What 2012 lacked in high-profile retail releases that lived up to expectations, it more than made up for with a slew of amazing independent titles. Check out what five indie games of 2012 we thought were the best in this fantastic year below.

5. Super Hexagon

Few games could match the pure addictive nature of Terry Cavanagh’s Super Hexagon in 2012. The same can be said for its difficulty – seriously, you start at hard and work your way up from there. Despite the unforgiving challenge, it is impossible to stop playing after nearly missing your high score, especially as restarting is almost automatic.. In this way, it is very similar to Super Meat Boy in how you play.

Add its minimalist design and impeccable soundtrack and Super Hexagon is worth playing for its presentation alone. The beauty is in its simplicity and that makes it one of the best independent games released in 2012.

4. Hotline Miami

Despite its 8-bit aesthetic, Hotline Miami is one of the most violent and gritty games that released in 2012.  It is also one of the most challenging twitch-games in recent memory. Hotline Miami wears its inspirations on its sleeves and maintains a sense of style few can match, especially in the soundtrack department, while telling a cynical tale that parodies the games of today.

Lucky for us, a sequel to Hotline Miami has already been announced, and if the quality level holds, don’t be surprised if you see another one on this list next year.

3. Torchlight II

Torchlight II is the follow-up to Runic Games’ 2009 action RPG, Torchlight. If you don’t like Diablo style click-‘til-your-hands-falls-off action RPGs you aren’t going to like Torchlight II, but if you’re still gripped by the prospect of getting lucky and finding that one awesome weapon each time you target a red dot, then you can’t get a game much better than this.

Torchlight II improves upon the original in every way. And this time there’s online co-op. Torchlight II stole Diablo III’s limelight, which is no mean feat. If you’re going to buy one action RPG from 2012, make it this one – Torchlight II is fantastic, chaotic fun that doesn’t need a supercomputer to run it. It might not seem that fresh or innovative, but it’s maybe the most enjoyable and best value action RPG experience of the year.

2. FTL

You’d be hard-pressed to find a game that better simulates the experience of commanding your own space ship than FTL. Ordering crew members to repair a broken oxygen supply while maintaing shields and braving off enemies that have teleported onto your vessel is just as exciting as you imagine it would be.

FTL is another game this year with an excellent soundtrack and visuals that, while not the most complicated, match the tone and provide everything you need. While much of the game is based on luck more than actual strategy on the players part, FTL still provides a fantastic experience you can sink hours into.

1. Journey

There has never really been a game like thatgamecompany’s Journey. That sentiment is expressed for a lot of games that don’t really deserve it, but this time it’s the truth. This is one reason why Journey is so difficult to explain and also so rewarding. Through nothing but a series of wordless chirps, and with no clue of who you are playing with, a story is told with no exact interpretation.

It doesn’t hurt that Journey‘s simple art design was also one of the most strikingly beautiful of the year and was paired with a Grammy nominated soundtrack, the first ever for a video game score.

Beautiful, innovative and evocative, Journey is a special game if there ever was and one that everyone should play.

Be sure to check out Hypable’s top five overall games of the year if you missed it yesterday and check back tomorrow for our most anticipated titles for 2013.