Underground Kings: The 25 Best Xbox Live Indie Games

Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG)huge

By Nick Marroni

Developer: Ska Studios

The first (and still really only) XBLIG mega-hit. One-man indie band James Silva's Z0MBIES, at 300K+ copies sold strong and counting, has spawned not only legions of twin-stick shooter and zombie game copycats, but its own Hot Topic T-shirt (for only $19.99 you too can boast: I PLAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1). Whether it's the rad theme song, the tight, frantic gameplay, the humbly self-described “smooth-as-glass presentation” or just good old-fashioned zombies, this one set the tone for XBLIG just right.

Developer: ESP Games

With increasingly relevant Orwellian and Huxleyian themes and a decent plot centered on all-too-realistic corporate scumfuckery, this SRPG brings some always appreciated turn-based strategery to the table—and in a nice, shiny 3D wrapper to boot. Fans of the genre shouldn't hesitate, but after not too long it's readily apparent that a bit more polish and refinement would have done wonders; though, for a first outing, the future seems bright for ESP, especially if they continue to improve upon their work in this always underserved niche genre.

Developer: Ham Studios

David Icke was right: It's the lizards. They really are out to get you and everyone you know and love in their ruthless pursuit to exterminate all competing intelligent life in the galaxy. He left out the parts about the twin-stick shooter and tower defense stuff, of course, but when the fate of humanity's in the balance, what's the use of being pedantic? Especially when there's such an enjoyable co-op experience as this, and one that so successfully builds off of the overdone twin-stick shooter and tower defense XBLIG genre mainstays. PROTIP: Think spirals; think victory.

Developer: Magiko Gaming

Big ideas and low prices often happily come together on XBLIG, and few titles do it as well as Magiko's debut platformer. What's the big idea? The level is the game; all the action occurs in one giant, continuous space that can be zoomed in and out of to focus on as you please, with any given area and challenge being but one tiny aspect of the greater whole. The difficulty scales superbly as you go, with higher levels adding more varied and in-depth obstacles, giving plenty of reason to go right back in for more after the initial romp.

Developer: Ephemere Games

We love our poutine just as much as the next indie, but when Montreal-based Ephemere Games describes the trailer for Commander — World 1 as a "mise en bouche," that means little more to us than a quick search and a tasteless dig at the expense of the Quebecoises (it's cool, we're an eighth French). But we'll take the high road and simply laud this elegant tower defense masterwork-in-progress' smart design, brilliant sense of style, and downright pretty visuals—worth a buck for the fine Chopin soundtrack alone.

Developer: Copenhagen Game Collective

The kind of game R. A. the Rugged Man might throw on at a house party, B.U.T.T.O.N. (Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now) encourages the sort of ruthless behavior often seen in multiplayer party games—but the trick here is that all the drama takes place offscreen. One of the results of the GAMMA IV one-button design challenge, the idea is to race across a room to be the first to hit a button—or not, depending on the rules of that particular round. All that really needs to be known, though, is that almost anything goes and, at just a buck, it's the cheapest, bestest way to secure plausible deniability for an errant elbow to the the face.

Developer: Dark Castle Software

Inspired by the likes of Gravitar and Solar Jetman, this one's crisp, clean vector visuals make for a nice backdrop to the quickly compulsive starship-zoomin', little-buddy-scientist-rescuin', and reactor-splodin' that goes down in each level before the subsequent necessary (as in "in 60 seconds or explosive death") interplanetary getaway. 70 increasingly engaging stages and some nice bonus modes make for one seriously spicy, intensely irresistible XBLIG meatball.

Developer: fourkidsgames

Exquisitely illustrated in the style of the maps Columbus surely set sail with (e.g., "here there be monsters"), this satisfying and mostly brilliant strategic board game-style multiplayer competition hearkens back to a simpler time, where the greatest threats posed by global trade aren't industry destroying credit default swaps, but the relatively mild-mannered bloodthirsty kraken. Simplified (and not quite meaty enough) Risk-esque combat keeps perfection out of reach, but aside from that minor quibble, Ancient Trader is among the best titles to be found on XBLIG.

Developer: Lunatic Studios

Definitely start with Episode 1: Graves of Earth, but this newest Aphelion entry, thanks to some nice tweaks and refinements (don't forget the tank!), earns itself the spot on this list. While there are many fine RPGs to choose from on XBLIG, no other plays the JRPG game as straight and with as much polish (wack animations notwithstanding) and depth as this fine retro genre homage that the team at Lunatic has clearly put their heart and soul into. Where others on this list are notable for their irreverence, this one rises up by taking itself seriously and delivering. Here's to the next episode.

Developer: Binary Tweed

In the alternate medieval world of Clover, not only is the rent too damn high, but the tyrannical gubmint is staging attacks on its own people, aggressively invading foreign lands, engaging in torture, and generally fucking the people for as long and as hard as they possibly can. Fortunately, this clearly isn't an allegory for anything remotely relevant to us and we can simply focus on enjoying this brilliant adventure game that features logical-yet-challenging puzzles, which even Sierra and LucasArts point-and-click legends of the past would do well to learn from. If only there were more like this one (*cough* iBailout!!, which is awesome and my studio may or may not have developed *cough*).

Developer: Ancient

Developed by famed game composer Yuzo Koshiro (Revenge of Shinobi, ActRaiser, Streets of Rage) and his company, Ancient, Protect Me Knight is so Japanese that its title isn't even translated into English on the XBLIG storefront. Don't worry if your kanji is a bit rusty: everything in-game is translated well (enough) and what awaits is a totally rad, four-player co-op RPG/beat-'em-up retrogasm, the likes of which hasn't been seen in ...well, maybe never. Be sure to give the bad guys a breather every so often and aim the catapult your buddies' way to have some real fun: So good it hurts (them, not you)!

