406 indie games in this list, released 2009–2026, from developers such as Yangyang Mobile, Hinterland Studio Inc., Tale of Tales. 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.
The Letter is a horror visual novel in which seven people are caught up in a deadly curse and must struggle to survive it. The story places as much weight on the characters' own darker impulses as on the supernatural threat stalking them, asking how far each will go to stay alive. It was developed by Yangyang Mobile, a studio based in the Philippines, and released in July 2017 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
The Long Dark is a survival game from Canadian studio Hinterland, fully released in 2017 after an early access period that began in 2014. Players take on the roles of bush pilot Will Mackenzie and doctor Astrid Greenwood, stranded in the freezing Canadian wilderness after a geomagnetic storm. Development was backed by seed money from the Canada Media Fund and by a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013.
A psychological horror art game from Belgian studio Tale of Tales, The Path reworks the Little Red Riding Hood tale and broader folklore in a present-day setting. Players pick one of six sisters, each sent by their mother to visit a sick grandmother, and decide whether to keep to the path or stray into woods where wolves wait. It came out for Windows in March 2009 in English and Dutch, using the Quest3D engine, with a Mac OS X port arriving later.
The Rise of the Golden Idol is a detective puzzle game and the follow-up to The Case of the Golden Idol from 2022. Like its predecessor it centers on reasoning through mysteries by examining evidence and drawing conclusions. It comes from Latvian studio Color Gray Games, runs on the Godot engine and was published by Playstack in 2024. Reviews were generally positive, and four downloadable expansions arrived during 2025 to extend the story.
The Silent Age is a point-and-click adventure from Danish indie studio House on Fire. It follows a janitor pulled into a mission to save humanity from an apocalyptic event, using time travel and glimpsing the future that awaits if he fails. Originally released as two episodes and later sold together, it reached Windows and Mac on Steam in 2015 and was positively reviewed by critics.
The Stanley Parable is a story-driven game in which players steer a silent protagonist named Stanley while a British narrator, voiced by Kevan Brighting, describes what he ought to do. Ignoring those directions is allowed and gets folded into the story, leading down branching paths to many endings before the game starts over. Davey Wreden and William Pugh rebuilt Wreden's Half-Life 2 mod on the Source engine as Galactic Cafe, a studio from the United States, releasing it in 2013.
The Talos Principle is a puzzle game released in 2014 by Croatian studio Croteam, published by Devolver Digital and built on Serious Engine 4. Its puzzles sit inside a philosophical story whose title refers to an argument by a fictional Greek philosopher that a conscious machine implies humans are machines too. It later gained the Road to Gehenna expansion, a 2023 sequel and a 2025 remaster called Reawakened.
The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia combines bullet hell dodging with typing, asking players to type out exorcism texts while weaving through enemy fire. Its hero is a former priest who now works as a freelance exorcist. It was developed by Morbidware, a studio in Italy, and released on Steam for Windows on February 14, 2019. Reviews were mostly positive, singling out its music, theme and art, and it holds a Metacritic score of 78.
The Tiny Bang Story is a point-and-click adventure built around puzzle solving, with hidden object play among its listed genres. It was developed and self-published by the Russian studio Colibri Games and first appeared on Steam for Windows and macOS in 2011. In the following years it was ported to a wide range of platforms, including iOS, Android, Linux, Apple TV and Nintendo Switch.
The Wardrobe is a point-and-click adventure game from C.I.N.I.C. Games, a studio based in Italy, and was first released in 2017. This Steam version is the Even Better Edition, available on Windows and Mac. It belongs to the classic graphic adventure genre and holds a Metacritic score of 72. The verified facts available here give little detail about its story or specific mechanics, so this summary sticks to its genre and origins.
A 2D cinematic platformer from Polish studio Puzzling Dream, The Way follows a space explorer who cannot come to terms with his wife's death. After discovering ancient texts about eternal existence on one of his final expeditions, he returns to that site hoping to bring her back. PlayWay published it for Windows in 2016, and its play combines platforming with puzzle solving.
There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is a puzzle adventure from Draw Me A Pixel, a company based in France. It is played in point-and-click style, with casual puzzle solving at its core. The game grew out of creator Pascal Cammisotto's 2015 game jam winner There Is No Game, and is often treated as a sequel or expansion of it. It launched on Windows and macOS in August 2020, reaching mobile and Switch later.
