External Discovery
282 indie games in this list, released 2012–2024, from developers such as Kodo Linija, Free Lives, Mike Klubnika. 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 Kodo Linija · Lithuania
Bloody Rally Show pairs top-down arcade racing with the premise of a violent televised contest. Drivers drift around tracks, use boosts and fire at rivals, all while trying to keep an audience and its sponsors satisfied. Up to four players can compete together in local multiplayer. It was built and self-published by Kodo Linija, a studio from Lithuania, and released in 2020 on Windows, Mac and Linux.
By Free Lives · South Africa
Broforce is a side-scrolling run-and-gun game in which players control a roster of bros modeled on famous action movie heroes such as John Rambo and Ellen Ripley. Missions revolve around freeing captured bros while tearing through environments that can be heavily destroyed. Its development began as a game jam entry in April 2012 by the South African studio Free Lives, went through early access, and was published by Devolver Digital in October 2015.
By Mike Klubnika · Estonia
Buckshot Roulette is a tabletop horror game created by Mike Klubnika, a developer from Estonia, who built it in the Godot engine and wrote its soundtrack himself. It first appeared on itch.io in December 2023 and came to Steam through Critical Reflex in April 2024 alongside a new update. Critics and players praised its strategic play and replay value, and it has been compared to the roguelike Inscryption despite a very different look.
By Phobia Game Studio · Poland
Carrion flips the usual horror setup: instead of fleeing a creature, you are the tentacled monster, slithering through a research facility and hunting down the humans who stand in your path. Play centres on navigating the complex and ambushing the people inside, an approach its creators label reverse horror. It comes from Polish studio Phobia Game Studio, was published by Devolver Digital in 2020, and runs on the MonoGame framework.
By Bytten Studio · United Kingdom
Cassette Beasts is a role-playing game that draws on the Pokemon series, letting players record monsters onto tapes and use a cassette player to turn into those creatures in battle. The story follows the player's attempt to find a way back home. It was created by Bytten Studio in the United Kingdom and published by Raw Fury, launching on PC in April 2023. Critics responded favourably to its depth, and it earned a 2024 BAFTA Games Award nomination.
By Umami Tiger (Matthias Linda) · Germany
Chained Echoes is a role-playing game modeled on 1990s Japanese RPGs, pairing turn-based battles with 16-bit style pixel art and a story told through several characters. Its unlikely heroes try to halt a war between three kingdoms. The game was created by Matthias Linda, credited on Steam as Umami Tiger, a developer from Germany, and published by Deck13 in 2022. Reviewers felt it matched the classics that inspired it while adding modern improvements.
By Snapshot Games Inc. · Bulgaria
A remake of the 1985 title Chaos: The Battle of Wizards, Chaos Reborn is a tactical role-playing game played in turns. It expands the original with a role-playing meta layer and gear such as armour, staves and talismans that grant extra spells and abilities. Snapshot Games, based in Bulgaria, partly funded it on Kickstarter, opened early access in December 2014 and released the full game in October 2015.
By Behold Studios · Brazil
Inspired by tokusatsu television, especially Super Sentai and Power Rangers, Chroma Squad plays as a tactical RPG that channels the feel of those costumed hero shows. It was developed by Brazilian team Behold Studios, financed through Kickstarter, and released in April 2015 for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Console and mobile versions arrived in the following years, including a Nintendo Switch edition in 2019.
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 Dani · Norway
Crab Game is a free multiplayer party game inspired by the Netflix series Squid Game. Players face off across a string of minigames, and the goal is to be the final one still standing. Its creator and publisher is Daniel Sooman, a Norwegian indie developer known online as Dani. The game launched on Steam for Windows in October 2021 after an itch.io release for Linux and macOS, with those versions reaching Steam that November.
By Flying Cafe for Semianimals · Ukraine
Cradle is a first-person science-fiction adventure that explores the theme of transhumanism. Players investigate their surroundings in a desert setting, piecing together a story centred on the bond between the protagonist and a mechanical girl. It was developed by Flying Cafe for Semianimals, a studio based in Ukraine, built on the Unigine engine, and released in 2015 for Windows and Linux.