Developer: Adam Mowery

Easily one of the very finest pure platformers on XBLIG, Curse of the Crescent Isle is the engaging, compulsive offspring of Super Mario Bros. 2 and that other NES classic DuckTales (now you know what kind of randy business your old cartridges get up to when the pixels go out). Great tunes, a solid retro aesthetic, nice level design, and a most natural difficulty curve—there's even some rare comic relief—make for one of the most well executed old-school adventures to date, even on a service that's so heavily informed by the past.

Developer: Blendo Games

Few Xbox indies deliver as fully realized and polished an experience as Blendo Games' (a.k.a. Brendon Chung's) Flotilla, a turn-based, tactical space-battle vision of Ender's Game. As cool as the Chopin-fueled (Xbox indies are all class) star wars are, it's the underlying freewheeling narrative adventure and RPG hooks that really make this a standout. Some friendly advice: Rasta feline friends on the run from intergalactic Babylon in need are Rasta feline friends indeed.

Developer: Arkedo

Ah, PIXEL!, you magnificent bastard. Even a Whoville-hatin' Grinch would have more than a tough time not crushing on such a charming profiterole of a French platformer as this. From the expertly crafted retro aesthetic to the near-perfect mix of pain and pleasure we all knew and still love from our 8- and 16-bit days of youngsterhood, this one's got it all and then some. If we were you, we'd buy that for a dollar—hell, we'd even buy it for three.

Developer: StarQuail Games

Most would describe this one as Metroidvania, but we're gonna say it's more Wonder Boy in Monster Land, 'cause that's just how 1337 we are and because it actually fits better aesthetically and mechanically. If the above didn't make a lick of sense to ya, don't worry; just know that this is a real, real nice platform (lots of jumpin', see?) action-adventure title with slick looks and great production values. Actually, it's of the most polished games on the entire Xbox indie service.

Developer: MagicalTimeBean

While the sequel is every bit as good and probably even a little bit better, the first Soulcaster earns itself a spot on this list due to the sheer freshness of it all. It's a satisfying mash-up of action RPG and dungeon crawler, with a bit of tower defense dynamic to help grease the gears. Four different warriors protect against the usual 8-bit, dungeon-dwelling riffraff, while the shameless soulcaster scurries about, trying to stay alive and collect as much loot and potions as he can. Get this one, 'cause the only thing better than gold and level-ups is fresher gold and more level-ups.

Developer: Xona Games

In the land of the twin-stick shooter that is XBLIG, Xona Games' (the dynamic Nova Scotian duo of twin brothers Matthew and Jason Doucette) Score Rush is the undisputed king. The bullet hell is plenty hellish, yet still navigable enough to draw you into the insanity and the shameless amount of explosions, firepower, and general nonsense—combined with the kind of hard-rockin' hard rock that makes a third Bill & Ted picture seem like a real good time—make this one of the very best releases of late, on XBLIG or off.

Developer: 8bits fanatics

Less a platformer than a ritualistic retro flagellation, 8bits fanatics' (of The TEMPURA of the DEAD fame) Aban Hawkins brings the pain in a way not seen since I Wanna Be The Guy and combines it with the faux-pixelated Indiana Jones swag of Spelunky. It's tough not to have a great time navigating the numerous spike traps, blow darts, pitfalls, scorpions, and so on, but it's no joke—if you can take a drink on each death and make it through the first world still sober, then you're either cheating or you're 800 pounds.

Developer: Zeboyd Games

Kings of the parody JRPG (PJRPG, if we will), Zeboyd has brought along all the great design moves of random encounter limits and lightning-fast battles that they introduced in their first major indie outing, the also excellent Breath of Death VII, while sharpening up the characters, dialogue, and story for their new Lovecraftian adventure. The result? A one-of-a-kind 360 experience with anthropomorphized cephalopods (you know, octopuses that put their pants on one leg at a time and such), dark forebodings, and that always essential epic quest. What's not to love?

Developer: Ishisoft

Nicely updated from the original Treasure Treasure: Fortress Forage PC version, this Extra Edition released exclusively to XBLIG pretties up the 8-bit, monochromatic Game Boy-stylings to an HD experience, along with higher-quality tunes and even an additional puzzle to get down with. Every single aspect of this throwback co-op platform puzzler is as perfectly realized as it gets and the brilliant level design and focused scope results in a singular vision that never wears out its welcome and is to be slept on at your own risk. Especially at just a buck.

Developer: Xona Games

Xona strikes again! It's a bullet deluge and pixel typhoon in the brothers Doucette's third and greatest homage to a pillar of classic gaming that even Taito's own update—the excellent Space Invaders Extreme—fails to match in terms of sheer awesome. Wise design choices mean never drawing down players' increasingly ridiculous levels of firepower, even after taking a bullet, and from the moment collaborator Imphenzia's electronic tunes kick in on the title screen, things never let up, resulting in the single best shoot-’em-up on XBLIG, besting even the Doucettes' own Score Rush. It just doesn't get done any bigger than this, folks.

Developer: Fun Infused Games

Though at this point the retro sheen isn't exactly the newest ish on the block, Hypership pulls it off so well and so thoroughly that, if slowdown could be kept to anything less than ruthless, a real-deal NES version would be warranted. Co-op or solo, the increasingly rapid, vertically scrolling shoot-’em-up commands attention, especially while approaching the seizure-inducing, twitch-dependent heights that make it so satisfying. Add in an endearing sense of humor and cool extra modes, and Hypership's place as the creamiest of the XBLIG crop is cemented.