With the recent release of the game 'Mixtape', a fundamental question has been raised: Is this game truly an 'indie'? The title features around 20 commercially licensed songs. Considering that commercial licensing fees per song from an artist are by no means small, it is clear that a substantial budget was invested in its production. Nevertheless, the game was released under the 'indie' banner and received high acclaim, scoring 85 on Metacritic and 87 on OpenCritic. Can we really judge whether this game is indie or not?
Similar controversies existed before. 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' won nine awards at The Game Awards 2025, even taking home the award for Best Indie Game. Developer Sandfall Interactive is a 33-person team, and its production quality and scale are a far cry from the typical image of an indie game. While praised as a well-made GOTY contender in 2025, there was considerable debate both inside and outside the industry regarding its indie status.
Looking at global PC gaming platform Steam, this phenomenon is even more blatant. Currently, games self-tagging as 'Indie' on Steam account for more than half of all titles. Among them are projects with branch offices in multiple countries and dozens of developers participating. Anyone can arbitrarily apply the 'Indie' tag, and naturally, there is no entity verifying it.
The root of this confusion is clear: the definition of 'indie' itself is ambiguous. While dictionary definitions describe it as games independent from the capital and control of major publishers, reality is far more convoluted. Financial or aesthetic independence, unconventional cultural ideas, and various other criteria overlap, and no single metric cleanly separates indie from non-indie.
Depending on factors like Japan's 'doujin' culture, whether a game succeeded in Western or East Asian markets, or whether it was intended for mass commercial sales, the exact same game can be categorized differently. Ultimately, a definitive criterion to clearly delineate indie games has never existed in the past, nor does it exist now.
However, the ambiguity of the 'indie' standard is not merely a conceptual debate. It leads directly to tangible benefits. One open secret in the industry is that critics apply a practice known as being 'graded on a curve' when reviewing indie games. The exact same flaw that would draw harsh criticism in a major studio's title receives a lenient pass in an indie game as 'impressive for a small team.' This is not a matter of an individual critic's bias, but a difference in structural expectations formed by the 'indie' label.
Pricing policy also plays a role. According to a study presented by Humble Games at the 2023 Game Developers Conference (GDC), the moment a game's price exceeds $25, consumer expectations surge, leading to direct comparisons with blockbuster AAA titles. Conversely, this means that expectations are set low from the start within the indie price point.
The word 'indie', which once symbolized purity and originality, is steadily degrading into a marketing term. Without a clear definition, there is no verification, and without verification, there is no restraint. As long as this label continues to serve as a shield against criticism, this trend will only grow stronger. When evaluating a game, aren't we uncritically handing out generous scores based solely on the 'indie' tag?
'Indie' is not an unconditional badge of quality for a game. The moment that label degenerates into a convenient free pass, the true value of indie disappears along with it.
- Immersive '90s youth narrative
- Short yet focused narrative pacing
- Minigame controls feel meaningless
- Player choices have zero impact on the story
- An experience closer to a movie than a game
Review Platform: PC (Official)
