Upcoming Indie Games We Can't Wait To Play In 2023

It seems like only yesterday audiences didn't care about indie games, but those days are long gone. Given the kinds of experiences indie studios now provide, we couldn't be happier. 2022 delivered countless memorable games made by smaller (and sometimes solo) studios, some of which surpassed their AAA rivals. And 2023 is shaping up to be no different.

Almost anyone who has been paying attention to the gaming market is no doubt excited about titles such as "Hogwarts Legacy," "Resident Evil 4 Remake," and "Final Fantasy XVI," but those are AAA games with monolithic marketing budgets. Indie games can't afford the same level of advertising, so many fly under the radar, even with word of mouth. But a lack of marketing isn't the same as a lack of polish; the indie space is full of titles that either look promising or are being developed by studios that have earned a sparkling reputation. Many of these games are coming out this year.

Here are the indie titles we think most gamers should add to their must-play lists. Please note that this article is based on current information. There's always a chance one game in this article (or several) won't live up to expectations. Plus if an indie studio plans on releasing a game this year but hasn't announced it yet, well we can't exactly talk about what we don't know about, now can we?

Many games these days are sequels. Why risk creating a new IP when you can just rely on what you know works? That's where spiritual successors come in, as they meet both strategies in the middle to create something new that also follows in the footsteps of a beloved game or franchise, including those that have been discontinued.

"Bomb Rush Cyberfunk" is an upcoming title by Team Reptile, the studio behind "Lethal League." Team Reptile has proudly proclaimed "Bomb Rush Cyberfunk" draws heavily from the cult classic "Jet Set Radio." Going by the Steam page and gameplay trailers, "Bomb Rush Cyberfunk" will feature all the rail-grinding, graffiti-spewing action that made "Jet Set Radio" a classic. And to drive the nostalgia home, "Bomb Rush Cyberfunk" will feature funky beats penned by Hideki Naganuma. Yes, the same Naganuma who composed the "Jet Set Radio" franchise's soundtrack.

Only a lucky few have played demos of "Bomb Rush Cyberfunk," but from what we've seen, the game looks like a flashy and stylish open-world evolution of the high-flying original. Moreover, now that Vicarious Visions ... sorry, Blizzard Albany ... is on "Diablo" duty, it doesn't have time to make more "Tony Hawk Pro Skater" remakes. This development leaves studios like Team Reptile one of the only games in town for audiences who want arcady extreme sports action titles.

Team Reptile initially wanted to release "Bomb Rush Cyberfunk" in 2022, but the higher-ups decided to give the coders more time to polish their game, so now it should release in the summer of 2023.

Red Candle Games entered the indie gaming space with a terrifying bang. The company impressed audiences with the 2D horror game "Detention," but then it insulted Xi Jinping with the 3D horror game "Devotion." That last game almost ruined the studio, but it will return in 2023 with a new game — although Red Candle Games has probably said goodbye to the horror genre.

"Nine Sols" is a 2D action platformer built out of hand-drawn assets. The studio described the game as "Taopunk," given its unique blend of dystopian world and Taoist imagery and designs. But what sets "Nine Sols" apart is its gameplay. Instead of aiming for general soulslike combat, Red Candle Games took inspiration from "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice" to create a fast-paced, parry-centric style dubbed "Sekiro-lite."

Recently, Steam has been holding demo events called Next Fests where the platform releases a ton of game demos all at once, and during the June 2022 Next Fest, "Nine Sols" was one of them. The game caught the eyes of many outlets and gamers, and it's not hard to see why. The art and animations of "Nine Sols" are fluid and beautiful, and the combat looks challenging, albeit not quite on the level of "Sekiro." Then again, few games are.

Even though the "Nine Sols" demo was initially released during a Next Fest, you can still play it via the game's Steam page. According to the Red Candle Games website, the studio is aiming to complete the game between February and April of 2023 and release it in "Q2 2023." Fingers crossed to cross swords then.

If you want to see the perfect marriage of Metroidvania and soulslike design philosophies, look no further than "Blasphemous." Well, okay, that game has some shortcomings, such as a lack of collectible weapons, but titles like "The Last Faith" stand to correct these minor problems.

"The Last Faith" is the first PC game developed by Kumi Souls Games. Going by trailers alone, the game will sport gorgeously gothic pixel art, and whereas "Blasphemous" channels more of its soulslike lineage, "The Last Faith" will focus more on Metroidvania weapons and traversal skills. Moreover, given the gothic levels and enemies displayed in the trailers, "The Last Faith" isn't aiming to ape just any soulsborne game, but arguably the best one in the franchise: "Bloodborne."

Most gamers haven't played a demo for "The Last Faith," but since the game started life as a Kickstarter project, backers got their hands on a playable prototype build, and it looks and sounds very much like a 2D version of "Bloodborne." Combat is as fast as you'd expect from a Metroidvania, but while the game doesn't include a stamina meter, its difficulty looks mercilessly unforgiving, albeit fair — true to the soulsborne genre.

