68 indie games in this list, released 2021, from developers such as We Create Stuff, Somnium Games d.o.o., Daniel Mullins 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.
In Sound Mind is a psychological horror game from We Create Stuff, a studio based in Israel, released on Windows in September 2021. Steam lists it under action and indie, and it belongs to the horror tradition of unsettling atmosphere and dread rather than straightforward combat. Its store publisher is Black Lantern Collective, and it holds a Metacritic score of 75. The available facts say little about its specific mechanics, so treat it as a horror title first and foremost.
Inked: A Tale of Love, a puzzle-platform game from Croatian studio Somnium Games, was first demoed in Zagreb during the 2016 edition of the Reboot Infogamer convention. Its story moves between Nameless Hero, a rogue samurai searching for his beloved Aiko, and the comic book artist Adam. The distinctive look resembles papercraft outlined in ballpoint pen on grid-lined notebook paper, and the game first arrived on Steam in April 2018.
Inscryption is a roguelike deck-building game from Canadian studio Daniel Mullins Games, directed by Daniel Mullins and published by Devolver Digital in 2021. Set in a cabin, it has the player face a mysterious gamemaster across a tabletop card game, gradually folding in puzzles, escape-room ideas and a cryptic metafictional story. It grew out of a Ludum Dare jam prototype and went on to win several Game of the Year awards.
Last Stop is an adventure game with a supernatural twist, categorised by Wikidata as a walking simulator, so it leans on exploration and story rather than combat. It was developed by Variable State, a studio from the United Kingdom, and published by Annapurna Interactive. The Windows version reached Steam in July 2021, alongside releases on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox consoles.
Lost Ruins is a 2D side-scrolling action game from Altari Games in South Korea, released in 2021 and published by DANGEN Entertainment. It blends metroidvania-style exploration with survival elements. The player controls a young girl who wakes up with no memories in an unfamiliar land, then explores its dark, hostile spaces, fights grotesque monsters and takes on powerful bosses.
Following on from Lust for Darkness, Lust from Beyond is a 2021 erotic horror game from Polish developer Movie Games Lunarium, published by Movie Games. Like its predecessor, it tells a sexually charged horror story shaped by the art of Beksiński and Giger and the fiction of Lovecraft. On Steam it is listed as an action-adventure title for Windows, and it continues the same unsettling world.
Metallic Child is an action roguelite viewed from an isometric perspective, built around fast combat and repeated runs. It comes from Studio HG, a one-person South Korean outfit credited on Steam as Action Square (STUDIO HG), with HIKE handling publishing. The game reached Windows through Steam and Nintendo Switch in September 2021. Beyond its action and roguelike labels, the available facts say little about its structure, so expect a compact run-based brawler rather than a sprawling adventure.
A direct sequel to its 2020 predecessor, Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk continues the story of the same unnamed heroine, exploring her unsettling dreams through themes of isolation, trauma and depression. This psychological horror visual novel was developed and published by Russian indie creator Nikita Kryukov using Ren'Py, and it arrived on Steam and itch.io in December 2021.
Mundaun is a first-person horror adventure in which the player works their way toward a mountain summit, solving puzzles and fending off hostile figures along the way. Its hand-drawn, sketchbook-style visuals won praise, though some puzzles were considered obscure, and most dialogue is spoken in Romansh. Swiss developer Hidden Fields created it, and it launched in March 2021 on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with a Metacritic score of 72.
Nuclear Blaze is an action-adventure from Deepnight Games, a developer in France, in which you play a firefighter exploring a military facility. Your hose is the main tool for putting out fires inside the base while you search for survivors and uncover what the site was built for. It launched on Windows via Steam in October 2021, reaching PlayStation 4 and Switch in 2023. Reviews at release were mixed.
Of Bird and Cage presents a metal album as a story-driven game roughly two hours long, letting players experience the music in an unusual interactive form. Its store listing names guest performers including Ron Thal, Rob van der Loo, and Ruud Jolie. Developed and published by Capricia Productions, a studio from Israel, it was released on Windows in May 2021 and is tagged on Steam as an action game.
Viewed from an isometric perspective, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a role-playing game adapted from Paizo's Pathfinder tabletop franchise. Players lead a party into lands overrun by demons, make choices that weigh good against evil and grow into a Mythic Hero with powers beyond ordinary mortals. Owlcat Games of Russia developed it after a Kickstarter campaign in 2020, and it launched on Windows and macOS in September 2021 with a Metacritic score of 83.
