Indieverse is an ongoing weekly column where we shine some light on Xbox Live Indie Games and indie developers. Check out our archives here. 

2011 has been a phenomenal year for Xbox 360 games, from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Batman: Arkham City to Gears of War 3, Modern Warfare 3, Portal 2, and Saints Row: The Third. But at the same time, it’s hard not to notice that every one of those major releases was a sequel. Fantastic sequels to be sure, but maybe not adding up to a diverse portrait of the current gaming landscape.

For that we must turn to Xbox Live Indie Games, where developers with smaller budgets and fewer restrictions on creative freedom have been working under the radar on some of the year’s more noteworthy games.

But with well over two thousand indie games on the Xbox Live marketplace, where should gamers begin? That’s where our guide can help, picking out some of the best indie alternatives to the year’s biggest games to suit your tastes.

If you liked Portal 2…

You might want to try: Escape Goat (Magical Time Bean, 240 Microsoft Points)

There’s nothing quite like a great puzzle game. Not merely a good one, but a real head-scratcher that can leave players stumped for quite a while before it everything clicks into place. If that's what makes you happy, then Escape Goat is just what GLaDOS ordered. Players assume the role of the titular goat, which has been imprisoned in a deep dungeon under the suspicion of witchcraft. Since goats lack opposable thumbs to hold helpful tools like portal guns, players will need to rely on their wits, horns, and a friendly rat that can crawl through tight spaces to activate switches and distract enemies. In fact, through use of a magical hat, the goat and rat can switch places, a mechanic that should be quite welcome and familiar to fans of Valve’s puzzler. Once the 60+ dungeon levels have been cleared, there is even a robust level editor for players to create their own devious rooms, no DLC required.

If you liked Dark Souls…

You might want to try: Aban Hawkins & the 1000 Spikes (8-bit Fanatics, 80 Microsoft Points)

Or 

Cursed Loot (Eyehook Games, 80 Microsoft Points) 

There is a fine line between the ardent Dark Souls fan and a masochist. If pure challenge is what you are after, Aban Hawkins & the 1000 Spikes will certainly test your resolve. The punishingly difficult platformer throws its Indiana Jones-esque hero through a series of death traps that even Knight Solaire wouldn’t dare enter. Aban Hawkins is given 1000 lives to survive the ordeal, but many will find even that generous amount isn’t enough for their first attempt. Death is a common occurrence, often within a second of respawning, but each time teaches the player how to avoid the same trap next time.

However, a real Dark Souls fan knows that it isn’t just difficulty that makes the game great, but that the game is also fair in dealing out its challenges. For a game closer to Dark Souls’ RPG roots, Cursed Loot is an excellent option. Players choose one of five classes and dive into 50 floors of randomly generated dungeon. As the title suggests, there's a lot of loot to collect along the way, hordes of enemies to fight through, and hidden rooms to uncover. One particular touch Dark Souls fans will appreciate is how it handles death. When a player dies, they leave a gravestone on the last floor they reached, and along with that gravestone is the best item that they'd possessed. If you reach your old gravestone on your next attempt, then that item will be waiting to be retrieved, much like in Dark Souls.

If you liked Sonic Generations…

You might want to try: T.E.C. 3001 (Phoenix, 240 Microsoft Points)

Or

Chester (Brilliant Blue-G, 240 Microsoft Points)

Platformers have been on the rise again this past year, and as part of spurring the genre onward, Sonic Generations is arguably the best the series has been in nearly a decade. And even with Generations' dual-play styles between modern and classic Sonic, there are still two indie games that can keep pace with the Blue Blur. T.E.C. 3001 matches modern Sonic’s gameplay, with players guiding a robot as it sprints and jumps through Tron-styled neon levels. Sure, there are no corkscrews, loops, or winding turns, but there are also no collision-detection and camera issues getting in the way. It’s just pure, fast platforming, and could maybe teach Sonic Team a thing or two in the process.

If classic Sonic is more your style, the 2D platformer Chester is probably what you’re looking for. What Chester lacks in speed, it makes up for in solid level design full of branching routes and secret areas — just like the best platformers of the 16-bit era. Chester is also distinct in its style, or rather, its multiple styles. As players progress they can unlock new art looks that change not only a level's visuals, but Chester’s appearance and abilities. Each version of Chester jumps and attacks differently, adding even more gameplay variety than two Sonics can offer.