External Discovery
58 indie games in this list, released 2015, from developers such as Aterdux Entertainment, Lohika Games, Keen Software House. 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 Aterdux Entertainment · Belarus
Legends of Eisenwald is a tactical role-playing game for one player that also draws on adventure and strategy genres. It was developed and published by Aterdux Entertainment, a studio from Belarus, after a successful Kickstarter campaign helped fund it. The game entered early access in October 2013 and received its official Steam release on July 2, 2015.
By Lohika Games · Denmark
Machineers is an episodic puzzle adventure from Lohika Games, a developer based in Denmark, in which players rebuild twelve whimsical machines from gears, belts, wires and other mechanical components. The player is Zola, a newly hired intern at Hayden's Repair Shop in Tivoli Town. Episode 1 first came out in October 2014 and Episode 2 followed in April 2015, and the first episode is available on Windows, Mac and Linux.
By Keen Software House · Czech Republic
Medieval Engineers is a voxel-based sandbox game from Czech developer Keen Software House. It takes place on an unnamed, waterless Earth-like planetoid whose terrain players can explore, mine, reshape and deform as they work. Blending action, simulation and strategy elements according to its store genres, it entered Steam early access in February 2015 and reached its full release in March 2020.
By Dreadlocks Mobile, Silicon Jelly · Czech Republic
Mimpi is a 2013 game from Czech company Silicon Jelly that combines adventure-style puzzles with platforming. Its Steam release in January 2015 lists it under the adventure and casual genres, with Silicon Jelly and Dreadlocks Mobile credited as developers. The game was followed by a sequel, Mimpi Dreams, released in 2015 and built on the same mix of puzzles and platforming.
By Cornfox & Brothers Ltd. · Finland
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas comes from Cornfox & Brothers, a studio based in Finland, and is an action-adventure in the classic mould. A young boy sets out to locate his missing father and bring down Oceanhorn, a fortress that is alive. Play draws heavily on classic Zelda design: you clear dungeons, battle monsters with an assortment of weapons, and smash pots or slash through bushes for coins and hearts. It debuted on iOS in 2013 before arriving on PC in 2015.
By JoyMasher · Brazil
Odallus: The Dark Call is an action-adventure platform game modelled on the style of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, and it is also classed as a Metroidvania. It was developed by JoyMasher, an independent studio from Brazil, and first released on Windows in 2015. Console versions for Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 followed later.
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 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 Rake in Grass · Czech Republic
Rampage Knights is a roguelike from Czech developer Rake in Grass, released in 2015. Its Steam listing places it across the action, adventure and RPG genres, combining direct combat with role-playing elements inside a roguelike structure. The game came out for Windows in September 2015, with Rake in Grass handling both development and publishing, and it holds a Metacritic score of 80.
By Blackfire · China
Runestone Keeper is a roguelike game developed and self-published by Blackfire Games, a studio from China, with its iOS version handled by Cimu. It released on Windows and Mac OS X in March 2015, then arrived on iOS later that year and on Android in 2017. Steam tags it with the Strategy, RPG and Casual genres, while Wikidata classifies it more broadly as a strategy video game.
By Team Eleven · United States
SC2VN is a free visual novel taking place in South Korea in the first competitive years of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Players follow Mach, a hopeful who wants to turn professional, through a story praised for portraying esports honestly, including its emotional cost and the real chance of failing. It was developed by Team Eleven, a studio from the United States, released on Windows in September 2015, and a prequel titled Don't Forget Our Esports Dream came later.
By Dead Mage · Iran
Shadow Blade: Reload is an action platformer starring Kuro, a ninja racing through trap-filled stages and cutting down enemies along the way. It is the PC counterpart of the mobile game Shadow Blade, and its developers planned additional levels, a full story campaign and Steam features such as leaderboards and workshop support. It was developed and published by Dead Mage, a studio based in Iran, and released in August 2015.
