Indie game spotlight — hidden gems, developer interviews, and games built outside the major studios.
"You can never see outside of yourself": The House Before is a body horror game in which you are a house tunnelling through its own soul
Developer Haunted Pixel Games has created The House Before, a body horror management game that flips the script on traditional house-building games by…
Studio Behind Critically-Acclaimed PSVR Game Shuts Down After 12 Years
Polyarc Games, the indie studio behind Moss and its sequel Moss: Book II, has shut down after twelve years of operation. The studio announced the clos…
I'm not saying Fallout 4 modding drama gets to people, but here's Breaking Benjamin's singer begging concertgoers to try his AI-assisted first person mod
Breaking Benjamin frontman Ben Burnley used his band's recent concert in Holmdel, New Jersey to pitch his Fallout 4 mod directly to thousands of fans.…
Brutal Cult-Favorite Indie Survival Game Is Almost Free After Years Of Legal Limbo With Adult Swim’s Defunct Publishing Label
# Brutal Survival Indie Finally Escapes Adult Swim's Legal Grip, Reaches New Audience at Fraction of Price A cult-favorite indie survival game trappe…
A Fan Project To Decompile Dragon Age: Origins’ Source Code Might Be The Closest We Ever Get To A Remaster
A fan-led decompilation project targeting Dragon Age: Origins has reached 60 percent completion, potentially offering the closest thing to an official…
Do a bit of visual programming and watch your party of heroes conquer an evil tower in Dungeon Automata
Dungeon Automata strips away the real-time button-mashing and stat-juggling that define most dungeon crawlers, replacing combat micromanagement with v…
Bargain with demons and boat with the dead in joyful RPG heist quest anthology Thousand Hells
Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists delivers joyful chaos wrapped in infernal trappings. This choose-your-own-adventure RPG anthology comes from the…
Stylised XCOM-like tactics game Ex Sanguis straps Othercide's obsession with timelines to a leaner roguelike campaign
Ex Sanguis combines the timeline-manipulation mechanics that defined Othercide with a leaner roguelike structure, creating a fresh take on tactical st…
Wanderburg, a bullet heaven where you drive around a Frankensteinian hybrid of a castle and a tank, is out in early access today
Wanderburg arrives in early access today as a bullet heaven game that attempts to carve out its own identity within a crowded genre dominated by Vampi…
Pile cards on top of each other and watch the magic happen in the textured and chunky roguelike deckbuilder Stack Order
Stack Order, a new roguelike deckbuilder from an indie studio, introduces a unique twist on the genre. Instead of playing cards in traditional sequenc…
Blood of Dawnwalker devs Rebel Wolves are already looking for someone to help write a sequel, so here's where I'd like to see its vampy tale go next
Rebel Wolves moves fast. The studio behind The Blood of Dawnwalker, a vampire-focused RPG that launched less than a week ago on PC, is already recruit…
Zombiepunk action RPG Stupid Never Dies is a vibrant feast for the eyes, ears, hands and teeth, even if it is a smidge overwhelming
Stupid Never Dies announces itself with unsubtle confidence. The zombiepunk action RPG dumps players into an abandoned shopping mall within minutes, f…
Lovely anime Sherlock series The Apothecary Diaries is getting a PC game spin-off, with Maomao chasing down another court conspiracy
The Apothecary Diaries, the acclaimed anime series that blends detective mystery with historical fantasy, is expanding into gaming. A PC game spin-off…
ROLLA is evil, fleshy, monstrous, B-movie-esque Katamari Damacy, and is out this month
ROLLA arrives this month as a carnivorous twist on the Katamari Damacy formula. Instead of rolling up innocent objects into increasingly absurd balls,…
After Viral Success, Meccha Chameleon To Transform Into Official Real-World Event
# Meccha Chameleon Bridges Digital and Physical Play With Real-World Event Transformation Meccha Chameleon, the viral indie puzzle game that captivat…
New horror game The Well Is Not Empty combines photophobic monsters with timer light switches and a lot of frenzied digging
The Well Is Not Empty flips horror convention by revealing its monsters upfront, then betting that visibility breeds tension rather than comfort. Deve…
Deliver packages in foresty mountains and avoid thieving boars in the Death Stranding-adjacent and quite calm-looking Pinetrail
Pinetrail takes Death Stranding's delivery loop and strips away the apocalypse. The result. A zen logistics game where players pilot a tiny three-whee…
Laser Guy is a twin-stick "anti-shooter" about a stressed out game developer who can't stop shooting laser beams from his eye
Laser Guy flips the twin-stick shooter formula on its head with a premise rooted in workplace anxiety and involuntary laser vision. The game casts pla…
Double Fine's first game post-Xbox split is a goofy bus driving sim all about slapping passengers who don't follow the rules and doing a good job
Double Fine Productions has announced its first original game since splitting from Xbox Game Pass in 2024. The studio, now operating as an independent…
