Every year, indie games become a larger part of the gaming industry. Based on this year’s releases, that trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. From psychic camps to golf parodies to the exploits of a mischievous goose, here are some of the most exciting indie games on the horizon.
Afterparty
Release: 2019
Platform: PC
Milo and Lola are dead. But the party has just started. These two best buds are about to have the night of their afterlife. Instead of heading straight to hell, they’ve discovered a loophole that says if they can outdrink Satan, they’ll get to return to Earth. From the creators of Oxenfree, Night School Studio’s Afterparty expands on the team’s conversation system, which influences its narrative as players bounce from one underworld pub to the next playing drunken activities like beer pong, karaoke, and chugging competitions.
Atomic Heart
Release: 2019
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Mundfish’s shooter RPG gives off some heavy BioShock vibes, but it also manages to look incredibly surreal. Set in an alternate reality during the height of the Soviet Union, players control a Soviet KGB officer named P-3 who must figure out how the USSR acquired advanced technology that is decades ahead of its time. P-3 will acquire an array of different weapons and face off against a variety of mechanical foes using a mix of hand-to-hand combat and long-range firefights. Mundfish even plans to include PVP areas where players encounter other online users.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Release: 2019
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
As the producer of Castlevania games like Symphony of the Night and Order of Ecclesia, Koji Igarashi is familiar with exploration-based action/platformers. After several delays, Igarashi hopes to finally release this Kickstarter-based spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night. Protagonist Miriam is a demon hunter who explores a colorful world and slowly acquires new powers and abilities that allow her to travel deeper into a massive Demon Castle and eventually break the curse that is slowly crystalizing her blood.
Indivisible
Release: 2019
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Take Metroid’s sidescrolling exploration and combined it with an RPG combat system inspired by Valkyrie Profile and you’ll start to understand Lab Zero Games. Players control Ajna, a young girl on a quest to discover the truth behind her mysterious powers. During this journey, Ajna adds to her motley crew of adventurers and each new hero brings a set of skills to combat and new abilities that allow Ajna overcome various obstacle.
Knights and Bikes
Release: 2019
Platform: PlayStation 4
Surprise, the ‘80s are popular. Inspired by films like The Goonies and games like Earthbound and Secret of Mana, Foam Sword’s co-operative, hand-painted adventure follows a pair of young girls on a fictional British island in the 1980s who are on a quest for mystery and treasure. As the girls bike around town, they will be forced to use their ingenuity and imagination to solve puzzles, upgrade their bikes, and eventually uncover a grown-up mystery.
Mosaic
Release: 2019
Platform: PC, Mac
From Krillbite Studio, creators of Among the Sleep, this indie puzzle game moves away from the horrors of childhood and explores the dread of adult life. Unlike Among the Sleep, Mosaic isn’t a horror game, but a narrative-driven adventure set in a cold, monolithic city. Players follow the drab daily routine of an average commuter who begins having bizarre hallucinations. Players who choose to deviate from the standard commute to work are bound to find a few surprises.
Moving Out
Release: 2019
Platform: PC
In the spirt of games like Overcooked, SMG Studio’s frantic, co-op friendly action game asks player to work together to manage a moving company. Over the course of more than 50 levels, players help move a variety of odd objects while dodging moving traffic, spinning buzzsaws, and giant boulders. Thanks to Moving Out’s physics system, manipulating objects looks like a lot of fun and hilarious tools like massive slingshots help make short work of even the biggest jobs.
Night Call
Release: 2019
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
A serial killer threatens the citizens of Paris, but as the body count climbs, the police seem no closer to catching the culprit. You are a taxi driver who often works the night shift, and you are the last person to see the most recent victim alive. In this investigative adventure game from Monkey Moon and Black Muffin Studio, you speak with a wide variety of off-kilter characters and try to solve this murder mystery, but you still have to make enough money each night to pay the bills.
The Occupation
Release: February 5
Platform: PlayStation 4, PC
White Paper Games is developing this systems-driven adventure about a reporter who has four hours to get to the bottom of a terrorist attack. Players race against the clock as they explore a giant government complex, sneak past guards, and root through classified files. Every puzzle can be solved in a variety of different ways and players can learn – and exploit – the routines of every character they encounter.
Ooblets
Release: 2019
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Previously known as Moblets, this life simulation game from Glumberland combines elements of Pokémon with Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. Players manage and cultivate a farm that grows tiny creatures called ooblets, which can be trained to participate in turn-based battles. As you collect new ooblets, you can customize your home, explore the world, and participate in random challenges like dance-offs. Ooblets even stands out in a crowd.
