External Discovery
65 indie games in this list, released 2019, from developers such as Indefatigable, Aoca Game Lab, System Era Softworks. 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 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 Aoca Game Lab · Brazil
ARIDA: Backland's Awakening is an adventure with survival mechanics, originally known as Projeto Sertao during development. Players follow Cicera, a young woman from the countryside who must endure hunger and drought in the backlands of Brazil during the 19th century. It was developed by Brazilian studio Aoca Game Lab and released on Steam for Windows in August 2019.
By System Era Softworks · United States
ASTRONEER drops players onto alien worlds as a spacesuited explorer whose job is to settle planets, gather raw materials and put up structures. Progress comes from travelling between planets and switching on their cores, with extras such as a new suit or visor handed out along the way. American studio System Era Softworks developed and published it with Unreal Engine 4, launching in early access in late 2016 and reaching full release in February 2019.
By Ranida Games · Philippines
BAYANI is an indie fighting game from Ranida Games, a developer based in the Philippines, whose roster draws on figures from Philippine history. Its alternate title, Kanino Ka Kakampi?, roughly asks which hero you will side with. The game arrived on Steam for Windows in June 2019 as an Early Access release, and its store listing also tags it with action, adventure, simulation and sports elements.
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 Moonsprout Games · Panama
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is a role-playing game whose art and combat take cues from the early Paper Mario games. Three bugs, Vi, Kabbu and Leif, travel through the land of Bugaria searching for a sapling said to grant eternal life, facing rival teams along the way. It was developed by Moonsprout Games in Panama, published by Dangen Entertainment, and released in 2019. Critics praised its characters, battles and amount of content.
By The Gentlebros · Singapore
Cat Quest II is an action role-playing game from The Gentlebros, a studio based in Singapore, released in 2019 as a follow-up to the original Cat Quest. Players guide two rulers, a feline monarch and a canine monarch, who team up to win back their thrones from oppressive rule. The fantasy world is full of magic, monsters to fight and loot to gather, and the adventure can be played alone or cooperatively with a friend controlling the second hero.
By Picroma · Germany
Cube World is an action role-playing game with dungeon-crawling elements, developed and published by Picroma in Germany for Windows. Designer Wolfram von Funck started work in 2011, and his wife Sarah later joined him. An alpha arrived in 2013, but updates were so rare that many wrote the project off as vaporware, until the full game finally launched on September 30, 2019. Steam lists it under adventure and RPG, and it remains a Windows release.
By OnSkull Games · Greece
Curious Cases is a detective adventure that can be played in virtual reality or on a desktop PC. Across three chapters you step into the role of Detective Thomas Moore, a seasoned investigator known for cracking cases others could not. It was developed and self-published by OnSkull Games, a studio based in Greece, and released on Windows in April 2019. Steam categorizes it as adventure, casual and indie.
By Madruga Works · United Kingdom
Dawn of Man is a survival city-builder from Madruga Works, a UK developer, released in March 2019 after a closed beta that began in October 2018. It blends settlement building with survival play, and its genre listings also point to business simulation and a historical setting. On Steam it is available for Windows and macOS under the simulation and strategy categories.
By Invader Studios · Italy
Daymare: 1998 is a survival horror game played from a third-person perspective. It was developed by Invader Studios of Italy on Unreal Engine 4 and came to Windows on September 17, 2019, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions following in April 2020. Its prequel, Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle, followed in 2023. The game holds a Metacritic score of 62.
By KeokeN Interactive · Netherlands
Deliver Us The Moon is a science fiction puzzle adventure about a solitary astronaut sent to the moon after Earth has run out of natural resources, in an attempt to save humanity from dying out. Play mixes exploration with environmental puzzles in a bleak near-future setting. It was developed by KeokeN Interactive from the Netherlands in Unreal Engine 4, first self-published in 2018 as an episode called Fortuna, then expanded for a 2019 release.
