Table of contents

Welcome to the hub page for our weekly indie spotlight! Here, you can find a list of all the games we've covered for our column dedicated to all things indie. We started this project as a way to make sure we're still covering those hidden gems that we all love to play. From Terraria to Manor Lords, from Hades to Celeste, this hub covers everything brand-new (and classic!) in the world of indie games.

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  • 2022 Indie Games

    Here are all the games we included over the course of 2022.

    • The Crack Pet Show

      the host of the crackpet show looking at a tv with the happy tree friends cast on it

      We kick things off with The Crackpet Show, a wild game about mutated animals fighting to the death on a twisted televised show after some apocalypse wiped out all the humans. It's like Enter The Gungeon and Happy Tree Friends conceived a baby during some chemsex and then smoked and drank absinthe throughout the pregnancy.


      Available to buy on Steam - currently in early access and coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox soon.

      The Crackpet Show Is The Happy Tree Friends Game We Never Got

    • Not For Broadcast

      a screenshot from not for broadcast showing loads of camera screens and tv controls

      The next game in our spotlight is Not For Broadcast, an FMV game about a British television controller coming to terms with the slow, poisonous decay of modern media. It's a poignant story for those of us living on this tiny, cold island nation, but anyone can enjoy the humour and excellent gameplay on offer.


      Not For Broadcast is available on Steam.

      Not For Broadcast Is The Best FMV Game You’ll Ever Play

    • Starsand


      starsand - an arab man with bright eyes in a hood looks across a desert with a pyrmaid and alien worm bursting through the sand

      Next up is Starsand, a gorgeous and deadly survival sim set in an alien desert. It's got all the trappings of The Forest when it first launched into early access years ago. Only instead of a dense forest, there's an endless desert with scattered oases and ruins for you to explore.


      Starsand is available on Steam - currently in early access.

      Starsand Basks In The Mysteries Of The Desert

    • The Fermi Paradox

      The Fermi Paradox featuring the prun, humans, and some sort of dinosaur species

      Column number four is all about The Fermi Paradox, a Spore-like game on a galactic scale. You take control of a powerful Galactic Gardener who gently guides several emergent species through the stages of their evolution. You can choose what priorities they'll have, what gods they worship, what wars they'll wage, and if they'll make contact with an alien race.


      The Fermi Paradox is available on Steam - currently in early access.

      The Fermi Paradox Is Spore But On An Even Bigger Scale

    • APICO

      apico_bees_720

      If you love bees - and who doesn't? They're fuzzy, clumsy, and help keep the planet alive by spreading flowers everywhere - then APICO is the game for you. It's a farming simulator in the same vein as Stardew Valley but dedicated entirely to bees.


      APICO is available on Steam.

      APICO Is A Sweet Farming Sim Full Of Bees

    • Unrailed!

      Unrailed! characters with the Indie Spotlight banner

      Unrailed! is a frantic couch co-op game perfect for those of you who enjoy Overcooked. It's also weirdly innuendo filled. You've got to get a train from A to B. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. You've got to chop wood and mine ore to build the tracks, and you need to keep bandits and yetis away. Oh, and the train speeds up the further in you get.


      Unrailed is available on Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

      Unrailed! Is Overcooked For Train Lovers

    • Industria

      Industria Indie Spotlight

      Do you like fascism and totalitarian rule? How about bleak futuristic dystopias? How about pure, utter hopelessness? If you answered no to all of the above, chances are you'll love Industria. Even though it's a game about all of those things, it doesn't like them either.


      Industria is available on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

      Industria Is The Modern Half-Life I've Been Craving

    • Gibbon: Beyond The Trees

      Indie spotlight Broken Rules interview

      Everything is political, whether you like it or not. Them's the breaks. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used that phrase in his resignation speech, so even that's political. Anyway, this Indie Spotlight shines on Gibbon: Beyond the Trees. We spoke to the CEO of the developer studio to discuss how the cute nature game got its political edge.


      Gibbon: Beyond the Trees is available on Switch and Steam.

      Gibbon: Beyond the Trees Is A Beautiful Game About Deforestation

    • Stray

      stray_indie_spotlight_720

      C'mon, we were obviously going to write about the cat game. We've been waiting for it all year, and it did not disappoint. Lead specialist writer Harry Alston gave it a full five stars in his review, and for the Indie Spotlight he wrote about how Stray's 1990s retrofuturism reminds him of his childhood - an era that's now firmly in the past.


      You can play Stray for free with PS Plus.

      Stray’s 1990s Retrofuturism Makes Me Feel Old

    • Untitled Goose Game

      Margaret Thatcher Untitled Goose Game indie spotlight

      Here's a game that absolutely deserves a spot on this list, but not for a reason you'd ever guess. The big boss, editor-in-chief Stacey Henley decided to write about an indie near and dear to her heart, Untitled Goose Game. The honktacular game apparently takes place in an alternative universe where a goose (maybe the very one you play as) chased that human husk out of office. Turns out, you're pissing off Thatcher supporters, making this wonderful game even better.

      Untitled Goose Game Is Great Because Of Margaret Thatcher

    • Songs Of Syx

      indie_spotlight_syx_720

      Lead specialist Harry Alston has a new favourite colony sim, Songs of Syx. There are bugs, dwarves, elves, and other fantasy creatures that can live together or fight for dominance in this indie colony builder. It's not easy to get to grips with, but the sheer scope and fun on offer make this game well worth your time.

