Xbox Live Arcade forever changed the industry for the better. It opened up new avenues for gamers to experience incredible indie games they otherwise missed out on.
You can argue that we take indie games for granted today. More often than not, they deliver better experiences than the mainstream big-budgeted blockbusters from the industry’s biggest publishers. Back during the day of Xbox Live Arcade, that certainly wasn’t the case. Indies were the new kid in town with something to prove.
These games were a breath of fresh air from the growing trend of bloated, copy-paste gameplay from the industry’s biggest franchises. There was just one issue: they weren’t always easy to discover and purchase.
Thankfully, Microsoft made it super easy to search for and purchase these games, aside from using Microsoft Points, of course.
Some of my favorite Xbox 360 games are from Xbox Live Arcade, and they absolutely still hold up today.
10Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Shape Up
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Platform(s)PC, Xbox 360ReleasedNovember 22, 2005
I wrote about Geometry Wars somewhat recently. After finishing the article, I promptly downloaded it on Steam and spent all night playing it on my Steam Deck. The game is just as good today as I remember it being nearly twenty years ago.
The twin-stick shooter has the perfect balance of accessibility to get you going and a smooth difficulty curve that throws more enemies and fire your way.
You don’t mind the chaos unfolding because 1) it looks incredibly stylish, and 2) with every run, you get better and better, understanding how to deal with the craziness that is the geometry-based enemies headed your way.
You’d think a twin-stick shooter would be left behind in the modern era, but Geometry War’s gameplay is timeless.
9Castle Crashers
Co-op Brilliance
8/ 10
Castle Crashers
Hack and Slash
Systems
Platform(s)PC, PS3, Xbox 360ReleasedAugust 27, 2008Developer(s)The BehemothDeveloperThe BehemothPublisher(s)The BehemothPublisherThe BehemothMultiplayerLocal Co-Op, Online Co-OpEngineBehemothESRBT For Teen Due To Blood and Gore, Cartoon Violence, Crude HumorHow Long To Beat7 HoursExpand
The Behemoth came onto the scene with the successful retail release of Alien Hominid. They broke into the mainstream with their follow-up Castle Crashers, a co-op side-scrolling beat ‘em up jam-packed with style, personality, and addictive gameplay.
It’s easy for games like this to rely solely on its humor as it attempts to get by with shallow gameplay, but Castle Crashers successfully avoids this pitfall. It’s a brilliant love letter to the beat ‘em up genre.
11 Best Couch Co-op Games With A Story Mode
Story campaigns aren’t only for solo players, plenty of games let you take the journey with a friend.
Yes, some of its humor, such as watching a deer fart in the woods, may feel a little dated and juvenile today, but I’d argue that in a world where a Deadpool movie amassed $1.3 billion at the box office, it’s right at home.
Following its remaster, Castle Crashers is now available for a new audience to discover, explore, and fall in love with its style, fun, and addictive gameplay.
8Battleblock Theater
Masterpiece Theater
BattleBlock Theater
Indie
Action
Adventure
Systems
OpenCritic ReviewsTop Critic Rating:87/100Critics Recommend:100%Platform(s)Steam, Xbox OneReleasedApril 3, 2014Developer(s)The BehemothPublisher(s)The BehemothMultiplayerLocal Co-Op, Local Multiplayer, Online Co-Op, Online MultiplayerESRBT For Teen: Crude Humor, Blood, ViolenceHow Long To Beat10 HoursNumber of Players1-4Steam Deck CompatibilityVerifiedHow Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)40.5 HoursOpenCritic RatingMightyExpand
The Behemoth is more than just Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid, as this under-the-radar gem is still one of the best co-op platformers you can play today.
It’s one of the first games my wife and I ever played together. We booted it up when we first started dating several years after release and immediately fell in love with every second of it.
The over-the-top presentation we all know and love from The Behemoth is on full display, and it’s backed by incredibly tight controls and platforming precision.
With the rise of popularity in co-op platforming thanks to It Takes Two and Split Fiction, you owe it to go back and check out Battleblock Theater. I promise that you’ll love it.