Thief Simulator is an open-world stealth game about working as a burglar. Players scout targets to learn their routines, break into homes to take valuables, fence the loot and reinvest the money in better equipment for tougher jobs. It was developed by Noble Muffins from Poland, published by PlayWay, and released on Windows in November 2018 before arriving on Switch, PlayStation 4 and Quest 2.
This Is the Police 2 mixes story-driven adventure with strategy, putting you in charge of a small-town sheriff's department. You assign officers to incidents, make difficult calls and fight turn-based tactical encounters while the returning protagonist, now living as Warren Nash, hides from federal agents in the fictional town of Sharpwood in 1987. It is a sequel from Belarusian developer Weappy Studio, published by THQ Nordic in 2018.
THOTH, an abstract shoot 'em up, comes from Carlsen Games in Denmark, released for Windows and Mac in 2016 under the Double Fine Presents label. It was created by Jeppe Carlsen, who had served as lead gameplay designer on Playdead's Limbo and Inside. In keeping with its genre, play revolves around shooting and evading enemies, all presented in a stripped-back, abstract visual style that suits its minimal approach.
Timberborn is a city-building game in which players guide a colony of beavers and keep it alive through periods of scarce resources. Building and planning the settlement are the main tools for weathering those shortages. It was developed and self-published by Polish studio Mechanistry, with its full release on Steam dated March 2026. Steam categorizes it as a mix of simulation and strategy, fitting its focus on management and survival.
Tiny Glade is a sandbox city-builder where players shape medieval houses, castles and other structures, decorate them, and reshape the surrounding land with features such as rivers and ponds. Critics described it as calm and cosy, though some wished it had more content. Swedish studio Pounce Light self-published it in September 2024 after a demo during Steam Next Fest, and it went on to earn nominations at the Steam Awards and the BAFTA Games Awards.
TIS-100 is a programming puzzle game in which players write mock assembly language so that a corrupted, fictional 1970s computer can carry out set tasks. Every challenge is solved by writing and refining code, turning low-level programming into the core of play. American developer Zachtronics released it for Windows, OS X and Linux in July 2015, and a version for iPadOS followed in January 2016.
Titan Attacks! is a fixed shooter in the arcade tradition, where the player's craft slides along the bottom of the screen and fires upward at descending waves of alien invaders. Critics liked its art style and moreish flow but noted a limited amount of content. It was developed and self-published by Puppy Games, a studio in the United Kingdom, first appearing in 2006, and it was followed by Revenge of the Titans in 2010.
To the Moon is an adventure game by Canadian studio Freebird Games, designed by Kan Gao in RPG Maker XP and first released in 2011. Two doctors try to grant a dying man's final wish through artificial memories, and the player guides them through his past, exploring the story and solving puzzles to rebuild what he remembers. Mechanics are kept light, putting the weight on narrative, music and emotional themes.
Toren is an action-adventure with puzzle elements that takes cues from Ico, the Zelda series and Shadow of the Colossus. Brazilian studio Swordtales made it, and Versus Evil released it in 2015 on Windows and PlayStation 4. It holds a notable place in its home country as the first game funded through the Brazilian government's public tax credit under the Rouanet Law.
Toribash is a free-to-play fighting game viewed from a third-person perspective, where fights unfold turn by turn rather than in real time. Nabi Studios, a developer from Singapore, created it, with Nicalis as publisher, first on Windows in 2006, with OS X and Linux versions arriving in May 2014. A Wii port came out in 2010, and a sequel, Toribash Next, launched in January 2024.
Townscaper is a city builder in which players assemble towns out of simple building pieces, shaping groups of structures with a minimalist interface. Its low-poly graphics and pared-back controls keep attention on construction rather than menus or management systems. Swedish developer Oskar Stålberg created it, and Raw Fury released it on Windows and Mac in August 2021, the month it left early access, with Switch, mobile and Xbox versions following later that year.
Trailblazers is a racing game, tagged on Steam with action, sports and casual categories alongside racing. It was developed by Supergonk, a studio from the United Kingdom, and published by Rising Star Games. The game came out in May 2018 on Windows, Mac and Linux through Steam, with console editions for PlayStation, Xbox and Switch landing in that same month.