The IndieList is a compilation of recently-released indie games that have caught my eye. Today’s titles constitute the largest additions to date, spanning a broad range of genres and niches from roguelikes to 4X to solitaire. As always, if you’re looking for something novel to play, you’ve come to the right place!
Notes are based on first impressions. Early Access status current as of October 2022. Screenshots sourced from Steam / SteamDB.
Taiji
Solve puzzle panels and uncover the meaning of the symbols within. Explore a dense world where secrets are hidden in plain sight. Steam.
Notes: Very abstract puzzle game attempting to emulate the spirit of The Witness with obscure mechanics that must be inferred. If you like The Witness, you’ll like this.
Puzzle Park
Welcome to the puzzle park! You will meet with a lot of puzzles scattered across the park. Solve them and get stars that will help you move forward. Choose your own path on which you will go, because the game is completely non-linear and with an open world. Steam.
Notes: Relatively short puzzle game involving flipping tiles on 4×5 panels and finding collectable stars within a Talos Principle-esque world.
One Dreamer
Manipulate the world around you by editing source code in an adventure game about a burnt out indie game developer’s quest to fulfill a lifelong dream. Steam.
Notes: An interesting point and clock programming game (essentially just swapping out values for variables) with some rather bleak social commentary.
Roadwarden
Roadwarden is an illustrated text-based RPG that uses isometric pixel art and combines mechanics borrowed from RPGs, Visual Novels, adventure games and interactive fiction. Steam.
Notes: Brilliant old-school, choose your own adventure with subtle branching and highly immersive writing.
Nitro Kid
Synthwave roguelike deckbuilder set in the neon 80’s. Pick your agent. Build your deck. Hit card combos and fight through the floors of INFINITY tower. Featuring 30+ fresh Synthwave tracks by LudoWic, Tonebox and Jules Reves. Steam.
Notes: Fantastic tactical game with a beautiful cyberpunk aesthetic, with elements of Into The Breach and Fights in Tight Spaces.
Stardeus – ⓘ Early Access
Stardeus is a deep colony sim set on a broken starship manned by drones and hibernating human survivors. As the AI, have your drones repair your ship, save your crew and travel the stars in this beautiful simulation. Steam.
Notes: Space-based colony simulator with a strong focus on resource management. Great foundation from which to grow; definitely one to keep an eye on!
Stellar Monarchs 2
Stellar Monarch 2 is a feudal space empire builder where you feel like the Emperor, not a logistics officer. Great noble houses, usurpers to the throne, rebels, assassins, court intrigues, disloyal admirals, incompetent governors and ever-present alien threat. Steam.
Notes: High-level, macro-focused space strategy game, however the intimidating UI and lack of explanations make it difficult to get started.
Terra Invicta – ⓘ Early Access
From the creators of Long War, an alien invasion has fractured humanity into seven ideological factions each with a unique vision for the future. Lead your chosen faction to take control of Earth’s nations, expand across the Solar System, and battle enemy fleets in tactical combat. Steam.
Notes: Extremely ambitious 4X title combining nation building and eventual expansion into space, all amidst the shadow of an alien threat. This is a difficult game with an extreme degree of micromanagement with lots of little things adding up over time. High investment requirement.
Dome Keeper
Defend against waves of alien attackers in this innovative roguelike survival miner. Dig for resources and choose from powerful upgrade paths. Is there enough time to mine a little deeper and get back to defend before the monsters attack your dome? Steam.
Notes: Interesting blend of gameplay mechanics in which you mine for resources in the hunt for artefacts, only to constantly RTB to defend against waves of monsters. A tad overpriced and repetitive given the content at hand.
Cosmoteer: Starship Architect and Commander – ⓘ Early Access
Design and simulate the starship of your dreams! Command it in epic battles and manage your crew while exploring a dangerous galaxy. Play alone or with friends, test your ship in online PvP, and let your imagination reach for the stars! Steam.
Notes: Excellent, addictive gameplay with great deep building and crew management mechanics.
Void Scrappers
Blast hordes of alien ships into junk. Collect the scrap to upgrade your ship into an unstoppable force of destruction. Unlock new characters and weapons and upgrade your stats between runs. Steam.
