External Discovery
57 indie games in this list, released 2011–2026, from developers such as Ammobox Studios, Exceed, Aurora Punks, Extend Studio. 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 Ammobox Studios · New Zealand
Depth is an asymmetrical multiplayer shooter played from a first-person view beneath the waves. One side controls divers searching for treasure, while the other side plays as sharks hunting them down. It comes from New Zealand, was built with Unreal Engine 3 and launched on Windows in 2014. The contrast between treasure-seeking humans and predators of the deep gives each match two very different ways to play.
By Exceed, Aurora Punks · Sweden
1993 Space Machine is a shoot 'em up that finally saw release in 2016 on Windows and Mac. Its roots go back to an abandoned Amiga project called Shenandoah: Daughter of the Stars, which had been planned for 1993 before work stopped. Exceed and Aurora Punks, working from Sweden, are credited as developers, with Aurora Punks publishing. Details on its stages and systems are not part of the available facts, so it is best understood as a revived retro-style shooter.
By Extend Studio · Thailand
A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda is a science fiction action game that blends side-scrolling platforming with shooting. Players move through 2D stages, jumping between platforms while blasting enemies. It was created by Extend Studio, an independent team from Thailand, using Microsoft XNA, and arrived on Steam in 2011. A revised edition titled Extinction Agenda EX followed later on Xbox Live Arcade and on Windows.
By Indefatigable · New Zealand
AMID EVIL is a retro-style first-person shooter with a dark fantasy setting and fast, action-heavy combat. Its look and feel have led many to call it a spiritual successor to the 1990s classics Heretic and Hexen. It was developed by New Zealand studio Indefatigable, published by New Blood Interactive, and released in 2019. The game uses Unreal Engine 4, pairing modern technology with deliberately old-school visuals and weapons.
By Vertigo Games, Jaywalkers Interactive · Netherlands
Arizona Sunshine is a virtual reality first-person shooter about surviving a zombie outbreak, played on headsets such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Valve Index. Players aim and fire with motion controls while scavenging to stay alive. It was developed and published by Vertigo Games in the Netherlands, with Jaywalkers Interactive also credited, and launched in December 2016. A 2023 sequel followed, and its features were later folded back into a remake of the original.
By Axyos Games · Georgia
AXYOS is an experimental multiplayer shooter that borrows elements from MOBA games. During each session players upgrade their character to strengthen their team and push toward victory, combining action with a layer of strategy. It was developed and published by Axyos Games, a studio based in Georgia, and released for Windows in August 2018.
By JoyMasher · Brazil
A run and gun action game, Blazing Chrome takes place in 21XX after an apocalyptic war, where a robot army rules and a resistance fights back. Players choose between Mavra, a human soldier, and Doyle, a reprogrammed robot fighting for the resistance. Built in GameMaker by Brazilian studio JoyMasher, with The Arcade Crew publishing in July 2019, it drew frequent comparisons to Contra, and an enhanced arcade edition followed in 2021.
By FYQD-Studio · China
Bright Memory is a first-person shooter made by one Chinese developer in his spare time under the FYQD Personal Studio name, built in Unreal Engine 4 and published by Playism. It blends gunplay with hack-and-slash elements. It entered Steam Early Access in January 2019 as Episode 1 and left it in March 2020. Instead of a second episode, it was rebuilt into the longer Bright Memory: Infinite, free for Windows owners.
By Free Lives · South Africa
Broforce is a side-scrolling run-and-gun game in which players control a roster of bros modeled on famous action movie heroes such as John Rambo and Ellen Ripley. Missions revolve around freeing captured bros while tearing through environments that can be heavily destroyed. Its development began as a game jam entry in April 2012 by the South African studio Free Lives, went through early access, and was published by Devolver Digital in October 2015.
By Dani · Norway
Crab Game is a free multiplayer party game inspired by the Netflix series Squid Game. Players face off across a string of minigames, and the goal is to be the final one still standing. Its creator and publisher is Daniel Sooman, a Norwegian indie developer known online as Dani. The game launched on Steam for Windows in October 2021 after an itch.io release for Linux and macOS, with those versions reaching Steam that November.
By Consumer Softproducts · Finland
Released in 2021, Cruelty Squad is a tactical first-person shooter from Finnish independent studio Consumer Softproducts, run by artist Ville Kallio, and built with the Godot engine. Players are a biologically augmented assassin carrying out black operations for a corporate security firm, with stealth elements woven into missions. Its deliberately abrasive, surreal look stands out, and its themes satirise capitalism, corporations and the gig economy.
