At the end of 2024 I wrote my definition of the meta-genre that Steam players really really like called Crafty-buildy-strategy-simulationy-games (read it here)

The “crafty-buildy” genre dominates PC. It is mostly unique to the PC marketplace. However I find that many indie game devs have a more console-game-based cultural history. Those games are mostly Narrative, Platforming, Sword-Slashing, Puzzling games. Console games come from a lineage usually distinct from the PC.

Therefore, most console-native indie developers who are trying to publish a game on Steam are running into a culture shock. You may have even released one of these console-friendly genre types, saw poor results, and thought “what the hell happened? I loved playing this game on my PS2!”

To do well on Steam you must understand the PC-masterace (their words not mine). It is different. I can describe that difference in thousands of words OOOR, you can just play the games. It is much much better for you to actually play crafty-buildy games so that you internalize how different PC games are from console games. 

Luckily it is the Steam Summer Sale right now so games are dirt cheap. I put together a buyers guide for cheap versions of the most popular genres on Steam. If you are reading this after July 2025, I am sorry the sale is probably over but these games are still worth trying! 

Note: I am only listing games that are 50% off or sub $10. There are hundreds of more games in the crafty-buildy genre (you can find a similar list here)

Note: This buyers guide is focused on crafty-buildy strategy games. I am omitting horror and narrative games from my buyers guide this time! I still think every indie game dev should make one horror game. Also I think narrative games like visual novels are rapidly becoming one of the most played indie genres on Steam and I also think that is a very viable genre. Don’t worry it isn’t over for those genres. But I just wanted this buyer’s guide to be focused on crafty-buildy. 

So please, even if you say “well I just don’t like those crafty buildy types of games” at least play a few. PLEASE TRY. They are fun! You might discover a new gameplay mechanic that you can give a new spin on. Basically, please play some video games. It is your homework.

TL;DR Cheapskate’s Mini Guide

If you don’t have money or time, here is the C.B.S.S. starter pack which you can get for $15

Not saying those are the best (many of these aren’t even “indie”) but they are a pretty good intro to the genres. They are kind of these cultural root-balls that all indie games feed off of. To see how indie games innovated off of them, see the full list and pick a few more that sound interesting to you.

Crafty 

Open World Survival Crafting

Card resource games

Simplified survival sandbox-island expanding 

Buildy

City builders

Not all city builders have to be HUGE multi-year AAA-scale. These are quick release builder games

Factory / Automation

Tower defense 

Everyone asks me if the Tower defense genre is still viable… it is … BUT…. It is usually tower defense + a deeper meta layer such as basebuilding or 4X. You must add additional depth to the TD genre to stay relevant. 

Spaceship builders

Steam players love building spaceships

Crafty buildy platformers

Did you release a puzzle platformer or a metroidvania that didn’t sell well? Don’t worry, reuse the engine and redesign a gameplay loop around deep, deep, procedurally generated environments where you can collect resources, and craft a base. Note they typically involve mining. 

Scene builders

No rules, just vibes. Great genre if you are an artist who doesn’t have the experience designing deep, complex metagame systems and economies.

Farming

Idle

Strategy

4X 

4X is one of the most difficult genres to build especially as an indie making their first game. BUT I think 4X is the fundamental PC genre and it is like the proto language that underpins all other games that do well on Steam. It is important to play these types of games just so you understand Steam and the player base. It is kind of like how they say you have to read Dostoevsky if you ever want to even think of understanding Russia or read Moby Dick to understand the USA. These are all works that are tough, expensive, complex, deep, but important. 

Indie scale 4X

If you are not an artist, don’t make visually intensive games like RPGs, or platformers, or Metroidvanias, or souls-likes. Instead, make strategy games that rely on maps and menus. Look at these games and how well they did despite their graphical simplicity. Strategy players are more forgiving.

Real time Strategy

Many people ask me if RTS are viable. Kind of. Typically indie scale RTS shave off one simpler mechanic and rely on more base building and meta mechanics to increase complexity. I see indies fail making RTS when they try to emulate the competitive PvP environment of a game like Starcraft or League of Legends

Extraction / inventory management

Roguelike

This is probably going to get me in trouble listing roguelikes under strategy. Anything you say about roguelikes gets you in trouble. So if you want to tell me this is the wrong categorization you are 100% correct and I am wrong. Anyway here are the types of more traditional roguelikes that do well. Note they are HARDCORE and not trying to be “roguelikes for people who don’t like roguelikes.” Appealing to fans of a genre is always an easier marketing strategy than trying to convince someone to like something that they don’t like.

Roguelite (Casino)

Autobattlers

Roguelike Deckbuilder

Yes I think they are still viable, no I don’t think too many are made (I will save that for another blog post). I do think Slay-The-Spire-Style good guys on the left, bad guys on the right are over-saturated. So you need to innovate on how the game plays out. 

Simulationy

Job Simulation

Spreadsheet simulation 

Simulating a job, but just the UI part of the job. 

Management

Basically simulation but you focus on the dollars and cents of the business.

Creature management / collector

Tycoon

My definition of Tycoon games are Management games with more complicated building component. They are kind of like city builders with a heavy economic simulation.

Person management 

Don’t manage a company, manage a single person and what they do and consume