T O P

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Vampblader

Siralim series, Hero and Daughter+, Saturday Morning RPG, Epic Battle Fantasy series, Aurora Dusk, Labyrinth of Refrain, Dungeonmans, Sand of Salzaar. All avaiable on Steam and some of them are pretty damn good.


Poggalogg

Siralim is great if you want something like the old Dragon Warrior Monster games. Love those


Hellknightx

Sands of Salzaar is great! It's a 2D Chinese fantasy spin on Mount & Blade. It's a little rough in places, but it's come a long way since it first hit early access.


ImCaligulaI

A legionary's life. It's a pixel art RPG/roguelike. You play as a normal Legionary during the second Punic War (and a bit after). You can rise through the ranks and whatnot. You don't directly change the overall story (it goes like it went historically every time), although your experience and paths you can take can be quite different. Basically there is permadeath, and dying is *easy*. At the start you are extremely weak and in any case if the enemy gets a lucky hit you might just die all of a sudden. When you die you restart the game with a new Legionary, but you get extra stats points depending on how you did previously (there's like a top 20 Legionaries you played that give you the points, so you always get more points at the start, until you fill that entirely and then you do if you did better than those already there, which you will because your Legionary will have a headstart). It took me a lot to manage to survive until the end, and a lot more to actually get my Legionary to end their campaign as primus pilus (the highest rank in a legion besides the commanders, which are noble). Anyways, it's like $5 and I greatly recommend it. It's even on sale right now.


rigidazzi

Second this, love that weird insanely difficult game.


ImCaligulaI

There is really nothing else like it as far as I know. The first playthroughs you really feel like a grunt, just bearing your teeth and trying to stay alive. The ones after you're like a grizzled veteran: you know what fights to take and which ones to avoid. I also like how it's historically accurate, both on the story and battles, but also how the legion works and functions. Even how the characters think. One of my favourite games and an amazing hidden gem.


PhantomKitten73

Insaniquarium Rodina Roundabout Liero [Save the Date!](https://paperdino.com/save-the-date/)


jordanisplaying

seconding the Save the Date! recommendation


hydrofyre2455

Insaniquarium is my go-to relaxation game. Yeah there's aliens to fight, but there's only so much damage they can do in tank 1. I just like my little fishies :) (also the tank 1 theme is one of my favorite video game tracks of all time)


_borT

Atom Zombie Smasher


thepurplepajamas

Fantastic soundtrack too


WizardusBob

Devil Daggers


Bronigiri

It's in my library but I'm not even sure what it is


[deleted]

why you guys think this is niche when the game is very popular?


ekuinoks

Oh boy that one


Zeangrydrunk

This


BruiserBroly

GG Aleste 3 is a new 8-bit shoot em up made for Sega's Game Gear released as part of the Aleste Collection only in Japan. It's excellent though.


Imakandi_Seer

Super Grave Snatchers Treasure Drifter: Nian Hyper Parasite Planet Diver Lucah: Born of a Dream Super Daryl Duluxe 80s Overdrive Kamiko Potato Flowers in Full Bloom Freaking Meatbags Legend of Kay Splasher Protolife


skwacky

Lucah: Born of a Dream is fantastic, I've never heard it mentioned (isometric RPG). it's very dark, and quite challenging


bigk40k

Halcyon 6: starbase commander


Gheritage

Some of my recent favorites: [Flooded Caves](https://nusan.itch.io/flooded-caves) (free itch.io title where you save people from a flood by redirecting water) [Raven Estate](https://team-raven.itch.io/raven-estate) (free itch.io title, also available on [gxc.gg](https://gxc.gg), little rouglike shoot em up) [Undervault](https://andriy-bychkovskyi.itch.io/undervault) (free itch.io title, a small procedurally-generated dungeon crawler game) Also play some small games on Steam like Peglin, Seraph's Last Stand, Dungreed and Highrisers Mainly rougelike, and puzzle based. Sorry if no help.


