External Discovery
406 indie games in this list, released 2009–2025, from developers such as CtrlMovie, Almost Human Games, Playdead. 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 CtrlMovie · Switzerland
Late Shift is an interactive full-motion video game in which the story is told through live-action film and shaped by the viewer's choices. Tobias Weber wrote and directed it, while the Swiss company CtrlMovie developed the participation film technology behind it. Its festival screenings included Raindance and the New York Film Festival, and it reached Windows and Mac on Steam in 2017, where it holds a Metacritic score of 79.
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.
By Almost Human Games · Finland
Legend of Grimrock II, an action role-playing game, was developed and self-published by Almost Human, a studio from Finland, and the sequel to 2012's Legend of Grimrock. It released for Windows in October 2014, with an OS X version following in March 2015. Its genre listing classes it as a dungeon crawl, placing the focus on exploring dungeons in the style of its predecessor, and Steam lists it under adventure and RPG.
By Playdead · Denmark
Limbo is a 2D side-scrolling puzzle-platformer with horror elements from independent Danish studio Playdead, first released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2010. A physics system governs both the world and the unnamed boy looking for his sister, and puzzles follow a trial-and-death approach where failing is part of finding each solution. Its monochrome visuals, film grain and sparse sound earned critical acclaim and several industry awards.
By SUNNY SIDE UP · South Korea
Little Witch in the Woods is a life simulation game about Ellie, a trainee witch living in a forest with a talking hat called Virgil. She can fish and brew potions, and she finishes her training by helping villagers nearby and meeting other witches. It was developed and published by the South Korean studio Sunny Side Up, launched in early access in 2022, and reached its full version for Windows in September 2025.
By Ogre Pixel · Mexico
Lonesome Village is a gentle adventure starring a coyote, mixing puzzle-solving with life-sim activities and leaving combat out entirely. Players explore the town, work through its puzzles and gradually learn about its magical history while trying to rescue it from a malevolent force. It was developed and self-published by Ogre Pixel, a studio based in Mexico, and launched in 2022 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
By Winter Wolves · Italy
Loren The Amazon Princess blends a visual novel with fantasy role-playing, pairing story-driven scenes with RPG systems. It was created by Winter Wolves, an independent studio in Italy, using the Ren'Py engine, and first released on April 30, 2012 before its Steam launch in 2014. An expansion, The Castle Of N'mar, came later in 2012, and a 2014 spin-off in the Tales of Aravorn line carried the subtitle Seasons of the Wolf.
By Happy Juice Games · Israel
Lost in Play is a point-and-click adventure about siblings Gal and Toto, whose make-believe game turns their home and neighbourhood into a fantastical world. With no readable dialogue, it tells its story through cartoon visuals, and players move between loosely linked scenes solving puzzles and minigames with clues and gathered items. Israeli studio Happy Juice Games made it as its debut in 2022, and it earned IndieCade's 2022 Developer Choice Award.
By ALTARI GAMES · South Korea
Lost Ruins is a 2D side-scrolling action game from Altari Games in South Korea, released in 2021 and published by DANGEN Entertainment. It blends metroidvania-style exploration with survival elements. The player controls a young girl who wakes up with no memories in an unfamiliar land, then explores its dark, hostile spaces, fights grotesque monsters and takes on powerful bosses.
By Yangyang Mobile · Philippines
Love Esquire mixes a visual novel, a dating sim and RPG elements in a comedic fantasy tale. Instead of a hero, the player controls a humble squire with only a few months to win someone's heart before being sent off to war, which gives the romance a ticking clock. It was developed and published by Yangyang Mobile, a studio based in the Philippines, and released in October 2019 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
By quicktequila · India
Lovely Planet 2: April Skies combines first-person shooting with platforming, following on from the original Lovely Planet from 2014. Levels mix gunplay with jumping as you move through stages. It was developed by Quicktequila, an indie developer from India, and published by tinyBuild, arriving on Windows, macOS and Linux in June 2019. Critics gave it mixed reviews, and it holds a Metacritic score of 69 on its store listing.
By Movie Games Lunarium · Poland
Movie Games Lunarium, a Polish developer, made Lust for Darkness as an erotic horror adventure first released in 2018 for Windows and macOS. Its story draws on the imagery of Giger and Beksiński as well as the writing of Lovecraft. Console versions for Switch and PlayStation 4 followed via publisher SimFabric in 2019 and 2020, and a sequel, Lust from Beyond, arrived in 2021.
