The enjoyment of working with indies is rarely realizing what you’ll encounter subsequent. Yearly brings one thing surprising and pleasant, it doesn’t matter what your style of desire is. The indie-focused groups right here at Sony Interactive Leisure have bundled up a few of their private favourite indie video games from the previous 12 months. Listed below are a number of the video games that shocked, enchanted, and tickled us in 2025.
Child Steps
Developer: Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy
Writer: Devolver Digital
An irreverent, physics-driven stumble-through-life journey constructed on these splendidly punishing physics that made Bennett Foddy’s Getting Over It so iconic.
Why we like it: We had a tough time actually explaining the elevator pitch to our colleagues after we performed it — that is a kind of video games you merely should really feel to grasp. After we handed a controller to SIE’s Sid Shuman and his character instantly slid helplessly down a mountain in probably the most dramatic approach potential, he broke into that tears-in-your-eyes sort of chortle. And it went on for some time. That’s when it clicked for us: the chaos, the tenderness, the humor — all of it is smart the second you are taking that first clumsy step.
Ball X Pit
Developer: Kenny Solar
Writer: Devolver Digital
A chaotic, neon-soaked arcade blast the place all the things strikes quick, loud, and simply barely unhinged.
Why we like it: Just a few of us acquired an early take a look at this one from Devolver, and we knew it was sticky when a number of people on our workforce discovered themselves compelled to maintain enjoying it lengthy after they’d already completed writing up the assessment. It’s pure, joyful chaos — the sort of recreation that grabs you instantly and refuses to let go. And for me personally, seeing Kenny Solar behind this made it even higher. I’ve adopted his work since my early editorial days and beloved his 2016 platformer Circa Infinity. Watching his evolution from these minimalist, mind-bending roots to one thing this loud, playful, and polished — all as a single developer — is extremely cool.
Blue Prince
Developer: Banana Chicken Studios
Writer: Uncooked Fury
A surreal, shifting-room puzzle thriller that continually reinvents itself as you discover.
Why we like it: There’s nothing higher than a hypnotic, mysterious puzzle recreation that refuses to play by the principles, and Blue Prince nails that feeling. A number of of us ended up having the identical surprising expertise with it — regardless that it’s a single-player recreation, it grew to become one thing we performed alongside our companions or buddies at dwelling. We’d evaluate notes, swap theories, and brainstorm puzzle options collectively like we have been a part of some shared secret. That sense of quiet discovery, of unraveling one thing unusual and chic piece by piece, is precisely what makes this one so particular. It’s trendy, intelligent, and lingers with you lengthy after you cease enjoying.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Developer: Sandfall Interactive
Writer: Kepler Interactive
A hanging, painterly RPG about breaking a prophecy and claiming a future that was by no means imagined to be yours.
Why we like it: The artwork course grabbed us instantly, and the fight hits that candy spot between considerate and cinematic. Such a good looking recreation with great performing, tight gameplay, and presumably the best gaming soundtrack ever. Montpellier-based workforce Sandfall Interactive wears their inspirations on their sleeve — from European illustration traditions to the emotional arc and iconic gameplay of your favourite RPGs. You possibly can really feel these influences in each character, creature, and brushstroke. It’s daring, lovely, and precisely the sort of inventive imaginative and prescient we love.
Despelote
Developer: Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena
Writer: Panic
A grounded, slice-of-life journey set in early-2000s Quito, capturing a neighborhood—and a rustic—caught up in Ecuador’s historic 2002 World Cup qualifying run.
Why we like it: Despelote captures a cultural second that meant a lot to so many Ecuadorians, and it does it by way of small, on a regular basis particulars that really feel extremely private. We have been struck by how intimate it felt. The narrative is a step again in time drawn from the creators’ childhood reminiscences in Quito. The artwork type provides to that impact with a delicate, dreamlike high quality that makes the world really feel each actual and surreal. It’s heat, human, and a heartfelt celebration of their individuals.
