External Discovery
12 indie games in this list, released 2011, from developers such as Extend Studio, BlueGiant Interactive, Nimble Giant Entertainment. 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 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 BlueGiant Interactive · India
APOX is a real-time strategy game set in a near-future, post-apocalyptic wasteland with a Mad Max flavour. Its store description pitches it as RTS play combined with tactics borrowed from first-person shooters. Indian studio BlueGiant Interactive developed and published it for Windows, releasing it on Steam in January 2011; the game runs on the Ogre3D engine and received a Metacritic score of 48.
By Nimble Giant Entertainment · Argentina
Bunch of Heroes is an action title from Nimble Giant Entertainment, a developer based in Argentina that also self-published it. It arrived on Windows through Steam in September 2011, and the store lists it under the action and indie categories. Little verified detail about its missions or systems is available, though the store page references an optional Horror Pack add-on that was once given away during a seasonal sale.
By Nicalis, Inc., Studio Pixel · Japan
Cave Story+ is an enhanced edition of Cave Story, a Metroidvania in which Quote, a robot with amnesia, explores cave systems to piece together his past and find a way out. Collecting crystals powers up his weapons and opens new areas, alongside platforming puzzles and conversations with the locals. Daisuke Amaya made the original alone in Japan in 2004, and Nicalis brought this version to Steam in November 2011.
By Dead Mage · Iran
Garshasp: The Monster Slayer is an action-adventure game drawn from the legends of Garshasp, a monster-slaying hero of Persian mythology. Players fight through hostile creatures on a revenge quest to recover a mace belonging to the hero's ancestors. It was developed by Dead Mage, based in Iran, together with Fanafzar Sharif Studios on the Ogre3d engine, and released for Windows in May 2011, with reviews noting its ambition for an independent project.
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 Croteam · Croatia
Released in 2011, Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person shooter from Croatia-based indie studio Croteam, published by Devolver Digital and running on Serious Engine 3.5. A prequel to Serious Sam: The First Encounter, it is set in 22nd-century Egypt as Mental invades Earth. It offers 16-player online play plus a four-player split-screen co-op campaign, and it later arrived on OS X and Linux.
By Digital Reality · Hungary
SkyDrift is an airplane racing game where the focus falls on combat racing: pilots speed over detailed terrain while fighting rival planes for position. Several game modes are included, and players can unlock new aircraft and personalise them with racing skins. Hungarian studio Digital Reality developed it and released it in 2011; critics praised its responsive controls and online multiplayer while regretting the absence of local multiplayer.
By Re-Logic · United States
Terraria is a 2D sandbox adventure with no fixed goals, dropping players into a procedurally generated world to explore, fight monsters, gather materials and craft gear. Defeating bosses opens up stronger items, while townsfolk NPCs move in to trade and offer services, and it supports co-op play and mods. Re-Logic, an American studio, released it in 2011, and ongoing updates since then have reshaped it considerably.
By Edmund McMillen, Florian Himsl · United States
The Binding of Isaac is a roguelike action-adventure in which young Isaac escapes into a basement full of monsters after his mother hears a message from God demanding his life. Players guide him, or one of six unlockable characters, through procedurally generated rooms modelled on The Legend of Zelda, fighting in real time and collecting items and power-ups for boss battles. American developers Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl made it in Adobe Flash after a week-long game jam, releasing it in 2011.
By Colibri Games · Russia
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.
By Maysalward(MRD) · Jordan
Trix is a mobile version of the four-player trick-taking card game played across the Middle East, including the Trix Complex variant. Each player takes a turn as owner of a kingdom and chooses contracts such as the King of Hearts, and a full game covers four kingdoms. It is made by Maysalward, founded in Amman in 2003 and one of the earliest mobile game studios in Jordan.