- Primary Subject: Underrated Indie Games
- Key Update: We rank 10 underrated indie games from 2025 that deserved far more attention, from Wanderstop's emotional tea shop to The Stone of Madness's phobia-driven stealth.
- Status: All games on this list have been released.
- Last Verified: January 21, 2026
- Quick Answer: The most underrated indie games include Wanderstop, Best Served Cold, Tiny Bookshop, Until Then, and The Stone of Madness.
Keeping up with indie games isn't as easy as it used to be. Each year, dozens and maybe even hundreds of indies slip through the cracks while we're all busy debating which AAA game disappointed us the most.
But last year was an exceptional year for indie devs, as we all witnessed at The Game Awards, which practically felt like an awarding ceremony dedicated to Clair Obscur Expedition 33. As good as that is for the gaming industry, it still belies the fact that several brilliant games got buried under the avalanche of new releases. My list includes titles that received critical acclaim but never really managed to get a sizable audience. Others are those who chose the quiet path, and a few even came from studios with proven games under their belt, but somehow still flew under the radar.
So consider this your second chance. I've rounded up 10 indie gems that deserved far more love than they received. Let's dig in.
10. Songs of Silence
I'm genuinely baffled that Songs of Silence didn't make a bigger splash. This is a gorgeous 4X strategy game with Art Nouveau visuals, turn-based management, with the only kink in its armor being a real-time auto battler. The soundtrack is composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, the guy who did Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story.
The campaign follows Queen Lorelai and her people as they flee a mysterious apocalyptic force called "the Silence." It's like The NeverEnding Story's (1984 movie) antagonists called the Nothing, except they're way creepier. Army battles play out automatically, but you get to influence the outcome using a card system that lets you unleash abilities at key moments. Word of warning, though, the campaign can get a bit brutal in the later chapters, but if you're someone who enjoys hardcore strategy gems, this one is for you.
9. Ereban: Shadow Legacy
Stealth games are hard to get right, and historically speaking, a lot of the games out there tend to get it wrong. Ereban: Shadow Legacy lives on that other side of the coin. It's simply a true stealth game.
If you have played Aragami before, this is the nearest equivalent to being its spiritual successor. You play as Ayana, the last descendant of a forgotten race that, as the title suggests, can merge with shadows.
Similar to Aragami's gameplay, you can hide in shadows, glide across surfaces, slip past guards, and discover secrets and answers along the way. The story touches on themes of big corporate exploitation and cultural erasure without being heavy-handed, and the relationship between Ayana and her remote companion provides an emotional spine amidst all the action.
8. Europa
Sometimes you just need a game that feels like a warm hug. That game is called Europa.
Set on a terraformed Jupiter moon, you are an android exploring the remnants of human civilization with nothing but a jetpack and a whole lot of questions. This is an exploration game, so it's just you and all the landscape you can breathe in, plus a gentle story about what it means to "be human" when humanity is gone.
It's the kind of game you play when the world is too much, or when there's just too many things happening at once, and there's so much noise. It's contemplative and makes you remember that there's beauty in all things. And honestly? We all need that sometimes.
7. Mullet Madjack
Apart from Doom and Wolfenstein, I cannot remember the last time I poured serious hours into a shooter that's not an esport title. Do you remember that time? When FPS games didn't need massive open worlds, or live service models, or battle passes?
Mullet Madjack is just that. It's a game that doesn't take itself very seriously, as evidenced by a plot that's so overused that you wouldn't really care for it. You're rescuing a billionaire's daughter from a building full of killer robots. You go floor by floor, and the catch is that if you don't kill something every ten seconds, you die. The game is a neon-drenched, VHS-filtered fever dream that feels like a haven for graffiti artists.
It's deliriously entertaining with satire takes on influencer culture and hyper-consumption. If you ever get tired of Marvel Rivals, give Mullet Madjack a try.
6. The Seance of Blake Manor
I spent the final days of last year obsessively exploring Blake Manor, a haunted estate in 1800's Ireland, and I have seen things. Weird things. Scary things.
In this game, you play as Detective Declan Ward, a skeptic who's received an anonymous letter asking to investigate a woman's disappearance during a seance at this manor-turned-hotel. As the person wearing the badge, of course, you don't believe in ghosts, curses, or old gods. All of that is going to change.
The Seance of Blake Manor is like being inside an Agatha Christie novel with a sprinkling of Lovecraftian tropes here and there. You're going to investigate 20 suspects, and each of them has their own schedule, which you'll need to catch if you want to discover their secrets and motives.
