External Discovery
49 indie games in this list, released 2014, from developers such as Arkavi Studios, Winter Wolves, Tale of Tales. 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 Arkavi Studios · Portugal
Lords of the Black Sun is a turn-based 4X strategy game set among the stars. Players lead one race in a contest for galactic dominance, exploring space, colonising new planets, running their empire and defeating rivals. Formerly known as Star Lords, X, entering Steam early access in 2013 and fully launching on Windows in 2014.
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 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 David OReilly · Ireland
Mountain is an unusual simulation game in which you have very little control: your only real input comes at the start, when you are asked to draw some objects. Beyond that the experience is largely passive, and the game is meant to run in the background while you use other programs. It was created by David OReilly, from Ireland, with Double Fine Productions publishing, and released in 2014 for Windows, macOS, Linux and iOS.
By Gojira · Portugal
Munin is a 2D puzzle platformer starring Munin, a messenger of Odin, as she travels through Yggdrasil to win back her lost powers. Its main trick is rotating chunks of the level, using physics and Norse runes to rearrange platforms and open a path forward. It was made by Gojira, an indie company from Portugal, and published by Daedalic Entertainment in June 2014 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
By JoyMasher · Brazil
Oniken is a side-scrolling action platformer with a science fiction, post-apocalyptic setting. Independent Brazilian studio JoyMasher developed and published it using Clickteam tools, releasing it on Windows in June 2012 and on OS X and Linux in November 2012. The game passed Steam Greenlight in 2012, and a Nintendo Switch version titled Oniken: Unstoppable Edition arrived in 2019.
By Avatar Creations · Hungary
Perpetuum is a science fiction MMORPG with a player-driven persistent world, where everyone pilots customisable robots across islands linked by teleports. Some islands are protected from player attacks while others allow open PvP, and activities range from mining and manufacturing to trading, artifact hunting, and combat. Hungarian developer Avatar Creations launched it in 2010 and brought it to Steam in 2014; its servers closed in January 2018 and the server code was open sourced.
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 Toxic Games · United Kingdom
Q.U.B.E. is a first-person puzzle game in which the player wears gloves that manipulate specially coloured blocks, using them to open a route to the exit of each level. Its stark, white environments make the interactive blocks stand out, and it has drawn comparisons with Portal. Toxic Games in the United Kingdom grew it from a student project with backing from Indie Fund, and this Director's Cut runs on Unreal Engine 3.
By Die Gute Fabrik · Denmark
Sportsfriends is a party game compilation from Die Gute Fabrik, an independent developer collective in Denmark, bundling four titles: Hokra, BaraBariBall, Super Pole Riders and Johann Sebastian Joust. That last one needs no screen at all, as players try to keep their PlayStation Move controller steady while jostling rivals' controllers. Super Pole Riders is a pole-vaulting game by Bennett Foddy, and the project raised more than US$150,000 on Kickstarter.
By Schine GmbH · Germany
StarMade is an open-world sandbox set in space, built in the mould of Minecraft and blending science fiction with building and exploration. It was developed by Schine GmbH, a company based in Germany, which first released it in 2012 as a public alpha on Windows, macOS and Linux. On Steam it is listed under action, adventure, simulation and strategy, and it remains an early access title there, having appeared on the store in 2014.
By Minor Key Games · United States
Super Win the Game is an action role-playing game with platforming roots from American studio Minor Key Games, released on October 1, 2014. A follow-up to the studio's You Have to Win the Game, it is a homage to the Zelda II adventure starring Link. Critics praised it, but weak sales prompted lead developer Kyle Pittman to label it a failure. It came to Windows, Mac and Linux, and Steam files it as an action game.
By Croteam · Croatia
The Talos Principle is a puzzle game released in 2014 by Croatian studio Croteam, published by Devolver Digital and built on Serious Engine 4. Its puzzles sit inside a philosophical story whose title refers to an argument by a fictional Greek philosopher that a conscious machine implies humans are machines too. It later gained the Road to Gehenna expansion, a 2023 sequel and a 2025 remaster called Reawakened.
By 11 bit studios · Poland
This War of Mine looks at war from the viewpoint of ordinary civilians instead of soldiers on the front line. Players manage a small group of survivors in a city under siege, scavenging for food and medicine and facing hard moral choices that shape how each character's story ends. Polish studio 11 bit studios developed and published it in 2014, drawing on the siege of Sarajevo and other conflicts for inspiration.
By Nabi Studios · Singapore
Toribash is a free-to-play fighting game viewed from a third-person perspective, where fights unfold turn by turn rather than in real time. Nabi Studios, a developer from Singapore, created it, with Nicalis as publisher, first on Windows in 2006, with OS X and Linux versions arriving in May 2014. A Wii port came out in 2010, and a sequel, Toribash Next, launched in January 2024.
By Secret Exit Ltd. · Finland
Released in 2014, Turbo Dismount is a vehicle simulator from Secret Exit Ltd., a developer in Finland, and the follow-up to Stair Dismount. Players strap a crash test dummy into one of many vehicles and aim for maximum destruction to push up their score, then review each crash through an adjustable replay. Custom courses can be built and shared online, and the game left early access to fully release on Steam on May 21, 2014.
By Schulenburg Software · Denmark
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.
By Milkstone Studios · Spain
Ziggurat is a roguelite first-person shooter structured as a dungeon crawl, taking its inspiration from Heretic and Hexen: Beyond Heretic. Steam also lists it under action and role-playing. Spanish developer Milkstone Studios both made and published it, releasing it on Windows, macOS and Linux in October 2014 after two months of early access, and a sequel, Ziggurat 2, followed in 2021.
By Krillbite Studio · Norway
Among the Sleep is a first-person horror adventure from the Norwegian studio Krillbite Studio in which you play a small child. Trapped in a strange nightmare, you crawl and toddle through your home and beyond while searching for your mother. Seeing everything from a toddler's height makes familiar spaces feel threatening.
By Digital Happiness · Indonesia
DreadOut is a third-person supernatural horror game from the Indonesian independent developer Digital Happiness. A group of high school students find an abandoned town, and Linda has to face its ghosts armed mostly with her smartphone camera. Its Indonesian setting and supernatural themes make it a distinctive entry in the survival horror genre.
By Ironhide Game Studio · Uruguay
Kingdom Rush is a tower defense game from the Uruguayan studio Ironhide Game Studio, set in a medieval fantasy kingdom under attack. You place and upgrade towers along fixed roads to stop waves of monsters, earning gold with every defeated enemy. It is a polished, approachable classic of the tower defense genre and a good introduction to the Uruguayan games scene.
By Quicktequila · India
Lovely Planet is a fast first-person shooter platformer by the Indian indie developer Quicktequila, set in a bright, abstract world that looks cute but plays hard. Levels are short, precise runs where you jump and shoot targets in quick succession, often retrying until your timing is perfect. It is a small, sharp game about flow and precision.
By Nowhere Studios · Turkey
Monochroma is a cinematic puzzle platformer and the first game from the Istanbul-based Nowhere Studios. You play a boy carrying his little brother through a dystopian 1950s world, and most puzzles revolve around keeping the younger child safe while you move ahead. Its focus on protecting a sibling gives the puzzles an emotional weight that most platformers never try for.
By Creability · United Arab Emirates
Only If is a surreal first-person puzzle adventure from Creability, an independent studio that was based in Dubai. The game plays with the idea of turning figures of speech into literal, walkable spaces, which gives its puzzles a dreamlike logic. Released for Windows, macOS and Linux, it is an early example of an indie PC game coming out of the United Arab Emirates.