Dispatch
Developer: AdHoc Studio
Writer: AdHoc Studio
A pointy-witted episodic superhero office comedy the place you’re not the hero, however the one sending them.
Why we like it: From the get-go, Dispatch had us hooked: it attracts you in with its vibrant artwork type, razor-sharp writing, and versatile mechanics that fluidly shift from considerate narrative decisions to difficult puzzles and the chaos of superhero dispatch administration. What units it aside, although, is how rapidly these larger-than-life characters develop as you play. Beneath the capes and theatrics, they’re full of peculiar heat, messy feelings, and a pleasant streak of pettiness that fuels hilarious workplace drama. It’s a refreshing twist on the narrative-driven journey video games and tremendous hero content material we’ve all grown accustomed to. Dispatch finds its personal distinctive voice in that area, which is a superhuman feat in itself, and focuses on unmasking the larger-than-life personalities to review the flawed individuals behind the costumes. AdHoc reminds us why this style continues to be so compelling.
Hole Knight: Silksong
Developer: Staff Cherry
Writer: Staff Cherry
The long-awaited sequel to Hole Knight, delivering sharper motion, richer fight, and a haunting new world.
Why we like it: Few trendy indies have had the cultural impression of Hole Knight — it grew to become a touchstone for precision platforming, ambiance, and handcrafted design. Silksong builds on that legacy with the identical meticulous consideration to element that made the unique so beloved. Staff Cherry’s craftsmanship is extraordinary for a studio of their measurement, and as soon as once more, we discovered ourselves utterly misplaced of their world. It’s elegant, formidable, and a reminder of simply how far nice artistry can go.
Lumines Come up
Developer: Improve
Writer: Improve
A contemporary evolution of the puzzle-rhythm traditional, polished right into a hypnotic little gem.
Why we like it: Improve has been behind a number of the most transcendent puzzle experiences ever made — from Rez Infinite to Tetris Impact — and Lumines Come up carries that very same lineage of arcadey, synesthetic brilliance. They’re merely the very best at what they do. When the visuals, music, and patterns lock collectively, it drops you into that unmistakable circulate state the place your mind lastly exhales. It’s trendy, soothing, and a kind of video games we maintain “by chance” enjoying for an hour.
Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo
Developer: Pocket Lure
Writer: PM Studios
A classy, fast-moving action-platformer constructed round a surprisingly deep, yo-yo-based moveset.
Why we like it: That is a kind of video games that feels immediately good the second you contact it. The motion is expressive, the fight has actual snap, and the entire thing radiates persona. We have been impressed by how they took such a easy mechanic and stretched it into one thing with actual depth and momentum.
Sword of the Sea
Developer: Large Squid
Writer: Large Squid
A serene sand-surfing journey from Matt Nava and the workforce behind Journey, Abzû, and The Pathless.
Why we like it: Watching Nava’s inventive evolution through the years has been such a pleasure, and Sword of the Sea appears like a end result of all the things he does greatest — motion, ambiance, emotional quiet. It’s already beautiful and calming by itself, however what actually elevated the expertise for us have been the refined, modern touches he layered in. The DualSense haptics specifically add this mild, tactile dimension to browsing throughout the dunes — you are feeling the world in a approach that’s not possible to explain till the controller is in your arms. It’s considerate, immersive, and a kind of experiences that stays with you lengthy after you log out.
Honorable Mentions
- Citizen Sleeper 2
- Demonschool
- Ender Magnolia: Bloom within the Mist
- Resort Infinity
- Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
- Misplaced Data Bloom & Rage
- Ninja Gaiden Ragebound
- Promise Mascot Company
- Rematch
- The Alters
- The Midnight Stroll
- To a T
- Wanderstop
- Wheel World
These video games characterize only a fraction of the unbelievable creativity taking place throughout the indie panorama. We’re thrilled to assist such inventive, genre-defying work and we are able to’t wait to see what’s subsequent.
