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10 of the best Windows Phone 7 indie titles so far

Indies-putable ('indisputable')

10 of the best Windows Phone 7 indie titles so far
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Last month we took a look at the best Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live titles so far. This month, as an alternative, we’re going to do our best to dive into the blossoming indie side of the Zune Marketplace.

As you may have noticed from the title, this isn’t a normal Top 10, but instead ‘10 of the best’, mainly because there are just so many darn games out there already - a lot of them rather good, and significantly cheaper than their more publicised brethren - that we’ll no doubt will have missed a number of prime picks.

If you feel, therefore, that we’ve overlooked a real gem, then do get in touch in the comments thread below.

Shift2 - Fishing Cactus

While Android has just been graced with the original Shift, WP7 owners can already enjoy the title’s sequel. Confusingly, though, not the first game. I don’t make the rules.

In any case, Shift2 plays out a lot like the original mind-bending Flash puzzler in that you play an experimental subject as they try to escape a series of black-and-white shifting puzzles.

The recent Android conversion managed to snare a Pocket Gamer Silver Award. If that’s not a glowing recommendation to try out the sequel, I’m not sure what is.

Platformance: Castle Pain - Magiko Gaming

You think you’re good at platformers, do you? Why not prove it with the Xbox Live Indie title Platformance, a stunningly hard and addictive platformer that manages to both entertain and terrify in equal measure.

Using pixel-art-style graphics, each tiny section of the large levels is a miniature puzzle in itself, relying on reactions and thought to overcome the various obstacles.

There’s also a huge ghost that chases you down, which is terrifying in the same way as the clanking thing in the children’s show Knightmare was (i.e. very).

If you find the idea of trial and error with the very real fear of being eaten by a ghost daunting, then you’ll want to give this one a miss, but everyone else should be downloading the trial right now.

Zombie Circus - Glowpuff

One of the first indie games on the service to garner a full-blown review, Zombie Circus managed to distract Keith Andrew long enough to pinch a Pocket Gamer Bronze Award from the trophy cabinet.

It’s a well-deserved medal as well, thanks to some tight zombie clown-flicking gameplay and attractive visuals. Zombie Circus may not be a 30-hour epic, but it is a very accomplished casual title, and worth your attention.

Krashlander - Farseer Games

Playing like a cross between iOS smash Stair Dismount and Xbox Live favourite Trials HD, Krash Lander is a simple-looking but fiendishly compulsive physics/riding game that will get under your skin.

The idea is simple enough - make sure your skier overcomes all the obstacles and crashes so that he destroys as many robots as possible by hitting the right angle and adjusting his balance mid-travel.

Not one for the easily annoyed, but those looking for an original and tough physics game should definitely check this title out.

The Impossible Game - FlukeDude

Having already left its mark on pretty much every independently focused distribution channel around (iOS, Android, XBLIG), now it’s WP7 users’ turn to experience the strangely awesome, hair-tearing phenomenon that is The Impossible Game.

The idea is to leap your block over obstacles as it races toward the right hand-side of the screen, making sure to manually place down checkpoint flags as you go. The reason for the flags is that the game is insanely difficult, requiring pixel-perfect jumps and containing infuriatingly tight timing windows.

While other games on the list may miss the presence of XBL Achievements, getting past just the early levels in The Impossible Game feels far more rewarding than some arbitrary number.

Monster Up - Marios Karagiannis

Yes, it’s a Doodle Jump clone, but considering Lima Sky’s original isn’t available on WP7 then I don’t see why it should be knocked for that.

Especially considering it’s pretty good in its own right, with crisp graphics, tight controls, and bags of character helping to emulate that familiar ‘one more go’ atmosphere of the iOS smash hit.

While it’s a shame no global leaderboards are present, Monster Up still has enough playability to make it a solid go-to game for a spare minute that turns into twenty.

Bye Bye Brain - Plain Concepts Game Studio

It takes a lot to make your tower defence game stand out, especially when it comes to mobile platforms, which heave under the weight of them all.

I wouldn’t say Bye Bye Brain is the best tower defence title I’ve ever played, but it's one of the most unique, offering up one of the strangest first-person shooting sections (you shake the screen to fire the chaingun) and a vibrant cast of zombie-slaying protagonists to act as the ‘towers’.

Best try out the trial before popping the cash down, as those hoping for a more traditional game (and control scheme) might be a little put out. For everyone else, it’s a no-brainer (sorry).

Put in Golf - 7.1.M.

Indie sporting titles, as with the Music genre, are a little under-represented on WP7 at the moment. Despite this though, there's still a few gems lurking in that particular category.

The best of the bunch is easily Put in Golf, a 3D mini-golf game by the annoyingly titled 7.1.M.

While it only has 18 holes to play through, the excellent physics and fine-tuned swipe controls should please any gamer, let alone golfer, out there.

3D Mahjong Solitaire - Wanderling

I’m a sucker for mahjong solitaire (a.k.a. Shanghai) and 3D Mahjong Solitaire is the best out there on WP7.

Brilliantly, the game comes with online leaderboards for all of the individual layouts (and there’s rather a lot of them, too), which injects more competitiveness into the tile-matching gameplay than most of the full-blown Live releases to date.

Certainly one to get if you’re a mahjong fan, or if you just enjoy staring fruitlessly at Chinese symbols looking for a match.

Ionball - Ironsun Studios

Don’t be scared by the countless cryptic hints that grace Ionball’s loading screens - it’s really just a variation on everyone’s favourite Atari brick-breaking game Breakout.

It’s a very nicely put together riff on that template, too, packed with power-ups and persistent experience points, as well as possessing some good-looking steampunk-styled graphics.

The touch controls take a little getting used to, but Ionball still remains one of the most accomplished Breakout games on the Zune Marketplace.

Will Wilson
Will Wilson
Will's obsession with gaming started off with sketching Laser Squad levels on pads of paper, but recently grew into violently shouting "Tango Down!" at random strangers on the street. He now directs that positive energy into his writing (due in no small part to a binding court order).