Perfect Gold is a brief yuri visual novel with a coming-of-age story following Marion LaRue and Audrey Clary. The two explore a magical city called Castlecoast while being given another chance at friendship and romance, with the player reading through their story. It was made and published by Yangyang Mobile, a developer based in the Philippines, and released in April 2021 for Windows and macOS.
Pico Park is a cooperative action-puzzle game with three modes: World, where progress comes from solving puzzles together, Endless, which is about chasing a high score, and Battle, which turns teammates into rivals. Japanese developer TECOPARK first released it on Windows in 2016 with local play and added online multiplayer in 2021. It won the Best Presentation award at Sense of Wonder Night 2014.
Piposh is an episodic point-and-click comedy adventure that reboots a series Israeli studio Guillotine originally produced between 1999 and 2003. Players follow the misadventures of Hezi Piposh, a failed actor chasing a lead role in a film, exploring locations, picking up items, and talking with characters to move the story on. Initially planned in several parts, it was completed as a single release in 2021.
Pixel Cup Soccer 17 is a retro-styled arcade football game that strips the sport down to quick, fast-moving matches. Rather than detailed simulation, it focuses on responsive controls and straightforward mechanics aimed at short bursts of play. It was developed and published by BATOVI Games, a studio based in Uruguay, and released in November 2021 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Poppy Playtime is an episodic puzzle survival horror series set inside the abandoned factory of Playtime Co., a fictional toy company. The player is a former employee lured back by a letter, years after the staff vanished without explanation. Chapters mix puzzle solving with survival horror tension, and every chapter after the first is sold as premium downloadable content. American indie developer Mob Entertainment built it on Unreal Engine 4 and released the first chapter on Windows in October 2021.
Quantum League is a competitive online first-person shooter from Argentina's Nimble Giant Entertainment, released on Windows in 2021. Matches take place inside a repeating time loop, so each round you fight alongside recordings of your own earlier and later actions. Games are played as one-on-one or two-on-two duels, which rewards planning where your past selves will stand. Steam tags it as action, sports and strategy.
Sands of Salzaar is a fantasy strategy action RPG from Chinese indie studio Han-Squirrel Studio, published by Hong Kong's XD and fully released in 2021. Players create a character, fight battles, recruit troops, run a fief and delve into dungeons across a war-torn realm where five factions compete. It offers a story campaign and a sandbox mode, and has been likened to a blend of Mount & Blade, Diablo and Dynasty Warriors.
Tails of Iron is an action role-playing game from UK developer Odd Bug Studio, with United Label publishing it in 2021. Players take control of an anthropomorphic rat fighting to drive back frogs that have invaded his kingdom. Wikidata tags it as a soulsvania, a label for games that blend Souls-like and Metroidvania traits, and it launched on Steam in September 2021 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
The Last Campfire is a puzzle game from Hello Games, a studio based in the United Kingdom, which also published it. It first launched in August 2020 on iOS, Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows and macOS, with the Steam version dated October 2021. Store tags place it in the adventure genre alongside its puzzle focus, and it holds a Metacritic score of 80.
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a narrative role-playing game told almost entirely through text, where progress depends on the decisions the player makes. Each choice sends the story down a different branch, so the life that unfolds can change from one playthrough to the next. It was made by the Russian team Sever together with Schisma Games, published by 101XP, and came out on Windows in 2021. A follow-up about Prince Jerian arrived in July 2026.
The Shore is a horror adventure in the Lovecraftian tradition that centers on exploring an isolated, mysterious island. The protagonist is a father who comes ashore looking for his missing daughter, and the unsettling environment drives the tension. It was developed by Ares Dragonis, an independent developer from Greece, who shared a demo in July 2020 before releasing the full game on Windows in February 2021.
This Land Is My Land is a stealth action game set on the American frontier of the 1800s, where a Native American protagonist leads resistance against encroaching settlers. Players roam a large open landscape of hostile people and wildlife, and their choices shape how the story unfolds. Ukrainian studio Game-Labs developed and published it, releasing it in early access in 2019 before a full launch in 2021; it drew criticism over stereotyping and a lack of Native American involvement.