Originally, Kumi Souls Games aimed for a September 2021 launch, but that release window slammed shut a long time ago. In November of 2022, the studio announced it would release "The Last Faith" in 2023. Here's hoping.

The video game industry is made up of fads, and one currently popular craze involves producing games with pixel graphics instead of 3D assets. In some cases, this is only window dressing as many modern pixel games utilize systems and mechanics beyond the computing power of retro consoles like the NES and Game Boy, but that's far from a criticism. Still, some studios are going all in on the retro aesthetic and developing titles that also sound and play like older games.

Yacht Club Games made a name for itself with its Kickstarter classic "Shovel Knight." For over six years, the studio relied on that game, but it's finally ready to say goodbye to the "Shovel Knight" franchise with a new title, "Mina the Hollower." If "Shovel Knight" is Yacht Club's "Super Mario Bros.," then "Mina the Hollower" is the studio's "The Legend of Zelda."

Yacht Club Games initially introduced "Mina the Hollower" as a Kickstarter project that is a top-down cross between "The Legend of Zelda" and "Castlevania" with plenty of items and a leveling system. More importantly, "Mina the Hollower" is designed to replicate the look and feel of Game Boy Color games, right down to the limited color palette and chiptune music.

Given Yacht Club Games' experience with "Shovel Knight," and the content shown on the Kickstarter page, "Mina the Hollower" is shaping up to be a worthy successor the studio hopes to release later this year.

Video games are usually the product of giant, sprawling teams of coders, writers, and designers. Yet all of these employees are united under the vision of directors and lead designers who steer development. When one of these brains strike out on their own, we usually can expect great things, especially if they had previously cooked up some very memorable titles.

"Cocoon" is the first project of Geometric Interactive, a studio founded by Jeppe Carlsen, the lead gameplay designer behind Playdead's "Limbo" and "Inside." Unlike those games, which are puzzle platformers, "Cocoon" will be a puzzle adventurer. What's the difference? In Cocoon, the main character will carry literal worlds on their back in the form of orbs. Each will contain its own puzzles, but the key to solving them will require players to use abilities unique to each orb and shift between them to solve even more puzzles, one step at a time. The result is bound to be an adventure as promising as it is mind-bending.

While Geometric Interactive hasn't released a demo for "Cocoon" yet, Carlsen's name has already elevated the title. "Limbo" and "Inside" are beloved indie games praised for, among other things, their intentionally simple yet deceptively meticulous gameplay designs. The premise of "Cocoon" sounds amazing, but it also sounds difficult to realize and make enjoyable. Carlsen's association provides hope that the game can deliver.

While the Steam page for "Cocoon" only has "Coming soon" for its release date, the game's official web page promises a 2023 launch.

Kickstarter is an excellent source of indie titles inspired by retro games. When the developer of "The Messenger," Sabotage Studio, wanted to publish their own RPG, they turned to the crowdfunding site. And even though their project has been delayed, it is now almost ready.

"Sea of Stars" is a retro turn-based RPG that is a prequel to "The Messenger." Just looking at the reveal trailer is enough to entice most audiences. Like "The Messenger," "Sea of Stars" will sport a lovely pixel aesthetic with smooth animations and a robust lighting system. And of course, we have to mention the music, which was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, the man who wrote the "Chrono Trigger" soundtrack. No, Sabotage Studio didn't ask him to join; he asked to join them. You know a Western-developed RPG is doing something right when one of the greatest RPG composers of all time wants in.

Originally, Sabotage Studio wanted to release "Sea of Stars" in 2022, but the company had to push the game back to 2023. The reasoning was understandable, as Sabotage Studio wanted to ensure the game's quality but also maintain a life-work balance for their developers working in the coding trenches. The entire library of Supergiant Games demonstrates that crunch isn't necessary in game development, and more often than not audiences are willing to wait for a quality title if they are confident the studio can deliver. "Sea of Stars" might be yet another piece of evidence for both claims.

Survival games are a dime a dozen, but like other overpopulated genres, some outlast their rivals. One such game is "The Forest," an indie darling that lets players team up against cannibalistic mutants in, well, an isolated forest. The game received a ton of praise, but nobody expected it would ever receive a sequel.

"Sons of the Forest" will be, by all accounts, "The Forest" 2.0 in the best way possible. Like the original, this title will be an open-world survival experience where players fend off mutants in an isolated forest. The Steam page promises new mechanics such as a season system that affects the abundance of resources such as food, while trailers show off additions such as new weapons and mutants.

Few gamers and outlets have received hands-on time with "Sons of the Forest," but those who have (such as IGN) praised what they experienced. Plus, they got to reveal more new features, such as AI companions who can follow commands and streamline resource-gathering busywork. And speaking of AI, according to these lucky testers, enemies will be smarter and have more situational awareness than they had in the original "The Forest."

While the developers of "Sons of the Forest" initially aimed for a May 20, 2022 release date, like many games on this list, the studio had to temper its expectations. Currently, the game is set to launch sometime in February this year.