Amazon has just revealed an entire segment of its games store dedicated to independent games. And, Amazon being Amazon, it’s launching it with deals, and lots of them. Here are five of the best.
Before we begin: These tend to be Steam codes, and they’re all for PC, so if your PC doesn’t have Steam, you’ll need to download it.
Also of note: Buying any of these games will get you three free indie games, with titles that rotate out between now and July 17th. Currently, those games are Dynasty of Dusk, a JRPG by college students; The Curse of Nordic Cove, which is essentially a mix of golf and adventure gaming; and Huntsman: The Orphange, a survival-horror game.
And, of course, lots of cheap games! Be sure to check out the bundles as well; apparently any spotlighted bundle sold will see 100% of the profits go to the developer.
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Regular Price: $40
Amazon Sale Price: $8
Why Buy It?: It’s a hilarious, hard-edged, old-school first-person shooter with modern graphics and a sledgehammer for a melee weapon. It’s a hell of a lot of fun, and if you haven’t tried it, or just miss FPS games without cover, it’s a game worth eight bucks.
Hotline Miami
Regular Price: $10
Amazon Sale Price: $5
Why Buy It?: It’s violent, insane, top-down melee action, but it’s also a game with a profoundly troubling and unnerving atmosphere. It’s a bit like what would happen if you told David Lynch to turn Drive into a Super Nintendo game, and gave him a great soundtrack to back it.
Stacking
Regular Price: $15
Amazon Price: $5
Why Buy It?: It’s an adventure game with a unique mechanic of collecting Russian dolls and using their unique powers, ranging from being really heavy to farting, to solve problems. The design of the game is clever and even after you’re finished with the puzzles, you’ll find yourself going back to dig out jokes you missed and collect the full sets of the various dolls, some of which can be mind-bendingly hard to get.
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Regular Price: $25
Amazon Price: $12.50
Why Buy It?: Chivalry is one of the few games that’s managed to make first-person melee focused gaming not only make sense, but actually be a lot of fun. It helps that the game is more than willing to wink at the player when it needs to. For example, if you manage to land a headshot with the sling (and that’s a big “if”), you behead your target. And, needless to say, it’s got some truly ridiculous mods.
FTL
Regular Price: $10
Amazon Price: $5
Why Buy It?: It’s an addictive mix of simulation with dozens of options to solve any situation, and roguelike, where you’ll never come across the same challenge twice. Of course, you’ll also be blown out of the sky a lot, but that’s the way it goes when you’re fighting space pirates.
There are a bunch of great games beyond these five, but these are the ones we think you’ll get the most bang for your buck on. If you disagree, let us know which ones you think are better in the comments.