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indielist (beta)

The best difficult indie games, ranked by reviews

5 min read for players

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Data report Built from live indielist data on 2026-09-07. Rankings update as data changes.

indielist tracks 237 difficult indie games on Steam, holding 8,079,682 reviews at an average of 91% positive. This list ranks them by Steam review count, the most reliable public sales proxy, with a white-box sales estimate behind every title. The most reviewed is Geometry Dash with 592,958 reviews. Figures are tracked by indielist; sales numbers are estimates that each expand into their full formula.

The ranking

  1. Geometry Dash · 592,958 reviews · 93% positive · 2014
  2. Hollow Knight · 501,741 reviews · 97% positive · 2017
  3. Valheim · 458,539 reviews · 94% positive · 2021
  4. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth · 393,010 reviews · 97% positive · 2014
  5. Don't Starve Together · 375,815 reviews · 95% positive · 2016
  6. Hades · 285,527 reviews · 98% positive · 2020
  7. Risk of Rain 2 · 239,751 reviews · 94% positive · 2020
  8. Slay the Spire · 218,126 reviews · 97% positive · 2019
  9. Cuphead · 198,376 reviews · 96% positive · 2017
  10. Balatro · 160,336 reviews · 98% positive · 2024
  11. Dead Cells · 155,998 reviews · 97% positive · 2018
  12. Darkest Dungeon® · 140,551 reviews · 92% positive · 2016
  13. Oxygen Not Included · 135,173 reviews · 97% positive · 2019
  14. Celeste · 131,634 reviews · 97% positive · 2018
  15. Muse Dash · 122,161 reviews · 91% positive · 2019
  16. Kerbal Space Program · 120,435 reviews · 96% positive · 2015
  17. My Summer Car · 117,330 reviews · 95% positive · 2025
  18. Don't Starve · 113,439 reviews · 97% positive · 2013
  19. The Long Dark · 111,621 reviews · 89% positive · 2017
  20. Hotline Miami · 109,410 reviews · 97% positive · 2012

How this list is built

Games are ranked by Steam review count, the most reliable public proxy for sales when actual figures are private. Each title links to its indielist page, where the white-box sales estimate expands into the full Boxleiter formula, so you can audit the number rather than trust a black box. Review counts come from Steam; sales figures are estimates, not official sales data.

Want the underlying estimate for your own game? Try the sales estimator, or browse the full game directory.