The best hidden gem indie games of 2025 you probably missed

It's been a pretty phenomenal year where indie games cannot only go toe to toe with but even surpass AAA productions. At the same time, that also blurs the lines of how we define what's indie.

Many would argue that the year's biggest critical darling Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't indie even though it's published by Kepler Interactive, formed by a collective of independent developers, and ultimately has been created by a team on a budget that's a fraction of what you might expect of an AAA equivalent, while also being a testament to what Unreal Engine 5 is capable of.

It's also fair to say that some of the games that have gotten the most attention are indies. This year finally saw the long-awaited release of Hollow Knight: Silksong, described by many as the 'GTA 6 of indies', while we also saw the 1.0 release of Hades 2, naturally already carrying lots of acclaim from both its early access release last year and its predecessor, which topped most end-of-year lists back in 2020.

Discovery, however, remains a challenge in the games industry when there are tens of thousands of new releases on Steam alone, and one release from a major indie hit can dominate the conversation on any given week. With that in mind, this list is an attempt at highlighting a diverse range of indie games from 2025, in no particular order, that might have escaped your attention and are worth shouting about and catching up on before the year is out.

For a little broader context, read our 2025 gaming year in review.

01. Consume Me

More than just about dieting and body issues, Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson's semi-autobiographical game, Consume Me, turns the trials and tribulations of being a teenager into a life-sim RPG where everything, from managing your daily 'bites' to doing house chores to walking the dog, becomes a series of compelling and hilarious WarioWare-style minigames.

As the goalposts continue moving, as Jenny's not just managing her diet but also trying to maintain a long-distance relationship and get into her first-choice college, you become acutely aware of the toxic implications of gamifying each aspect of life into win states, yet it constantly charms with its incisive self-aware writing and expressive lo-fi art.

02. Lumines Arise

If Tetris Effect was the most transcendental version of the perfect puzzle game given Enhance's unique synaesthesia treatment, then Lumines Arise arguably goes one better.

Instead of adhering to licence restrictions, Tetsuya Mizuguchi's own creation goes off the leash from its portable origins to a big screen (and VR) audiovisual extravaganza where every block and background is ever shifting with bold ideas - the stage where the blocks change to pieces of fruit and veg never fails to elicit a laugh.

Playing Lumines may not feel as instinctive to me as dropping blocks in Tetris, but you probably didn't expect a seemingly abstract puzzle game to convey the whole spectrum of human emotions.

03. and Roger

There's so much to say about and Roger, from Japanese solo developer Yona, except the less you know the better, especially given its short running time.

Let's just say that from its seemingly disturbing opening gambit of a young girl waking up to find a stranger in her house that she's trying to escape from, it takes you on an emotional journey you don't expect, all conveyed in a wonderful, illustrative comic book style reminiscent of narrative game Florence.

But and Roger's simple yet instinctive controls propel you through a variety of interactions, that's another brilliant example of a story that can only really be experienced as a game.

04. Absolum

While known for its excellent work on reviving and reimagining retro IP, Dotemu's latest release is notable for being its first original IP developed with Streets of Rage 4 co-developer Guard Crush Games.

Essentially, Absolum is an arcade fantasy beat 'em up in the spirit of Golden Axe or Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons brawlers, but with a gorgeous French comic art style from Paris-based animation studio Supamonks, it also has a Hades twist where you're going to have to die and die again until you get stronger on each run.

Its roguelike systems may be a little undercooked, but the brawling mechanics build on what made Streets of Rage 4 so fun, while new branching paths and side quests mean there's plenty of sides of Talamh to discover on each run.

05. Dispatch

This original superhero workplace comedy takes less inspiration from the episodic narrative adventures of Telltale Games (Adhoc Studio, incidentally, includes some Telltale alumni) than it does from television shows, with none of the meandering pacing and a weekly release schedule that holds your attention.

More importantly, whether you treat it as a game or a show, the production values are just outstanding, from its Western anime aesthetics to a razor-sharp script brought to life with a star-studded cast including Aaron Paul, Laura Bailey, and a scene-stealing Jeffrey Wright.

After years of superhero fatigue following the impossible peak of Avengers: Endgame, the genre feels refreshing again with a genuinely adult perspective that doesn't resort to edgy cynicism (even if that does include seeing a mutant penis).

06. Despelote

With the FIFA Men's World Cup qualifiers wrapped up ahead of the tournament jointly hosted by USA, Mexico and Canada next year, now would be a good time to play Despelote, a short semi-autobiographical slice-of-life indie game chronicling Ecuador's road to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time and its grip on the nation through the eyes of the game's designer and programmer Julian Cordero as a child.

The memory of this time is vividly captured with artist Sebastián Valbuena's use of monochrome comic strip characters in realistic environments with a grainy video filter, where the simple physical pleasure of kicking a ball intersects with family life and the country's economic woes. A game that's a more authentic depiction of the beautiful game than EA's mimicry of the televised sport, but also more than just about football.

07. Baby Steps

After years of being used as a dismissive pejorative, here is finally an indie walking simulator designed for the hardcore gamer. Recalling co-creator Bennett Foddy's infamous browser-based game QWOP, the very act of walking that we take for granted by just tilting a joystick is a Herculean (or perhaps more a Sisyphean) task for 30-something loser Nate whose movement you have to control by manually lifting his legs while carefully considering the physics and your immediate terrain.

Baby Steps is often cruel, where a slight misjudged step can send you tumbling and sliding down, wasting potentially hours of progress, with the added humiliation of your man-baby's onesie getting more and more soiled with every fall. For those who stick it out, the accomplishment may also surpass any Dark Souls boss.

08. To a T

Playing as a teenager called Teen, who has their arms stuck in a T-pose, you might assume To a T mines this limitation for deeper gameplay mechanics or a metaphor for disability. That it isn't quite either of those doesn't stop it from being another quintessential Keita Takahashi game, which is almost as if the Katamari Damacy creator had decided to make a kids' show, complete with catchy opening and closing song sequences that you simply shouldn't skip.

As its surreal and absurd story becomes more than just about Teen's daily challenges with completing mundane tasks but also switching around to the perspectives of their pet dog and mum in later chapters, it paints a whimsical, heartfelt, as well as just downright silly world where, regardless of your differences, "you're the perfect shape".

09. Stray Children

Stray Children might arguably be a spiritual successor to cult classic Moon, with several of the same creators involved, but it would undoubtedly not exist without modern indie classic Undertale, itself inspired by the PS1 'anti-RPG' that was only belatedly ported to modern platforms thanks to a little encouragement from Undertale creator Toby Fox.

Stray Children's turn-based battle system where non-violence is encouraged while also trying to survive your enemy's bullet hell attacks may be a lot tougher and more obtuse in comparison, but its post-apocalyptic world of tribal children and monstrous 'Olders' is nonetheless a charming one, presented with the kind of odd Pythonesque absurdity that's unique to Japanese indie studio Onion Games in its biggest and hopefully far from final game.

10. Sektori

Finnish studio Housemarque may have leveled up to AAA since releasing PS5 must-play Returnal before being acquired by Sony for its equally anticipated follow-up, Saros, but its indie roots continue in solo developer Kimmo Lahtinen, a former Housemarque member, in this blistering twin-stick shooter.

Its vibrant visuals are minimalist but also overwhelming as you try to survive its tough-as-nails campaign, where roguelike elements add variety to each run. Your runs might likely last no more than mere minutes, and you might be dismayed to find that completing on its 'default' mode is actually essentially just the tutorial, but even just 10 minutes of pure adrenaline soundtracked to thumping techno beats is its own reward. Who said that the arcade was dead?