External Discovery
An editorial guide from The Gaming Nest to indie games from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, MENA and Oceania — each with original notes and a link to its store page.
These are editorial pages. The developers and publishers are not affiliated with The Gaming Nest unless explicitly stated.
By Bold Statement Games · Saudi Arabia
Tail Trail is a free, story-driven point-and-click game about P.I. Trevor, who takes his first solo case to find a missing person on a mysterious island. The developer built it as a mix of a linear game and a short animated film, with heavy cutscenes, investigation of areas and light quick-time events. It is by Bold Statement Games, the developer of VolleySmash from Steam's Games Made in KSA bundle.
By Bold Statement Games · Saudi Arabia
Sticks And Bones is a short interactive story about a boastful pirate who keeps hunting for treasure even after his death. It mixes quick-time events with shifting mechanics, from third-person sections to 2.5D scenes, puzzles and sword duels. The developer describes it as a one-person project and an episode zero for a planned series. It comes from Bold Statement Games, the developer of VolleySmash from Steam's Games Made in KSA bundle.
By Classy Games · Saudi Arabia
Silly Suspects is a comic detective game built on the guess-who formula. You investigate absurd crimes in a strange world, question suspects, learn their habits and rule them out one by one until the culprit remains, with a lighthearted parody of classic murder mysteries. It is in early access from Classy Games, a studio that now operates in Saudi Arabia.
By Shusmo · Jordan
3D48 takes the number-merging idea of 2048 into three dimensions: players merge matching numbered cubes and try to keep the board from filling up as the numbers grow. It is a casual mobile puzzle game for Android and iOS. The game is released under the Shusmo label, a studio listed in Jordan's 962Games industry directory, and Amman-based Kolide Studio lists 3D48 among its own games.
By Moving Dimensions · Saudi Arabia
Abo Khashem is a comedic open-world action RPG set in the City of Torrid. Players fight enemies with an unusual combat system, develop entrepreneurial skills, explore dangerous dungeons and look for hidden treasure. It was released on Steam in February 2018 and was also listed for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It was developed by Moving Dimensions, a studio from Saudi Arabia.
By YG Studio · Egypt
Abu Batata is a street-life simulation in which you run a sweet potato cart in Egypt. Players cook and sell sweet potatoes, deal with funny customers, upgrade the cart and follow a story about family, sacrifice and hope. A demo covering the first part of the story is available for PC and Android, with Arabic and English support. It is being made by YG Studio, a solo indie developer from Egypt.
By AJB GAMES STUDIO · Morocco
AL-KHANAS is a short psychological horror game inspired by mysterious events said to have happened in southern Morocco. It follows a house where a woman asked a sorcerer to perform forbidden rituals, after which her family disappeared one by one and the house was sealed. The player explores the house and solves puzzles in a playable demo on itch.io, made by the Moroccan horror studio AJB Games Studio.
By Mad Hook · Jordan
Amer: Cop Pursuit is a mobile arcade chase game in which the character Amer tries to stay ahead of the police. It offers an endless chase mode scored on survival time and a mission mode where players take down targets and escape to unlock new levels and cars. The game is developed by Mad Hook, a studio based in Amman, Jordan, and is the mobile side of its The Chase series.
By Mad Hook · Jordan
Amer Fighting is a party brawler for up to six players inspired by Arab family dynamics. Players punch, grab and throw each other and pieces of furniture around interactive maps until one fighter is left, with voice lines and slapstick comedy throughout. It is developed by Mad Hook of Amman, Jordan, and was one of the studio's first titles released as a physical PlayStation 5 game in the MENA region.
By Mad Hook · Jordan
Amer: The Chase Hit and Run is an open-world action game in which the character Amer explores a city and its surrounding desert on foot or by car, taking on deliveries, races, police chases and fights to earn money for cars and property. A mobile version has been available since 2022, while the Steam version is listed as coming soon. It is developed by Mad Hook, a studio based in Amman, Jordan.
By Mad Hook · Jordan
Amer Tycoon: Idle! is a mobile idle management game in which players help the character Amer grow a small drinks stall into a chain of shops. Players serve customers at the counter and at a car pickup point, hire and train staff and open new branches across the city. The game is developed by Mad Hook, a studio based in Amman, Jordan, and reuses the Amer character from its chase games.
By Danar Dev · Iraq
Anonymous Messages is a short atmospheric adventure set in an eerie forest. You wake with no memory, carrying only a flashlight and a cassette player, and search for six tapes whose anonymous messages calm your rising heart rate while slowly restoring your past. The forest becomes more hostile with each tape. It is a game by Danar Dev, the label of Kurdish Iraqi solo developer Danar Kayfi, and it also appears on his itch.io page.
