Top indie games of 2021, by Steam reviews

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

indielist tracks 93 indie games released in 2021, holding 2,632,474 Steam reviews combined. This list ranks them by review count, the most reliable public proxy for sales, and links each to a white-box sales estimate you can open and check. The leader is Valheim with 452,821 reviews. Review counts are from Steam; sales figures are modeled estimates, not official, and every estimate expands into its full formula.

The ranking

1. Valheim · 452,821 reviews · 94% positive · Action
2. It Takes Two · 212,497 reviews · 95% positive · Action
3. Totally Accurate Battle Simulator · 140,498 reviews · 98% positive · Indie
4. Stumble Guys · 136,034 reviews · 85% positive · Action
5. Inscryption · 131,971 reviews · 97% positive · Adventure
6. Hell Let Loose · 97,740 reviews · 82% positive · Action
7. Subnautica: Below Zero · 97,547 reviews · 90% positive · Adventure
8. Gunfire Reborn · 87,954 reviews · 93% positive · Action
9. Cookie Clicker · 85,736 reviews · 96% positive · Casual
10. Dyson Sphere Program · 82,685 reviews · 97% positive · Indie
11. DEVOUR · 68,077 reviews · 91% positive · Indie
12. Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach · 64,363 reviews · 86% positive · Action
13. Skul: The Hero Slayer · 50,426 reviews · 93% positive · Action
14. Little Nightmares II · 49,174 reviews · 93% positive · Adventure
15. WorldBox - God Simulator · 48,959 reviews · 95% positive · Indie
16. ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights · 41,953 reviews · 94% positive · Action
17. Poppy Playtime · 38,264 reviews · 88% positive · Action
18. Library Of Ruina · 38,135 reviews · 94% positive · Indie
19. Bright Memory: Infinite · 36,072 reviews · 92% positive · Action
20. Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 · 35,274 reviews · 96% positive · Racing

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.