External Discovery
406 indie games in this list, released 2011–2026, from developers such as Dry Cactus, GameCrafterTeam, GameTomo Co., Ltd., Toxic Games. 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 Dry Cactus · New Zealand
Poly Bridge tasks players with designing bridges sturdy enough for vehicles to drive across. Structures are assembled from steel, wood, rope and cable, hydraulic parts can make sections move, and each material has its own cost, which turns every level into a budget puzzle. It was made by Dry Cactus, an indie studio from New Zealand, with a score by composer Adrian Talens, and came out on Windows in 2016, later reaching iOS.
By Dry Cactus · New Zealand
Poly Bridge 2 is the follow-up to Poly Bridge and keeps its focus on engineering bridges that must hold up under physics-driven traffic. Players plan structures across a new run of levels, balancing materials and design choices so vehicles reach the other side. New Zealand studio Dry Cactus developed and published it, with Adrian Talens again writing the music, and it launched in 2020 on Windows, Mac and Linux as well as mobile.
By GameCrafterTeam, GameTomo Co., Ltd. · Thailand
Project Nimbus: Complete Edition is a fast-paced mech action game from GameCrafterTeam and GameTomo, developed in Thailand. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, it puts players in control of Battle Frames, humanoid combat suits carrying a wide arsenal of weapons, in high-speed battles. This Complete Edition was released on Steam in 2017 for Windows and Mac.
By Toxic Games · United Kingdom
Q.U.B.E. is a first-person puzzle game in which the player wears gloves that manipulate specially coloured blocks, using them to open a route to the exit of each level. Its stark, white environments make the interactive blocks stand out, and it has drawn comparisons with Portal. Toxic Games in the United Kingdom grew it from a student project with backing from Indie Fund, and this Director's Cut runs on Unreal Engine 3.
By Bithell Games · United Kingdom
Quarantine Circular is a text-driven science fiction adventure, where progress comes through reading and choosing responses rather than action. It serves as the sequel to Subsurface Circular and was developed and published by Bithell Games, a studio based in the United Kingdom. It reached Windows and macOS in the spring of 2018, and a Nintendo Switch edition arrived that December.
By Rolling Glory Jam · Indonesia
Rage in Peace is a side-scrolling platformer with an unusual goal: dodging the traps and obstacles in your path so that your character can die peacefully. Each stage tests your timing against hazards on the way. It was developed by Rolling Glory Jam, an independent studio in Indonesia, and published by Toge Productions, launching on Steam and Nintendo Switch on 8 November 2018. Steam lists it as action and adventure.
By SteelRaven7 · Sweden
Ravenfield is a single-player first-person shooter rendered in a low-poly visual style. It was created by Swedish programmer Johan Hassel, who publishes under the name SteelRaven7, and it launched as an early access title on 18 May 2017 for Windows, macOS and Linux. The available facts cover its genre and simple look rather than detailed mechanics, so it is best approached as a straightforward solo shooter from a one-person developer.
By Mandragora · Turkey
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs is a relaxed job simulation about running a small repair business. Players take in broken gadgets and work through fixing a range of devices, with the setting placed in Japan during the mid-2000s. It was developed by Mandragora, a studio from Turkey, and published by tinyBuild. The game launched in August 2026 on Windows and Mac, offering a calm, hands-on take on the workshop sim.
By Lucas Pope · Japan
Return of the Obra Dinn is a first-person mystery puzzle game set in 1807, when a merchant vessel lost for five years drifts back to the English coast with no known survivors. Sent by the East India Company, the player uses a pocket watch that recreates each death to work out the fate of all sixty people aboard. Created by Japan-based developer Lucas Pope, it won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and uses a 1-bit monochrome art style.
By Soaphog · Latvia
Rezrog is a turn-based dungeon crawler inspired by tabletop games, in which a party of adventurers sets out to bring peace back to the land. Players upgrade their skills and look for enemy weaknesses to exploit tactically as they push deeper into dangerous dungeons. It was made by Soaphog, a studio from Latvia, published by Kasedo Games, and released in May 2017 on Windows, Mac, and Linux, with a Metacritic score of 70.