      Songs Of Syx Is My New Favourite Colony Sim

    • ADACA

      ADACA

      Cross department editor James Troughton is back with another Half-Life-inspired title, ADACA. This is something to keep all you Valve fans fed until the release of Half-Life 3 or the eventual heat death of the universe, whichever comes first.

      ADACA Is A Must For Half-Life Fans

    • Spaceflux

      spaceflux colourful map

      If you're a fan of the new wave of space-time continuum-warping FPS games like Lemnis Gate and Quantum League, you'll love Spaceflux. Each map is based on a different impossible space, from fractals to infinitely repeating hallways. Oh, and the maps are fairly destructible.

      Spaceflux Is The Kind Of Mind-Bending FPS We Need More Of

    • Conscript

      conscript indie spotlight

      This WW1 Resident Evil-inspired survival horror game just got a new demo, making it the perfect thing to play this weekend ahead of Halloween. Conscript puts you in the shoes of a soldier trying to survive the Great War to get himself and his little brother home to their mother. It's a harrowing game that forces you to consider the human cost of war in a way few games do.

      In WW1 Survival Horror Conscript, There Are No Monsters Except The One You're Becoming

    • LakeSide

      LakeSide Early Access.jpg

      "Some people treat ‘casual’ as a dirty word when it comes to games, but we could do with more high-quality, laidback experiences, especially in genres where those experiences are lacking." Evergreen editor Ryan Bamsey's words about LakeSide were too good to paraphrase. [Editor's note: I think Issy was just being lazy.] Check out this game that had us all wanting to pack our bags and move to a lake.

      LakeSide Early Access Impressions - A Charming, Relaxing City Builder

    • Tiny Rogues

      indie_spotlight

      We all love a bargain, but none of us more so than Harry Alston. Back with another banger indie that costs just a fiver, Tiny Rogues will be right up your alley if you're a fan of hits like Hades and Enter The Gungeon. It's a roguelite bullet hell with tough boss fights and a gorgeous retro pixel-art aesthetic.

      Tiny Rogues Is Another Bargain Indie Hit

    • Dwarf Fortress

      Dwarf Fortress

      Dwarves. In HD. Need we say more? Yes? Well okay then. Harry Alston retells a touching tale of Dwarf Fortress, a game that has grown into so much more than its creators could have ever imagined. Springing to life on forums of the mid-2000s, this cult hit is now available on Steam for a new generation to dive into and enjoy for the first time. What stories will you create?

      Dwarf Fortress Is Finally Coming To Steam

    • Dark And Darker

      Indie Spotlight Dark And Darker Escape From Tarkov

      It's almost the end of the year, and in these winter months the days do indeed grow dark and darker. But for Harry Alston, those words are an enticing promise. Combining his love of extraction shooters and early noughties RPG jank is Dark And Darker, basically Escape From Tarkov but with swords and spells. Neat.

      Dark And Darker Is Escape From Tarkov But With Swords And Spells

  • 2023 Indie Games

    Here are all the indies games we've covered from 2023.

    • Dome Keeper

      a dark creature peers through a cracked dome

      Dome Keeper is one of the first games we covered in 2023, although it's a 2022 release. Issy's tale about playing the game for twelve hours is sweet and a reminder why games can be such a joy to play.

      Dome Keeper Reignited My Love For Long Play Sessions

  • General Indie Coverage

    Here's a round-up of some of our more generalised indie content.

    • What's Your Favourite Indie Game Of All Time?

      indie_spotlight_nms

      Starting at T, we have Terraria and Transistor - excellent picks. Next up, someone other than George Foster picked Psychonauts, truly a momentous occasion. We also have ugly duckling No Man's Sky, mobile puzzle game Woody, and the classic Garry's Mod. Butterfly Soup, Spelunkey, and Crypt of the Necrodancer finished off the list.

      What's Your Favourite Indie Game Of All Time?

    • The Best Indie Games In 2022 For Under $5

      harry_indie_spotlight_tings

      There are so many great indie games out there, but we don't all have the money to play every single new hit. So, we've compiled a list of fantastic indie gems that cost under $5 each. Some have been in the Indie Spotlight before, like Vampire Survivors and Tiny Folk, but others are their debut, like Just King and Retrowave.

      The Best Indie Games In 2022 For Under $5

    • Best Indie Games We Saw At Gamescom 2022

      chants of senaar, uncle chop's rocket shop, and conscript screenshots

      Issy van der Velde wrote about some of the great small-team indies he saw at Gamescom. From absurd alien spaceship repair roguelites to gorgeous puzzle adventures to chilling looks into the depths of a tormented psyche, there's some great ground to cover.

      Indie Spotlight: Live At Gamescom 2022

    • Some Great Indies At EGX

      EGX Indie Spotlight

      TheGamer has been hitting the conventions hard this year to get boots on the ground with some indies. EGX in London was absolutely made by all the fantastic small games on offer. The cream of the crop were Sinbad, Squad Blast, Nostalgaia, and Unspottable.

      My Favourite Indies From EGX 2022

    • End Of The Year Indie Cramming

      Indie Games


      For one of our last posts of the year we've got a new writer joining the esteemed ranks of the Indie Spotlight crew! Lead Features Editor Jade King loves all things gay, meaning a lot of indies are on her radar. Threre are just so many out there though, a double-edged sword. Here are all the indies Jade's hoping to finish up before the first dawn of 2023.

      All Of The Indie Games I Really Want To Finish Before The Year Is Over