7Fez
Platforming Brilliance
Fez
Puzzle
Platformer
Systems
OpenCritic ReviewsTop Critic Rating:88/100Critics Recommend:88%Platform(s)PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Xbox 360, iOSReleasedApril 13, 2012Developer(s)Polytron CorporationPublisher(s)TrapdoorEngineTrixel EngineESRBE For Everyone due to Mild Fantasy ViolenceOpenCritic RatingMightyExpand
Say what you want about Phil Fish, but the man knows how to make a video game.
Fez is one of the best platformers of all time. It’s an incredible achievement in design from start to finish, offering players a unique way to tackle the genre. Its camera perspective isn’t new, but here’s the hook: Fez isn’t about platforming but exploration.
The game’s presentation actively encourages players to always explore. Its deceptively simple gameplay helps guide players on their journey.
Players are no longer focused on “how do I get there?” Instead, they ask themselves, “What is waiting for me when I do get there?”
Fez is a master class in immersion, style, and gameplay that delivers in ways few games can. Again, say what you want about Phil Fish; the man is controversial, but he’s also a genius when it comes to video game design.
6Super Meat Boy
Super Challenging
8.5/ 10
Super Meat Boy
Platformer
Systems
OpenCritic ReviewsTop Critic Rating:83/100Critics Recommend:96%Platform(s)PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PCReleasedOctober 20, 2010Developer(s)Team MeatPublisher(s)Team MeatMultiplayerOnline Multiplayer, Local MultiplayerEngineProprietary EngineESRBT For Teen due to Animated Blood, Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor, LanguageHow Long To Beat10 HoursOpenCritic RatingStrongExpand
If there were ever a poster child for how Xbox Live Arcade can help deliver success for indie games, it would be Super Meat Boy.
Debuting on XBLA in 2010, Super Meat Boy took the world by storm. First, there’s no way this game would have ever seen a proper retail release. Be honest: who in their right mind would ever support this thing? Microsoft and the Xbox Live Arcade, that’s who.
Super Meat Boy is a master class in platforming gameplay. Its difficulty still tests games to their limits today, echoing the best of Donkey Kong Country’s challenges.
In a world where games continue to push gamers to their limits, egging them on after countless deaths, Super Meat Boy is right at home. Despite releasing well over a decade ago, it feels more in line with games released in a post-Dark Souls world, helping it age like a bottle of fine wine.
5Bastion
The Start of Something Great
9/ 10
Bastion
Action RPG
Systems
OpenCritic ReviewsTop Critic Rating:88/100Critics Recommend:88%Platform(s)PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Switch, PC, iOSReleasedJuly 20, 2011Developer(s)Supergiant GamesPublisher(s)Warner Bros. Interactive, Supergiant GamesEngineMicrosoft XNAESRBE10 For Everyone 10+ Due To Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Use of Alcohol and TobaccoOpenCritic RatingMightyExpand
While Supergiant is best known today for its work on Hades, Bastion proves that it was capable of delivering classics from day one.
The indie studio made waves with its founding. Former Games Journalist Greg Kasavin was actually one of my inspirations to enter this industry. I was excited to see what he and the rest of the team could cook up.
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If you think you know some of the best indies in recent years, you have to check out DualShockers’ list of indies with AAA appeal.
Bastion, like indie darlings such as Braid before it, reinforced the fact that some of the best games in the 2010s came from the independent scene. The action RPG is filled with an incredible presentation and polish that is on par with, or in some cases even better than, the AAA games of its time.
It offers an excellent mix of engaging gameplay and a gripping story, hooking gamers in a variety of ways that keep them going even long after the credits role. It may not be as challenging as other similar titles, but Bastion is never afraid to keep things fresh and entertaining.
4Peggle
Your Old Addiction
Peggle
Puzzle
Systems
Platform(s)Nintendo DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android, iOSReleasedFebruary 27, 2007EngineSexyApp FrameworkESRBE For EveryoneDeveloperPopCap Games, Q EntertainmentPublisherPopCap Games, Valve CorporationMultiplayerLocal MultiplayerHow Long To Beat4 HoursX|S OptimizedNoFile Size Xbox Series640 MB (December 2023)Expand
I don’t think many younger games understand how popular Peggle was during its heyday.
Yes, we all meme on the Peggle 2 announcement, but hey, it was a big deal back then! One of the most popular World of Warcraft add-ons lets you play Peggle inside the game!
