Thanksgaming 24 continues into Bleak Friday, to bring joy and light into the darkness. Here are another 20 games you’ve almost definitely never heard of before, but each offering something unique, special, or outright bizarre. Get your wishlist-clicking fingers ready.
Following on from yesterday’s first 20 games, I’ve once more randomly picked another 20 from the almost 500 emails sent in with submissions. It’s heartbreaking to leave 460 games unmentioned, but I have to stop somewhere, because apparently humans need food and sleep.
I implore you to follow the links on anything here that catches you eye, and wishlist or buy what you find. This slideshow features the most extraordinary range of genres, game-types, and aesthetics, from predominantly tiny teams of astonishingly talented people, some out now, some coming soon. Support them! Even if it’s to follow the link to their Bluesky and message them saying you think they’re incredible.
And now, dive in, to a selection of such variety you’ll rub your eyes in disbelief.
2 / 22
PLAY THE VIDEO! Seriously, play it. It’s so short, but it has SO MUCH! It looks like if the Persona developers made Disco Elysium, and it’s hard to think of a more compelling description than that.
In Gorepunk, recycling is religion, and humanity lives in the corpse of a fallen, undying titan, and that’s just the start of the weirdness, where your daily actions are decided by dice rolls, conversations open up unique pathways, and—well, just watch the video again! I’m so hyped.
The game is in development, but there’s a janky build you can get right now from Itch that’s being frequently updated.
Developer: Milan Lefferts
Release date: TBA
Itch
3 / 22
OK, they had me at “unique hugging mechanic.” Fatherhood is a game about being a father, protecting his blind daughter, during a war. It’s a 2.5D side-scrolling game, with Inside vibes, stealth mechanics, and what looks like a heartbreaking relationship to protect. There’s a demo via the Itch page.
Developer: Persis Play
Release date: TBA
Steam / Itch
4 / 22
I love how visual novels are drawing in more and more of the features of classic adventure games, proving yet again my theory that all genres want to evolve to point-and-click eventually. Ventreville looks to have far more interactivity than the genre is known for, with a town to explore, six protagonists, puzzles to solve, all in the name of uncovering the secrets of Remedium, a cure to a plague that is destroying the city.
This is a fair way off, with a release date in 2026, but there’s already a demo to give you a taste.
Developer: Spicy Bread Productions
Release date: Q2 2026
Steam
5 / 22
If the wonderful name isn’t already enough, wait until you learn this is a narrative-driven rhythm-action game about being a hairdresser to the supernatural in late-’70s Barcelona.
Wow.
You trim and style characters’ hair in time with the relaxed beats, while learning the backstories of your clientele, be they werewolves, banshees, vampires… And it all adds up to an intriguing mystery tale. Again: wow.
Developer: Omaet Games
Release date: TBA
Discord
6 / 22
An indie take on Might & Magic, Monsters of Mican is a first-person RPG with hand-made dungeons, squillions of monsters, spellcasting, loot-seeking and 14 character classes to choose from.
Which is quite the thing, especially when you learn it’s all the work of one person! It was released to seemingly very little attention in March this year, yet there’s an expansion coming soon! And while the UI looks…rudimentary, I’m suddenly very interested in sinking into a ‘90s-style dungeon crawler.
Developer: Blankitt Productions
Release date: Out now
Steam
7 / 22
This is why I love putting these together so much. We just went from a haircutting rhythm game to a Might & Magic tribute, and now to a two-person team’s game about being an inspector of haunted cabins in a cabin factory.
Well, actually, your job is to determined if they are haunted, although given it’s a horror game, I’m betting the chances are reasonably high. What a fantastically strange and brilliant idea—and we get to play it in just a couple of weeks!
Developer: International Cat Studios
Release date: December 13
Steam
8 / 22
A time-management life-sim, Carbonflesh is all about mending your body and restoring your life after a self-induced coma. You’re escaping a prison train and attempting to reclaim all that is yours, while managing resources, hacking systems, and building up bases, all while seemingly conversing with a Patrick Stewart in your head. Watch the trailer if you don’t believe me.
There’s a demo now, although no release date yet.
Developer: In The Flesh
Release date: TBA
Steam
9 / 22
I just cannot get over how much I love the extraordinary variety of indie gaming. Especially when it comes to those games that take risks no AA or AAA game ever could. There’s nothing else out there that looks like Dome-King Cabbage, and it’s everything I want.
Describing itself as “a visual novel made of a vibrant collection of psychedelic visuals, warbled beats, and colorful stories,” it’s apparently set inside the world of a monster-collecting RPG, with a protagonist who’s “grappling with their ability to perceive reality through an RPG lens.”
I’ve no idea what that means, and I want to play it so very, very much.
Developer: Cobysoft
Release date: TBA
Steam
10 / 22
I’ve been craving a new metroidvania, so I’m very pleased to have Stardust Demon cross my path. The colorful retro-style game came out at the end of October, but has yet to trouble the attention of the gaming press (beyond the eagle eyes of RPS), so it’s good to get some eyes on it.
There’s the traditional mix of platforming, combat and puzzles, somehow created by just two people, the couple behind 2020’s “dreamyqueer” Salad Fields. There’s a demo of Stardust Demon if you want to check that out first.
Developer: resnijars
Release date: Out now
Steam
11 / 22
A puzzle-platformer that’s heavy on the puzzles, and also the platforming, and it’s not exactly going easy on the combat. Gigasword says it will have “intricate puzzles” alongside its titular enormous weapon.
Our hero Ezra must reach the top of the Nestrium to recover the God Crystal, which is uncannily like my upcoming weekend. Again, this is a game created by just one guy, Jack! These solo-devs bemuse me with not only their talent, but their tenacity to get beyond, “It’d be nice to make a game one day,” before wandering off into the kitchen to stick their finger in the peanut butter jar…
Oh, and there’s a demo.