"A game for everyone is a game for no one": Don't expect an easy ride in Carcass Clad, the co-op tank horror game from the makers of Mouthwashing
Wrong Organ, the studio behind the claustrophobic sci-fi thriller Mouthwashing, is pivoting hard into co-op chaos with Carcass Clad. The upcoming thre…
There's already a The Blood of Dawnwalker mod which triples the length of its main quest timer, ensuring saving your family from vampires isn't stressful
The Blood of Dawnwalker launches with a ticking clock mechanic that forces players to rescue Coen's family from a vampire tyrant before time runs out.…
"Top-down Zelda meets Bloodborne": action RPG Withering Realms is out now in early access, should you fancy riding the shoulders of a horrible doll
Withering Realms launches in early access today as a standalone sequel to the cult indie hit Withering Rooms. Developer Hollow Ponds pushes the formul…
Former PlayStation indie boss Shuhei Yoshida and the founder of TIGSource are throwing a Game Poem jam that "challenges traditional boundaries between art forms"
Shuhei Yoshida, the veteran PlayStation executive who shaped the platform's indie strategy for over a decade, is co-hosting an unconventional game jam…
Cult Steam Hit Fortune’s Run Might Be Cancelled After Developer Loses Control Over The Game
# Fortune's Run Developer Drama Leaves Early Access Hit's Future in Limbo Fortune's Run, a roguelike deck-builder that built a dedicated following on…
Constantly reshape the world beneath your feet in the reality-bending "puzzle-first" Uncanyon, the next game from the devs behind the trippy Maquette
Annapurna Interactive and developer Graceful Decay are introducing Uncanyon, a puzzle game that bends spatial reality in ways that harken back to the …
Deck & Conn is a cat-and-mouse MicroProse homage to a 55-year-old Star Trek game that might not be chunky enough for today's simulation sickos
MicroProse's legacy looms large over Deck & Conn, a new indie simulation that resurrects the spirit of Star Trek: The Motion Picture Game, a title rel…
New Halloween Game Is My Favorite Asymmetrical Horror Game, But You’ll Have To Put Up With Some Jank
# A Fresh Asymmetrical Horror Game Arrives with Rough Edges but Big Thrills A new asymmetrical horror title has landed with genuine promise, offering…
In Dungeon Settlers, you build a colony on top of a teeming RPG labyrinth in a trim take on Rimworld
Dungeon Settlers fuses colony management with dungeon crawling, creating a compact alternative to Rimworld that stands on its own merits. The game tas…
Drive a train around an ash-covered world collecting ingredients for the last ever s'more as an anthropomorphic bird in the surreal and comically ominous Cinderline
Cinderline arrives as a peculiar slice of indie oddity, positioning itself squarely within the beloved "little guy" adventure subgenre that has spawne…
Double Fine are all in on making Brutal Legend 2, if you're willing to give them $100 million in their game jam Kickstarter, anyway
Double Fine Productions has pivoted to independence and immediately teased one of gaming's most requested sequels. The studio launched a game jam Kick…
Usual June mixes Hades-esque action, crystal crabs and ghosts to make for a game that'll do well in your Halloween rotation
Usual June arrives as a breath of fresh air in a crowded action-adventure landscape dominated by live-service games and roguelike deck-builders. The i…
The Long Dark sequel Blackfrost hasn't been cancelled, but developer Hinterland are shifting a bit more focus onto the original's survival mode
Hinterland Studio is recalibrating its development roadmap for The Long Dark franchise. While Blackfrost, the sequel announced in 2024, remains in act…
Solve a mountain mystery via the medium of creepy cards in Hillthorn, which has an excellent demo
Hillthorn, a new investigative card game from Fool Moon and Finnegan Motors, plants players in the role of a detective tasked with solving a disappear…
"I'm desperately looking for anybody who knows anybody at Valve": open world satire Future? No Thanks! is still locked in Steam horny jail
Indie developer frustration with Steam's content moderation hit a new peak this week as Future? No Thanks!, a satirical open-world game, remains block…
Take to the skies in a Porco Rosso-esque seaplane and search for your missing uncle while you help rebuild an archipelago in Lou's Lagoon, out today
Lou's Lagoon launched today as a craft-focused exploration game built around piloting a customizable seaplane through a tropical archipelago. The indi…
GTA 6? No thanks, I'll be playing Volvy's Adventure: Reslimed, an action platformer from Devolver that's releasing day and date with Rockstar's behemoth
Devolver Digital is executing one of gaming's boldest publicity stunts by launching Volvy's Adventure: Reslimed on the exact same day as Grand Theft A…
One Of 2025’s Hidden Gems Got A Huge Update And Is Cheaper Than Ever
Battle Suit Aces, the mecha action game from developer Sparkypants Studio, has received a substantial update that makes it an even stronger value prop…
Crusader Kings devs Paradox officially reveal Afterworld, a Fallout-flavoured grand strategy game in which you can overrun America with a cannibal cult