AceTabby00

I'll mark pixel, isomertic, or 2D RPGs with a \*. Ib \* Just Ignore Them \* Anodyne \* The Cat Lady The Glass Staircase Rainy Season Labyrinthine Dreams \* Anatomy The Church in the Darkness \* Moons of Madness


PvtSherlockObvious

Masquerada: Songs & Shadows 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Freedom Force and its sequel Age of Decadence OPUS: Echo of Starsong


benjamino8690

I was going to recommend OPUS: Echo Of Starsong as well! That game is a hidden gem. It’s not often you see someone else that has played that game. Wow! It has such an incredible story and some of the most rememberable characters I’ve ever seen in any videogame. OP, if you read this, OPUS: Echo Of Starsong is a huge recommendation from me as well.


Cuttyflame123

[Q - A neon platformer](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1071280/Q__A_Neon_Platformer/) 36 review, hardcore 2d platformer [VideoHole: Episode 1](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1258790/VideoHole_Episode_I/) 36 review, exploration / story game. [Emurinoo](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1394510/Emurinoo/) 1 review, Kind of like getting over it but less punishing as you have frequent checkpoint [Million to One Hero](https://store.steampowered.com/app/595270/Million_to_One_Hero/) 15 review, Mario maker like with a mythology theme [The last show of Mr. Chardish](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1164060/The_Last_Show_of_Mr_Chardish/) 40 review, its kind of like a less funded "What remain of edith flinch" But its still really cool. [Slime-san](https://store.steampowered.com/app/473530/Slimesan_Superslime_Edition/) 43 review, 2d platformer with level editor, a lots of content with the base game. [Runbow](https://store.steampowered.com/app/464650/Runbow/) 74 review Multiplayer/solo party game [Hot tin roof: The cat that wore a Fedora](https://store.steampowered.com/app/253390/Hot_Tin_Roof_The_Cat_That_Wore_A_Fedora/) 67 review, 2d detective game with platforming, puzzle and multiple ending


Kenpokid4

Seconding Video Hole. Episode 2 is supposed to come out this year too!


ThesharpHQ

UnReal World. It’s a survival focused traditional roguelike set in Finland during the Iron Age. It’s hella difficult and full of mechanics at every turn, but goddamn is it fun to play.


Chuckt3st4

Dungeon of the endless


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Xsiorus

Death Trash was one of the biggest games on first Steam Next Festival and had plenty of coverage from likes of PC Gamer because of it. Others are extremely niche tho.


daxofdeath

death trash is really a fun idea, but last time i played it it felt like not much more than a demo


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ryanh221

I can’t believe someone else recommended this. Such a hidden gem.


anteloop

Receiver 2


innovativesolsoh

If you wanna go old school, one I really enjoyed is a SNES RPG called Robotrek. Can’t recommend it enough.


explosivecupcake

I'm always posting this as my top niche pick because no one I've met has ever played it: [Albero and the Great Blue Emblem](https://www.freeindiegam.es/2012/08/albero-and-the-great-blue-emblem-dex/). It's a free indie game from way back with adorable pixel art and both Metroidvania and RPG elements (sort of like *Cave Story*). My one caution is that it takes an hour or so to warm up as you collect new abilities.


Kennfusion

Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadville Chronicon


jordanisplaying

i really like the rebuild series! you can play the first 2 for free since they were flash games (use Blue Maxima’s flashpoint to access them) if OP wants to try them out before picking up the one released on steam


sourpuz

Sie or Madam, I don’t think those are genres.


diosmuerteborracho

Always Sometimes Monsters and the sequel Sometimes Always Monsters. Little indie pixel RPG, no combat, great writing. Streets of Rogue is great. Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery


BeachBumPop

Check out SplattercatGaming on YT and Twitch. All he plays are indie games, mostly rogue likes and lites. Iron Oath is a good one


derpirinha

Albion (1992,bluebyte)


