Play, Don't Miss: The Best Indie Projects of 2026
Behind the glare and noise of big releases, it's easy to miss the real diamonds. Izvestia has compiled a selection of unique and already recognized indie games this year.
Big Walk
Screenshot from the Big Walk game
When it was released: August 4
Genre: Cooperative Adventure
What to play on: PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2
The House House studio, which gave the world the flighty goose simulator Untitled Goose Game, has done something more meditative for gamers. Big Walk is a cooperative online game for up to 12 users who want to get lost together in a big, leisurely world. In this multiplayer adventure, the most important thing is not competition, but communication. The gameplay of Big Walk is based on exploring the world with friends and talking to them. Most cooperative world exploration projects are designed for groups of up to four, so the scale of Big Walk hints that the world here is designed so that players can disperse, meet again and share what they have found, rather than huddling in a tight group all the time.
How to Fish
Screenshot from the game How to Fish
When it was released: August 20th
Genre: fishing simulator
What to play on: PC
The plot of this simulator is absurd: players with a group of up to three friends on a boat crash into a small island and now have to learn how to fish in order to return to civilization. The gameplay is addictive: the user starts almost empty-handed, earns money by selling fish, invests in better fishing rods and weapons, and then opens access to new islands with rarer prey. There are boss battles here — a rarity for casual fishing projects. Particularly difficult fishing rod tricks are rewarded with bonus money, making farming less tedious. Although it's most fun to play in co-op, single player play is also not boring due to the good progression system and collectibles.
Over The Top: WWI
Screenshot from the game Over The Top: WWI
When it was released: March 6
Genre: Shooter
What to play on: PC, Nintendo Switch
A multiplayer action shooter set against the backdrop of the horrors of the First World War. Over The Top: WWI offers real-time battles. Players can switch between third- and first-person views, and choose how to interact with their surroundings and opponents. The setting here is not a decoration: the design is based on the historical context, ranging from the mechanics of weapons to the geography of the battlefields. Recognizable images of the Western Front transform interactive spaces into a realistic theater of historical military operations.: Craters provide cover, trenches direct the movement of soldiers, and the open terrain severely punishes reckless attacks.
Meccha Chameleon
Screenshot from the game Meccha Chameleon
When it was released: June 9th
Genre: hide-and-seek simulator
What to play on: PC
This multiplayer game is built around one simple and ingenious idea: to disappear, you need to color yourself to match the color of your surroundings. Players start as an all-white figure and must manually apply colors and patterns to the body, adapting to the environment, until they are noticed by those who are looking for them. The new level is a different environment that requires special camouflage strategies. Most interactive hide-and-seek games rely on knowledge of the map or physical hiding places, but the mechanics of coloring are tied to the user's skill: the quality of disguise depends entirely on performance, not on memorizing the location. The game supports public matches — you can quickly connect to parties without waiting for the team to assemble.
TBH: Task Bar Hero
Screenshot from the game TBH: Task Bar Hero
When it was released: May 27
Genre: idle-RPG-platformer
What to play on: PC
A free casual game with an unusual concept: the user's Windows taskbar becomes a stage where characters run and fight. The project occupies an almost non-existent niche of idle RPG platformers. Gamers embark on an automatic journey through the taskbar and eventually mine chests, from which equipment that enhances players drops out. Strong heroes can complete longer and more profitable races. This is a familiar idle-RPG cycle, but in a unique way. The game does not require constant attention: you can keep it running in parallel with other applications and come back when you have enough chests. The characters physically move and interact with the taskbar space, as in a platformer, and this gives the process a dynamic that is often lacking in "pure" idle games.
Romestead
Screenshot from the Romestead game
When it was released: May 26
Genre: RPG, Adventure
What to play on: PC
Rome has fallen, and there are worse than Gallic barbarians roaming its ruins in the dark of night. This cooperative survival game with adventure elements tells the story of what may have happened after the catastrophic fall of the Eternal City in a parallel reality. An apocalyptic event turned the empire into a wasteland, and its inhabitants into hostile dead. Gamers take on the roles of survivors who will have to rebuild a civilization from scratch: manage resources, build settlements and defend themselves from the undead, which becomes especially dangerous after dark. The game supports from one to eight users, so it can be played either independently or as a full-fledged company.
Scritchy Scratchy
Screenshot from the game Scritchy Scratchy
When it was released: March 18
Genre: simulator of erasing the protective layer
What to play on: PC, Android, iOS
You can forever watch the fire burn, the water flow, and also endlessly erase the scratch layer from lottery tickets and cards. The mini-studio Lunch Money Games noticed this feature of the human psyche and released the Scritchy Scratchy simulator. In addition to the erasure process, you need to play a lottery here — each victory brings funds with which you can expand your arsenal to remove the foil layer even faster and more efficiently and buy new tickets. As you level up, the erasure tools enhance each other's capabilities, and the game rewards patience with faster progress and bigger winnings over time.
Shift At Midnight
Screenshot from the game Shift At Midnight
When it was released: July 22
Genre: horror, gas station worker simulator
What to play on: PC, Xbox Series X/S
It's pretty easy to run a gas station at midnight, as long as the customers aren't human anymore. Shift At Midnight mixes gas station management and survival horror. Four players can play with voice chat. Each work shift is randomly generated. It is necessary to replenish the shelves of the store when refueling, take supplies, serve visitors and fulfill the plan. The catch is that some of the visitors are monstrous doppelgangers in human form. To recognize them, you should carefully check the IDs, compare the data on your computer, and monitor customer behavior. If one creature manages to escape from the store, the game completely changes the mode and begins survival with barricading doors, setting traps and stealth.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