Paradox Interactive officially unveiled Afterworld, a post-apocalyptic grand strategy game that merges the studio's signature complexity with a Fallou…
I Tried To Play Steam’s Newest Hit Friendslop Game And Immediately Got Murdered By A Spider Crab
# Steam's Latest Co-op Craze Demands You Actually Have Friends The newest wave of multiplayer games on Steam pivots hard toward cooperative play, and…
Cosmic horror and sea bird waddling sim Penguin Colony gave me a genAI fright in its release date trailer, but thankfully there's no actual cause for concern
Penguin Colony's latest release date trailer sparked a viral moment of genuine panic in the gaming community when eagle-eyed viewers spotted what appe…
Haul a star through a labyrinth in Today's Star Is, a challenging free game from the Love Eternal devs with a new level coming every day
Love Eternal developers have released Today's Star Is, a free daily puzzle game that tasks players with navigating a star through labyrinthine layouts…
Massive Morrowind mod Tamriel Rebuilt's Poison Song expansion is out now, complete with new quests to join Great House Indoril and the Ordinators
Tamriel Rebuilt, the long-running community expansion for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, released the Poison Song update this weekend, significantl…
Talking trees, flying witch heads and an unsettling rabbit man await in the shrubbery of cursed woodland ranger sim I Hear the Forest
I Hear the Forest flips the wholesome forest ranger fantasy into psychological horror, trading serenity for dread. The freshly announced title tasks p…
Game About Finding A Needle In A 5-Million-Piece Haystack Is Either Serene Or Stressful Depending On Who You Ask
# Meditative Search Game Divides Players With High-Stakes Needle Hunt A forthcoming indie game centered on locating a single needle within a five-mil…
How to Fish is Steam's latest cursed co-op sensation, now updated with private lobbies, eight player support, and anti-griefer measures
How to Fish has cemented itself as Steam's most delightfully absurd co-op experience, joining the pantheon of games that exist more to confuse than in…
I Burnt My Kid’s Pancakes Playing Way Too Much Blood Dungeon, An Excellent Vampire Survivors-Like From The Designer Of Nidhogg, And I’d Do It Again
Messhof, the studio behind the cult classic fighting game Nidhogg, has released Blood Dungeon, a vampire survivors-style roguelike that remixes the bu…
Trainwatch is a life sim, a horror game, and a time management experience rolled up into a haunting story about the eerie places you see from a speeding carriage
Trainwatch arrives as a genre-defying experience that blends life simulation, horror elements, and time management mechanics into a single narrative a…
Stare at an imprisoned god to stop the apocalypse in Sarco, a no-saves horror game in which you'll also, somehow, have to explore a gutted scientific base
Hello Andromeda's Sarco takes the observer effect and weaponizes it into a survival horror premise that demands constant vigilance. The game traps pla…
All of the pirates in Hooded Horse city builder Corsair Cove hate me because I can't make them eyepatches fast enough
Limbic Entertainment's Corsair Cove strips the romance from piracy and replaces it with something far more revealing: the brutal mathematics of supply…
Immersive sim Retrospace, aka '70s System Shock, gets an October release date plus a trailer full of funky guns and sentient black holes
The Wild Gentlemen and publisher Kwalee have locked in an October 1, 2026 release date for RetroSpace, the immersive sim that channels 1970s System Sh…
Chromatic aberration is made manifest in NECHROMIA, a high contrast survival horror set in a castle made of something else's memories
NECHROMIA arrives as a deliberate stylistic departure from the PS1 horror revival trend that has dominated indie development over the past five years.…
Tulpa the Unseen Lover is a psychological visual novel about a depressed manga artist manifesting a cute, ominous anime girl made by former Spider-Verse animators
Tulpa the Unseen Lover channels the existential horror of Satoshi Kon's unfinished manga Opus, transplanting that narrative DNA into a psychological v…
Gorgeous and hazy pixel art horror farming sim Neverway has been pushed to 2027, but you can at least have a gander at some of the NPCs you can smooch
Neverway, the atmospheric pixel art horror farming simulator from developer Coldblood Inc., will not arrive until 2027. The studio announced the delay…
Indecently cool FPS platformer Cicadamata" is out now - please get yourself down that rabbit hole
Flowergarden has launched Cicadamata", a movement shooter that scrambles FPS and platformer mechanics into something genuinely unconventional. The gam…
Sandustry is the first factory simulation game I've played that gets heaps right
Sandustry, the new factory simulation from indie studio Lantto Games and publisher Hooded Horse, marks a turning point for the genre. After years of f…
In This Soulslike, The Dog Will Pet You Back…With A Sword
# In This Soulslike, The Dog Will Pet You Back With A Sword A new soulslike indie title flips the script on player agency and moral choice by casting…
After cranking up the difficulty, I am once again asking: How many of these games with pixel art styles can you identify?
