#indie-games

#indie-games

Welcome to our latest recap of what's going on in the indie game space. Folks, it's here. You know it's here. So, we'll touch on it, but briefly. Some developers and publishers opted not to delay their games out of this week (others have done that to get some breathing space from you-know-what), so there are several other newcomers to highlight.

AI Overviews offered incorrect information about the game to some players, as well as the crew at Spilt Milk Studios when they tested the responses. For instance, AI Overviews suggested that a player could damage a trinket when they were removing debris from it, which is not true. It also in some cases delivered the correct information, but pointed the user to an incorrect source.

They made the announcement with the help of a funny clip that sees Baby Steps protagonist Nate trying to scale a replica of Silksong's Hornet only to inevitably tumble into the dirt. "Nate, the wary, onesie-donned failson at the heart of the eccentric adventure in literal walking simulator Baby Steps, has stumbled after attempting to ascend his greatest challenge yet: launching the week after Hollow Knight: Silksong's surprise release date," Devolver said in a press release.

Gamescom 2025 is wrapping up this weekend, but the winners of the annual Gamescom Awards have already been named. This year's biggest winner was Resident Evil Requiem, which took home four awards, including Best Sony PlayStation Game. There were some surprises along the way--including the winner of the inaugural Best Nintendo Switch 2 Game--and there were surprise winners among the indie titles like Windup's Hela, which won two awards against stiff competition from more established games like Donkey Kong Bananza.

Ratshaker offers a unique horror experience, tasking players with solving puzzles through a bizarre narrative that initially appears quirky but soon reveals unnerving truths.

The bizarre fever dream of Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans of the music band Yacht emerged in the wake of the COVID pandemic, as a creative outlet for storytelling.

UFO 50 is a wildly varied set of retro-styled games belonging to a fictional console, created by a made-up developer UFO Soft from the 80s.

The Drifter tells the story of Mick Carter, a homeless man attempting to return to his hometown to pay respects to his recently departed mother.

The first two Monument Valley games would surely be first-ballot inductees in a mobile games hall of fame, establishing a high standard for gaming quality.

A recent report indicates that the number of games on Steam disclosing the use of generative AI has skyrocketed by 700% within a year, increasing from around 1,000 to nearly 8,000.

Kaizen - A Factory Story is a puzzler set in 1980s Japan where players build popular electronics like calculators and arcade cabinets.

8BitDo, an independent gaming company, is making waves in the educational realm as medical students adopt their tiny controllers for studying with the flashcard app Anki.

There are so many indie games and very few outlets willing to cover them, highlighting the overwhelming state of indie gaming.

Indie-Penance Day is an event celebrating unknown or under-known indie games, allowing Kotaku to focus on smaller titles amidst a landscape dominated by AAA games.

An interesting story about Peak, a co-op climbing game, highlights how smart marketing and community engagement helped it sell over 2 million copies in just nine days.

Deltarune Chapter 5 is set for release in 2026, following a message appearing after Chapter 4, marking a notable timeline for the series.