Top 10 Underrated Indie Games on Xbox You May Not Have Heard Of

The Xbox line of consoles is often criticized for its somewhat lackluster third-party support, at least from smaller developers. Many games that are released on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch never see the light of day on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and that’s in large part due to the Xbox platform’s smaller install base. Despite this, there are actually plenty of great games on the system that are often overlooked. In no particular order, here are 10 indie games on current-gen Xbox consoles that you may have missed:

1. Owlboy (2016)

Owlboy is a narrative-driven platformer that is perhaps best known for its whopping nine-year development cycle. It lets players control a character named Otus, an owl-human hybrid who can fly in the sky and lives in a village in the clouds. As Otus tries to live up to the expectations of his fellow owllike friends, the village he resides in gets attacked by sky pirates. With the help of his friends, he sets out on a journey to protect it from them and save the world in the process. All the while, he learns more about his ancestors and the race of creatures he harkens from.

2. KarmaZoo (2023)

Do you like the aesthetics of Animal Well but wish it was more of a traditional platformer? Well then, maybe KarmaZoo will be more up your alley. Developed by Pastagames and published by indie powerhouse Devolver Digital, KarmaZoo is a charming little platform game that features over 50 different playable characters, each of which is shaped like a colorful blob. This game supports up to 10 players in co-op, but it’s unique in that you can’t play with your friends, only random people on the internet. While this may sound like a frustrating limitation, it’s actually an intentional decision made by the developers. KarmaZoo is all about altruism. Putting random strangers into situations where they have to help each other when things go wrong is exactly what this game does best.

3. Mutazione (2019)

There are plenty of great adventure games on the Xbox, but very few of them are explicitly labeled as soap operas. Mutazione, however, is exactly that. It is described by its developers as “a mutant soap opera where small-town gossip meets the supernatural,” and this is probably the best possible way to summarize this game. Mutazione doesn’t exactly have much depth to it on the gameplay side of things, but experiencing its story and characters is well-worth the price of admission.

4. Promenade (2024)

Promenade is a 2D platformer inspired by the best 3D platformers, like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Odyssey. That may sound a bit weird, but when you get your hands on the game, it’s easy to see why the developers describe it as such. Promenade prides itself on its witty puzzles, interesting power-ups, and many collectibles. The game doesn’t have the same (literal) depth as the 3D Mario titles, but it does have much of the same charm.

5. Earthlock (2016)

Despite releasing first on the Xbox One in September 2016, Earthlock was somewhat ignored by Xbox players at the time of its debut. The game is a 3D Japanese-style turn-based RPG, albeit one made by a Norwegian studio. Though it has a colorful, family-friendly art style, it’s actually anything but easy. Earthlock takes place in a magical world called Umbra, which players must save from a cataclysmic event while also getting entangled in other conflicts. If you like this game, you may be interested in checking out its upcoming sequel, which currently doesn’t have a set release date.

6. Nuclear Throne (2016)

Compared to the other games on this list, Nuclear Throne is a much more simplistic video game, but not in a bad way. It is a top-down arcade shooter with roguelike and bullet hell elements that features almost no plot and has relatively plain pixel graphics. This could easily have been a recipe for failure, but since Nuclear Throne came from the minds of esteemed Dutch developers Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman, it was always bound to be at least decent. Nuclear Throne is addictive in the same way that games like Vampire Survivors are addictive, but it’s really difficult. Thankfully, this title is easy to pick-up-and-play and is best experienced in short bursts.

7. Typoman (2015)

Have you ever wanted to play as a word in a video game? If so, then Typoman may be just what you’re looking for. Typoman is an eccentric 2D platformer that was initially released as a Wii U exclusive, but it was later ported to other platforms, including Xbox One, under the name Typoman: Revised Edition. The game has you step into the shoes of a hero named HERO, who is literally a stick-figure representation of the word “hero” (try saying that five times fast). In the game, you can change the world around you by altering, creating, or destroying words. The entire setting of Typoman is rather somber and surreal, which fits with the unusual premise of the game.

8. Sheepo (2020)

Kyle Thompson is a developer who has made several acclaimed video games, including the popular Crypt Custodian and the critically-acclaimed Islets. One of his works that hasn’t received much attention, though, is 2020’s Sheepo. In this game, players explore an alien planet and shape-shift into the creatures that they collect throughout their journey. Sheepo may seem like a linear platformer at first glance, but it is technically a Metroidvania. The game is short, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re into weird indie platformers.

9. Carto (2020)

Speaking of games that end in -o, Carto is yet another inventive indie title that’s worth checking out on Xbox. This title, which was developed by the Taiwanese studio Sunhead Games, is a top-down puzzle adventure game that features a unique mechanic in which players move pieces of maps to change the world around them. Carto isn’t a particularly complex game, but it’s great for kids and adults alike.

10. Natsuki Chronicles (2019)

Xbox consoles aren’t exactly known for having exclusive video games made by Japanese developers. Natsuki Chronicles, the long-awaited sequel to the Japan-exclusive Ginga Force, is one of the few games to have ever held this distinction. This anime-style horizontal shoot-em-up was originally announced as an Xbox One exclusive around the time of the system’s launch, back in 2014. However, it was not released until an astounding five years later; in December 2019, to be precise. The game has since been ported to PS4 and PC, but it’s still one of the Xbox One’s more interesting titles. Fans of shmups on Xbox should consider picking it up, even if only for its historical value.