Developer: Studio Hybrid
Release date: TBA
Steam
12 / 22
Another solo dev, and mmmmmm, more PSX lost disc horror goodness! Despite never owning a PS1 during its era, I still find myself just compelled by this aesthetic, and the apparently shouted THRESHOLD looks like a splendid rendition.
An endless train thunders through a decaying station, says the game’s description, continuing, “Don’t speak. Don’t run. Don’t look in the train. Just do your job. It’ll all be over soon.” I’m so in. And the game just came out!
Developer: Julien Eveillé
Release date: Out now
Steam
13 / 22
The incredibly prolific MythicOwl has made a whole bunch of splendid games that have gone cruelly under-noticed. I definitely recommend puzzle game Hexologic, but prove myself as bad as everyone else by having missed the release of Planetiles this year! [Installs]
Next is Truckful, and oh my goodness, have you ever wanted to cuddle a YouTube video? This looks so utterly delightful, a game where you play a pickup-driving courier, delivering goods to a small town in the woods, but stumble upon a mystery. “Beware, the old forest is watching.”
Developer: MythicOwl
Release date: TBA
Steam
14 / 22
Not a word wasted in this splendid title, because Flocking Hell is a turn-based strategy game about protecting your sheep from invading demonic legions.
I love the suggestion of blending “calm exploration with auto-battler combat,” in a game that boasts “a lot of sheep.”
Levels are designed to last five minutes, with an emphasis on low stress, and that sounds good to me. It’s out next March, but there’s already a demo.
Developer: Sextant Studios
Release date: March 2025
Steam
15 / 22
Space-zapping games have always called me in, but then I’ve proven myself inept almost every time. It’s something about enemies being perpetually behind me that gets me. I don’t get that vibe at all from Rogue Eclipse by Husban Siddiqi.
The game boasts destructible environments, which is ace for a space-set game, with an upgradeable ship and roguelike structure that suggests to me a game where my inevitable defeats will be turned into progress, which is very appealing.
Developer: HUSKRAFTS
Release date: TBA
Steam
16 / 22
I love a two-game elevator pitch, and especially love the sound of “Spelunky meets Thief.” That’s the claim of Don’t Wake The Beast, a top-down pixel steal ‘em up in a fantasy setting. Oh, and it has a grappling hook, which always guarantees an extra 10 percent on any game score.
Also, the roguelite stealth game appears to feature some absolutely enormous dragons.
Developer: Artificial Disasters
Release date: TBA
Steam
17 / 22
It’s April 2062, and your plane’s in trouble somewhere over Alaska. Sorry to break it to you like that. Thankfully, you’re accompanied by your friendly floating orb robot, who’s going to be by your side after you crash into the snowy wastelands.
This has real Firewatch in The Long Dark vibes, a first-person narrative adventure with full voice acting and a spooky sci-fi story. It looks like something from a full-on AA studio, rather than a five-person developer that last released a strange-looking top-down MMO in 2019. I absolutely cannot wait to see more of this. Which is good, because I’m downloading the demo right now.
Developer: GoldFire Studios
Release date: TBA
Steam
18 / 22
Competitive story writing?! That’s going to be a thing now! Write Warz is a game about crafting stories in a sort of semi-competitive six-player co-op, where you write sentences, vote for plot-twists, and even gain character abilities that let you better control the direction of the story.
It sounds like the most elaborate game of Consequences, but everyone’s voting for the best next line, while the game itself introduces key events and adds challenges. It sounds like the best party game for creative types, and plans to enter Early Access early next year, with a demo already available.
Developer: Boltz Entertainment
Release date: Q1 2025
Steam
19 / 22
The very first game I ever reviewed, 25 years ago, was about being a paramedic. It was awful. Neo Harbor Rescue Squad, however, looks amazing! It has some Theme Hospital vibes, although minigame based, where you play a rookie paramedic trying to cope with waves of patients.
It looks just the right sort of silly, and has flown frustratingly under the radar since its release two weeks ago. Fix that! There’s a demo if you want to be sure.
Developer: BancyCo
Release date: Out now
Steam / PlayStation
20 / 22
It Consumes is set in what it calls “complete darkness.” Given there’s a glowing heart in the middle of this arena FPS’s chamber, I’d beg to differ, but the point remains: it’s a game where you can’t see at all, but instead use a sort of Daredevil-like sonar, except via the act of squeezing a beating heart.
The heart sends out a pulse that highlights objects and characters around you, but only very temporarily, and if you squeeze the heart too often it overloads and you’re plunged into darkness for far longer. And, yup, that sounds terrifying.
What a brilliant concept, and the footage looks incredibly promising. The game is due out next year, and there’s a playtest option on Steam.
Developer: Sublexical Entertainment
Release date: 2025
Steam
21 / 22
Blueberry, a puzzle-platformer about a woman facing her own trauma and beginning to heal, comes from Mellow Games, a new studio from Melanie Taylor, the developer behind the Papers Please-like Orwell games. And it looks just so splendid.
It’s about exploring central character Blueberry’s mind, across her lifetime, piecing together the puzzle that makes up who she is. And I’m pretty sure it’s going to be an emotional experience. There’s a demo already, but no release date yet.
Developer: Mellow Games
Release date: TBA
Steam
And it’s done. That’s a total of 40 games that you’ve likely never heard of before, across the broadest range of genres, from developers who are pouring their hearts and souls into enormously creative projects. Go wishlist them, buy them, send them a Bsky message telling them what an amazing job they’re doing—just anything to support these excellent people and their excellent work.
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22 / 22