Notes: The market is currently saturated with cheap horde-based roguelikes / Vampire Survivor clones, but Void Scrappers at least offers a different theme.
Cartridge Defense
Cartridge Defense is a tower defense game with over 300 distinct collectible cards that you will use to create your own decks to defend against robots in the cyberpunk inspired future. Play cards (cartridges) to spawn towers, upgrades, special abilities and more in a campaign or rogue-like mode. Steam.
Notes: A fusion of tower defence and card mechanics, with dynamic enemy pathing and meaningful deckbuilding.
Plateup!
Cook and serve your dishes, design and decorate your restaurants, and expand your culinary kingdom with new unlocks, abilities and dishes in procedurally-generated locations. Classic cooking action with permanent roguelite progression. Hire your friends – or do it all yourself! Steam.
Notes: Innovative restaurant management simulator with excellent replayability.
Lakeside – ⓘ Early Access
Build and manage a quiet town by the lake or expand it into a picturesque city state in this side-scrolling city builder featuring hybrid mechanics. Construct marvelous buildings, epic wonders and become the envy of the known world! Steam.
Notes: Puzzle-based, pixel art city builder with a very limited space in which to actually build.
Lost In Fantaland – ⓘ Early Access
Lost In Fantaland is a retro pixel-style roguelite game that blends deck building and turn-based strategies on a checkerboard. Steam.
Notes: Interesting fantasy-themed tactical deckbuilder.
Tiny Rogues – ⓘ Early Access
Tiny Rogues is a challenging fantasy rogue-lite bullet-hell dungeon crawler with rpg elements. Build a new unique character each run and fight one monster-infested room after another! Discover unique weapons, collect magical items and level up to become more and more powerful! Steam.
Notes: Great core gameplay loop with great minimalist pixel art.
Ozymandius: Bronze Age Empire Sim
Build an empire in a single sitting. All the strategy of a classic 4X in a faster format, which also shines in multiplayer. Steam.
Notes: An abstracted, bite-sized Civilization with games lasting around an hour or two. Looks and plays like a well designed strategy board game.
After The Collapse – ⓘ Early Access
ATC is a base building game set in a post-apocalyptic world featuring urban environments. Build a base across several layers with dozens of survivors. Fight other factions for the control of the remaining production centers and explore the world to find long forgotten resources and technologies. Steam.
Notes: A fair stab at a post-apocalyptic Rimworld, but it is somewhat unpolished at the moment with a difficult-to-navigate UI and performance issues. Shows great potential.
Batora Lost Haven
Embark on an epic adventure to save Earth in this interplanetary action RPG. Harness the ancient powers of Sun and Moon to take on a variety of unique enemies while solving diverse puzzles and exploring stunning sci-fi worlds, each with its own curious stories, inhabitants, and mysteries. Steam.
Notes: A fairly linear isometric, hack ‘n’ slash ARPG with light puzzle mechanics and a strong art style.
Asterigos: Curse Of The Stars
Embark on a journey full of danger in this action RPG, inspired by Greek and Roman mythologies. Explore the breathtaking city of Aphes and forge your way through legions of unique foes and mythical bosses to discover the truth behind the city’s curse. Steam.
Notes: Charming, fantasy-themed ARPG with heaps of lore. It plays more like a lightweight Souls-like compared to the typical hack ‘n’ slash of the genre.
Railbound
A relaxing puzzle game about fixing train connections and travelling the world! Steam.
Notes: A beautiful minimalist puzzler involving reconstructing tracks with limited parts.
A Hero’s Rest – ⓘ Early Access
Build shops, craft items with hundreds of customization options, and manage your resources wisely to lead your Heroes to success. Immerse yourself as proprietor of a medieval fantasy town in a world abounding with Heroes and Monsters. Steam.
Notes: Great resource management game with very active developers. Excellent potential.
Overhaul
Solve your way through this fast-paced rogue-lite puzzle game and outwit unforgiving creatures as you venture into the mysterious Power Plant! Steam.
Notes: Intriguing blend of sudoku-styled logic puzzles with roguelike elements. Things can get hectic though as some puzzles are timed.
