18 indie games to look forward to in 2025

2024 was a huge year for indie games, with titles such as Balatro, Animal wellAND UFO 50 gaining commercial and critical acclaim among their AAA contemporaries. This momentum shows no signs of slowing down in 2025, with highly anticipated games like Citizen Sleeper 2: Star Vector AND Hyper Light Breaker will be released in January and will be followed by a host of other exhilarating recent titles such as Pathological 3, Hiking stopand more.

Once again, we have prepared a list of the indie games we are most looking forward to. From creators of stealth decks and atmospheric mountain climbing simulators to isometric roguelike shooters, there’s something for everyone, and there’s no doubt there will be even more surprises in store in the coming months.

What indie games are you most looking forward to in 2025? Post them in the comments.

Release date: January 14 (early access)
Platforms: Windows computer

Hyper Light Breakerthe upcoming 3D co-op roguelike from developer Heart Machine has had a long and winding journey since it was first announced in 2022. However, the wait is almost over as the game is set to release in Steam Early Access on January 14.

The action takes place several dozen years before the events of Hyperlight tramp, Hyper Light Breaker allows players to take on the role of Breaker – a warrior whose task is to rebuild civilization after a cataclysmic war. As you explore the world of Overgrowth, tame its many dangers and rediscover its many secrets, you will come face to face with powerful adversaries known as the Crowns as you attempt to defeat the King of the Void and restore peace to the realm. —Toussaint Egan

Citizen Sleeper 2: Star Vector

Release date: January 31st
Platforms: Windows computer

The recent year starts exactly when Citizen Sleeper 2: Star Vector will be released on January 31st. The sequel to Jump Over the Age’s text-heavy RPG Sleeping Citizen seeks to expand on the original with a unique, dense science fiction story. —Nicole Carpenter

Release date: February 2025
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows computer

Morsels looks like a game for weirdos and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s a creature-collecting roguelite, colorful, vigorous, and not to be missed. From Furcula, an independent studio from Toronto, Morsels there is no exact release date yet. —Nicole Carpenter

Release date: March 11
Platforms: Windows computer

Hiking stop is a cozy farming simulator with a murky side – that’s what happens when an expert swordsman stops for a moment to make some tea. From the creators Stanley’s parable AND A beginner’s guide, Hiking stop will be released on March 11. —Nicole Carpenter

Release date: March 31 (early access)
Platforms: Windows computer

If you are a fan Cruelty Squadnecrocapitalist nightmare simulator developed by Ville Kallio, congratulations: the upcoming game is just around the corner! Described as a “mecha FPS, hybrid police and punishment simulator”, Psycho Patrol R puts players in the role of a European Federal Police officer tasked with maintaining law and order in the degraded state of Pan-Europe. The game features a semi-open world with levels designed to be explored on foot or in the cockpit of the V-Stalker, a bipedal war machine with customizable weapons. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: 2025
Platforms: Windows computer, TBA consoles

Not only that Mound have great graphics and scenery, but The Game Bakers climbing game seems to have deep, intricate mechanics that mimic the actual nature of the act. (Also has Very a nice backpack to hold imperative gear.) It seems so Death standingbut up, not across. —Nicole Carpenter

Release date: 2025
Platforms: TBA

Yes, the highly anticipated next two chapters of Toby Fox Deltarun are scheduled for release in 2025 – over six years since the game’s original release. This RPG game is unique because of its turn-based combat and hell elements; Fox also allows players to choose peace or violence, as in Undertale. —Nicole Carpenter

Release date: 2025 (early access)
Platform: Mac, Windows computer

InZoi This isn’t the only life simulator coming this year! Developed by a talented team of designers led by Alex Massé. Paralysis is a “doll house life simulation” featuring an advanced character creator that focuses not only on facial and body features, but also on customizable personality traits. Create your perfect dream home and guide your characters’ lives in and around a sprawling open-world city when it launches in Early Access later this year. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: 2025
Platforms: Windows computer

In this whimsical prehistoric metroidvania, players take on the role of a cave dweller separated from his family in a strange, alien world. Forage resources, tame the elements, and battle a multitude of threats – including carnivorous predators, rival tribes, and mysterious extraterrestrials – as you strive to reunite and protect your family. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: 2025
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Kaizen Game Works, a British developer responsible for the 2020s Paradise Killeris back with a recent game that is even more original and irreverent than its previous version. Promise mascot agency is “the world’s first (and best) open-world mascot management crime drama,” centering on Michi, a disgraced yakuza lieutenant exiled to a cursed city to revive a bankrupt mascot company. Like Paradise KillerThere’s a pinch of mystery to it, because you’ll also be tasked with unmasking the conspirators responsible for your exile. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: 2025
Platforms: Windows computer

Enga herself The history of skateboarding will be released in 2025 by Devolver Digital, although the release date was originally announced for 2023. Although there has been no shortage of frigid skateboarding games over the years, The history of skateboarding looks different as players traverse Hell. —Nicole Carpenter

Release date: 2025
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Sleight of hand is exactly the type of game that piques my interest: a third-person, stealth-style deck-building game about a tough private detective infiltrating a coven of witches. Combining immersive simulation environments with real-time stealth gameplay Sleight of hand is a stylish, murky fantasy noir that I’m eager to get my hands on later this year. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: 2025
Platforms: Windows computer

Developed by Finji (Tunic), An ordinary June is a third-person action adventure game à la Psychonauts which puts players in the role of a teenage girl who has the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead. Together with her friends, both living and dead, June must explore the seaside town of Fen Harbor and stop an interdimensional anomaly that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of existence! So yes, no pressure. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: 2025
Platforms: Windows computer

Bithell Games returns to the Tron universe, this time in an isometric action adventure game. Tron: Catalyst centers on Exo, an ingenious program hunted by the rulers of the Arq Grid for possessing a mysterious ability that threatens the stability of the system. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: TBA
Platforms: Windows computer

“Hades meets Very hot” is the best way to describe this new roguelike shooter. IN Enter the Chronosphereplayers assemble a bumbling crew of alien mercenaries to take on the chronospheres, planet-sized dungeons that spread across the universe, devouring entire galaxies. In any chronosphere, time only moves while you’re moving, so every second counts as you blast through waves of enemies and peel away layers of these gigantic megastructures. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: TBA
Platforms: Windows computer

Originally announced in 2019 Hollow Knight: Silk Song has become the white whale of the gaming community. The Cherry development team delayed the long-awaited sequel to 2023, but it seemed possible that it would release in 2024. That didn’t happen, but I’m still looking forward to a potential 2025 release. —Ana Diaz

Release date: TBA
Platforms: Windows computer

A sequel to the 2019 cult classic Pathological 2 Players return to the city on the Gorkhon River, this time as Daniil Dankovsky, a charismatic doctor obsessed with defeating death. Players, whose task is to save the city from the plague within 12 days, will have to use a special device to go back in time and influence the most important events, change history and open new paths to success. —Toussaint Egan

Release date: TBA
Platforms: Windows computer

Hyper Light Breaker this isn’t the only Heart Machine game on the horizon. Announced in 2024, Holder(s) is a stylish side-scrolling adventure game in which players take on the role of a pair of characters who must navigate the interconnected areas of a destroyed megacity in the face of an interdimensional catastrophe. Expect 3D environments, beautifully drawn, hand-drawn and animated characters, and fast-paced action. —Toussaint Egan