Wasn't your last question something along the lines of "prove there's no such thing as indie"?

Aquaria
My favorite indie game of all time is Aquaria the winner of the 2007 Independent Game Festival. There is a ton that can be said about this game. It is beautiful both in its sound and graphics. It is packed with content, from a huge world to explore, to challenging combat, to interesting puzzles to solve. But the best part of Aquaria is the way it is all integrated. The graphics, music, and gameplay are all part of an interesting and tragic story.

Aquaria’s gameplay revolves around Naija, the aquatic humanoid who serves as the game’s primary character, using her high mobility to dodge attacks and out maneuver enemies and use her other powers and forms to defeat a variety of unique bosses and mild puzzles. The variety of enemies is quite varied. Some are quick and mobile, some have weak points or defenses you have to first breach. While there is a set story, exploration through the various zones has a good bit of free roaming to it. There are story points that prevent you from accessing some places, but eventually you’ll be able to go where you want before the end of the story.

Through the use of a wheel of musical notes Naija can transform herself into different forms as well as utilize a variety of other powers. Powers include the ability to generate a defensive shield and move objects. Naija’s different transformation include her combat centric Energy Form, protective Nature Form, and exploration centered Sun Form that lets her navigate otherwise dark, very nearly inaccessible places.

The game is large. My first play through took a full ten hours to complete. This is not some small anemic game. It’s packed full. There are several distinct areas each with their own visuals, enemies and story points. There is a ton of stuff to see and find and do. One of my favorite side quests is a challenging race against ghostly seahorses. But there are tons of other things to find, many of which are only accessible through the use of the new abilities and forms you discover along the way. There’s a lot of back tracking and side bosses and hidden bits of interestness to find, if you want to.

But again, the best part of Aquaria is how everything ties together. The story revolves around Naija’s quest to discover who she is and why she seems to resemble the former citizens of several now destroyed civilizations. Each one arose but was eventually destroyed by the force that created it. As Naija explores the vast world of Aquaria she discovers the horrors of what happened to these peoples. Two groups destroyed each other in war. One literally sacrificed its own citizens in a futile effort to escape their impending doom, and another one attempted to flee the ocean itself through the use of technology before they too were destroyed. Naija eventually learns what happened and vows revenge. Even then she struggles with giving in to her darker nature as she attempts to right the wrongs that were done to Aquaria.

In the end, Aquaria is a great game because the way it tells a good story that is supported by good combat and exploration, Naija’s occasional narration, the beautiful and eerie locations she explores, and even the good, catchy music constantly playing in the background. If you’ve got a few bucks and a few free hours I highly recommend Aquaria and I hold it up as an example of an excellent indie game.

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