By Mad Hook · Jordan
Arabian Hero is a mobile archery action game with an Arabian setting in which the player's hero fights waves of enemies using bows, swords and axes. Victories unlock and upgrade abilities such as freezing, poison and speed boosts, letting players build their own combat strategy. It is developed by Mad Hook, a game studio based in Amman, Jordan, and is linked from the studio's own website.
By Maysalward(MRD) · Jordan
Arabian Puzzle: Ludo Quest combines spot-the-difference puzzles with Ludo. Each difference found earns dice powers used on the Ludo board. The story follows Zarqa al-Yamama, the sharp-eyed woman of pre-Islamic Arabian legend, and her companion Saqr across the desert. It is developed by Maysalward, a studio in Amman, Jordan, that makes culturally relevant games for Arab players.
By AMBRATOR GAMES · Jordan
Arrow Challenge is a logic puzzle game in which each arrow on the board must be moved in the right direction until the board is clear. Its 300 levels get steadily harder, and bombs and a drill can help with tricky boards. It is a departure from the driving games usually made by Ambrator Games, a small studio based in Amman, Jordan, that develops for mobile devices.
By Limeless · Saudi Arabia
At Night: Freakshow is an episode of the At Night horror series in which you play Samuel Finch, a protected witness hidden by the FBI inside a travelling carnival. Given a new act as the silent Birdman, you speak only through your parrot, train with the other performers and take part in the shows while trying to stay hidden. It was developed by Limeless Studio, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
By Limeless · Saudi Arabia
At Night: Haunted Ride is a first-person psychological horror episode in which you play Jeremy Miller, a ride operator running final test runs of a haunted mine attraction the night before it opens. The loop is to ride the minecart, stop when something breaks, fix props and mechanisms, then ride again, each lap going deeper. It belongs to the At Night series from Limeless Studio, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
By Limeless · Saudi Arabia
At Night: The Nurse is an episode of an anthology of psychological horror stories framed as a late-night TV show where survivors recount what happened to them. You play Emily Collins on a night shift at Bloomring Hospital, driving to work, answering texts, tending patients and exploring the wards as things go wrong. It is a short, choice-based walking experience from Limeless Studio of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
By Limeless · Saudi Arabia
At Night: The Student is a free, roughly 20-minute episode of the At Night horror series. You play Mio, a 16-year-old home alone in a Japanese village while a kidnapper is in town, going through a normal school day with no directions except photos on her phone of real places you must recognise. It uses a VHS-inspired look and comes from Limeless Studio of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
By Abdulla Al Hamad (DRTH) · Saudi Arabia
Aunt Fatima is a first-person horror game in which you play a kidnapping victim trying to escape the house of Aunt Fatima and her husband. You solve puzzles, gather items and hunt for keys while she patrols the rooms, and hiding in wardrobes is your main defence when she gives chase. The game was created by Saudi solo developer Abdulla Al Hamad (DRTH), with Saudi-dialect Arabic text.
By Binary Lunar · Syria
AvoCuddle is a 2D action adventure about two avocados, AvoRa and AvoLn, who live on a garden planet. After a quarrel, AvoLn is kidnapped by a spaceship and AvoRa travels across five planets, fighting creatures and solving puzzles to rescue him; the story is inspired by the triangular theory of love. It was made solo by Ramez Al-Tabbaa of Damascus, Syria, who had to publish it through a friend abroad because of sanctions.
By Game Cooks · Lebanon
AVO Escape Space is a story-driven escape-room game for VR set aboard a spaceship caught in a meteor storm. Playing as the last passenger, PatientZ, you solve a chain of puzzles with help from the ship's AI, AVO, while uncovering what the vessel was really for. It won at the Very Big Indie Pitch in Dubai. It comes from Game Cooks, the VR and mobile studio founded in Beirut by Lebanese brothers Arz and Lebnan Nader.
By Tamatem Inc. · Jordan
King of Delivery 2 brings back Awad, the delivery character from Tamatem's 2014 mobile hit, in an open-world delivery and business game. Players complete delivery missions, collect cars, invest earnings in new businesses and explore an Arabic city. It is Tamatem's first internally developed title; Tamatem is a mobile games company headquartered in Amman, Jordan, and otherwise works mainly as a publisher.
By Inkline Ltd. · Lebanon
Ayo: A Rain Tale is a puzzle platformer about a young girl who crosses the harsh lands of sub-Saharan Africa to fetch water for her family during a drought. Players push boulders, solve puzzles, face enemies and deal with heat and a day-night cycle along the way. The game was made to raise awareness of water scarcity. It is the debut of Inkline, a studio based in Beirut, Lebanon, and launched on PC before coming to mobile.