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indielist (beta)

The best dystopian 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 35 dystopian indie games on Steam, holding 471,755 reviews at an average of 89% 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 Stray with 157,286 reviews. Figures are tracked by indielist; sales numbers are estimates that each expand into their full formula.

The ranking

  1. Stray · 157,286 reviews · 97% positive · 2022
  2. Papers, Please · 73,318 reviews · 97% positive · 2013
  3. SANABI · 41,618 reviews · 97% positive · 2023
  4. Beholder · 23,158 reviews · 92% positive · 2016
  5. AI LIMIT · 22,694 reviews · 92% positive · 2025
  6. The Ascent · 19,192 reviews · 74% positive · 2021
  7. Hacknet · 16,892 reviews · 94% positive · 2015
  8. Iron Lung · 11,242 reviews · 92% positive · 2022
  9. We Happy Few · 11,201 reviews · 77% positive · 2018
  10. DYSMANTLE · 11,002 reviews · 91% positive · 2021
  11. Not For Broadcast · 10,318 reviews · 94% positive · 2022
  12. Pathologic 2 · 9,534 reviews · 92% positive · 2019
  13. Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You · 8,930 reviews · 90% positive · 2016
  14. Citizen Sleeper · 8,217 reviews · 92% positive · 2022
  15. Beholder 2 · 6,854 reviews · 87% positive · 2018
  16. Brigador: Up-Armored Edition · 4,576 reviews · 93% positive · 2016
  17. Beholder: Conductor · 4,469 reviews · 91% positive · 2025
  18. Metal Garden · 4,314 reviews · 97% positive · 2025
  19. KARMA: The Dark World · 3,949 reviews · 91% positive · 2025
  20. Peripeteia · 3,101 reviews · 86% positive · 2025

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.