By Red Thread Games · Norway
Draugen is a first-person mystery adventure set during the 1920s in a Norwegian fishing village. An American naturalist arrives to discover that every resident has disappeared, and players explore the settlement to learn what befell it while getting through the night. The game draws on the darker side of Norwegian folklore. It was developed and self-published by Norwegian studio Red Thread Games and released in 2019.
By Star Drifters · Poland
In Driftland: The Magic Revival, players build up an empire across a fantasy world that magic has badly damaged, in a real-time strategy design that borrows ideas from 4X games. Polish studio Star Drifters developed and published it in 2019 using Unreal Engine 4. Steam lists it under strategy, simulation and RPG, and it holds a Metacritic score of 76.
By Ctrl Alt Ninja Ltd. · Finland
Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest, a tactical role-playing game, comes from Ctrl Alt Ninja, a developer based in Finland that also handled publishing. Its Steam listing places it across the adventure and strategy genres, pointing to squad-based tactical encounters wrapped in a fantasy quest. The game was released for Windows in May 2019 as a self-published PC title from the Finnish team.
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 OnSkull Games · Greece
Escape First 2 is the follow-up entry in OnSkull Games' escape room series, playable either in virtual reality or on a standard desktop PC. It offers three separate rooms, each built around solving puzzles to find a way out, and supports competitive, cooperative, or solo sessions. The studio is based in Greece, and the game was released on Windows in June 2019. Store listings tag it as a casual adventure.
By Miro Haverinen · Finland
Fear & Hunger is a survival horror role-playing game by Finnish solo developer Miro Haverinen, made with RPG Maker and released in 2018. Players pick one of four characters and descend into a deadly dungeon labyrinth in a dark medieval setting, searching for a man named Le'garde. Turn-based fights are harsh, with party members able to die permanently or lose limbs, while physical health, mental health and hunger must all be managed and saving carries risk.
By Kong Orange · Denmark
Released in 2019, Felix the Reaper is a puzzle game by Kong Orange, a studio from Denmark, published by Daedalic Entertainment. Each level asks players to guide Felix through spatial puzzles while keeping him out of the sunlight, reshaping the environment to open safe routes. His job in every scenario is to set up fatal, often contrived accidents that claim a chosen character's life. The Danse Macabre tradition inspired the concept, and development spanned eight years.
By Attu Games · Czech Republic
Feudal Alloy is a 2019 platform role-playing game from Czech studio Attu Games, categorised as a Metroidvania. It pairs platforming with RPG elements inside the kind of interconnected world the genre is known for, and its Steam listing adds action and adventure tags. Attu Games developed and self-published it, releasing it in January 2019 on Windows, macOS and Linux.
By Digital Crafter · Taiwan
Fight of Gods is a one-on-one fighting game whose roster is drawn from the deities and legendary figures of world religions and mythologies. Matches follow the familiar versus format, pitting these divine characters against each other. It was made by Digital Crafter, an independent developer from Taiwan. Its religious subject matter led to bans in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and briefly caused Steam access in Malaysia to be blocked for a day.
By Stuck In Attic · Romania
As its subtitle suggests, Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure takes the point-and-click adventure format into Cthulhu-themed territory. Romanian developer Stuck In Attic developed and published it, releasing it on Steam and GOG in August 2019 for Windows, macOS and Linux, with a Nintendo Switch version as well. It holds a Metacritic score of 74 and carries an indie tag on Steam.
By Creepy Jar · Poland
Green Hell drops the player into the Amazon rainforest with little more than their wits. Staying alive means crafting tools, hunting, gathering resources and building anything from a crude shelter to a fortified base, and the jungle can be tackled alone or in co-op with friends. It was developed by Creepy Jar of Poland, released on Windows in 2019, and later reached several console generations before development wrapped up in 2024.
By Ironhide Game Studio · Uruguay
Iron Marines is a real-time strategy game in which the player commands a military force defending a space colony from alien invaders. Each mission centres on a powerful hero unit supported by soldiers, mechs and other troops across varied objectives. It was developed by Ironhide Game Studio in Uruguay, launched on mobile in 2017, came to Windows, macOS and Linux in May 2019, and was well received by critics.