Although it’s impossible to play every single game at Gamescom, I managed to try quite a few, specifically at the Indie Arena Booth. I’ll be sharing a series of articles to ensure we don’t miss out on any great indie games. To kick things off, here are my first top ten indie games that pleasantly surprised me at this year’s Gamescom.
GLASSHOUSE
Glasshouse is a promising cRPG that stands out for several reasons. It is set in a post-capitalist, “Feudalpunk” world on the brink of a world war, where players are confined to a lockdown apartment block. The game’s narrative-driven approach, inspired by titles like Disco Elysium and Pathologic, promises complex dialogue trees, multiple endings, and deep ideological themes.
It also introduces a unique “Political Compass” mechanic, that allows you to invest points in five different ideologies, which influence dialogue options and how the world reacts to your choices, meaning it encourages replayability. The dialogue system is another standout feature, incorporating puzzles, quick-time events, and a “Cunning” mechanic that unlocks new dialogue options based on inventory items. There are also survival mechanics such as resource management and crafting makeshift equipment.
If you’re in need of a unique cRPG, this one should definitely be on your list.
IKUMA: The Frozen Compass
IKUMA: The Frozen Compass is an upcoming narrative adventure game set for release in 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Set in 1864 on an Arctic island, IKUMA follows Sam, a teenage cabin boy, and his loyal husky, Ellie, as they navigate survival and self-discovery. Inspired by the real-world Franklin expedition of 1845 and Inuit legends, the game tells the story about friendship, loss, and personal growth. And it looks amazing.
This title stands out with its flexible gameplay and allows you to switch between Sam and Ellie in singleplayer mode or play cooperatively with a friend, each controlling one character. Additionally, the open-world design encourages exploration such as foraging for food, fishing, and climbing to survive harsh conditions. The survival elements are narrative-driven rather than overly punishing.
The game is also fully voiced and if you enjoy cooperative adventures, this one you shouldn’t miss.
Blightstone
Blightstone is an upcoming dark fantasy turn-based roguelite RPG set to launch in Steam Early Access in 2025. It offers a unique twist on turn-based strategy with a grid-free movement system, allowing you to position your characters freely for tactical cover or environmental interactions. This freedom lets you use elements like long grass for hiding or burn it to deny enemy cover.
The game emphasizes “hardcore” resource management, requiring you to balance health, blight levels, equipment, and character synergies to survive procedurally generated maps. You can choose from five distinct classes: Brawler, Hunter, Arcanist, Druid, and Priest each with unique abilities and companions.
It also features a vast skillset, including melee, ranged, area-of-effect, grappling, and triggered skills, alongside status effects like bleeding, poison, or stun. It was so much fun and I definitely recommend you to play the demo on Steam.
RECUR
RECUR is one of those games you never knew existed. It’s a puzzle platformer set for release in 2026 on PC via Steam, with potential console versions. It centers on a unique time-manipulation system where moving right advances time, moving left rewinds it, and standing still pauses it. This mechanic, inspired clearly by games like Braid and Inside, allows you to solve puzzles and navigate obstacles in a crumbling world.
You play as an ordinary postman who gains time-control powers during an apocalyptic event. The story revolves around uncovering why the world is ending and how you acquired these abilities, blending emotional storytelling with a mystery-driven plot.
RECUR combines classic platforming (running, jumping) with puzzles that require creative use of time manipulation and obstacles range from small-scale threats like aggressive dogs to massive hazards like explosions. Personally, can’t wait to play the full version of this game.
Heidi’s Legacy: Mountains Calling
Heidi’s Legacy: Mountains Calling is an upcoming cozy narrative sim, inspired by Johanna Spyri’s Heidi novels, set for release in 2025 on PC, with potential releases on Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and PlayStation 5 still to be confirmed.
Heidi’s Legacy offers a peaceful pastoral experience where you care for a flock of goats, gather milk, clear field obstructions, and purchase supplies. You can craft mountain goods like cheese and woolen items and engage in activities such as fishing and resource management. The game’s focus on cozy mechanics, like watching goats play, makes it a relaxing escape for fans of titles like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing.
Set in a peaceful alpine village, the game follows a female protagonist helping villagers rebuild their lives, emphasizing themes of nature, healing, community, and self-discovery. It also features a cute, hand-crafted art style that enhances its cozy and inviting vibe.
This is probably one game most people are going to sleep on.
