-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
Hollow Knight vs Cuphead vs Hades vs Celeste - Best indie game of the past 5 years?
- Thread starter Uncle at Nintendo
- Start date
Hades.
The others are great too.
Weird arbitrary list obviously made by your own personal preferences.
The others are great too.
Weird arbitrary list obviously made by your own personal preferences.
For me, Rain World.
In the proposed list, I have Hollow Knight first (absolute masterpiece), Celeste close second (masterpiece too). I didn't play Hades because I do not like Rogue-likes nor the games made by Supergiant; but I'm sure it's a great game. Cuphead is probably not in the same bracket as the others; I enjoyed it, but it "just" a solid 7/10. Which is very good, mind you.
My ranking would be:
1. Rain World
2. Hollow Knight
3. Celeste
4. Into the Breach
5. Yoku's Island Express
I like 2D games.
In the proposed list, I have Hollow Knight first (absolute masterpiece), Celeste close second (masterpiece too). I didn't play Hades because I do not like Rogue-likes nor the games made by Supergiant; but I'm sure it's a great game. Cuphead is probably not in the same bracket as the others; I enjoyed it, but it "just" a solid 7/10. Which is very good, mind you.
My ranking would be:
1. Rain World
2. Hollow Knight
3. Celeste
4. Into the Breach
5. Yoku's Island Express
I like 2D games.
My ranking is
1. Hollow Knight
2. Hades
3. Celeste
4. Cuphead
All four are great. And I think Celeste is especially important because of its incredible Assist Mode.
1. Hollow Knight
2. Hades
3. Celeste
4. Cuphead
All four are great. And I think Celeste is especially important because of its incredible Assist Mode.
Yeah I don't really understand the love for Hollow Knight either. The art style is great, but the moment to moment gameplay is very bland to me. Another game in that vein I did enjoy very much was Steamworld Dig 2.
Though Hades is better than both.
OP why do you do this? Wow, this is hard as hell. I just... love them all, for different reasons.
I'm not gonna lie the first one that came to my mind was Hollow Knight... but all at them are great. The closest answer I can say is between Hades and Hollow Knight, depends on the day.
I'm just gonna say I'm glad all exist, and not just them but a lot of great indies that have come trough all the recent years. Like Overcooked, Into the Breach, Crosscode, Disco Elysium, Stardew Valley, Dead Cells, Edith Finch, Nigth in the Woods... and a thousand more awesome games.
I'm not gonna lie the first one that came to my mind was Hollow Knight... but all at them are great. The closest answer I can say is between Hades and Hollow Knight, depends on the day.
I'm just gonna say I'm glad all exist, and not just them but a lot of great indies that have come trough all the recent years. Like Overcooked, Into the Breach, Crosscode, Disco Elysium, Stardew Valley, Dead Cells, Edith Finch, Nigth in the Woods... and a thousand more awesome games.
Last edited:
Not a lot of genre variety in that poll. Where are the narratively brilliant indies, or the strategic powerhouse Into the Breach. I loved playing indie games and have played a lot, but none of the ones I like ended up in your poll. ;)
Disco Elysium. Out of that list though it is Hades for me and its not even close. The others were ok at best and I will never get over the dumb ass map system for hollow knight. Who in their right mind thought that was a good idea lmao.
I've not played Hades yet, but as for the others:
Hollow Knight firmly at 1
Cuphead at 2
Celeste at a distant third.
Hollow Knight firmly at 1
Cuphead at 2
Celeste at a distant third.
It's one of my favoite aspects of the game.
I think Subnautica is also worthy of consideration.
Edit: It left Early Access in 2018, but if you want to say it's a 2014 game, suit yourself.
Edit: It left Early Access in 2018, but if you want to say it's a 2014 game, suit yourself.
Last edited:
Other - Huntdown
Played Hollow Knight and found it highly overrated. Played Celeste, but pure, hardcore platformers don't really do it for me. Haven't played Cuphead, but the artwork looks incredible. Haven't played Hades yet, but I definitely want to soon. Everything about it's presentation looks top notch, and I've enjoyed Supergiant's other games.
