The best exploration indie games, ranked by reviews
5 min read for players
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Data report Built from live indielist data on 2026-10-23. Rankings update as data changes.
indielist tracks 341 exploration indie games on Steam, holding 11,567,730 reviews at an average of 88% 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 Terraria with 1,247,686 reviews. Figures are tracked by indielist; sales numbers are estimates that each expand into their full formula.
The ranking
- Terraria · 1,247,686 reviews · 97% positive · 2011
- Garry's Mod · 1,098,377 reviews · 97% positive · 2006
- Euro Truck Simulator 2 · 791,517 reviews · 97% positive · 2012
- The Forest · 583,870 reviews · 96% positive · 2018
- Hollow Knight · 507,072 reviews · 97% positive · 2017
- Valheim · 475,018 reviews · 93% positive · 2026
- Palworld · 416,579 reviews · 95% positive · 2026
- Lethal Company · 411,982 reviews · 97% positive · 2023
- Subnautica · 343,137 reviews · 97% positive · 2018
- No Man's Sky · 310,268 reviews · 85% positive · 2016
- Satisfactory · 236,679 reviews · 97% positive · 2024
- 鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal · 224,932 reviews · 56% positive · 2023
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 · 178,402 reviews · 95% positive · 2025
- Stray · 158,661 reviews · 97% positive · 2022
- Slime Rancher · 140,413 reviews · 98% positive · 2017
- DAVE THE DIVER · 139,867 reviews · 97% positive · 2023
- Escape the Backrooms · 139,737 reviews · 90% positive · 2025
- Oxygen Not Included · 136,058 reviews · 97% positive · 2019
- Celeste · 133,667 reviews · 97% positive · 2018
- Kerbal Space Program · 121,715 reviews · 96% positive · 2015
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.