Check out 50 indie games from Brilliant Indie Treasures
Last week during Develop: Brighton week, a nearby exhibition called Brilliant Indie Treasures showcased 50 games from indie developers.
The event exhibited games being developed across a variety of platforms. The show, which attracted over 500 attendees, was put together by Pocket Gamer Brands editor-in-chief Dann Sullivan, Toya Play Studio head of community Jupiter Hadley, and Asobi.tech founder Quang Nguyen.
PocketGamer.biz was in attendance at the event, got hands-on with a number of titles and caught up with indies about their experiences in the current market. Some developers at the show spoke of the difficulties in the current industry climate, which turned them to making their own titles.
One developer said they had been impacted by the wave of layoffs, while their development partner, a game designer, said they had struggled to find a job, with so few job openings and a glut of available candidates.
Another indie was a part-time accountant, unaffected by the industry’s challenges.
The one thing each developer we spoke to had in common was the joy of making games, with a determination to continue with their passion, whatever the industry had thrown at them. (Don't forget to check out our roundup of Develop: Brighton sentiments right here, too).
Showcasing indie creativity
"We wanted to create a space where developers could showcase for free, attendees weren't charged for entry, there was no alcohol and there wasn't loud music blasting. We wanted to create a more relaxing and inclusive environment," said Hadley.
"Our aim was to showcase lesser known devs, many of which had never showcased before, to give them the chance to be seen."
Miss the games at the expo? Or did you attend and want to see them again? Below we’ve put a list together of the titles on show.
Game: Alula
Developer: Miracle Tea
Description: Alula is a 2.5DHD puzzle game where you help people solve their problems by exploring parts of their psyche.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1138250/Alula/
Game: A Monster's Expedition
Developer: Draknek & Friends
Description: An adorable and relaxing open world puzzle adventure for monsters who love to learn about humans!
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1052990/A_Monsters_Expedition/
Game: Awkward 2: The Party Game of Savage Secrets
Developer: Snap Finger Click
Description: Awkward 2 is the adult multiplayer party game filled with dark, hilarious & sometimes downright disturbing questions. Laugh, debate, defend and find out things you never wanted to know about your friends!
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1682690/Awkward_2_The_Party_Game_of_Savage_Secrets/
Game: Bib Goes Home
Developer: Matt Stark, Jay Bretherton, Zap Fernandez, Alastair Low
Description: Bib Goes Home is an interactive storybook experience for players of any age. Using a projection mapped hand-drawn pop-up book, players can control a bib as he moves around a real book right in front of your eyes.
Link: https://probablyjay.itch.io/bib-goes-home
Game: Building Relationships
Developer: Tan Ant Games, Tanat Boozayaangool
Description: Experience life as a house in this silly adventure game! Play as a building as you roll, jump, and wave-dash across a cosy island. Meet eligible structures, romance them, and experience a bizarre, yet oddly familiar story.. or go fishing instead (though we replaced fish with cars to make more sense).
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2666920/Building_Relationships/
Game: Cabernet
Developer: Party for Introverts
Description: Change is brewing, threatening the established ways of alluring supernatural aristocrats. Sustain your facade as one of the living and struggle with your morality as a young vampire. Will you retain your humanity or descend further into the horror you have become?
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2401410/Cabernet/
Game: com__et
Developer: SuperBiasedGary
Description: A queer romance/horror visual novel about being locked into a path, and having _______ words hidden from You. Find Your way to discover what's missing and reach Your ____ End.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2604450/com__et/
Game: Crackernuts
Developer: Hairy Heart Games
Description: Crackernuts is a narrative game about a goat-headed girl and her sister, a no-bodied head. They are on a quest to find themselves and rescue their village from a curse of darkness.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2825750/Crackernuts/
Game: Critias Empire
Developer: Crystalline Green Ltd.
Description: Non-violent 4X strategy game with disasters. Build the peaceful kingdom of Atlantis into a flourishing civilization. Plan carefully or be ready to adapt as angry Gods rain down disasters from on high.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1949260/Critias_Empire/
Game: Crowded. Followed
Developer: Ferry Liquid
Description: A homeless man's life is at risk after acquiring a briefcase given to him. Death will endlessly pursue. It is only a matter of time. You must scavenge for spare change as well as carefully manage your lung capacity to ensure a successful escape from what follows. Be aware, it may take the form of someone else.
Link: https://ferryliquid.itch.io/crowded-followed
Game: The Crust
Developer: VEOM Studio
Description: Automate a lunar base as you become the saviour of humanity exploring the future on the moon. Mine, craft, research, and trade resources with Earth in this gripping narrative basebuilder.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1465470/The_Crust/
Game: D*Fuzed (GBC)
Developer: Asobi.tech
Description: D*Fuzed is a turn-based logic puzzle game, where just one wrong move might be your last. Defuse bombs to recharge your battery, avoid the explosions, and look out for other hazards along the way!