By Ludeon Studios · Canada
RimWorld is a science fiction construction and management simulation in which AI storytellers steer events, so each colony becomes a generated narrative rather than a pure test of skill. It was designed by Canadian developer Tynan Sylvester, with Ludeon Studios as publisher, and began as a Kickstarter-backed early access project in 2013 under the name Eclipse Colony. Version 1.0 arrived in October 2018, and console editions followed in 2022.
By Leonard Menchiari, IV Productions, Ivan Venturi Productions · Italy
RIOT: Civil Unrest is a real-time strategy game that recreates riots drawn from actual events, letting the player take the side of either the police or the protesters. Director Leonard Menchiari, formerly an editor and cinematographer at Valve, lived through riots himself and made the game to tell those stories. Developed in Italy with IV Productions, it was funded on Indiegogo in 2014, entered early access in 2017 and fully released in 2019.
By Dapper Penguin Studios · Spain
Rise of Industry is a business tycoon game in which players construct and run an industrial empire, working to expand it during the early decades of the 20th century. It was created by Dapper Penguin Studios, an independent team from Spain, and published by Kasedo Games. After an early access period that began in February 2018, it reached full release in May 2019, and a sequel, Rise of Industry 2, arrived in 2025.
By Accidently Awesome · Austria
Roto Force is a twin-stick shooter, the kind of action game where one control moves your character and another aims your fire. It was developed by Accidently Awesome, a studio from Austria, and published by PID Games and East2West Games. The game was released in 2023 for both mobile devices and personal computers, including Windows, macOS and Linux.
By Xigma Games · India
Rubek is a casual puzzle game built around rolling and matching colours, with levels meant to bend your thinking as you plan each move. Beyond that core idea, its store information describes it only in broad casual and indie terms, so expect a compact, focused logic challenge rather than a story-driven experience. It was developed and published by Xigma Games, an Indian studio, and released in October 2016 for Windows and Mac.
By Blackfire · China
Runestone Keeper is a roguelike game developed and self-published by Blackfire Games, a studio from China, with its iOS version handled by Cimu. It released on Windows and Mac OS X in March 2015, then arrived on iOS later that year and on Android in 2017. Steam tags it with the Strategy, RPG and Casual genres, while Wikidata classifies it more broadly as a strategy video game.
By Facepunch Studios · United Kingdom
Rust is a multiplayer survival game from UK studio Facepunch Studios, fully released in February 2018 after an early access run that started in 2013. Players scavenge or steal materials, manage hunger, thirst and health, craft gear and fortify bases, while the biggest danger comes from other players rather than wildlife. Clans, raiding and firearms drive much of the conflict, and scheduled server wipes regularly reset progress so each cycle starts fresh.
By Team Eleven · United States
SC2VN is a free visual novel taking place in South Korea in the first competitive years of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Players follow Mach, a hopeful who wants to turn professional, through a story praised for portraying esports honestly, including its emotional cost and the real chance of failing. It was developed by Team Eleven, a studio from the United States, released on Windows in September 2015, and a prequel titled Don't Forget Our Esports Dream came later.
By Egidijus Bachur, Alexey Davydov · Lithuania
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.
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 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 Dead Mage · Iran
Shadow Blade: Reload is an action platformer starring Kuro, a ninja racing through trap-filled stages and cutting down enemies along the way. It is the PC counterpart of the mobile game Shadow Blade, and its developers planned additional levels, a full story campaign and Steam features such as leaderboards and workshop support. It was developed and published by Dead Mage, a studio based in Iran, and released in August 2015.
By Team Lazerbeam · South Africa
Shroom and Gloom is a first-person roguelike deckbuilder from Team Lazerbeam, a studio in South Africa, published by Devolver Digital. Players collect and grow cards across two decks at once, chaining large combos to defeat hostile fungal creatures in a moody setting. A demo was available on Steam in May 2025, and the full game entered early access in September 2026.
By Kaigan Games OÜ · Malaysia
SIMULACRA is a horror game played entirely through the phone of a woman who has gone missing. The player digs through her messages, apps and other content on the device, piecing together clues much like a detective to work out what became of her. Malaysian developer Kaigan Games made and published it in 2017, building it with Unreal Engine 4 and libGDX, and it reached Windows and Mac on Steam alongside consoles and mobile.