406 indie games in this list, released 2012–2026, from developers such as High North Studios AS, Double Dash Studios, Mega Crit. 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.
SKALD: Against the Black Priory is a role-playing game with a retro visual style that looks back to the Ultima games of the 1980s. Players search for a missing friend across a cursed land crawling with Lovecraftian horrors. It was made by Norwegian studio High North Studios, with Raw Fury publishing it in 2024. Reviews were mixed to positive, praising its aesthetic and old-school atmosphere while questioning its combat and graphical readability.
Sky Racket mixes block-breaking with shoot 'em up action in bright cartoon worlds, a blend its creators call a Shmup Breaker. It began in 2015 as RacketBoy during Indie Vs Gamers, a 72-hour jam hosted by Game Jolt, and was later shown at PAX East 2019. Brazilian independent developer Double Dash Studios released it for Windows, macOS and Linux in October 2019.
Slay the Spire is a roguelike deckbuilder in which one of four characters climbs a procedurally generated tower, fighting enemies and bosses along the way. Combat is driven by cards, and new cards won from battles let players shape a deck strong enough to reach the top. It was made by Mega Crit, an independent American studio, on libGDX, released fully in January 2019, and is credited with popularising the genre.
Slay the Spire 2 is a roguelike deckbuilder where players pick a hero and climb the Spire floor by floor, gathering cards and using them to beat monsters. This follow-up to the 2019 original adds two new heroes beside three returning ones and brings co-op for up to four players. It is developed and published by Mega Crit, an American studio, runs on the Godot engine, and entered early access in March 2026.
Slime Rancher is a life simulation about running a ranch full of slimes, blending farming routines with first-person action and exploration. Players catch and raise the colourful creatures while building up their farm. It was developed and published by Monomi Park, an independent studio in the United States, which put it into early access in January 2016 before a full launch in August 2017. A sequel, Slime Rancher 2, followed.
Slots & Diapers is an absurdist incremental game about growing a gambling fortune from very humble beginnings. Players spin slot machines for jackpots, bring on hired gamblers to automate the spinning, and buy permanent upgrades that speed up later runs. It comes from Parodie Games, a developer based in Turkey, was published by Lazy Otter, and launched in June 2026 on Windows, macOS and Linux.
SOMA is a science fiction survival horror game in which Simon Jarrett wakes inside an underwater research station full of machines that seem to have personalities of their own. Play centres on sneaking past threats, solving puzzles and uncovering the station's past, with less weight on inventory and more on story and character. Swedish studio Frictional Games developed and published it in 2015 using its HPL Engine, and it holds a Metacritic score of 84.
SpeedRunners is a side-scrolling multiplayer racer in which up to four players run, jump and swing through levels while trying to knock rivals off the screen. Weapons and pickups add chaos, and matches can be played locally or online. It was developed by Dutch studio DoubleDutch Games on Microsoft XNA, published by tinyBuild, and fully released in 2016 after early access; the Electronic Sports League recognised it as an esport in 2015.
Sportsfriends is a party game compilation from Die Gute Fabrik, an independent developer collective in Denmark, bundling four titles: Hokra, BaraBariBall, Super Pole Riders and Johann Sebastian Joust. That last one needs no screen at all, as players try to keep their PlayStation Move controller steady while jostling rivals' controllers. Super Pole Riders is a pole-vaulting game by Bennett Foddy, and the project raised more than US$150,000 on Kickstarter.
Stacklands is a management and construction sim played entirely with cards. Dragging cards onto one another produces resources, raises buildings and triggers fights with creatures, so a villager placed on a berry bush yields food that keeps the settlement alive. It was developed and published by Sokpop Collective from the Netherlands and came out for Windows and macOS in April 2022.
Starbound is a 2D action-adventure from UK studio Chucklefish, set across a procedurally generated universe that players roam freely. Exploration yields new weapons, armor and items, and journeys lead to towns and villages populated by a variety of intelligent species. It left early access in July 2016 on Windows, OS X and Linux, and its genre listings point to sandbox and RPG elements alongside its science-fiction setting.