Outer Wilds
Release: 2019
Platform: Xbox One, PC, Mac
In Mobius Digital’s exploration-based adventure, you’re an astronaut who has touched down on an alien planet 20 minutes before its sun goes supernova, swallowing you in an infinite time loop and forcing you to relive your death. Players must use their wits and their knowledge of previous playthroughs to learn how they arrived on this mysterious planet, why the sun keeps going supernova, and who is the secret alien race that built this galaxy.
Phoenix Point
Release: June
Platform: Xbox One, PC, Mac
From the creator of the original X-COM comes this incredibly deep strategy game. Fans of even the newest XCOM titles will likely find something to love in this tactical adventure, which sends a group of near-future commandos against an onslaught of Lovecraftian horrors. Like XCOM, players maneuver their squad across procedurally generated grids as they battle monsters, but players can manually target specific body parts and enemies will mutate in semi-random ways as they adapt to your tactics.
Psychonauts 2
Release: 2019
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac
The original Psychonauts was a cult hit, and fans have been waiting nearly 14 years to see the resolution to Double Fine’s cliffhanger ending. In this third-person platformer, players control the psychic Raz as he uses psychic powers like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and levitation to explore other people’s minds. Using Psychonauts’ Headquarters as a hub, players will restore people to mental health, learn new powers, and uncover the Psychonauts’ most closely guarded secrets.
Spelunky 2
Release: 2019
Platform: Xbox One, PC, Mac
Derek Yu helped pioneer the roguelike-like resurgence with Spelunky, so fans are eager to learn as much as they can about the sequel. Players take on the role of the original spelunker’s daughter Ana Spelunky, who must descend through a series of procedurally generated deathtraps in search of treasure. Not only has the series received a massive visual overhaul, but the sequel also features new items, rideable mounts, and an online multiplayer component.
The Pathless
Release: 2019
Platform: PlayStation 4, PC
Giant Squid Studios broke onto the scene with the stunning experience-driven Abzû. The team’s follow-up game, The Pathless, looks equally as stunning and atmospheric as their previous work. However, The Pathless also has a greater focus on gameplay. Players control a mysterious archer who travels through a cursed land, and together with her eagle companion, she works to free the forest’s corrupted wildlife and restore its beauty.
Sable
Release: 2019
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Shedworks’ Sable looks like a graphic novel come to life. This coming-of-age tale features a young explorer who sets off across an alien planet to learn the world’s history and discover their place within it. Within this massive open-world desert, explorers will find ancient monuments, ruined architecture, and crashed spaceships. Exotic nomads might help point you in the right direction as they traverse this exotic landscape, but Sable’s biggest emphasis seems to be on exploration and story.
Skater XL
Release: 2019
Platform: Xbox One, PC, Mac
Would-be skaters who have been jonesing for a skating title evolved from the days of Tony Hawk and Skate might want to take a look at Easy Day Studios’ Skater XL. Already on Steam Early Access, Easy Day’s tight controls feel better than other skate games, offering a level of realism and board control without feeling needlessly complex. The game enables player creativity without tying them down to a series of set animations or a limited menu of commands as they explore a variety of legendary real-world skate spots.
Untitled Goose Game
Release: 2019
Platform: Switch, PC, Mac
Untitled Goose Game isn’t a traditional stealth game. In House House’s lighthearted adventure, players control a goose who explores a variety of sandbox environments and causes mischief for its human inhabitants. As the inhabitants of this quant village go about their daily lives, you set up pranks, steal various objects, and generally ruin everyone’s day by honking a lot.
Void Bastards
Release: 2019
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Part BioShock and part comic book, Void Bastards is a strategy-shooter that asks you to lead a misfit band of prisoners across the universe and escape the Sargasso Nebula. Along your journey, you will use your expendable crew to board and raid other space ships for valuable loot. Each prisoner has their own specialty, which could make them better suited for specific jobs. Between missions you’ll need to carefully plot your course across the system, study ship layouts, and upgrade your equipment.
What the Golf
Release: 2019
Platform: Xbox One, PC, Mac
Triband says that its bizarre ragdoll showcase is the golf game for people who hate golf. In this collection of ridiculous scenarios, players try to hit moving targets, knock golf balls into cats, and use swing mechanics to jump across a series of semi-trucks. In What The Golf you never know what oddball scenario you’ll wind up in next, but that’s half the fun.
For more games to look forward to this year, read our list of the most exciting action games and the most impressive-looking RPGs of 2019.