By Pixel Perfex · Thailand
Earth Atlantis is a post-apocalyptic 2D shooter in which the action scrolls sideways as the player battles through hostile territory. The focus is squarely on shooting enemies while navigating each area. It was built and self-published by Pixel Perfex Studio, an indie team from Thailand, and first launched in 2017 on Windows as well as three home consoles. The Steam version is listed with a January 2019 release date.
By Zarc Attack · Portugal
Exophobia is a first-person shooter drawing on retro influences, set aboard a crashed human spaceship overrun by aliens. Players explore the wreck and battle through waves of hostile creatures, growing stronger through weapon upgrades and power-ups. It was developed by Zarc Attack, a studio from Portugal, published by PM Studios, and released on Windows in July 2024.
By Byte Barrel · Poland
Playing as either a priest or a journalist, you battle plague-ridden zombies and cultists through the strange town of Pestisville in Forgive Me Father, a first-person shooter. Polish developer Byte Barrel built it with Unreal Engine 4 and released it in 2022, with Fulqrum Publishing handling publishing. The game did well enough to lead to a sequel, which entered early access in 2023, and it holds a Metacritic score of 74.
By Brainwash Gang · Spain
Friends vs Friends is a first-person shooter that mixes deck-building into its design, pairing card-driven play with gunfights. Steam lists it as an action title. It was made by Brainwash Gang, an independent studio from Spain, and published by Raw Fury. The Windows version arrived in May 2023, with versions for Sony and Microsoft's current consoles following in September 2025, extending it from PC to current consoles.
By Masthead Studios Ltd · Bulgaria
Guns and Robots is a free-to-play online shooter viewed from a third-person camera, with a bright cartoon look. Its main hook is assembling your own robot fighter from parts before heading into team-based matches in open arenas. Masthead Studios, based in Bulgaria, developed it for Windows, and it launched in 2014. Steam also tags it as a massively multiplayer RPG.
By Destructive Creations · Poland
Hatred is an isometric shooter in which the player controls a misanthropic killer on a violent rampage against civilians. Polish studio Destructive Creations developed and self-published it in 2015 using Unreal Engine 4, pitching it as a response to trends such as political correctness and games as art. Its reveal trailer drew controversy, Valve briefly pulled it from Steam Greenlight before restoring it, and critics largely called the finished game repetitive.
By Terri Vellmann, Doseone · Brazil
Heavy Bullets is a first-person shooter that follows roguelike rules, combining gunplay from a first-person view with the structure of a roguelike. It was made by Terri Vellmann, an independent developer based in Brazil, with Doseone also listed as a developer on its store page. Devolver Digital published it for Windows, OS X and Linux in September 2014.
By Dennaton Games · Sweden
Hotline Miami is a violent top-down shooter set in 1989 Miami, following a silent masked killer as he wipes out the Russian mafia. Every level must be cleared of enemies by any means available, and each animal mask grants its own ability. Swedish duo Dennaton Games, programmer and writer Jonatan Söderström with artist Dennis Wedin, built it in about nine months with GameMaker. The 2012 release is frequently named among the indie titles that shaped the decade that followed.
By Dennaton Games · Sweden
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is a top-down shooter that expands on the first game's story, covering events before, during and after Jacket's rampage through several different playable characters. Levels are still about eliminating every enemy using whatever works, and the Steam version includes a level editor for sharing custom stages. Swedish studio Dennaton Games originally planned it as DLC before it grew into a full sequel, released in March 2015.
By Spytihněv · Czech Republic
Hrot, stylized HROT, is a first-person shooter from Czech developer Spytihněv, released in full in May 2023. It pays tribute to 3D shooters from the 1990s, naming Chasm: The Rift and Quake as its main inspirations. The game spent time in early access from January 2021, starting with the first of its three episodes, and reviewers singled out its level design and atmosphere for praise.
By Binx Games, Croteam Incubator, Croteam · Croatia
I Hate Running Backwards is a 2018 vertically scrolling shoot 'em up developed by Croatian team Binx Games with Croteam, with Devolver Digital as publisher. Solo or with a partner, players run backwards through procedurally generated, partly destructible levels, fending off enemies advancing from the bottom of the screen with two weapons, a melee attack and a charged ultimate ability. Series hero Sam Stone is playable, and it was the first Croteam Incubator release.
By CIRCLEfromDOT · South Korea
Kusan: City of Wolves is a pixel-art top-down shooter set in a neo-noir cyberpunk city populated by anthropomorphic animals. Players control Jin, a feline antihero who uses a metal prosthetic arm as a close-range weapon, and the story unfolds through comic-style cutscenes revealed panel by panel. Its violent pace invites comparisons with Hotline Miami, and a hip-hop score by rapper Loptimist backs the action. South Korean studio CIRCLEfromDOT spent eight years on it before its 2026 launch.
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.