External Discovery
14 indie games in this list, released 2013–2025, from developers such as Convoy Games, Red Hook Studios, QCF Design. 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 Convoy Games · Netherlands
Convoy is a roguelike with squad-based tactical combat, drawn in pixel art. Players drive an armoured semi-trailer truck across a desert planet's wastelands, hunting for parts of a downed spaceship, and the story advances through text scenarios where chosen responses can lead into battles. It was made by Convoy Games in the Netherlands and launched in April 2015, partly funded by a Kickstarter that raised over 22,000 euros.
By Red Hook Studios · Canada
Darkest Dungeon is a roguelike RPG from Canadian studio Red Hook Studios, released on PC in 2016 after a year in early access. Players manage a roster of heroes and send them into the dungeons beneath an inherited gothic mansion, moving in real time and fighting in turn-based battles. Each hero builds up stress while exploring, and high stress can bring afflictions that hinder or occasionally strengthen them.
By QCF Design · South Africa
Desktop Dungeons is a single-player game that blends roguelike dungeon crawling with puzzle design in a condensed form. Players clear a monster-filled dungeon and face a final boss, working out how best to spend items, spells and upgrades while preserving their health. Made by the South African studio QCF Design, it won an Excellence in Design award at the 2011 Independent Games Festival, and a remake, Desktop Dungeons: Rewind, arrived in April 2023.
By BetaDwarf · Denmark
Forced: Showdown is a bullet-hell brawler for one player, viewed from above and made by BetaDwarf, an independent developer from Denmark, and launched on Windows, OS X and Linux in March 2016. Framed as an ever-shifting galactic game show, it has players pick a champion, upgrade their abilities and fight through waves of minions while dodging incoming attacks. Each run combines a roguelike structure with a trading-card system that shapes how the champion grows.
By Art in Heart · Sweden
GoNNER is a roguelike action game that has been likened to a shooter version of Spelunky, mixing run-based progression with gunplay across randomised levels. It was developed by Art in Heart, a studio from Sweden, and published by Raw Fury for Windows, macOS and Linux in October 2016, with a Nintendo Switch version arriving in 2017. The game holds a Metacritic score of 81, and a sequel, Gonner 2, followed in 2020.
By Chasing Carrots · Germany
Halls of Torment is a role-playing game with action roguelike elements, developed and self-published by Chasing Carrots in Germany. Its genre tags combine action combat with RPG progression inside a run-based structure. It launched in early access in May 2023 and reached its full release in September 2024 on Windows and Linux. Mobile ports and later PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions followed.
By RetroStyle Games · Ukraine
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival is a survival roguelike that pairs horde-clearing combat in the vein of Vampire Survivors with underwater mining. Players dig through caves for resources, upgrade weapons and a customisable mech spider, and hold out against waves of monsters and bosses. The game is the work of Ukrainian studio RetroStyle Games; it entered early access in 2024 and reached its 1.0 release in May 2025.
By Coffee Powered Machine · Argentina
Okhlos: Omega is an action game with roguelike structure in which you do not control a lone hero but gather and steer a growing crowd of angry citizens. The mob is set loose against the gods of mythological Greece, with the aim of toppling their oppressive rule. It was made by Coffee Powered Machine, a studio from Argentina, and published by Devolver Digital in August 2016 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
By Test3 Projects · Estonia
Teleglitch is a roguelike action game from Test3 Projects, a developer based in Estonia, that folds survival horror features into its design. The Die More Edition, released in 2013 and published by Paradox Interactive, is an expanded version that bundles free extra content added after the original launch. It is available on Windows, Mac and Linux, and holds a Metacritic score of 78.
By Devespresso Games · South Korea
Vambrace: Cold Soul is a dark fantasy roguelike RPG in which Evelia Lyric, bearer of a mysterious magical vambrace, leads expeditions into Icenaire, a haunted city buried beneath ice. Between runs players return to the safe district of Dalearch to craft gear and assemble parties of procedurally generated adventurers. Exploration happens in real time while fights are turn-based, and every trip wears down the group. South Korean studio Devespresso Games released it in 2019.
By Milkstone Studios · Spain
Ziggurat is a roguelite first-person shooter structured as a dungeon crawl, taking its inspiration from Heretic and Hexen: Beyond Heretic. Steam also lists it under action and role-playing. Spanish developer Milkstone Studios both made and published it, releasing it on Windows, macOS and Linux in October 2014 after two months of early access, and a sequel, Ziggurat 2, followed in 2021.
By Tafra Games · Egypt
Beyond Grief is an upcoming action roguelike set in the realms of ancient Egypt. Players fight gods and mythical creatures, stack active abilities, perks and weapon upgrades into strong builds, then die and are reborn to try again. Along the way they can gain allies, make enemies and befriend cats. It is developed by Tafra Games, an Egyptian studio known for its mobile titles, with early access planned for 2027.
By Motion Twin · France
Dead Cells is a roguelike Metroidvania action game from the French independent developer Motion Twin. You play a strange creature fighting its way out of a diseased island, with levels that change on every run and no checkpoints to fall back on. Fast, fluid combat and a huge variety of weapons keep each attempt feeling fresh.
By Four Quarters · Russia
Loop Hero is a roguelike from the Russian studio Four Quarters in which you never control the hero directly. Instead the hero walks a looping road on their own, and you shape each expedition by placing cards that add enemies, buildings and terrain around the loop. That simple twist turns a familiar fantasy adventure into a thoughtful game of planning and risk.