46 indie games in this list, released 2014–2024, from developers such as Leonard Menchiari, Daniele Vicinanzo, Giulio Perrone, Siactro, Atelier 801. 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 Leonard Menchiari, Daniele Vicinanzo, Giulio Perrone · Italy
The Eternal Castle Remastered is a cinematic platformer and adventure presented as a remaster of a 1987 game that never actually existed. Set in a distant future, it follows a colonist whose ship goes down on Earth while trying to escape the planet. Leonard Menchiari led development alongside Daniele Vicinanzo and Giulio Perrone in Italy, and it was released in 2019. It holds a Metacritic score of 73.
Toree 3D is a short 3D platformer that borrows its look and presentation from the early days of 3D platforming, with a few odd touches mixed in. It was made by Siactro, the working name of solo developer Marcus Horn from Germany, and first appeared on the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc compilation in 2021. Critics liked its visuals and sound while being split on the controls and brevity, and it was followed by Toree 2 later that year.
Transformice is a free-to-play online multiplayer platformer from Atelier 801, the work of two designers from France: Melibellule, who handles art, and Tigrounette, who programs the game. Built on Adobe Flash, it first launched as a browser game in May 2010. A standalone free-to-play version later arrived on Steam in January 2015, playable on Windows, macOS and Linux.
TurnOn is a single-player platformer starring Turnon, an alien electrical spark trying to bring power back to a city that has suddenly gone dark. It stands out for its distinctive visual style and was built in Unity3D by the Russian team Brainy Studio. A 2014 prototype of the game won the Games category at Microsoft's Imagine Cup, and the full release arrived on June 1, 2016.
Where Is My Heart? is a platformer created jointly by Schulenburg Software and Die Gute Fabrik, two studios from Denmark. It debuted in November 2011 as a PlayStation mini for PSN before reaching Windows and macOS in May 2014, with Die Gute Fabrik publishing the computer release. Its Steam listing files it under adventure and casual, and play centres on moving and jumping through a series of platforming stages.
Released for Windows in March 2015, Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries plays as a 2D side-scroller with hack-and-slash combat, built on Unreal Engine 3. It was made by GriN Gamestudio, an independent developer from Belgium partly funded through Kickstarter. The studio shut down later in 2015 after weak sales, which ended work on a planned second volume, and Rebellion Developments then acquired the property and took on delivering the backer rewards.
Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom is a 3D collect-a-thon platformer in which you drive a taxi around an island, using it to explore and uncover the island's secrets. Italian indie studio Panik Arcade developed it, and it launched on Windows on April 9, 2024. Reviewers praised its gameplay, music and visuals, though its story drew criticism. It holds a Metacritic score of 78.
Clock Mayhem is an action platformer built around timed levels. Each stage has to be cleared against the clock, so players must combine tight movement with character skills and special abilities to reach the goal under pressure. The game has a Steam page and is listed for release in 2027. It is developed by Space Crescent, an independent game development studio with its office on Suhaim bin Hamad Street in Doha, Qatar.
Doughn't Panic! is a two-player co-op platformer in which both players share control of a single pizza, bound together by a spell. Every jump and dodge needs coordination as the pizza makes its way through oversized spaces in the human world, and failure is rarely final. It is the second project from Starvania Studio, the Riyadh-based team behind Bahamut and the Waqwaq Tree.
Emirati Tales is a family-friendly 3D platformer built around stories from UAE folklore and history. Its hero wears traditional Emirati dress, and levels combine platforming challenges and mythical creatures with lessons about values and daily life in the country's past. Difficulty adapts to the player, and the game includes Arabic voice-over with English subtitles. It was created by Hamdan Hamid Al Ali, an Emirati officer with Dubai Police who makes educational and cultural games.
Emotional Flow is a precision platformer with no jump button. Your character can only move left and right, and emotions become the tool for getting past obstacles while you try to rescue a friend kidnapped by three mysterious figures. Each of the three bosses represents a mental illness. It was the first release from Stellar Mythical, a Saudi-based independent studio founded in 2019.
Keyboard Curse is a 2D rage platformer where every key you press drops a matching physical keycap into the level. Those keycaps can form a helpful step or block your own path, so the goal is to reach the exit with good timing and as few inputs as possible. Panicked button-mashing makes each stage harder. It is developed by Hassan Sherif and published by Halal Games Studio, an Egypt-based studio he founded.
Light Dude is a skill-based action game built on a single rule: the level is visible while you stand still and goes dark once you move. Players scan each stage, memorise the hazards, then commit to running blind, with a limited supply of lights and several boss fights along the way. Difficulty and vision range can be adjusted. The concept started at Global Game Jam 2022 and is developed by Egyptian studio Dergham Games, led by Ramy Dergham.
Liyla and the Shadows of War is a short narrative platformer based on events of the 2014 Gaza War. The player helps a Palestinian family in Gaza escape their home to a safer place, making fast, hard choices under shooting and bombardment. Released as freeware on Android, iOS and Windows, it was made alone over two years by Rasheed Abueideh, a Palestinian software engineer from Nablus.
Pre Dusk is a 2D action platformer in which the player is a small child exploring a dark world. Each level adds new skills and abilities, and the journey runs through varied environments with boss fights along the way. It was made by Okba Amrate, a developer listed in Games Industry Africa's report on Algeria's studios, and released on Steam in May 2024.
Gris is a platform adventure from the Spanish developer Nomada Studio about a young girl working through a painful experience. As her journey continues, her dress grants new abilities that open up her faded world, and color gradually returns to the screen. It is a quiet, reflective game that has sold over three million copies.
Kero Blaster is a side-scrolling action platformer by Daisuke Amaya, better known as Pixel, and his first major release since Cave Story. You play a frog working for a company whose teleporters keep breaking down, blasting your way through levels to fix the problem. It is compact, precise and charming, a clear showcase of one developer's craft.
Nine Sols is a hand-drawn 2D action platformer from Red Candle Games, set in a world the studio calls taopunk, a blend of Taoism and cyberpunk. You follow a hero's quest to defeat nine powerful rulers, and combat is built around precise deflection rather than simply dodging. It marked a move into action games for the Taiwanese studio behind Detention.
Owlboy is a story-driven platform adventure from the Norwegian independent developer D-Pad Studio. You fly through a world in the clouds and can pick up friends and carry them with you, using their help to fight and solve puzzles. Its development began in 2007, and the result is some of the most detailed pixel art in the genre.
Rabi-Ribi is a side-scrolling action game from the Taiwanese developer CreSpirit that mixes exploration with bullet-hell boss battles. You explore an island, collect power-ups and uncover secrets, fighting with a hammer while a fairy companion casts spells from range. It was crowdfunded, and despite reaching only half of its goal it still shipped and found a devoted audience.
Remnants of Naezith is a fast precision platformer by Turkish developer Tolga Ay, built around a grappling hook. You swing and dash through short levels as Kayra, destroying enchanted fragments of a dragon before anyone can misuse their power, and leaderboards reward shaving seconds off every run. It is a tight, focused game made largely by a single developer.
Celeste is a precision platformer about climbing a mountain, built from short, demanding screens that restart instantly when you fail. Beneath the tight jumping and dashing sits a personal story about anxiety, depression and self-doubt, told with warmth rather than melodrama. It is a demanding game that stays encouraging, and one of the best-known indie platformers of its generation.