PC Gamer has launched another installment of its pixel art identification challenge, asking readers to recognize games based on their retro visual sty…
Steam Sale Includes Indie Horror Hit Carrion for 80% Off
Devolver Digital's latest Steam sale has dropped Carrion to $3.99, marking an 80 percent discount on the indie horror breakout. The reverse-horror tit…
The indie game dream is (mostly) dead: 99% of Steam games vanish without a trace
Steam's indie ecosystem faces a brutal reality. New data reveals that 99 percent of indie games launched on the platform fail to gain meaningful tract…
Is Steam Down? Is It Tuesday? Great News, It’s Probably Just Maintenance Day
Valve runs Steam maintenance every Tuesday evening, a predictable rhythm that catches players off guard despite years of precedent. When the platform …
This Game Costs 200 Dollars is a game that really does cost $200, doesn't look very good, and almost made its dev $1.3 million
A game literally titled "This Game Costs 200 Dollars" actually sells for $200 and nearly generated $1.3 million in revenue for its developer. The indi…
Sci-fi MMO Cinder City is getting a pre-alpha playtest later this month so you can put its RAM hogging requirements to the test
Cinder City, a sci-fi MMO from an undisclosed developer, opens its doors for pre-alpha testing later this month. Players interested in the game can no…
Samsung, who've been accused of worsening the RAM crisis via price fixing, reckon components will only get more expensive in 2027
Samsung projects that RAM and memory component prices will climb higher through 2027, with supply constraints persisting until 2028 at the earliest. T…
Rideshare Stimulator admits to AI use on Steam after Saber CEO gloated over replacing its writer with ChatGPT
Rideshare Simulator's developer finally disclosed AI-generated content on its Steam store page after Saber Interactive's CEO publicly boasted about re…
Iron Nest is the best 'Battleship' game I've played in years—and it doesn't even have boats
Iron Nest strips away the naval warfare aesthetics of Battleship to deliver pure grid-based tactical combat. The game keeps the core mechanic—locating…
Ron Gilbert talks the untraditional way he got Thimbleweed Park 2 funded, and his frustrations with modern publishing deals
Ron Gilbert funded Thimbleweed Park 2 through an unconventional approach that sidesteps traditional publisher structures entirely. The legendary adven…
O EMPIRE! WARD OFF THY ROT puts you in an abandoned, dithered world with a cursed object and asks you to do one thing: survive the journey
O EMPIRE! WARD OFF THY ROT channels the grainy, lo-fi aesthetic of the Game Boy Camera, that forgotten handheld peripheral from the late 1990s that le…
Monkey Island Creator’s Next Game Is Funded By A Rich Guy Because He Was Tired Of Bad Publisher Deals
Ron Gilbert, the legendary designer behind The Secret of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion, is developing Thimbleweed Park 2 with backing from a privat…
The Watcher is a creepy surveillance thriller with shiny Unreal Engine props - I just hope it's not as talkative as its trailer
The Watcher positions itself as a surveillance-focused thriller that leverages Unreal Engine's visual fidelity to create an unsettling atmosphere of s…
Shipping ore between the asteroid mining stations of Profits 2167 would be much easier if it weren't for the darn space bug infestation
PROFITS 2167: Planetary Resource Optimization & Freight Infrastructure Technician Simulator launches players into the cockpit of trains hauling ore be…
I love the Dark Soulful architecture of The Canon of Balls, a rolling open world game inspired by Sega, Fumito Ueda and Minecraft parkour
The Canon of Balls rolls onto the scene as one of 2025's most audacious indie platformers, blending the punishing difficulty of Dark Souls with the ro…