Stardeus casts the player as the artificial intelligence of a wrecked starship carrying drones and human survivors in hibernation. Play centres on directing those drones to patch the damaged vessel, keep the sleeping crew alive and eventually move the ship onward between the stars. It blends colony simulation with strategy and RPG elements. The game comes from Lithuanian studio Kodo Linija, was published by Paradox Arc and launched on Steam in 2022 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
StarMade is an open-world sandbox set in space, built in the mould of Minecraft and blending science fiction with building and exploration. It was developed by Schine GmbH, a company based in Germany, which first released it in 2012 as a public alpha on Windows, macOS and Linux. On Steam it is listed under action, adventure, simulation and strategy, and it remains an early access title there, having appeared on the store in 2014.
Stasis is a science fiction horror adventure played point-and-click style from an isometric viewpoint, built around using computers, combining items and solving puzzles. John Maracheck wakes from stasis aboard the abandoned spaceship Groomlake and must search for his missing wife and daughter as the ship sinks deeper into Neptune's methane clouds. It was developed by the South African studio The Brotherhood with the Visionaire Studio engine and released in August 2015.
State of Anarchy: Master of Mayhem is a casual action game that combines bullet hell shooting with reckless driving through a town in chaos, with aliens attacking from above. Steam categorizes it as action, casual and indie. The Belarusian developer Lapovich Team made and self-published it, releasing it in March 2017 for Windows, Mac and Linux. Beyond that premise, few further gameplay details are verified.
SteamWorld Dig is a platforming action-adventure starring Rusty, a steam-powered robot who inherits a mine beneath the Western steampunk town of Tumbleton. Players dig ever deeper, solving puzzles and platforming past traps and enemies while exploring the underground. Swedish studio Image & Form made it as the second entry in the SteamWorld series, launching first on Nintendo 3DS in 2013 and reaching Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam that December.
Strange Antiquities puts players in charge of a shop selling occult curios, where each visitor arrives with a need that must be worked out through puzzles. Identifying the right item for a customer is the heart of the game, blending adventure with a relaxed simulation of shopkeeping. It was developed by Bad Viking in the United Kingdom, published by Iceberg Interactive in 2025, and follows the studio's earlier title, Strange Horticulture.
Stray is a third-person adventure in which you play a stray cat trapped in a walled city of robots, machines and mutant bacteria. You leap between ledges, climb obstacles and interact with the world, while the drone B-12 carries items and hacks devices to solve puzzles. Hostile Zurks and Sentinels must be evaded along the way. It was built in Unreal Engine 4 by BlueTwelve Studio from France and released by Annapurna Interactive in 2022.
Subnautica is a survival adventure set on an ocean world, where the player, Ryley Robinson, is stranded after a spaceship crash. Exploring beneath the waves, you collect resources, cope with the local wildlife and work toward a way off the planet. Unknown Worlds Entertainment, an American studio, developed and published it, leaving early access in January 2018; it sold more than 5 million copies by January 2020.
Summerhouse is a relaxed sandbox town-building game where you assemble villages and dress up the scenery from a kit of building pieces and decorations. There are four environments to work in, a day-night cycle and extras that unlock as you play, such as animated objects. It is the first solo release of German developer Friedemann Allmenröder, published by Future Friends Games in 2024, and critics liked its open-ended design and visuals.
Sundered is a Metroidvania action game developed and self-published by Thunder Lotus Games of Canada, first released in July 2017 for PC and PlayStation 4. It belongs to a genre that typically centres on exploring an interconnected map and unlocking new abilities. A definitive release, the Eldritch Edition, reached Switch and Xbox One consoles in December 2018, and Steam lists the game under Action and Adventure.
Sunset is a narrative adventure in which players become Angela Burnes, a housekeeper employed in the lavish apartment of the mysterious Gabriel Ortega, in the fictional South American nation of Anchuria. While doing her daily chores she gradually learns about his life and his role in a growing revolution, and her choices shape how she engages with it. Belgian studio Tale of Tales released it in 2015 on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it was their final commercial game.
Super Catboy is a platformer starring the title character, a cat in human form who fights through a cast of other animal characters. His goal is to stop the villainous Dr. Ungefug. The game was developed by Pixelpogo, a studio in Germany, published by Assemble Entertainment, and released for Windows and macOS in 2023. On Steam it is filed under action and adventure, and it will appeal to fans of classic character platformers.
Super Hexagon is an action game by independent developer Terry Cavanagh, with a soundtrack by Chipzel. It grew out of Hexagon, a prototype Cavanagh made in early 2012 for a game jam lasting twelve hours. The game launched on iOS that September, with Windows and macOS versions arriving three months later. Cavanagh is from Ireland, and the original was built with Adobe Flash tools. It holds a Metacritic score of 88 on its store page.