Last week we covered some of the must-play upcoming games in 2025. However, there are just too many amazing games coming out this year for one list and the excellent 2025 indie games demanded their own spotlight. Keep your wishlists open in other tab as you’ll be wanting to check out all these games this year.
Hyper Light Breaker
After a few delays from its initial late 2023 window, Hyper Light Breaker finally launches into early access tomorrow. Serving as a prequel to Heart Machine’s breakout hit Hyper Light Drifter, Breaker is a 3D roguelike that can be played solo or via co-op. You’ll play as a mercenary Breaker in the Overgrowth fighting a variety of enemies and bosses in procedurally generated biomes. Breaker isn’t the only game Heart Machine is hard at work on as the developer has another title further on this list that’ll certainly demand attention.
Platform: PC
Release Date: January 14
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Citizen Sleeper made waves in the indie sphere when it launched in 2022, and its sequel looks to do the same this month. Like the first game, you’ll play as a human whose mind has been placed in an artificial body and who is once again on the run. You’ll hop from station to station, building a crew, taking on contracts, and keeping your pursuers at bay. Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector promises the same level of choice and impact on the narrative as the first game as it takes inspiration from tabletop RPGs.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC
Release Date: January 31
The Midnight Walk
From developers who worked on Fe and Lost in Random comes The Midnight Walk, a delightfully creepy fantasy adventure. Featuring hand-crafted clay characters, The Midnight Walk features a similar weird and slightly scary atmosphere and art style that made Lost in Random so appealing. You’ll become The Burnt One and protect Potboy, a childlike creature with an open flame atop its head, while journeying on The Midnight Walk. It’ll be playable on PS5 and PC or in virtual reality via the PS VR2.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PS VR2, PC
Release Date: Spring 2025
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Blasphemous developers The Game Kitchen are breathing new life into the Ninja Gaiden series with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. Returning to the series’ 2D side-scroller roots, Ragebound will look and feel straight out of a 90s arcade. The pixel art is stunning and the gameplay promises combat that’s easy to learn but a challenge to fully master. Ninja Gaiden has had a quiet run as of late, with only a compilation release having come out in the past 10 years, so here’s to hoping Ragebound can put the series back on the map.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: Summer 2025
Windblown
After the multi-year success of Dead Cells, Motion Twin is back with another roguelike, this time with 3D isometric visuals instead of the iconic pixel art of Dead Cells. In Windblown, players will take control of anthropomorphic Leapers in defending their home against enemies from the Vortex. Promising “tough but always fair” combat, you’ll have to experiment with weapons and learn from past death to find success in Windblown. It’s currently in early access with a full release on PC expected later this year.
Platform: PC
Release Date: Q4 2025
33 Immortals
Thunder Lotus Games is one of those developers where no two iof its games are the same. Five years after it released the emotionally heavy management sim Spiritfarer, it’s mixing things up with co-op action roguelike 33 Immortals. Inspired by Divine Comedy, 33 Immortals has you fighting a rebellion against a wrathful god through Hell and Heaven. In a unique roguelike take, 33 Immortals is somewhat MMO-adjacent as it’s designed for 33-player co-op.
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 2025
Baby Steps
Publisher Devolver Digital is known for titles with slightly left-of-center humor at their core, and Baby Steps is no different. Its trailers are sure to make you laugh as protagonist and deadbeat Nate consistently falls on his face or stumbles backward, dirtying his grey onesie. Described as a “literal walking simulator,” Baby Steps will feature fully simulated, physics-based walking; we’re not sure how the baby steps will be controlled, but I’m assuming each thumbstick or trigger would control one of Nate’s legs. Baby Steps was supposed to launch in the latter half of 2025, but it missed its window without a word.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC
Release Date: 2025
Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami was a surprise success last year and fans who enjoyed it won’t have to wait long for more as The Ghost of Glamping drops in 2025. It’s a “no-murdery mystery” about a campsite gone spooky. The paper-cut-out-like character models return as Duck Detective prioritizes cozy over noir gritty. Expect the gameplay to offer more challenge than what you might expect as our review of the first game called it “welcomely complicated” and its mysteries “more engaging than weightless.”
