External Discovery
11 indie games in this list, released 2011–2025, from developers such as Exordium Games, Pine Studio, Binx Games, Croteam Incubator, Croteam. Pick one to read our editorial note and jump to its store page.
These are editorial pages. The developers and publishers are not affiliated with The Gaming Nest unless explicitly stated.
By Exordium Games · Croatia
Bear with Me is an episodic point-and-click adventure from Croatian developer Exordium Games, with its first episode arriving in August 2016. Drawing on film noir, it follows Amber and her detective companion Ted E. Bear as they search for her missing brother, Flint. The story unfolded across three episodes that were later gathered into a Complete Collection, and a prequel called The Lost Robots followed in 2019.
By Pine Studio · Croatia
Escape Simulator is a puzzle game played in first person, developed and published by Croatian studio Pine Studio, released in October 2021. Built around the escape room format, it has players solve puzzles to find their way out of locked rooms. Steam lists it under Adventure, Casual and Simulation, and it holds a Metacritic score of 82. A sequel, Escape Simulator 2, followed in October 2025.
By Binx Games, Croteam Incubator, Croteam · Croatia
I Hate Running Backwards is a 2018 vertically scrolling shoot 'em up developed by Croatian team Binx Games with Croteam, with Devolver Digital as publisher. Solo or with a partner, players run backwards through procedurally generated, partly destructible levels, fending off enemies advancing from the bottom of the screen with two weapons, a melee attack and a charged ultimate ability. Series hero Sam Stone is playable, and it was the first Croteam Incubator release.
By Somnium Games d.o.o. · Croatia
Inked: A Tale of Love, a puzzle-platform game from Croatian studio Somnium Games, was first demoed in Zagreb during the 2016 edition of the Reboot Infogamer convention. Its story moves between Nameless Hero, a rogue samurai searching for his beloved Aiko, and the comic book artist Adam. The distinctive look resembles papercraft outlined in ballpoint pen on grid-lined notebook paper, and the game first arrived on Steam in April 2018.
By Gamepires · Croatia
SCUM is an open-world survival game pitched as a prison riot scenario, where convicts are dropped onto a hostile island. Staying alive means looting, crafting, hunting, building and fighting, and detailed character customization shapes the prisoner you play. Croatian studio Gamepires made it in Unreal Engine 4. It entered Steam early access in 2018 and reached its full release in June 2025.
By Croteam · Croatia
Released in 2011, Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person shooter from Croatia-based indie studio Croteam, published by Devolver Digital and running on Serious Engine 3.5. A prequel to Serious Sam: The First Encounter, it is set in 22nd-century Egypt as Mental invades Earth. It offers 16-player online play plus a four-player split-screen co-op campaign, and it later arrived on OS X and Linux.
By Croteam · Croatia
Serious Sam 4 is a first-person shooter from Croatian studio Croteam, published by Devolver Digital and released in 2020. It belongs to the long-running Serious Sam series and is set before the events of Serious Sam 3: BFE, continuing the franchise's first-person gunplay. The project was first revealed in 2018 as Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass, runs on Croteam's Serious Engine, and later received a standalone expansion called Siberian Mayhem.
By Croteam VR · Croatia
Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope is a 2017 virtual reality first-person shooter from Croteam VR, a specialised division that Croatian studio Croteam set up to explore VR development. Alone or with a second player, you hold off waves of enemies and bosses across five themed planets, dual-wielding weapons within a limited play space as foes close in from a 180-degree arc. Devolver Digital published it after an early access period.
By Gungrounds (Macanga Games j.d.o.o.), Croteam · Croatia
Serious Sam: Tormental is a twin-stick shooter with a rogue-lite structure, made by Croatian developer Gungrounds with Croteam and published by Devolver Digital in 2022. One or two players fight through procedurally generated stages set inside the mind of Mental, the series' villain, each carrying two weapons and upgrading the primary gun with mods. Characters can dodge roll and use a special ability, and defeat sends you back to the beginning.
By Pine Studio · Croatia
SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell is a first-person platformer from Croatian developer Pine Studio, released on Steam in July 2016. Players dash through levels against the clock, relying on an assortment of power-ups to shave time off each attempt. Its design takes cues from speedrunning in games such as Quake and Super Meat Boy, and the odd name comes from ColloSEUM, the working title used during development.
By Croteam · Croatia
The Talos Principle is a puzzle game released in 2014 by Croatian studio Croteam, published by Devolver Digital and built on Serious Engine 4. Its puzzles sit inside a philosophical story whose title refers to an argument by a fictional Greek philosopher that a conscious machine implies humans are machines too. It later gained the Road to Gehenna expansion, a 2023 sequel and a 2025 remaster called Reawakened.