The best realistic indie games, ranked by reviews

Data report Assembled from live indielist data on 2026-06-06. Rankings update as data changes.

indielist tracks 114 realistic indie games on Steam, holding 5,623,773 reviews at an average of 87% 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 Garry's Mod with 1,070,495 reviews. Figures are tracked by indielist; sales numbers are modeled estimates that each expand into their full formula.

The ranking

1. Garry's Mod · 1,070,495 reviews · 97% positive · 2006
2. Euro Truck Simulator 2 · 766,107 reviews · 97% positive · 2012
3. The Forest · 570,988 reviews · 96% positive · 2018
4. Project Zomboid · 343,212 reviews · 94% positive · 2013
5. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 · 175,066 reviews · 95% positive · 2025
6. Totally Accurate Battle Simulator · 140,498 reviews · 98% positive · 2021
7. Kingdom Come: Deliverance · 139,812 reviews · 84% positive · 2018
8. Mount & Blade: Warband · 134,572 reviews · 98% positive · 2010
9. Assetto Corsa · 132,768 reviews · 93% positive · 2014
10. Teardown · 121,921 reviews · 96% positive · 2022
11. My Summer Car · 105,334 reviews · 95% positive · 2025
12. The Isle · 104,281 reviews · 80% positive · 2015
13. Insurgency: Sandstorm · 103,254 reviews · 85% positive · 2018
14. Hell Let Loose · 97,740 reviews · 82% positive · 2021
15. MORDHAU · 91,623 reviews · 80% positive · 2019
16. House Flipper · 91,596 reviews · 94% positive · 2018
17. This War of Mine · 88,714 reviews · 94% positive · 2014
18. Supermarket Simulator · 77,643 reviews · 92% positive · 2025
19. Ravenfield · 75,350 reviews · 97% positive · 2017
20. Plague Inc: Evolved · 56,119 reviews · 94% positive · 2016

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 modeled estimates, not official sales data.

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