Peggle is the type of game that would be dangerous if released on mobile back in the day. The addictive gameplay loop perfectly suits pick up and play sessions that last hours. We’d boot it up on the Xbox 360 while we wait for friends to get home and log in for some Halo, only to realize that five hours have passed and we’ve missed a bunch of party invites.
Few puzzle games have captured games like Peggle. Yes, the game’s presentation can be off-putting, but once you get past that, you’re rewarded with an incredible experience that is hard to put down.
3Spelunky
A Roguelike Classic
Spelunky
Platformer
Systems
OpenCritic ReviewsTop Critic Rating:87/100Critics Recommend:91%Platform(s)PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Xbox 360ReleasedOctober 21, 2008Developer(s)MossmouthPublisher(s)MossmouthEngineGameMakerESRBT For Teen due to Fantasy Violence, Blood, Mild Suggestive ThemesOpenCritic RatingMightyMultiplayerLocal MultiplayerExpand
The 2008 roguelike is arguably well ahead of its time, helping it hold up extremely well today Sure, you can make the argument that Spelunky 2 is a superior game, but it’s important to pay respects to where you came from.
Spelunky is an excellent roguelike that is constantly introducing new ways to kill its players. That’s the fun, though! The procedurally generated caverns you explore work extremely well and avoid the pitfalls of the bland, generic, and repetitive procedurally generated worlds you see from bigger blockbusters in the industry.
“Procedurally generated worlds” has become an unfortunate buzzword today, but in the late 2000s, it worked well because games like Spelunky kept that design on a more focused, smaller scale. Every run feels different; you experience new challenges and obstacles and are forced to always be on your toes when it comes to dealing with the hurdles thrown your way.
Playing Spelunky in 2025 is like taking a time machine to the glory days of indie gaming when it was a breath of fresh air from the troubling developments in mainstream gaming. It still serves as a wonderful escape from the buzzword filled AAA games of today.
2Shadow Complex
An Excellent Metroidvania
Shadow Complex
Platformer
Metroidvania
Systems
Platform(s)PC, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox OneReleasedAugust 19, 2009Developer(s)ChAIR EntertainmentPublisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios, Epic GamesEngineUnreal Engine 3ESRBT For Teen due to Mild Language, ViolenceExpand
If Shadow Complex were released today, it would be held in extremely high regard alongside the other great modern-day Metroidvanias. Alas, the Metroidvania resurgence was not in full swing back in 2009.
Its unique hook offered something new to the genre: exploring the levels in a 2D space felt familiar, but battling enemies on a 3D axis added a wonderful wrinkle to the game’s combat. While this could have led to severe control issues, everything works remarkably well.
While it doesn’t push the genre forward behind this gameplay twist, it doesn’t need to. Remember that back in the 2000s, Metroidvanias weren’t exactly a dime a dozen.
Seeing something like Shadow Complex come along and act as a love letter to Super Metroid was a breath of fresh air, especially since Nintendo was more focused on the first-person Metroid games.
Its 2015 remaster proved that we weren’t just looking back on the game with rose-tinted glasses. Shadow Complex holds up remarkably well, quirks and all.
1Limbo
Minimalism In Motion
9/ 10
Limbo
Platformer
Systems
The biggest knock on Limbo today is that it’s outclassed by its successor, Inside. If that’s the worst thing about the game, I’d argue that we’re in a good spot.
First time players may not realize how impactful this indie is today, but at the time of release, there was very little like it. Its minimalist presentation adds to a story that’s already open-ended and up for varying interpretations. The monochromatic art style is a perfect fit here, too, adding an uneasy feeling that matches perfectly with the trial-and-error style of gameplay.
Limbo is one of the most prominent examples from its era of how video games can be considered works of art. The gameplay is there to challenge you, but it’s also assisting in the story being told. It’s the type of game that’s meant to be finished in one sitting, thanks to its short run time, and stay with you long after the credits roll.
Again, like I just talked about with Shadow Complex, those games are a dime a dozen today, but Limbo still holds up just like Star Wars: A New Hope still holds up. Empire Strikes Back is certainly the better film, but its prequel is still a good time.