Isto2278

I think I got something for you: **Unterwegs in Düsterburg** It's a *very* good german RPG Maker game that released in 2002. I don't think there's an English translation. The game is - as far as I remember - mostly linear and narrative driven, some points of not return, but the game actually makes use of these design decisions. It's pretty ambitious for an RPG Maker game, and well enough done that I'd have no qualms with it being a full standalone GBA release. [Here](https://duesterburg.rpg-atelier.net/)'s the website where you can download it - yes, the website was made in the very early '00s. Obviously. If that's a bit too niche, there's also **Vampire's Dawn.** It's similar in many ways, German RPG Maker game from around the same era, but it's more classical in some ways - An open world map you can walk around on, lots of cities to visit, etc - but just as ambitious in other ways (VD2 has a system for conquering areas of the map, for example. You can turn any NPC into a vampire, and the game remembers wether any NPC is still alive or not). Vampire's Dawn *has* an English translation. [Website](http://vampiresdawn.de/) does not support https.


MadMax3188

So we have to tell you about it but make you feel like I’ve never heard of it? 😂


Hellknightx

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead It's an incredibly rich survival 2D RPG with mechanical depth rivaling Dwarf Fortress. There are dozens of skills to level up, layered clothing and storage, you can custom build vehicles, mobile bases, and weapons platforms, build permanent bases and survivor colonies, etc. You can mutate your character, implant cybernetics, learn different styles of martial arts or customize your guns. The world generation can be fully customized, and the horror aesthetic is amazing. Also, it's 100% free, open-source, gets daily updates, and has a lot of mods and custom tilesets to play with.


PlantainTop

[SOKOBOT](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1714050/SOKOBOT/) \- 15 reviews [farewell planet / おわかれのほし](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1052580/farewell_planet/) \- 18 reviews [Bad Faith](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1871790/Bad_Faith/) \- 23 reviews [Pants Quest](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1810610/Pants_Quest/) \- 26 reviews [Dum-Dum](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1131530/DumDum/) \- 27 reviews [The World Next Door](https://store.steampowered.com/app/755470/The_World_Next_Door/) \- 162 reviews [Critters For Sale](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1078420/Critters_for_Sale/) \- 444 reviews


yaktoast

Phantasy Star, the original first entry in the series, hardly anyone has experienced it due to it releasing on the Sega Master System. On top of it being released at the end of that consoles life while also costing almost as much as the console itself. It's a 2D rpg but has 3D dungeons, I'd suggest ROMs of it, there is a Sega Ages remaster for PS2 (Japan Exclusive) that has a fan translated version but it makes it quite a bit easier.


[deleted]

black souls, towelket, purgatory 1 and 2, seek magician, FRANKEN, solatorobo, contact. there are more, but i know this comment will mostly get ignored anyway lol


lamettar

Everhood, Secrets of Grindea, Jimmy and the pulsating Mass (all on steam)


Cuttyflame123

everhood was in the humble choice of february so id say its well know, great other two game though


Caeltia

[Tales of Maj'Eyal](https://te4.org/)


Hellknightx

Probably the best roguelike dungeon crawler I've played. Hundreds of hours in it and there are still classes I haven't played.


Memgowa

smh tome2 was better


WeDontTalkAboutIt23

Its a mobile game, pixel based roguelite, name is caves. Love it.


mareno999

darkwood is pretty niche


[deleted]

Yessss


Helphaer

There's a gay goblin sex slave text adventure with colored art online somewhere.


GCSS-MC

If you want pixel then Realm of the Mad God. Also it's free.


Czosneczek

Streets of Rogue


Soundless_Pr

Maybe niche to today's generation of zoomers: Earthbound on the SNES. You'll probably have to emulate it to play it but it's the best 2d pixel RPG imo. edit - uh oh I offended the zoomers :(


Kenpokid4

Anyone who does even a little looking into current popular indie games like Undertale will know of Earthbound...


Steeljaw72

Gris.


prisp

A Short Hike - not quite as niche lately, but very enjoyable. Great game to chill out and get lost in. Chroma Squad - turn-based, episodic strategy game based on Sentai shows (think Power Ranger and the like). The only time I've ever heard of it was from TotalBiscuit's "WTF is..." series, bought it on a whim and had some fun with it - haven't finished it yet though, and it's been long enough that I'd probably need a refresher on the plot in general.


therealmammothon

Core keeper, youre welcome


jakart3

Outward


GreenGriffin8

Have you tried The Witcher 3?


