External Discovery
69 indie games in this list, released 2020, from developers such as Xigma Games, Tomas Sala, Blue Brain Games. 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 Xigma Games · India
The Bonfire 2: Uncharted Shores is a city-building strategy game with survival elements. Players design a settlement, organise workers and resource chains, dispatch ships on expeditions, trade with other cities, and explore mysterious dungeons that hide secrets left by the ancients. It was developed and published by Xigma Games, a studio from India, and released for Windows and Mac in August 2020.
By Tomas Sala · Netherlands
The Falconeer is an aerial combat game in which players take to the air and duel enemies in dogfights. It pays tribute to the niche dogfighting genre with a strongly personal vision. It was created by Tomas Sala in the Netherlands and published by Wired Productions, releasing in November 2020 on Windows, and it was among the games available when the Xbox Series X/S launched. An enhanced Warrior Edition later came to other consoles.
By Blue Brain Games · Slovakia
The House of Da Vinci 2 is a 3D puzzle adventure from Blue Brain Games, a studio in Slovakia, released in 2020. Players take the role of an apprentice to Leonardo da Vinci, solving handcrafted mechanical puzzles and uncovering hidden secrets across Italian Renaissance settings. Time travel is also part of the design, letting the player affect the environment around them as they work through each location.
By Draw Me A Pixel · France
There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is a puzzle adventure from Draw Me A Pixel, a company based in France. It is played in point-and-click style, with casual puzzle solving at its core. The game grew out of creator Pascal Cammisotto's 2015 game jam winner There Is No Game, and is often treated as a sequel or expansion of it. It launched on Windows and macOS in August 2020, reaching mobile and Switch later.
By Arsi "Hakita" Patala · Finland
Ultrakill is a first-person shooter by Finnish developer Arsi Patala, known as Hakita, published by New Blood Interactive and available in Steam early access for Windows since September 2020. Its retro visuals recall games from the early PlayStation era, while its fast movement draws on modern shooters such as Titanfall and Doom Eternal. Its combat also borrows ideas from stylish action games like Devil May Cry.
By Indoor Astronaut · Switzerland
Unrailed! is a cooperative construction game from Indoor Astronaut, a Swiss developer, built with MonoGame and published by Daedalic Entertainment. Players work together to build railway track through endless, procedurally generated worlds, dealing with random encounters, upgrading the train and keeping it from running off the rails. After an early access period that began in 2019, the full release came in September 2020.
By House House · Australia
Untitled Goose Game is a comic stealth puzzle game in which you play a troublesome goose loose in an English village. Using the goose's abilities, players move objects and manipulate the villagers to tick off a list of objectives, all without any violence. Developed by the Australian studio House House and published by Panic in 2019, it took Game of the Year at both the D.I.C.E. Awards and the Game Developers Choice Awards.
By Theta Division · Italy
VirtuaVerse is a point-and-click adventure set in a future world with cyberpunk and science fiction themes. It was developed by Theta Division, a studio in Italy, and published by Blood Music. The game came out on May 12, 2020 on Steam and GOG for Windows and Mac, with versions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One following in October 2021. It holds a Metacritic score of 75.
By Triband · Denmark
What the Golf? is a comedic sports game from Danish studio Triband, first launched in 2019 as an Apple Arcade launch title. It uses golf as a starting point and twists it through miniature-golf style challenges and surreal humour. Critics acclaimed its humour and gameplay, it won multiple awards, and it later led to the follow-ups What the Clash? and What the Car?.
By Mojiken · Indonesia
When the Past Was Around is a point-and-click adventure about Eda and her partner, an owl in human form, told through a chain of escape-room puzzles. It uses no dialogue or text, relying on music and hand-drawn art to carry the story and leave it open to interpretation. It was developed by Mojiken Studio in Indonesia and published by Toge Productions in 2020, and it won Best Visual Art at the 2019 SEA Game Awards.