What's unbelievable for this indie is the number of unique responses you can get for each inquiry to a character, with the only caveat that time is not your ally. You only have 2 days to piece together all the clues and solve this crime. Will you accept the invitation?
5. The Stone of Madness
From the creators of Blasphemous comes something completely different and equally haunting. The Stone of Madness is a real-time tactical stealth game set in an 18th-century Spanish monastery that doubles as an insane asylum. You control five prisoners, each with unique abilities and crippling phobias, as they attempt to escape their captors and discover the horror within.
This game is one of my favorites in this list, because your characters here have actual psychological weight and real fears that could derail your best laid plans. For example, Eduardo can lift and move heavy objects, but he's terrified of the dark. Leonora has a penchant for killing, but fire sends her into a spiral. Trigger these traumas and phobias enough, and you'll drain their sanity, which will send them into even more unstable levels of frenzy.
If you love Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun or Darkest Dungeon, then I dare you to enter the twisted asylum of The Stone of Madness.
4. Until Then
I wasn't prepared to get emotionally wrecked over a game about high schoolers, but here we are.
Until Then follows Mark, a teenager living alone while his parents work overseas. But what starts as a typical slice-of-life high school story about cramming for school projects, exams, and even building up the courage to send a message to your crush, reveals itself to be something far more ambitious, a meditation on grief, what we remember, and the people we lose along the way.
Until Then starts slow, and it does ask for your patience, but when the story kicks in, it's going to deliver one of the most emotionally resonant games that you will ever experience.
3. Tiny Bookshop
The Tiny Bookshop lets you run a mobile bookshop out of a little wooden trailer as you travel between locations in the little but charming town of Bookstonbury. You stock your shelves, recommend books to customers, befriend the townspeople, and adopt a stray dog. It's warm, it's lovely, and it's made by people who clearly have a deep passion for books and reading.
The foundation for this game is in how you "recommend." Customers will describe what they want vaguely, such as "something with a twist," "a tear-jerker," or "a coming-of-age plotline," and you have to figure out which title fits, and that includes books from real life.
As an avid reader myself, especially when the internet gets spotty during my travels, I'll admit that the Tiny Bookshop has a special place in my heart.
It's the video game equivalent of a cup of hot cocoa on a rainy afternoon.
2. Best Served Cold
Here's a game I stumbled upon completely by accident, and I'm so glad I did. Best Served Cold puts you behind the counter of the only speakeasy in a Vienna-like city during what feels like an alternate 1920s.
Your operation isn't exactly on the level, and a detective discovers your illegal bar, but instead of shutting you down, they propose a deal. Help them catch criminals by loosening lips with your cocktails.
The bartending gameplay is simple, but the vibes in this game are nothing short of immaculate. Moody jazz, art deco aesthetics, and characters with depth make this a very immersive experience. Everyone who walks through your doors has hopes, dreams, and secrets. As their friend on the other side of the counter, you'd be surprised just how much closer to their dreams you can help get them, or how much trouble you can stir up.
If you're looking for a game that has its atmosphere up in spades, Best Served Cold is the drink you didn't know you needed.
1. Wanderstop
From the creators of The Stanley Parable and The Beginner's Guide comes a cozy game about running a tea shop, but not in the typical way you'd expect.
Wanderstop introduces us to Alta, a once-unbeaten tourney fighter who collapses in a magical forest after a devastating losing streak. She's taken in by Boro, the owner of a tea shop called the Wanderstop, and agrees to help her out as she recovers.
The thing is, Alta doesn't want to be here. She's a prizefighter. She's supposed to be training, competing, and most of all, winning. Why would anyone turn the world's greatest fighter into a docile shopkeeper?
That tension, between who Alta was and who she might be in the future, is the heart of the game. You'll grow ingredients, brew tea, tend to customers, and decorate the shop. But you'll also sit on a bench once in a while and listen to Alta's thoughts. You'll watch her struggle against the quiet and see her slowly, painfully, begin to change.
Wanderstop is a game about burnout, about letting go, and ultimately about finding peace in the stillness of things. If you've ever felt like you were running on empty, like you forgot how to stop, Wanderstop might be a good cure.
The beauty of indie games is that there's always something waiting to surprise you. These are games made by a small team that poured their hearts into a vision. These ten games represent some of the best that might have slipped your notice, but they're otherwise great experiences.
Pick one. Any one. I promise you won't regret it.
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