External Discovery
282 indie games in this list, released 2009–2026, from developers such as Art in Heart, Charlie Oscar Lima Tango Interactive Entertainment, Suspicious Developments. 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 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 Charlie Oscar Lima Tango Interactive Entertainment · Lithuania
Gremlins, Inc. is a digital board game played in turns, set in a steampunk world populated by gremlins. As a turn-based strategy title, it asks players to plan their moves carefully to get ahead of rivals at the table. It was made by Lithuanian indie studio Charlie Oscar, designed by Alexey Bokulev of Eador: Genesis, and produced by Sergei Klimov. After an Early Access period that started in 2015, it fully launched on Steam in March 2016.
By Suspicious Developments · United Kingdom
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 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 Konstantin Koshutin · Russia
Hammerfight is a 2D action game built on physics, created by Russian developer Konstantin Koshutin and released on Windows in 2009 through publishers KranX Productions and 1C. It later reached a wider audience in 2011 as part of the third Humble Indie Bundle, when its underlying Haaf's Game Engine became open source and gained cross-platform support. A version titled Age of Hammer Wars also appeared on PlayStation minis and iOS.
By Defiant Development · Australia
Hand of Fate is an action RPG that combines deck building with roguelike dungeon runs. A mysterious Dealer lays out each randomized dungeon from cards on a tabletop, narrating events and asking for choices, and when a fight breaks out the game shifts into third-person brawling that rewards well-timed attacks, blocks and dodges. It was developed and published by the Australian studio Defiant Development, entering early access in 2014 and fully releasing in February 2015.
By Destructive Creations · Poland
Hatred is an isometric shooter in which the player controls a misanthropic killer on a violent rampage against civilians. Polish studio Destructive Creations developed and self-published it in 2015 using Unreal Engine 4, pitching it as a response to trends such as political correctness and games as art. Its reveal trailer drew controversy, Valve briefly pulled it from Steam Greenlight before restoring it, and critics largely called the finished game repetitive.
By Terri Vellmann, Doseone · Brazil
Heavy Bullets is a first-person shooter that follows roguelike rules, combining gunplay from a first-person view with the structure of a roguelike. It was made by Terri Vellmann, an independent developer based in Brazil, with Doseone also listed as a developer on its store page. Devolver Digital published it for Windows, OS X and Linux in September 2014.
By Wispfire · Netherlands
Herald: An Interactive Period Drama is a single-player adventure with visual novel elements and a branching story. Players decide how the protagonist Devan Rensburg acts and talks to others, which reshapes the plot, and the game tackles colonialism and other social themes. It was the debut of Wispfire, an indie studio in Utrecht, Netherlands, released in 2017. It won the Indie Prize Showcase award for Best Narrative at Casual Connect in 2015.
By Hidden Folks · Netherlands
Hidden Folks is a hidden object game set in a series of animated scenes that react when you poke at them. Players scan each busy picture and interact with it to track down specific characters, creatures and items. Its creators, Adriaan de Jongh and Sylvain Tegroeg, are based in the Netherlands, and it launched in February 2017 on Windows, Mac and Linux as well as mobile. The appeal is patient searching rather than any time pressure or combat.
By Yangyang Mobile · Philippines
High Times is a dating sim and visual novel with a cooking twist from Yangyang Mobile, an independent studio in the Philippines. Players work as a Mood Confectioner at The Hotbox, a doughnut shop set in the invented city of San Mazo, baking treats laced with mood enhancers that shift how customers feel. Released in July 2026, it marks Yangyang Mobile's fifth commercial release and was partly funded by a 2024 Kickstarter campaign.
By Team Cherry · Australia
Hollow Knight: Silksong is a Metroidvania and the follow-up to Hollow Knight, starring Hornet after she is captured and carried to the unfamiliar kingdom of Pharloom. Players explore a large web of connected regions, fighting enemies, clearing platforming challenges and taking on quests with an expanding set of skills, tools and movement abilities. It was made by Team Cherry, an independent studio from Australia, and released in September 2025 after growing from a planned expansion into a full sequel.
