I recently came across the indie game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from Sandfall Interactive—and it completely blew my mind.
I’ll admit, I was a hypocrite at first. I’ve never been a big fan of turn-based combat, so I dismissed it early on. But this game changed my entire perspective. It introduced a clever mechanic that blended traditional turn-based gameplay with real-time action—requiring precise timing for parries and dodges. It felt more like an action game than a passive strategy one, making the experience intense, fresh, and incredibly fun.
It’s been a long time since I felt such passion for a game. The last time I remember being this immersed was with Ghost of Tsushima or Red Dead Redemption 2. But in recent years, most AAA titles have been major letdowns. Look at the mess that is Skull and Bones from Ubisoft, Redfall, Forspoken, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, or any of the recent Call of Duty entries. They’re soulless, bloated, and uninspired.
Meanwhile, indie developers are thriving and innovating. We’ve seen genre-defining hits like:
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Hades
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Cult of the Lamb
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Hollow Knight
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Celeste
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Disco Elysium
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Dead Cells
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Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
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Scorn
...and the list keeps growing. It’s fascinating—and honestly frustrating—that small studios (or even solo devs) with a fraction of the budget and manpower consistently outshine billion-dollar corporations.
And the reason? Passion.
Indie developers have creative freedom. They aren’t shackled by shareholders or corporate executives obsessed with monetization, season passes, and 100-hour checklists filled with repetitive gameplay. They make the games they want to play.
AAA studios, on the other hand, tend to play it safe. They cling to tried-and-true formulas to minimize financial risk, which often leads to stagnation and a lack of soul in the final product. Occasionally, a gem slips through—but it’s rare.
Take Superhot for example—a completely unique FPS where time only moves when you do. That kind of mechanic would likely never come out of a big studio afraid of risk.
That said, AAA studios should still exist—but they must evolve. Indie developers, as amazing as they are, often lack the resources to build massive open-world games or cinematic experiences on the scale of Red Dead Redemption 2. So when AAA studios do get it right, the result can be legendary.
It’s like the old saying: For every good, there is a necessary evil.
But then there are complete disasters like Mindseye, developed by Build A Rocket Boy, headed by Leslie Benzies (former president of Rockstar North). Hyped as a “GTA 6 killer,” it turned out to be one of the most generic open-world games imaginable. Bland storyline, dated design, and no soul. If you stripped away the hollow plot, it’d feel more like a glorified Unreal Engine 5 tech demo than a real game.
Let’s also talk prices. AAA games today charge $60–$70 (₹5,000–₹5,800), while delivering buggy or uninspired content. Meanwhile, incredible indie games often cost a fraction—$20–$40 (₹1,500–₹3,400)—and provide richer, more meaningful experiences. That price disparity shows just how far greed has corrupted what used to be a creative and passionate industry.
Thankfully, with game development tools becoming more accessible, the future looks bright for indie devs. And I hope, someday, those AAA-sized budgets and teams get placed in the hands of developers who actually care—so we can build a gaming future driven by innovation, not exploitation.
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