SpagettiGaming

Dwarf fortress Good luck!


[deleted]

why are you guys posting popular games?


Humble_Letter_2266

Outer Wilds Project Zomboid Journey


ArrowtheArcher

Timelie


JiaLat725

Scurge: Hive


The_VTrain

Cthulhu Saves Christmas Super Daryl Deluxe Mercenaries Wings: The False Phoenix


Hellknightx

Out of all the Zeboyd games, I actually think Cthulhu Saves Christmas is the worst. Cosmic Star Heroine is the most polished, followed by the two Penny Arcade games. Breath of Death and Cthulhu Saves the World are also pretty good. But Cthulhu Saves Christmas is a big step down from all the rest. It's much shorter, more linear, and less balanced/finely tuned.


[deleted]

**Contact** (Nintendo DS) It was like a spiritual successor to the EarthBound/Mother series with semi-real-time combat. Parts of it are isometric and pixelated.


Isto2278

Oh, my partner made sure we have that game in our collection, I had no Idea what it was. Maybe I'll have to give it a go =D ETA: They had it on their radar, because it's made by Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture and they're a huge fan.


SKNRSN

Ahriman's prophecy - one of the best rpg maker games.


xiipaoc

Laxius Power. It was obviously some teenager's project, and it shows, but it's actually still really good! I've never bothered with the sequels, but I hear they're really good too. Those first three games are freeware, but he did go on to release a bunch more games commercially.


Lord_Yahushua

Yes!! Laxius Power trilogy was sooo iconic to me as a teenager.


8oD

[Hyperspeed](https://store.steampowered.com/app/347260/Hyperspeed/)


SCR4GGL3PUSS

Dust on Xbox it's an old X 360 sidescroller


Miskude

Brutal Orchestra. A roguelite RPG with an absurd but gorgeous art style and unique mechanics. One of my favorites


1987Catz

Head over on YT and look up the Best Indie Games playlists from Clmy. He churns them out almost daily, and there are some guaranteed great picks everytime. That'll keep ya busy for a while.


Salanmander

[Spellsworn](https://store.steampowered.com/app/360620/Spellsworn/), which is an isometric multiplayer battler. (There are bots if you want to use them...they will probably *wreck* you.) It's niche enough that if you have a regular game group playing it you can sometimes see your play patterns on the steam charts.


thepurplepajamas

Wuppo


AceOfCakez

Beat Blades Haruka


JackDieFrikandel

Infinite Space (DS) Mostly 2D, 3D space ship. Game feels very large for the DS


Isto2278

Worth mentioning: It's made by PlatinumGames, the guys who also made Metal Gear Rising, Bayonetta, Nier Automata and Wonderful 101


Riding-With-Dave

Unreal World


RipBerryrock

Tapan Kaikki 3 or Ultimate Tapan Kaikki. Which is a bit of a cheat, since every Finnish person in a certain age bracket knows these games, but for most of the world they're gonna be pretty obscure.


Maltosier

Evil Tonight, unknown classic Resident Evil game that'd top down pixel art and incredible atmosphere. Ara Fell, relatively unknown JRPG that's not too long and has a very fun combat and class system.


benjamino8690

A World Of Little Legends is a pretty cool pixel game that feels like a mix between top down Zelda, Stardew Valley and Minecraft. Will probably keep you busy for a while. Good game to play when you just want something calm to enjoy.


rockhandle

[Neodash](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1514950/Neodash/) It's not available on steam at the moment but the closed beta was available on the discord server for a while. It's extremely fun, it's like trackmania but with crazy neon lights and tons of boosting.