Played Hollow Knight and found it highly overrated. Played Celeste, but pure, hardcore platformers don't really do it for me. Haven't played Cuphead, but the artwork looks incredible. Haven't played Hades yet, but I definitely want to soon. Everything about it's presentation looks top notch, and I've enjoyed Supergiant's other games.
This poll is missing some incredible indie games like Stardew Valley, Into the Breach, Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Hyper Light Drifter among others.
my choice would go to that underrated indie gem Witcher 3, made by the small studio CD Projekt Red
Hades
Hades
I love them all but I voted Celeste. That game really helped me through a difficult time. And has a special place in my heart forever.
Slay the Spire is the right answer. This is more acclaimed than most of these games, and is the best game to come out over the last decade. Everything good about this gen, and none of the bad. Cuphead is hard but not deep and Hades ruins itself by having persistent progression that ruins the gameplay. I wouldn't disagree with people who said Hollow Knight or Celeste were comparable to Slay the Spire, but Slay the Spire was certainly far more original than either of them and remains, bar none, the best example of its genre, something that isn't the case for either of these games.
Edit: Someone else mentioned Outer Wilds, which should also be on this list. The only good story told in videogaames this decade.
Edit: Someone else mentioned Outer Wilds, which should also be on this list. The only good story told in videogaames this decade.
Last edited:
I would pick Cuphead of those, but Spelunky 2 and slay the spire should absolutely be part of the conversation.
Great pick! Such an underrated (and often misunderstood) game.
Cuphead is my favorite. I've spent a strangely long time thinking about that game ever since I saw the trailer at the Xbox E3 conference years ago. Its presentation is just so beautiful and unique in the gaming space (while also being a blast to play) that I can't help but give it a ton of credit.
Of course, I'm not a huge fan of hardcore metroidvanias or rouge-likes, so there isn't a ton of competition for me personally. I'll have to give Celeste another shot this weekend and see if it clicks for me.
Of course, I'm not a huge fan of hardcore metroidvanias or rouge-likes, so there isn't a ton of competition for me personally. I'll have to give Celeste another shot this weekend and see if it clicks for me.
It made me move on almost immediately. Tried the game again after the psn give away and couldn't get over it. Different tastes and all i guess.
weird games to pitch against each other but for me it'd be Hollow Knight, Celeste, Hades and then Cuphead simply because I haven't finished it but I also don't get the "urge" to finish it unlike the other three.
Hollow Knight I basically devoured, it also helps this was early enough in the Switch life cycle that there wasn't as many "distractions" but I fully expect Silksong to keep my full attention regardless.
Celeste is very much on the same boat but I guess I got annoyed at some of the later levels, especially the temple, I just don't enjoy levels in 2D platformers that obscure your views regardless of how good they are. Also the post game DLC was way out of my league and I wish the game did a better job to reintroduce the mechanics for the non speedrunning plebs
Hades I really enjoyed playing it but the narrative kinda fell flat at some point when I realize the game won't really surprise much beyond a certain point, I know SuperGiant said they aren't interested in doing DLC for the game (as far as I'm aware) but this screams for more content and new bosses.
Hollow Knight I basically devoured, it also helps this was early enough in the Switch life cycle that there wasn't as many "distractions" but I fully expect Silksong to keep my full attention regardless.
Celeste is very much on the same boat but I guess I got annoyed at some of the later levels, especially the temple, I just don't enjoy levels in 2D platformers that obscure your views regardless of how good they are. Also the post game DLC was way out of my league and I wish the game did a better job to reintroduce the mechanics for the non speedrunning plebs
Hades I really enjoyed playing it but the narrative kinda fell flat at some point when I realize the game won't really surprise much beyond a certain point, I know SuperGiant said they aren't interested in doing DLC for the game (as far as I'm aware) but this screams for more content and new bosses.
Celeste's movement mechanics are unmatched in 2D platforming. The game feels sublime to play.
Also yeah, Stardew Valley just barely fits within the 5 year window and should definitely be on the list. Playing online with friends was one of the best and most chill experiences I've had in games.
Also yeah, Stardew Valley just barely fits within the 5 year window and should definitely be on the list. Playing online with friends was one of the best and most chill experiences I've had in games.
When talking about the most celebrated indies of the past five years, I feel this list has two glaring omissions:
- Disco Elysium
- Stardew Valley
- Disco Elysium
- Stardew Valley