Platform: PC
Release Date: 2025
GreedFall 2: The Dying World
Instead of going forward, Greedfall 2: The Dying World looks to the past as it’s a prequel set a few years before the first game. You’ll create your own avatar and venture out to explore the Old Continent. Like so many immersive RPGs, you’ll interact with your companions, becoming friends, lovers, or perhaps even enemies. Gameplay also presents freedom as you can approach situations via stealth, combat, or diplomacy. Greedfall 2‘s early access has received a very mixed reception so far, but Spiders has time to turn the ship around before the game releases in full.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 2025
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die
Lost in Random is one of my favorite indie games from the past few years, but even I was a bit surprised when its follow up was announced as an action-focused roguelite. You’ll play as the queen of Random across four randomly generated nightmare realms. Combat will be quick and chaotic with a Relic System that promises fresh gameplay each run. Time will tell if Lost in Random: The Eternal Die can break through a crowded roguelite market or if its sharp left turn alienates the audience the original game amassed.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC
Release Date: 2025
Mio: Memories in Orbit
Mio: Memories in Orbit was a standout reveal from last summer’s Nintendo Direct. Its art style is reminiscent of a highly textured, softly colored graphic novel and is nothing short of gorgeous. It takes place on a giant ark drifting in space and tasks you with preventing the ark from shutting down. A metroidvania, perhaps Mio will arrive in time to distract you from the endless wait for Hollow Knight: Silksong.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: 2025
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault
Moonlighter gets more than just a fresh coat of paint for its sequel and instead a complete visual overhaul. Gone is the charming pixel art of the first game and in comes an isometric 3D art style. Shopkeeper and dungeoneer Will returns for another trek into the fray. You’ll balance growing your shop, investing in others’ businesses, and raiding dungeons.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 2025
Mouse: P.I. for Hire
Mouse: P.I. for Hire goes in the opposite direction of Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping and leans into a 1930s noir aesthetic. Loosely-based on the designs of early Mickey Mouse cartoons, P.I. for Hire will blend a classic black & white visual style with explosive first-person shooting gameplay. P.I. Jack Pepper will investigate the gritty underbelly of Mouseburg, discovering a vast web of murder and corruption.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Release Date: 2025
Slay the Spire II
Six years after the original, Slay the Spire II is set to enter early access. It’ll return the roguelike deckbuilding gameplay and introduce new slayers to the fold. The official Steam description teases new gameplay options “That aren’t yet announced…” so we’ll have to stay tuned for more reveals. Passion from fans is why Slay the Spire 2 is happening as the developer wrote “the extra mile [the community went] … is the reason we’re doing it all again.” The first game had a staggered release across platforms, so don’t be surprised if the sequel first launches on PC before releasing elsewhere.
Platform: PC
Release Date: 2025
Terminator: Survivors
Terminator: Survivors joins RoboCop: Rogue City, Predator: Hunting Grounds, and others as video game revivals of your favorite 80s action flicks. Set after Judgement Day but before John Connor became the resistance leader, Survivors is an open world game combining survival and base-building. Alone or with friends via co-op, you’ll gather resources to survive while avoiding the unforgivingly deadly Terminators. Like other post-apocalyptic games, the existential enemy won’t be the only threat as you’ll have to contend with rival human factions as well.
Platform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series
Release Date: Early Access 2025; console release TBA
Towerborne
Towerborne hails from Stoic, makers of The Banner Saga games. It’s been in early access since fall 2024 with a full release expected this year. Either solo or with up to three friends, you’ll set out to beat up monsters surrounding the tower’s walls in a side-scrolling adventure. Early access for Towerborne is currently accessible by purchasing one of the game’s Founder’s Packs (which include skins and cosmetics) and will go free-to-play once it launches in full.
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 2025
Tron: Catalyst
After Tron: Identity brought renewed interest to the franchise, Bithell Games is back with a follow-up, Tron: Catalyst. While the first game was a visual novel with puzzle elements, the sequel will be more action-focused and has already drawn comparisons to Metroid and Hades. Mystery is once again at the heart of the game as you’ll play as a new protagonist who unexpectantly gains powers and sets out to investigate the secrets of his home.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC
Release Date: 2025
Possessor(s)
In addition to Hyper Light Breaker, Heart Machine is hard at work on Possessor(s), an action side-scroller. Like any of the developer’s games, Possessor(s) features a beautiful art style, moody atmosphere, and great soundtrack, if the trailer’s tune is anything to go off of. It’ll be the start of a new IP for Heart Machine, meaning it won’t have any connection to the Hyper Light games. It was only just revealed last summer with no launch window mentioned, so perhaps I’m going out on a limb here in hoping it lands in 2025.
Platforms: PC, Consoles TBD
Release Date: TBA
Solasta II
For a while, a popular trend was comparing indies games to Studio Ghibli films. Now, the hot comparison might be Baldur’s Gate 3. Solasta II, recently revealed at the 2024 Game Awards, certainly earns that comparison as it too is a fantasy tactical RPG adapting Dungeons & Dragons’ 5E ruleset in hopes of bringing the tabletop RPG experience to video games. It’s a sequel to Solasta: Crown of the Magister and is set decades later, hopefully meaning newcomers won’t be too lost. Ideally, Solasta II will launch into early access this year. It’s been announced for Steam, but no word yet on when/if it’ll come to consoles.
Platform: PC
Release Date: TBA
Hades II
Along with the always-out-of-reach Hollow Knight: Silksong and almost-here Grand Theft Auto 6, the full release of Hades II might be on of the most anticipated games on the horizon. The roguelite has been in early access for almost a year now and in October 2024 received an expansive update when it launched on macOS, bringing a new region, NPCs, and weapons. It follows Zagreus’s sister Melinoë as she attempts to defeat Chronos. As Supergiant consistently hits home runs, early access reviews and impressions of Hades II have been mostly positive, testing the resolve of those of us who are trying to wait until its full launch to enjoy the game. The original Hades was in early access for about two years before it fully launched on PC, and it took almost another year to make its way to console. Pray we don’t have to wait as long for its sequel.
Platforms: PC and consoles TBA
Release Date: TBA
