourself you’re playing at the time. It’s mind-bending, but never so much so that it becomes frustrating. 

You can jump on your own head, use yourself as a platform, and work with yourself to get keys and unlock the door that lets you move past the current level. Each new level presents a new challenge, but you can quickly work through them if you do a little outside-the-box thinking.