Single-Player Indie Games for Art Lovers
MMORPGs are fun and addictive, but sometimes the formulaic fantasy worlds (not to mention the hectic socialization) of most online games can get a bit daunting. If you're growing weary of seeing the same old thing when you hop online, try setting the internet aside and check out these downright beautiful indie games for solo players.
Contrast
Meet Didi, a young girl whose cabaret starlet mother is on the verge of losing her to child services, and Dawn, Didi's sinewy and supernaturally-charged imaginary friend. In Contrast, your goal is to navigate the shadows of a jazz-addled underworld by phasing between the darkness and the light. The story falls a teensy bit short of the hype that surrounded the game when it was first released, but it's still one of the most visually striking indie titles to come out in recent days.
Braid
Braid's been around for a while now and if you haven't played it yet, I highly recommend it. Not only is it one of the prettiest puzzle platformers in history, it's also challenging with a profoundly moving storyline. You play as Tim, a man riddled with guilt over a mistake he made which drove his princess away. Each world offers insight into Tim's past as you advance through them, as well as a very unique twist during gameplay: The ability to rewind time to make things right.
Photo courtesy of guff-emporium.blogspot.com.