Dr. Kobushi’s Labyrinthine Laboratory
A mind-bendingly challenging puzzle game that mixes homage to retro classics with funny dialogue and innovative puzzle mechanics. Over a hundred ultra-challenging pixelated puzzles will have you avoiding killer robots as you engage with memorable characters. Steam.
Notes: Don’t let the looks fool you, for this is an extremely tough puzzle game. Highly recommended for those who like a challenge.
Wilderplace
You are a shaman tasked with bringing balance to the once-idyllic Divine Garden. Explore the maze-like environment, harness magical artifacts, and uncover mysteries as you wrangle restless spirits and evade dangerous intruders. Steam.
Notes: A brilliant minimalist, abstract puzzle game with an excellent, relaxing soundtrack. Definitely one of the more unique puzzle games I’ve played.
Wylde Flowers
Join Tara on a heartfelt journey to become a witch in Wylde Flowers. Farm by day, and cast spells by night as you craft your cottagecore life and bond with your coven. Come to know and love the fully voice acted characters of Fairhaven, as you unravel a local mystery. Steam.
Notes: A magical farming simulator!
Salt 2: Shores of Gold – ⓘ Early Access
Salt 2 is an open world pirate game focused on exploration, survival, and crafting. Set sail across an infinite procedural world with just you and your ship. Explore islands filled with quests, caves, towns, pirates, and secrets. Level up skills, craft, hunt, fish, loot, and decorate your ship. Steam.
Notes: Light on content at the moment, will be interesting to see how it evolves.
Coral Island – ⓘ Early Access
Coral Island is a vibrant and laid-back reimagining of farm sim games. Be who you want and experience enchanting island living at your own pace—live off the land, nurture animals, build relationships with a diverse cast of townsfolk, and make the world around you a more vital and harmonious place. Steam.
Notes: Wholesome farming sim with a stunning theme.
Reefland – ⓘ Early Access
Reefland – is a colorful city-building simulator with a relaxing atmosphere, where you are up to paint the island by placing buildings. Steam.
Notes: A casual and relaxing minimalist puzzler, similar to ISLANDERS.
Isle of Arrows
Build an impenetrable fortress, tile by tile. Place buildings, build roads, and expand your isle to defend against waves of invaders in this roguelike fusion of tower defense and board game. Steam.
Notes: Interesting mashup of genres, though RNG-heavy given the card-based construction. Great low-poly art style!
Haak
HAAK is a Metroidvania-Platformer. As the mysterious wanderer Haak, you embarked on an epic expedition across the vast cyber-wasteland to find your lost brother. Explore deserted cities and metro, refine your weapons and hack skills, and uncover the secrets behind metal and dust. Steam.
Notes: An excellent, short but sweet Metroidvania.
Foretales
Decide the fate of the world in this ingenious story-driven card game. Foretales offers a unique take on the adventure genre, with a multitude of playstyles and story paths through which you can save the world… or bring about its end. Steam.
Notes: Excellent emphasis on story, an aspect long-neglected by other card games!
Deadeye Deepfake Simulacrum
Embody the ultimate cybernetic corporate agent. Master deadly gunplay, time manipulation, and supernatural abilities. Hack computers, people, even the individual bullets flying at you. Confront the future, and die trying. Steam.
Notes: This is a magnificent game that can best be described as an immersive sim with a massive degree of freedom. Highly recommended!
Zorbus
Zorbus is a fantasy-themed, tile-based, turn-based, traditional roguelike game. Steam.
Notes: A surprisingly approachable DnD-inspired traditional roguelike with very deep mechanics.
Last Command
Last Command is a fast-paced Snake x Bullet Hell action game. Maneuver through enemies’ barrage of attacks, collect Data Points to deal damage! Mix and match skill chips as you progress, overcome intense Boss battles, and uncover the secrets of their program world… Steam.
Notes: A true indie gem: unique innovative mechanics, engaging and rewarding fast-paced gameplay, a killer soundtrack, what’s not to love?
Zachtronics Solitaire Collection
The Zachtronics Solitaire Collection is here! Inside you will find all seven Zachtronics solitaire games, updated with new 4K graphics, plus one brand new Tarot-themed solitaire variant only available here. Steam.
Notes: A must-have for solitaire aficionados, fans of solo puzzles in general, or simply those seeking the nostalgia of Zachtronic’s inimitable catalog.