By WOLCEN Studio · United States
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is a dark fantasy action RPG dungeon crawler told across three acts. Players roam procedurally generated maps, cutting through monster hordes and gathering valuable loot as one of the Purifiers' soldiers, taking part in an operation striking back at the Brotherhood of Dawn. It was developed and published by Wolcen Studio, listed as based in the United States, built on CryEngine V, and launched on Windows in February 2020.
By NewGen · Tunisia
City Monsters is a free-to-play action game in which the player controls a giant creature and smashes a city. The monsters include a giant ape, a T-rex, a boxer and a Celtic warrior, and they fight police, the army, tanks and helicopters while flattening buildings. It is an early PC release from NewGen, the Tunisian studio later known for West Hunt, and appears under the same developer account on Steam.
By FitNot Games · Egypt
Chef Abu Ashraf Falafel Legend is a fast-paced mobile cooking game built around Egyptian street food. Players prepare and serve falafel and other classic dishes, handle time-limited orders and upgrade their restaurant as the kitchen gets busier. Apple featured it in the App Store's Essentials section. It was developed by FitNot Games, an Egypt-based studio founded in 2019, and is published on the stores by MBC Group.
By Rumbling Games Studio · Egypt
Knights of Light: The Prologue is an early-access action role-playing game set in the 7th-century Middle East, built around the lead-up to the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. Players switch between two soldier brothers, one of whom is handed command of the army when its general falls ill. The studio cites The Witcher and Mount & Blade as influences. It is the first release from Rumbling Games Studio, an independent developer based in Giza, Egypt.
By Mad Hook · Jordan
Rooftop Run is a mobile parkour game in which players run, jump, roll and slide across city rooftops to get from one building to the next as fast as possible. It is built around a large number of short levels with simple controls that take practice to master. The game is one of the best-known mobile titles from Mad Hook, a studio based in Amman, Jordan, whose Google Play listing gives an Amman address.
By Mad Hook · Jordan
The Chase is a 2.5D arcade driving game in which players flee from the police while grabbing cash and completing missions. Progress unlocks new cars and comic characters, and the game is played in short, score-driven runs. It is the PC release of one of the best-known mobile series by Mad Hook, a game studio based in Amman, Jordan, whose chase games are also available on mobile and PlayStation.
By Nuked Cockroach · Tunisia
Veterans Online is a free-to-play top-down twin-stick shooter built around team-based competitive modes, meant to be easy to learn and hard to master. The Steam listing is an open beta, and the developers say on the page that the pandemic made it hard to fund the project in Tunisia. It was made by Nuked Cockroach, an independent Tunisian studio that later shifted from PC to hyper-casual mobile games.
By Sunhead Games · Taiwan
Carto is a puzzle adventure from the Taiwanese studio Sunhead Games about a girl named Carto trying to find her way back to her family. Its central idea is that you rearrange the map itself, moving and rotating pieces of the world to open new paths and solve problems. A calm, friendly game with a genuinely original core mechanic.
By Toge Productions · Indonesia
Coffee Talk is a cozy visual novel from the Indonesian studio Toge Productions. You run a late-night coffee shop in a fantasy version of Seattle, listening to the problems of your customers and serving them drinks while their stories unfold. With pixel art inspired by 1990s anime, it is about conversation and warmth rather than challenge.
By Nodding Heads Games · India
Raji: An Ancient Epic is an action-adventure set in ancient India from Nodding Heads Games, a studio based in Pune. A young girl chosen by the gods fights a demonic invasion to rescue her younger brother, in a world whose art and storytelling draw on Indian mythology. It is one of the most visible indie games to come out of India.
By Urnique Studio · Thailand
Timelie is a stealth puzzle adventure from the Thai studio Urnique Studio in which you control time like a media player, scrubbing forward and back to plan a safe route past hostile robots. A girl with the power to see the future and a mysterious cat work together to escape. It was named Game of the Year by Thai gaming publications and events.