By Powerhoof · Australia
Crawl is a local multiplayer brawler set in randomly generated dungeons for up to four players or bots. One player is the hero while the others are spirits who possess traps and monsters, trying to kill the hero so they can take that role themselves. It was made by the Australian developer Powerhoof, first appearing in Steam Early Access in 2014 before its full release in April 2017.
By Radical Fish Games · Germany
CrossCode is an action RPG from Radical Fish Games in Germany, published by Deck13. You play Lea, a mute amnesiac inside the fictional MMORPG CrossWorlds. Ranged and melee attacks are used both in combat and to crack puzzles, with elemental modes adding new powers for fights and exploration. Crowdfunded on Indiegogo and shaped by a three-year early access beta, it launched in September 2018 to generally favourable reviews.
By Tag of Joy · Lithuania
In Crowns and Pawns: Kingdom of Deceit, a classic point-and-click adventure, players work to unravel a mystery tied to Lithuanian history. As in the classic genre, progress comes from investigating locations and working through the puzzles the story puts in the way. It was developed by Lithuanian studio Tag of Joy and published through Headup, with a release in May 2022 on Windows, Mac and Linux. Further details of its plot are not covered by the available sources.
By Weather Factory · United Kingdom
Cultist Simulator is a card-driven simulation from UK indie studio Weather Factory, built in Unity and released for Windows, macOS and Linux in May 2018. Set amid 1920s Lovecraftian horror, it has players move cards across a tabletop to gather followers, occult texts and tools while chasing one of several routes to immortality. Staying alive means dodging starvation, despair, madness and dangerous enemies. Reviewers liked the writing, while others criticized its pacing.
By InterWave Studios · Netherlands
Dark Matter is a science fiction Metroidvania with survival horror elements, combining exploration of interconnected areas with tense, horror-tinged encounters. It was developed by InterWave Studios in the Netherlands and published by Iceberg Interactive. The game launched in 2013 for Windows, Mac and Linux. It stands as an independent attempt to mix the backtracking structure of the Metroidvania genre with a darker, horror-driven atmosphere.
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 Epic Llama Games · Argentina
Darkestville Castle is a comedic point-and-click adventure in which the player takes the role of a sarcastic demon. Progress comes from solving puzzles and tricking the gullible characters around you as you try to restore mischief to the town. Argentine developer Epic Llama Games created it, and ESDigital Games released it in 2017 for Windows, Mac and Linux. Steam lists it simply as an indie adventure.
By Placeholder Gameworks · Estonia
Released in 2020, Death and Taxes is a simulation game by Estonian indie developer Leene Künnap, released through their company Placeholder Gameworks. Players act as a Grim Reaper working through paperwork at a desk, deciding which humans will live and which will die. Aligned with the death-positivity movement, it approaches mortality with a light touch, and in March 2020 its source code was published on GitHub under the MIT License.
By Snowhound Games · Finland
Deep Sky Derelicts is a dungeon crawler that blends classic role-playing structure with the card-driven systems of roguelike deckbuilders. Players assemble their own crew and send it to search abandoned spaceships, scavenging whatever the wrecks still hold. It was made by Snowhound Games, a studio from Finland, and published by Fulqrum Publishing. The game launched in 2018 and reached consoles two years later.
By Daedalic Entertainment · Germany
Deponia is a comedic point-and-click graphic adventure following Rufus, who lives on a planet made of junk and dreams of escaping to Elysium, a city floating above it. His plans shift when he ends up helping an Elysian get home and stumbles onto a scheme endangering Deponia itself. Daedalic Entertainment of Germany developed and published it in 2012, and it opened a series continued by Chaos on Deponia, Goodbye Deponia and Deponia Doomsday.
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 Bippinbits · Germany
Dome Keeper is a tower defense game from Bippinbits, a studio in Germany, published by Raw Fury and made with the Godot engine. You protect a glass dome from waves of alien attackers, then use the short gap between waves to dig for resources below. Those materials buy upgrades that strengthen your defences for the next assault. It launched on Windows, macOS and Linux in September 2022 to generally positive reviews.
By Klei Entertainment · Canada
Don't Starve is a survival game from Canadian studio Klei Entertainment, first released on PC in 2013. The player must keep the scientist Wilson alive, fed and sane in a gloomy parallel world called the Constant while fending off strange and supernatural creatures. An Adventure mode pits him against Maxwell, and the game is known for its distinctive art style as well as its difficulty and permanent death.