By Tale of Tales · Belgium
Luxuria Superbia is an abstract game in which players stroke and stimulate colourful, flower-like tunnels, using the controls as a metaphor for sexual arousal. Critics valued its unusual concept, design and touch input, while some felt the levels lacked variety or reasons to finish them. Made by Belgian studio Tale of Tales and released in 2013, it received the Independent Games Festival's Nuovo Award, was an IndieCade finalist, and has drawn academic attention.
By Amanita Design · Czech Republic
Machinarium is a puzzle-driven point-and-click adventure from Czech studio Amanita Design, released in October 2009. Players progress by interacting with the hand-crafted scenes and solving puzzles, in the tradition of graphic adventure games with an art-game sensibility. Originally built in Adobe Flash, it received a Definitive Version in 2017 that moved to a DirectX engine with full-screen support, and it has reached many platforms from iPad to PlayStation Vita.
By Lohika Games · Denmark
Machineers is an episodic puzzle adventure from Lohika Games, a developer based in Denmark, in which players rebuild twelve whimsical machines from gears, belts, wires and other mechanical components. The player is Zola, a newly hired intern at Hayden's Repair Shop in Tivoli Town. Episode 1 first came out in October 2014 and Episode 2 followed in April 2015, and the first episode is available on Windows, Mac and Linux.
By Sos Sosowski · Poland
Mikołaj Kamiński, an independent creator from Poland who works under the name Sos Sosowski, made McPixel, a comedic puzzle game first released in 2012. Kamiński handled publishing himself, bringing it to Steam in September 2012 for Windows and Mac. Steam files it under action and adventure alongside its indie tag, and it holds a Metacritic score of 76.
By Coldwild Games · Latvia
Merchant of the Skies is a simulation game that mixes the building-up of a tycoon title with the numbers of an economic sim. Its Steam tags also point to strategy and role-playing elements alongside the trading focus. It was created by Latvian developer Coldwild Games, which published it together with AbsoDev, and it came out in 2020. The available sources do not go further into its systems, but it sits firmly in the business management side of indie games.
By Nikita Kryukov · Russia
In Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk, an unnamed woman heads to a nearby shop to buy a bag of milk while struggling with severe trauma, and the player acts as the voice inside her head, sharing her inner monologue. This psychological horror visual novel was made by Russian developer Nikita Kryukov using Ren'Py and released on Steam in August 2020, with a sequel following in 2021.
By Nikita Kryukov · Russia
A direct sequel to its 2020 predecessor, Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk continues the story of the same unnamed heroine, exploring her unsettling dreams through themes of isolation, trauma and depression. This psychological horror visual novel was developed and published by Russian indie creator Nikita Kryukov using Ren'Py, and it arrived on Steam and itch.io in December 2021.
By Eyeguys, Lorenzo Redaelli · Italy
Milky Way Prince: The Vampire Star is a visual novel about the relationship between two characters, Nuki and Sune, and it deals directly with mental health. Designer Lorenzo Redaelli describes it as a partly autobiographical work. It was developed by Eyeguys in Italy, published by Santa Ragione, and released in August 2020 for Windows and Mac.
By Dreadlocks Mobile, Silicon Jelly · Czech Republic
Mimpi is a 2013 game from Czech company Silicon Jelly that combines adventure-style puzzles with platforming. Its Steam release in January 2015 lists it under the adventure and casual genres, with Silicon Jelly and Dreadlocks Mobile credited as developers. The game was followed by a sequel, Mimpi Dreams, released in 2015 and built on the same mix of puzzles and platforming.
By Dreadlocks Mobile, Silicon Jelly · Czech Republic
Mimpi Dreams is a 2015 sequel to Mimpi from Czech company Silicon Jelly, credited alongside Dreadlocks Mobile. Like its predecessor, it mixes puzzle adventure with platforming, asking players to handle both across its levels. It arrived on Steam in March 2016 for Windows, macOS and Linux, listed under the adventure genre, and continues the relaxed tone of the original.
By Other Tales Interactive · Denmark
Miniatures, a point-and-click adventure, was developed and self-published by Other Tales Interactive, a studio based in Denmark. It came out in 2024 on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Nintendo Switch. As a point-and-click title, it is played by exploring scenes and interacting with them through the cursor, and its Steam listing places it in the adventure and casual categories for players looking for a relaxed pace.
By Santa Ragione · Italy
MirrorMoon EP is a space exploration game with puzzle elements, built on Mirror Moon, a 2012 prototype that began life at a game jam. It takes inspiration from Noctis IV, another Italian indie title. Santa Ragione, a Milan studio in Italy, both developed and published it in 2013. By October 2013 it had sold 8,000 copies, and it holds a Metacritic score of 73.