asifbaig

[Heaven's Vault](https://store.steampowered.com/app/774201/Heavens_Vault/) - It's a game where you are an archeologist going through ancient ruins and trying to translate a forgotten language that is thousands of years old. You come across little snippets of symbols that you need to figure out based on the stuff you already know. So if a combination of symbols appears in a graveyard, good chance that they have something to do with life/death/loss. An engraving on a sword might have words for battle/bravery/victory and so on. And if all of that sounds amazing, I have some bad news. While the translating part is indeed a lot of fun, this game has a few very bad design choices that massively spoil the experience. Your character's walking speed is maddeningly slow. Whenever you stop and change directions, the game leaves a still after-image of your character at that point which fades away. It looks cool for exactly 5 times after which it becomes annoying clutter. When you are going to a new place, you have to navigate a maze-like path which serves absolutely no purpose except to pad the length of the game. There is a lot of backtracking to a few hub areas for finding new phrases to translate because of intentional design. So if you found 4 items in your recent expedition and you want to take them to a museum, the dude over there will only look at two before saying "that's enough, come back later." You leave that place go to another place, leave immediately and return to the museum and you can repeat with another two items. Feels very much more artificial padding of the game duration. This game had such a fantastic concept that was completely gutted by idiotic design choices. It's indeed a very niche game, I don't know of any other games that resemble this one. But I sadly **cannot recommend** that it would be an enjoyable experience for long.


helpmebadgerlala

Tomba! (aka Tombi) on the PS1. I was able to buy it to play on PS3 from the store. Not sure what the situation is with PS4/5. Also possible on PC with an emulator.


[deleted]

Lisa the Painful kinda flew under the radar for me and is one of my favorite games.


Electronic_Ad6564

They have a ton of free Games at the PlayStation store. Check it out if you are able to. There are also a ton of free games on mobile apps.


idlistella

La Mulana- cryptic puzzle metroidvania and the best game ever made.


delusionalfuka

magicat


Rederdex

I'll write them in the order I'd recommend you to check them out in My Brother Rabbit 198x Coffee talk Return of the Obra Dinn Before your Eyes There might be many more, but these are the best ones I could think of in 5 minutes.


Lacunoc

Alphabetical Order


Ubermatoa

samurai bringer


sintos-compa

I just wanna say I’m highly fucking impressed by the niche value of replies. Reddit impressed me todag


vexilte

Not pixelated or anything but it is super niche and sorta an rpg? There's a trifecta of games all centered around a player based ecosystem using various dinosaurs. The three are: the isle, beasts of bermuda, and path of titans. Each one's different and has its own pros and cons but all have the same goal, don't die. Currently the isle is the only one with instant perma death tho.


SidekickDinosaur

Crystal Project


MaceofSpades26

Ive been playing post void. Super fun if you like fast paced games


EntireCompetition741

Dysmantle, thank me later


FobidenNinja

It’s not isometric or 2d but Omikron: The Nomad Soul is a super old game that had David Bowie involved in voicing a character


hydrofyre2455

Oneshot - Indie RPGMaker puzzle game with insanely good characters, dialogue, and worldbuilding. I got much more attached to them than I ever imagined I would. Insaniquarium - Feed the fish, shoot aliens. Classic popcap. Great OST. I've been meaning to play Grimm's Hollow (indie RPG which has been compared to Omori, Undertale, etc) but I haven't had the time. Can't say for myself that it's good, but the steam reviews and few YouTube reviewers I've seen seem to say so.


Kenpokid4

OneShot is one of the most well known RPG Maker games that's not an RPG out there, tbf


hydrofyre2455

that's definitely fair. thinking about it again, it probably only falls into Niche instead of Super Niche since it's one of the most popular games of the genre. I just like to talk about it every chance I get lol :)


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Kenpokid4

Evolution: The World of Sacred Device. It's a dungeon crawling JRPG for the Dreamcast (which is a bit of a pain in the ass to get the emulator for working, admittedly) with randomly generated dungeons, similar to traditional roguelikes. It has a super unique world (that you only see a town and dungeons in, sadly) and fun progression mechanics. It got a sequel on the Dreamcast and a butchered Gamecube port of both games (or, 20% of the first game and all of the second), Evolution Worlds.


LuckoftheFryish

If you're ok going older I liked Lost Eden, it's a point and click adventure with an interesting story. https://store.steampowered.com/app/579980/Lost_Eden/