HELA
Hela is an upcoming third-person open-world adventure game set for release in 2026 on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. It offers a unique perspective where you play as a brave mouse, a familiar to a kind witch who has fallen ill. The game supports solo play or co-op (local split-screen or online) for up to four players, encouraging teamwork to solve puzzles and gather magical ingredients.
Set in a Scandinavian-inspired world, the narrative blends folklore, kindness, and discovery, with your choices shaping the story and its impact on the environment. Additionally, you can use a magical backpack to collect resources, solve puzzles, and interact with realistic physics-based objects, like swinging from branches or gliding with a frog companion. Puzzles blend with the story, rewarding curiosity and creativity without relying on combat.
Right next to Outbound, Hela was probably the most played game on Gamescom when it comes to indies.
Constance
Constance is a 2D hand-drawn Metroidvania set to release on PC via Steam on November 24, 2025, with console versions (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2) planned for 2026. This one’s on par with Nine Sols, a hidden gem and hit ready to be unleashed.
Constance features innovative gameplay where you control a paintbrush-wielding artist who can transform into paint to dive into walls, floors, or slice through the air. These brush techniques, used for platforming and combat, are central to navigating the game’s world. However, overusing them risks paint corruption, requiring you to balance your abilities strategically.
You can explore over six interconnected biomes filled with unique enemies, deadly boss battles, characters, and collectibles. The nonlinear world design encourages uncovering secrets and tackling challenges in varied ways. Beyond paint-based platforming, Constance offers dynamic combat with brush techniques to defeat foes and challenging puzzles that tie into the narrative.
Honeycomb: The World Beyond
Honeycomb: The World Beyond is a survival-sandbox game set to launch on November 6, 2025, for PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game lets you play as Hennessy, a bioengineer on the alien planet Sota7, tasked with saving Earth’s ecosystem.
The standout feature is its bioengineering system, allowing you to crossbreed plants and animals using techniques like grafting and allogamy to create new species. These experiments can lead to groundbreaking discoveries or unexpected failures, offering a fresh twist on survival gameplay that blends science with creativity, appealing to fans of games like Subnautica.
Sota7 is a visually stunning planet with diverse biomes. You can explore this open world to gather resources, study alien flora and fauna, and uncover the planet’s mysteries. To survive Sota7’s unpredictable ecosystem, you must build and customize modular bases, serving as both shelters and laboratories. Survival involves gathering resources, crafting items, and outsmarting or outrunning threats, balancing exploration with strategic planning.
Star Birds
Star Birds is a cozy asteroid base-building and resource management game set to launch in Early Access in September of this year on PC via Steam. It offers a peaceful yet engaging experience where you manage a flock of spacefaring birds, building and automating mining operations on procedurally generated asteroids. During the Gamescom, there was always a line of people waiting to play this unique game.
The core loop involves scanning asteroids, mining resources like ice, metals, and unique materials, and connecting production facilities with pipes to create efficient networks. This automation-focused gameplay, likened to a simplified Factorio or Satisfactory, will appeal to those who enjoy optimizing systems while maintaining a cozy, low-pressure vibe.
Each asteroid comes with unique shapes and resources, forcing you to build customized bases. The game includes a story-driven campaign with a galactic mystery and a replayable Expedition Level for procedurally generated challenges offering randomized content. Roguelite elements include unlockable technologies and possibility to experiment with new production paths.
DarkSwitch
DarkSwitch is an upcoming vertical survival city builder set to release in 2025 on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, with a demo available on Steam. This title introduces a new twist on city-building by having players construct a settlement on a 200-meter-tall, gigantic tree, utilizing both trunk and branches.
Also, the limited horizontal space requires strategic planning forcing you to build zip lines and stairways to connect settlement layers. Over 80 unique buildings and 11 resource types (raw and processed) create a complex management system, blending city-building with tower defense and 4X elements, which fans of Frostpunk or Endzone will particularly like.
The game’s core challenge is defending your city against a eldritch fog that drives citizens to madness and conceals deadly creatures. You can manage light and flame, using Solium energy to craft light-powered weapons and illuminate paths, adding a survival-driven tower defense layer. Additionally, you can send scout detachments into the fog to plan airship routes, establish outposts, and excavate rare resources and artifacts. Four technology levels unlock new buildings and strategies, encouraging exploration of the misty, dangerous world.
