External Discovery
406 indie games in this list, released 2013–2023, from developers such as F2House, Future Cat LLC, SIGONO INC.. 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 F2House · Australia
One Dreamer is a story-driven adventure game in which some sections have players solve puzzles by writing and editing code. Critics highlighted both that unusual puzzle design and its emotionally affecting storytelling. It was made by the independent developer F2House, a team from Darwin, Australia, headed by Gareth Ffoulkes, who spent around seven years on the project before its release in 2022.
By Future Cat LLC · United States
OneShot is a puzzle adventure that deliberately breaks the fourth wall: the player is treated as someone separate from Niko, who is trying to bring light back to a sunless world by carrying a giant lightbulb, the world's sun, up to a tower's summit. Many puzzles reach outside the game into the computer's own operating system. American indie studio Future Cat built it in RPG Maker XP, KOMODO published it in December 2016, and it earned a Golden Joystick nomination for PC Game of the Year.
By SIGONO INC. · Taiwan
Focused on story and exploration, OPUS: Rocket of Whispers is a two-dimensional adventure set in a far future ravaged by plague. A witch teams up with a rocket builder's son to build and launch a rocket that will give the dead a burial in space. Taiwanese independent studio SIGONO made it as the second Opus game, releasing it on mobile in 2017 and on Steam for Windows and macOS in February 2018.
By SIGONO INC. · Taiwan
OPUS: The Day We Found Earth is a narrative adventure that puts exploration and storytelling ahead of challenge or combat. The experience is built around discovering its story at the player's own pace. It comes from SIGONO, an independent studio in Taiwan once called Team Signal, and debuted on mobile in 2015 before reaching Windows and Mac through Steam in 2016. It earned a Best Meaningful Play nomination at the International Mobile Gaming Awards and later received two sequels.
By Osmotic Studios · Germany
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You is an episodic simulation game that puts you in the seat of a government operative. Your job is to sift through surveillance material and personal data to identify people who might threaten national security, deciding what information to pass on. It was created by the indie developer Osmotic Studios in Germany and published by Daedalic Entertainment, with its release on Windows, macOS and Linux in 2016.
By Behold Studios · Brazil
Out of Space is a cooperative multiplayer game that combines survival with strategy, and it is also classed as a party game with real-time strategy elements. It comes from Brazilian team Behold Studios, the developers behind Chroma Squad. The game launched on Steam for Windows, macOS and Linux in February 2020, and a Couch Edition later came to Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2020.
By MiniBoss · Brazil
Out There Somewhere is a puzzle platformer about a spaceman stranded on an alien world who uses a portal gun to get around obstacles. His aim is to escape the planet while confronting a malevolent force called Grigori. The game was made by Pedro Medeiros and Amora Bettany under the name MiniBoss in Brazil, built with GameMaker, first released in 2012 and brought to Steam in March 2016.
By Red Barrels · Canada
Outlast is a first-person psychological survival horror game from Canadian independent studio Red Barrels, released in 2013 and built on Unreal Engine 3. Players follow freelance journalist Miles Upshur as he investigates Mount Massive Asylum, an isolated psychiatric hospital in the mountains of Colorado. Critics responded well to its atmosphere and horror, and the series later grew with a sequel, a prequel and comics.
By Ghost Town Games Ltd., Team17 · United Kingdom
Overcooked! 2 is a cooperative cooking sim from UK developers Ghost Town Games and Team17, with Team17 handling publishing. A sequel to the original Overcooked, it launched in August 2018 on Windows, macOS, Linux and several consoles. Its focus is shared play in the kitchen, with friends cooking together as a team, and it was later bundled with the first game in the Overcooked: All You Can Eat compilation.
By Klei Entertainment · Canada
Oxygen Not Included is a survival simulation game developed and self-published by Canadian studio Klei Entertainment. It blends the survival and simulation genres, and Steam files it as an indie simulation title. The game spent a long stretch in Steam early access starting in February 2017 before reaching its full launch in July 2019, and it holds a Metacritic score of 85 on the platforms it covers.
By Pinokl Games, Kverta · Ukraine
Party Hard casts the player as a serial killer who slips into a series of parties with one goal: eliminate every guest without being caught. Each level becomes a stealth puzzle of picking the right moment to strike and making sure nobody sees what happened. The game was developed by the Ukrainian team Pinokl Games alongside Kverta, published by tinyBuild, and released in 2015 for Windows, OS X and Linux, with later console versions.