By Frictional Games · Sweden
SOMA is a science fiction survival horror game in which Simon Jarrett wakes inside an underwater research station full of machines that seem to have personalities of their own. Play centres on sneaking past threats, solving puzzles and uncovering the station's past, with less weight on inventory and more on story and character. Swedish studio Frictional Games developed and published it in 2015 using its HPL Engine, and it holds a Metacritic score of 84.
By THE BROTHERHOOD · South Africa
Stasis is a science fiction horror adventure played point-and-click style from an isometric viewpoint, built around using computers, combining items and solving puzzles. John Maracheck wakes from stasis aboard the abandoned spaceship Groomlake and must search for his missing wife and daughter as the ship sinks deeper into Neptune's methane clouds. It was developed by the South African studio The Brotherhood with the Visionaire Studio engine and released in August 2015.
By Tale of Tales · Belgium
Sunset is a narrative adventure in which players become Angela Burnes, a housekeeper employed in the lavish apartment of the mysterious Gabriel Ortega, in the fictional South American nation of Anchuria. While doing her daily chores she gradually learns about his life and his role in a growing revolution, and her choices shape how she engages with it. Belgian studio Tale of Tales released it in 2015 on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it was their final commercial game.
By Mouldy Toof Studios · United Kingdom
The Escapists is a strategy game from UK developer Mouldy Toof Studios, published by Team17, in which you play an inmate trying to break out of progressively tougher prisons. Reviewers liked the freedom to tackle each escape your own way, though some found learning its systems through trial and error frustrating. After debuting in Steam Early Access in 2014, it launched fully in 2015 on PC and consoles, and a sequel followed in 2017.
By Vogelsap · Netherlands
The Flock is an online-only survival horror game built around a shared, limited pool of player lives, meaning the game was designed to end once enough deaths had occurred. It was developed by Vogelsap in the Netherlands and launched for Windows in August 2015. Weak sales led the servers to be switched off before that death total was ever reached, making it an unusual experiment in finite multiplayer design.
By House On Fire · Denmark
The Silent Age is a point-and-click adventure from Danish indie studio House on Fire. It follows a janitor pulled into a mission to save humanity from an apocalyptic event, using time travel and glimpsing the future that awaits if he fails. Originally released as two episodes and later sold together, it reached Windows and Mac on Steam in 2015 and was positively reviewed by critics.
By Zachtronics · United States
TIS-100 is a programming puzzle game in which players write mock assembly language so that a corrupted, fictional 1970s computer can carry out set tasks. Every challenge is solved by writing and refining code, turning low-level programming into the core of play. American developer Zachtronics released it for Windows, OS X and Linux in July 2015, and a version for iPadOS followed in January 2016.
By Swordtales · Brazil
Toren is an action-adventure with puzzle elements that takes cues from Ico, the Zelda series and Shadow of the Colossus. Brazilian studio Swordtales made it, and Versus Evil released it in 2015 on Windows and PlayStation 4. It holds a notable place in its home country as the first game funded through the Brazilian government's public tax credit under the Rouanet Law.
By Alexey Davydov, Sergey Dvoynikov, Timofey Shargorodskiy, Flazm · Lithuania
Train Valley is a puzzle-strategy train simulator where you lay railway lines and direct traffic, trying to keep every train moving without collisions. Its story mode spans eras from the 1849 Gold Rush to the first crewed spaceflight across Europe, America, Japan, and the USSR, and a random mode follows. Lithuanian studio Flazm released it in September 2015, and it went on to spawn several sequels.
By Atelier 801 · France
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.
By Stygian Software · Serbia
Underrail is a role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic science fiction world. It was developed and self-published by Stygian Software, a studio from Serbia, and released for Windows in 2015 after first appearing in early access in late 2012. Two expansions followed, Expedition in 2019 and Heavy Duty in 2023, and a sequel titled Underrail 2: Infusion is in development.