Summary
There are plenty ofindie strategy gameson the market, with the genre covering a variety of niches. From turn-based tactics to real-time strategy, all the way to unique rogue-likes and strategic RPGs, there’s plenty of variety in the strategy game genre.
Strategy gamesare some of the most popular on Steam, but many of them often feature dry visual styles. Someindie titles, however, use interesting artwork and screen-space effects to create aunique visual style.
This Poker-themed roguelike tasks players with playing thebest Poker handsthey can and carefully constructing synergies with the game’s variety of Joker cards. What makesBalatrospecial is its simplicity and sheer strategic depth, but it also has a pretty stylish appearance.
Balatrois full ofcharming and often whimsicalpixel art. This is best displayed with its variety of over a hundred Joker cards, each of which has its own unique personality, making most of them instantly recognizable.Balatro’s light CRT filter and consistent casino-like color palette also help to give it a sense of style.
This stylish combination of real-time strategy and 4X was developed by the team behind the equally stylishNorthgardand features a visual aesthetic that’s cartoon-like in nature. Furthermore, the environments are surprisingly colorful, despitethe desert setting.
For fans of theDuneuniverse and the recent film,Dune: Part 2,Dune: Spice Warsis an excellent strategy game developed by independent developers. For those who enjoy soft-edged, cartoon graphics, there is plenty to love about this title,
8Dicey Dungeons
Light Deck-Building Strategy With Whimsical Artwork
Dicey Dungeonsputs players in the shoes of giant, personified dice, exploring colorful dungeons packed with whimsical monsters. Every enemy’s visual design is easily recognizable, with each of them having their own distinctive silhouette and overall look.
Dicey Dungeons' variety of environments and characters are in a hand-drawn style that perfectly matches the game’s light-hearted tone. This provides the title with a consistent atmosphere, especially when combined with the music and the light, strategic gameplay.
This unique combination of real-time strategy and tower defense tasks players with growing a miniature Kingdom and defending it from waves of enemies.Thronefallis a tremendously accessible experience with plenty of depth and strategic decision-making. Although it’s fairly light on content, the game features a roguelike mode that adds to its replay value.
Thronefallisn’t the most artistically complex game, but it makes up for it witha brilliant minimalist style.Thronefalluses simple shapes and flat colors to great effect, creating immersive landscapes and easily recognizable enemies with a very simple artistic direction.
This distinctive combination of the strategy RPG and roguelite genres features a unique twist.Star Renegadesis a turn-based, party-based strategy game in which unique enemies and bosses are generated on the fly.
The greatest strength ofStar Renegades, however, is its brilliant art style.Star Renegadesfeatures a plethora of high-quality pixel art, predominantly in its characters. These 2D pixel-art sprites are set on a 3D plane, adding a great amount of depth to each scene.
This strategic deck-builder from Klei Entertainment stands out for its RPG elements and unique setting. The world ofGriftlandsis a strange, fantastical place packed with distinct characters that the player can interact with, and it’s perfectly depicted with Klei Entertainment’s iconic art style.
Griftlands’hand-drawn characters and environmentsstrike a careful balance between fantasy and science fiction, though it treads more toward the latter. The character and enemy designs are particularly strong, with many characters being both memorable and easy to recognize.
This Viking-themed strategy RPG tells an epic tale of a caravan making a grueling journey across a harsh land made beautiful by the game’s stunning art direction.The Banner Sagais driven by its narrative and itsfocus on player choice, providing gamers with consequences for their decisions.
The Banner Saga’s strategic combat and general gameplay mechanics are solid, but its greatest strength is its visual style.The Banner Sagafeatures stunning hand-drawn artwork and landscapes, allowing the game’s Norse-inspired world to become a truly immersive setting.
Combining elements of escape-room puzzles, psychological horror, and deck-building card games,Inscryptionis one of the most unique indie games released in recent years. While not a pure strategy game,Inscryption’s strategic, lane-based card system is particularly fun to engage with. Furthermore, the game’s distinct and creepy art style makes it an immersive experience, too.
Inscryptionis a dark, horror-tinged game set in a 3D environment. The player’s opponent is a creepy 3D character that reacts with the game board in real time. When combined with the atmospheric lighting and hand-drawn card art,Inscryptionmakes for an extremely stylish indie game.
This cute and colorful combination of puzzle and strategy tasks players with building and growing villages across a tranquil landscape.The game’s peaceful atmosphereis only furthered by its vibrant, painterly textures and minimalist 3D tiles.
Dorfromantikalso features a variety of biomes that help to break up its visuals and prevent the game from looking stale. Furthermore, players can unlock new tiles as they play, adding even more to the visual variety.
Although some players may prefer its predecessor,Darkest Dungeon 2arguably improves on the original’s visual style. This sequel puts players behind the reins of a stagecoach on a road trip through dark and twisted landscapes, stopping occasionally to fight offLovecraft-inspired monstersof all shapes and sizes.
Like the original,Darkest Dungeon 2is packed with Lovecraftian imagery and hand-drawn characters. For some,Darkest Dungeon 2may stray too far from the gameplay of the original, but its improved animations and 3D environments are a welcome addition to its visual style.