By Owlcat Games · Russia
Viewed from an isometric perspective, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a role-playing game adapted from Paizo's Pathfinder tabletop franchise. Players lead a party into lands overrun by demons, make choices that weigh good against evil and grow into a Mythic Hero with powers beyond ordinary mortals. Owlcat Games of Russia developed it after a Kickstarter campaign in 2020, and it launched on Windows and macOS in September 2021 with a Metacritic score of 83.
By Yangyang Mobile · Philippines
Perfect Gold is a brief yuri visual novel with a coming-of-age story following Marion LaRue and Audrey Clary. The two explore a magical city called Castlecoast while being given another chance at friendship and romance, with the player reading through their story. It was made and published by Yangyang Mobile, a developer based in the Philippines, and released in April 2021 for Windows and macOS.
By Amanita Design · Czech Republic
Pilgrims is a graphic adventure made and self-published by Czech studio Amanita Design. It is classed as a point-and-click puzzle adventure with an art-game sensibility, offering relaxed, casual play rather than action. Released in October 2019 for Windows, macOS, Linux and Apple Arcade, it was among the earliest games offered through Apple Arcade and later came to Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android.
By Guillotine · Israel
Piposh is an episodic point-and-click comedy adventure that reboots a series Israeli studio Guillotine originally produced between 1999 and 2003. Players follow the misadventures of Hezi Piposh, a failed actor chasing a lead role in a film, exploring locations, picking up items, and talking with characters to move the story on. Initially planned in several parts, it was completed as a single release in 2021.
By BATOVI Games · Uruguay
Pixel Cup Soccer - Ultimate Edition is a retro-styled arcade football game. It offers friendly matches, tournaments and a career mode where players build a team, and up to eight people can play together locally or via Steam Remote Play, competing or cooperating. It was developed and published by BATOVI Games, a studio based in Uruguay, and released in October 2022 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
By BATOVI Games · Uruguay
Pixel Cup Soccer 17 is a retro-styled arcade football game that strips the sport down to quick, fast-moving matches. Rather than detailed simulation, it focuses on responsive controls and straightforward mechanics aimed at short bursts of play. It was developed and published by BATOVI Games, a studio based in Uruguay, and released in November 2021 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
By Ndemic Creations · United Kingdom
Plague Inc: Evolved is a real-time strategy sim from Ndemic Creations, an independent UK studio, and a PC and console remake of the developer's earlier Plague Inc. Players create a pathogen and evolve it with the goal of wiping out humanity through a deadly plague. An epidemic model with a detailed, realistic set of variables governs how the disease spreads and how severe it becomes, a design that drew the attention of the CDC.
By Sunna Entertainment · Costa Rica
Planet Cube: Edge is a fast action platformer with hand-drawn pixel art. You run, shoot, jump and dash through an underwater research facility while picking up weapons to push back against a mysterious invader. The game leans on precise platforming. It was developed by Sunna Entertainment, a studio from Costa Rica, and published by Balor Games in February 2023 for Windows and Mac.
By Craneballs · Czech Republic
Planet Nomads is a 2019 science fiction sandbox game from Czech studio Craneballs. Its store listing combines the action, adventure and simulation genres, framing it as an open-ended sandbox with a sci-fi theme rather than a linear campaign. It was released in May 2019 for Windows, macOS and Linux, with Craneballs acting as both developer and publisher of the game.
By Winter Wolves · Italy
Planet Stronghold is a science fiction visual novel with role-playing elements and a turn-based combat system. It was developed and published by Winter Wolves, a studio in Italy, using the Ren'Py engine. The game first launched in February 2011 for Windows, Mac and Linux, later came to Android and iOS, and arrived on Steam in May 2014.
By Madruga Works · United Kingdom
Planetbase is a strategy and simulation game about founding a human settlement on a faraway world. Players lay out an outpost, keep colonists alive in a hostile environment, and grow the base so it can endure over time. The game was made by Madruga Works, a developer based in the United Kingdom, and it launched on Windows in October 2015. A Mac release followed in early 2016, bringing the colony-management loop to a second platform.
By Four Quarters · Russia
Please, Don't Touch Anything is a puzzle game with many different solutions to uncover through experimentation. It comes from the Russian indie studio Four Quarters and first launched on Steam in March 2015 for Windows, Mac and Linux. The game was later rebuilt as a 3D remake with virtual reality support, and an enhanced Nintendo Switch port added updated graphics along with even more solutions.
By Squeaky Wheel · Philippines
Political Animals is a government and election simulation set in a world of animal politicians. Players run a campaign by enacting policies and handling scandals to win over voters, with victory at the polls as the central goal. It was developed by Squeaky Wheel, a studio in the Philippines, and released in 2016 by British publisher Positech Games, the company behind the Democracy series.