VGChartz’s Christian Evans: “The criteria for what constitutes indie may be up for debate, but such is the quality of these games that the difference between them and their more ‘illustrious’ AAA brethren is now blurred beyond defining lines. Every year a new batch breaks through that is strong enough to compete against the established industry bests, and they’re now seemingly in the conversation for game of the year each and every year – Hades in 2020 being a recent prime example.
Last year was again no different, and with plenty of major studio releases delayed out of 2021, the indie efforts were afforded greater space to thrive and shine. To highlight how strong a year it was for the indie scene, swapping in a new batch of shortlisted games multiple times over would still leave the list looking formidable.”
Source: N4G PC Best Indie Game of 2021