By Dennaton Games · Sweden
Hotline Miami is a violent top-down shooter set in 1989 Miami, following a silent masked killer as he wipes out the Russian mafia. Every level must be cleared of enemies by any means available, and each animal mask grants its own ability. Swedish duo Dennaton Games, programmer and writer Jonatan Söderström with artist Dennis Wedin, built it in about nine months with GameMaker. The 2012 release is frequently named among the indie titles that shaped the decade that followed.
By Dennaton Games · Sweden
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a top-down shooter that expands on the first game's story, covering events before, during and after Jacket's rampage through several different playable characters. Levels are still about eliminating every enemy using whatever works, and the Steam version includes a level editor for sharing custom stages. Swedish studio Dennaton Games originally planned it as DLC before it grew into a full sequel, released in March 2015.
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 Daniel Mullins Games · Canada
Inscryption is a roguelike deck-building game from Canadian studio Daniel Mullins Games, directed by Daniel Mullins and published by Devolver Digital in 2021. Set in a cabin, it has the player face a mysterious gamemaster across a tabletop card game, gradually folding in puzzles, escape-room ideas and a cryptic metafictional story. It grew out of a Ludum Dare jam prototype and went on to win several Game of the Year awards.
By Unfrozen · Russia
In Iratus: Lord of the Dead, tactical role-playing meets a roguelike structure, drawing on both RPG and strategy traditions. Available sources describe it only in broad genre terms, so the finer details of its campaign are best discovered in play. It was developed by the Russian studio Unfrozen and published by Daedalic Entertainment in 2020 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
By Ironhide Game Studio · Uruguay
Iron Marines is a real-time strategy game in which the player commands a military force defending a space colony from alien invaders. Each mission centres on a powerful hero unit supported by soldiers, mechs and other troops across varied objectives. It was developed by Ironhide Game Studio in Uruguay, launched on mobile in 2017, came to Windows, macOS and Linux in May 2019, and was well received by critics.
By CBE software · Czech Republic
J.U.L.I.A. Among the Stars is a 2014 science fiction adventure game from Czech studio CBE Software, remaking the earlier J.U.L.I.A. with improved graphics, altered gameplay and a broader story. The studio developed and published it itself, releasing it on Windows, macOS and Linux in September 2014, and it holds a Metacritic score of 71.
By Lapovich Team · Belarus
Kapital: Sparks of Revolution is an economic simulation about class conflict. You serve as mayor of a capital city in a European country gripped by crisis, balancing policy against growing social unrest and deciding what compromises are worth making to avoid collapse. Steam lists it under simulation and strategy. It was developed by Lapovich Team from Belarus and released by Fulqrum Publishing in April 2022.
By Ironhide Game Studio · Uruguay
Kingdom Rush Origins is a tower defense game and the series' third main instalment. Players lead an elven nation against evil forces, building four kinds of defensive towers and upgrading them to cope with increasingly tough waves of enemies. It was developed by Ironhide Game Studio, based in Uruguay, first released on mobile in 2014, and arrived on Windows, macOS and Linux in October 2018.
By Behold Studios · Brazil
Knights of Pen & Paper is an RPG from Brazilian developer Behold Studios, released with publishing support from Paradox Interactive and Seaven Studio. It first appeared on iOS and Android in October 2012 and came to Windows, OS X and Linux in June 2013 as the +1 Edition. A Nintendo Switch version called the +1 Deluxier Edition followed in 2018, alongside releases on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
By Kyy Games · Finland
Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is a role-playing game from Kyy Games, a studio based in Finland, published by Paradox Interactive as a follow-up to the original Knights of Pen & Paper. After launching on iOS and Android in May 2015, it reached Windows, OS X and Linux via Steam that October. Critics liked its art and the improvements to gameplay and story, but felt it stayed too close to the first game while being shorter and easier.
By Almost Human Games · Finland
Released in 2012, Legend of Grimrock is an action role-playing game and the debut of Almost Human, a four-person indie team from Finland that funded development itself. It is a real-time, grid-based dungeon crawler in 3D, modelled on the 1987 classic Dungeon Master. It launched on Windows in April 2012, with OS X and Linux versions that December, and it was followed by the sequel Legend of Grimrock II in 2014.