There are a bunch of cool indies coming out in 2025. That’s an evergreen statement every year, except you’d need to change the number so I guess not. The point is, there are so many games (complimentary). Unfortunately, there are so many games (derogatory). Too many to know what to do with. But what if you could know what to do with them?
Indie games rely on word of mouth, but if your circle only plays a handful of the biggest blockbuster games and live-service behemoths likeEA FC,Fortnite, andCall of Duty, those mouths have no words for your earholes to send signals to your thumbs. It’s tough to know where to start. So why not start here?
While I’m sure there are some great indies that will define 2025’s canon that we haven’t heard of yet, several intriguing ones have already broken cover. Let’s take a look at which are the most compelling when paired with this year’s biggest triple-A hits.
Black Myth: Wukong - Hyper Light Breaker
WhileHyper Light Breakeris a procedural roguelike, it shares a lot of DNA withBlack Myth: Wukong. Both pride themselves on their difficulty, and feature a series of successive boss battles that test your mettle like it’s never been tested before, so much so that they make you stop and ask questions like ‘What’s a mettle anyway?’. You can also play as a raccoon in Hyper Light Breaker. I probably should have led with that.
Astro Bot - Bye Sweet Carole
There are a bunch of indie platformers coming out next year that I could have compared toAstro Bot, and will take this opportunity to suggest Henry Halfhead,The Eternal Life of Goldman, andEarthblade. In fact, they all will likely have more platforming thanBye Sweet Carole, which is more of a Metroidvania. But with itsDisney-inspired visuals, even though it uses them as a backdrop to horror, it just seems the closest to the nostalgia factor in Astro Bot’s favour.
Metaphor: ReFantazio - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Straightforward one here.Metaphor: ReFantaziois the best JRPG this year, building on thealready best-in-class Atlus formula.Clair Obscuris not Japanese but is heavily inspired by JRPG classics (let’s not get into ‘what is a JRPG’ again), and is the obvious next step for anyone who fell in love with Hulkenberg- I mean, played Metaphor: ReFantazio in 2024.
Stellar Blade - Tenjutsu
Tenjutsu is a tease of a game - the trailer opens with a superslick ’80s anime vibe, then when gameplay kicks in it’s a pixel shooter apingHotline Miami(though not fully top-down). Coming from the designer ofDead Cells, it doesn’t bring the visual spectacle ofStellar Blade, it does offer a stylish protagonist in a fast-paced action splatterfest, which iswhen Stellar Blade was at its best.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - The Berlin Apartment
I really wantedIndiana Joneson this list, because it came as such a surprise at the end of 2024. For better or worse, it’snot the game anyone expected. That’s why I’m hitching it toThe Berlin Apartment. Both are first-person games with historical crossover and feature those subjugated by the Nazis within their story. The Berlin Apartment has less action, but similar puzzle-based gameplay at times, and the two make for a good pair.
EA Sports FC 25 - Despelote
I don’t have a lot to say about this - I just think it’s neat that there’s an indie football game that isn’t just an arcade sim coming out soon.
Silent Hill 2 - Reanimal
From the team behindLittle Nightmaresand Little Nightmares 2 comes They Won’t Let Us Make Little Nightmares 3 But We Did It Anyway.Silent Hill 2is a highly ‘vibes-based’ horror, more about dread than jump scares or horrific monsters (Pyramid Head aside), and if you’re looking to recreate that feeling,Reanimalmight be where it’s at in 2025.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth - Wheel World
With the big indie JRPG used up on Metaphor’s entry, I had to get creative. And it seems to me thatRebirthis all about exploration, which immediately led me to Wheel World and Crescent County. However, the former seems to match Rebirth’s pace, while the latter is about speed and swift traversal. You ride a bike to save the world, which (when you consider bikes are a very green mode of transporation) is basically the plot of Final Fantasy 7. If you squint a lot. Like, a lot a lot.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - Mouse: PI For Hire
Mouse: PI For Hirewears itsBioShock-inspirations on its rubberhose sleeve, but we haven’t really had aBioShock-esquegame this year to draw that link. However, we have had anotherCall of Duty, just like every year. I’m told this one is pretty good. But I’d love to see shooter fans (who are often just fans of one very specific shooter) branch out into the world of indies. For CoD fans looking for something that might be their speed, Mouse: PI For Hire should be the first stop.
