15 indie games in this list, released 2009–2023, from developers such as Turtle Cream, PokPoong Games, Broken Rules, Alexander Bruce. 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.
6180 the moon is a short puzzle platformer in which the player guides the Moon on a search for the missing Sun, whose absence has left Earth stuck in endless night. It was made by South Korean developer Turtle Cream together with Miara Sung, and first appeared on Windows in March 2013 through an Indie Royale bundle. The Steam release followed in 2014 on Windows, macOS and Linux, with PokPoong Games also credited on the store page.
And Yet It Moves is a puzzle platformer in which you can rotate the entire game world at will, turning walls into floors to steer your character through dangerous environments. Its levels are designed around that single idea and presented in a paper-collage visual style. Developed by the independent Austrian studio Broken Rules, it began in 2007 as a student project in computer science at the Vienna University of Technology and was released in April 2009.
Antichamber is a first-person puzzle platformer set in a space that breaks the normal rules of geometry. Corridors can lead somewhere different depending on which way you face, and many puzzles rely on structures that could not exist in ordinary three-dimensional space, with short messages offering hints and life advice. It was created by Australian developer Alexander Bruce, built on Unreal Engine 3, and released for Windows on Steam in January 2013.
Blackhole is a puzzle-platform game from independent Czech company FiolaSoft Studio, built with GameMaker and first released for Windows in February 2015. The developers collaborated with Let's Players and YouTubers when writing the story and shaping its characters. A Complete Edition in 2016 bundled three DLCs, including Testing Lab and Challenge Vault, and was later ported to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Gunpoint is a stealth puzzle-platformer made by UK-based indie developer Tom Francis under the Suspicious Developments name, built in GameMaker and released for Windows in June 2013. As freelance spy Richard Conway, players slip into buildings, dodge guards and use gadgets like the Crosslink, which rewires electrical circuits, to bypass security. Along the way Conway tries to clear his name of a murder, and the game later opened the studio's Defenestration Trilogy.
By Dreadlocks Mobile, Silicon Jelly · Czech Republic
Mimpi Dreams is a 2015 sequel to Mimpi from Czech company Silicon Jelly, credited alongside Dreadlocks Mobile. Like its predecessor, it mixes puzzle adventure with platforming, asking players to handle both across its levels. It arrived on Steam in March 2016 for Windows, macOS and Linux, listed under the adventure genre, and continues the relaxed tone of the original.
By Stuffed Wombat, Silkersoft, Lukke, Rollin'Barrel · Austria
Mosa Lina is a 2D physics puzzle platformer that bills itself as a hostile take on the immersive sim. Each puzzle is open-ended, and players must improvise using a random selection of special tools and items to find a way through. It was created by Stuffed Wombat from Austria with contributors Silkersoft, Lukke and Rollin'Barrel, launched on PC in 2023, and later came to macOS and Nintendo Switch.
Munin is a 2D puzzle platformer starring Munin, a messenger of Odin, as she travels through Yggdrasil to win back her lost powers. Its main trick is rotating chunks of the level, using physics and Norse runes to rearrange platforms and open a path forward. It was made by Gojira, an indie company from Portugal, and published by Daedalic Entertainment in June 2014 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Scrap Garden is a puzzle platformer following Canny, a solitary robot who wakes up in a ruined world where every other machine has stopped working. The player guides him through platforming stages and environmental puzzles while trying to learn what happened to the city and whether anyone else survived. Egidijus Bachur and Alexey Davydov are credited as developers, with Flazm publishing; the team is from Lithuania, and the Steam release arrived in 2016.
Teslagrad is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer built around magnetism and electromagnetic abilities. Players rely on these powers to solve its puzzles while uncovering a plot involving a tyrannical king. It was developed and published by Norwegian studio Rain Games and released in 2013 to generally positive reviews. A sequel, Teslagrad 2, followed a decade later in 2023, continuing the focus on electromagnetism.
A 2D cinematic platformer from Polish studio Puzzling Dream, The Way follows a space explorer who cannot come to terms with his wife's death. After discovering ancient texts about eternal existence on one of his final expeditions, he returns to that site hoping to bring her back. PlayWay published it for Windows in 2016, and its play combines platforming with puzzle solving.
In Unbound: Worlds Apart you guide Soli, a mage who can open portals into alternate realities, each with its own effect such as bending time, reversing gravity or transforming Soli himself. These portals drive the puzzle-platforming as you gather crystals that unlock gates to the dark world. Romanian studio Alien Pixel Studios developed and published it in 2021 after a Kickstarter campaign, and it received generally favorable reviews.
VVVVVV is a puzzle platformer where you cannot jump; instead you flip gravity so Captain Viridian falls up or down. You guide the captain through over 400 rooms to find a crew scattered by a teleporter accident, and the game also supports levels made by players. It was created by Terry Cavanagh from Ireland, first built in Adobe Flash and released in 2010, and a later C++ port helped it reach many more platforms.
Colored Effects is a 2D puzzle platformer in which each colour gives the player a different ability. You switch between colours and their effects to get through levels, collect gems, beat bosses and solve environmental puzzles. It is the first PC release from TACSOU, the one-person studio of Moroccan developer Soufiane Tacherifine, and it is also sold on Nintendo Switch.
Monochroma is a cinematic puzzle platformer and the first game from the Istanbul-based Nowhere Studios. You play a boy carrying his little brother through a dystopian 1950s world, and most puzzles revolve around keeping the younger child safe while you move ahead. Its focus on protecting a sibling gives the puzzles an emotional weight that most platformers never try for.