Link: https://incube8games.com/en-eu/products/d-fuzed-gbc
Game: Dead Meat
Developer: Meaning Machine
Description: Lucia's just killed her husband... probably. Can you get a confession before her lawyers arrive? Use your own words to manipulate, persuade, threaten, or even seduce her into 'fessing up. This billionaire has a terrible secret. And time is running out.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2628740/Dead_Meat/
Game: Death of the Reprobate
Developer: Joe Richardson
Description: Explore a world built from the luscious landscapes, turbulent townscapes and preposterous portraits of real Renaissance paintings. Death of the Reprobate is a Rabelaisian point and click adventure from the creator of Four Last Things and The Procession to Calvary.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1739900/Death_of_the_Reprobate/
Game: Fugl
Developer: Team Fugl
Description: Soar with the wind as a shape-shifting bird. Explore worlds teeming with life. Discover and morph into hundreds of animal species. Relax and enjoy the freedom of Fugl.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/643810/Fugl/
Game: Gloomy Juncture
Developer: Subtales Studio
Description: A neo-noir psychological thriller with a point & click core. Set in the 90s, the story unfolds in a decaying and morally bankrupt urban setting. Step into the shoes of a mundane janitor on the verge of a breakdown and find yourself entangled in the aftermath of a pivotal gunshot.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839980/Gloomy_Juncture/
Game: Harvest Hunt
Developer: Villainous Games Studio
Description: You are the Warden. Enter the dense cornfields and gather the resources your village desperately needs. But beware: you are not alone. Build a deck of abilities and choose your weapons to face the growing dangers of the night. With a relentless monster after you, will you make it out alive?
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2009620/Harvest_Hunt/
Game: Heir of the Dog
Developer: Tall Story Games Ltd
Description: A hilariously British point & click adventure. After drinking his uncle's secret formula, Cummerbund Bandersnatch undergoes a monstrous transformation. Solve puzzles, manipulate time and uncover the truth behind Victorian London's most secret society as you regain your humanity.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2431920/Heir_of_the_Dog/
Game: Hexahedra
Developer: Sidequest Ninja
Description: Hexahedra is an open-ended programming puzzle game. Design and optimise factories to build cubes, used galaxy-wide as crates, musical instruments, even chic coffins. Rewind and replay the action to hunt for improvements. Compete with friends, and help a tiny octopus with a nightmare family visit.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1248420/Hexahedra/
Game: Hexrite
Developer: Phabula
Description: You are a sorcerer part of a group of mysterious characters embarking on an adventure to fulfil an ancient magical ritual. Fight, quest and explore in this stylised action-adventure indie title!
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2621770/Hexrite/
Game: Hollowbody
Developer: Headware Games
Description: A tech-noir survival horror short story, set in the urban decay of a long abandoned British city. Solve environmental puzzles, manage limited resources and fight for a way to escape beyond the wall.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2123640/Hollowbody/
Game: The Horror at Highrook
Developer: Nullpointer Games
Description: The Horror at Highrook is an occult card crafting narrative RPG. Explore a haunted mansion with your team of investigators, summon dark entities, craft powerful protections, uncover the fate of the missing family, and choose your own path through the darkness.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2836860/The_Horror_at_Highrook/
Game: Hymble Ventures
Developer: Canine Games
Description: Jump into a cute, platform adventure with Hymble and Codee. Relive the 90’s gameplay but with RPG elements, and challenge yourself into dodging sense damages like smells, touches, sights and sounds. Combat enemies with Hymble’s magic palms while not running out of sense perception health.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2419200/Hymble_Ventures/
Game: Into the Restless Ruins
Developer: Ant Workshop Ltd
Description: A roguelike deckbuilder where you create the dungeon you fight through. Each night use your cards to expand the ruins then battle through them, harvesting Glimour from the lost souls and improving your deck. Can you reach The Warden and defeat it, so that The Maiden will grant your heart’s desire?
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2877770/Into_the_Restless_Ruins/
Game: Kien (GBA)
Developer: AgeOfGames
Description: Unreleased and originally developed in the early 2000s Kien is out now. An enthralling action platformer infused with RPG elements, immersing adventures in a captivating fantasy world of 23 intricate and demanding levels. With Gameplay that maintains a relentless pace, throwing players into the midst of frenetic action where they must confront a multitude of adversaries. The distinctive non-linear structure grants you the freedom to explore Kien's expansive world as you choose; Journey from one stage to the next, making every playthrough a unique and captivating adventure.
Link: https://incube8games.com/en-eu/products/kien-gba
Game: LOK Digital
Developer: Letibus Design, Icedrop Games
Description: Learn world-changing words and master their mind-bending effects. Help the LOK creatures thrive in this charming puzzle adventure.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2207440/LOK_Digital/
Game: Morgan: Metal Detective
Developer: Studio Morgan
Description: A cosy, first person metal detector adventure game, where you reunite residents of the beautiful Cornish island of Glasden with things they have lost. And with your late Grandpa's help, maybe restore magic along the way.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2637220/Morgan_Metal_Detective/
Game: Normal Fishing
Developer: The Bworg
Description: Normal Fishing is a retro-handheld-inspired adventure where everything goes exactly as expected, and there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Explore the lake, chase and catch fish in frantic minigames, and uncover a much deeper, darker secret in this experimental indie horror adventure.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2611240/Normal_Fishing/
Game: One Minute To Close
Developer: SleepySwan Studios
Description: 1 Minute to Close is a stealth adventure game set in a supermarket after hours. Utilise the environmental interactions and physics based tactics to outsmart the shop assistants who use an advanced AI that learns from your actions.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2953320/One_Minute_To_Close/
Game: One S'More
Developer: Kleene Games
Description: Can you help an adventurous marshmallow fulfil its dream of becoming a tasty S'More? Watch your mind crumble as you break apart islands and rearrange the whole world to help your little marshmallow friend reach their goal of getting squished between two chocolate cookies.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2452930/One_SMore/
Game: Pachinko Party
Developer: Good Sport Games
Description: A social multiplayer Pachinko game! Play with friends both locally and online!
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3093410/Pachinko_Party/
Game: Outclaw
Developer: Moss Monkey Games
Link: https://linktr.ee/mossmonkeygames
Game: Our Journey
Developer: Farooq Ahmed Dehlvi, Deadhead Games
Description: 'Our Journey' is a short narrative game about a young woman coping with loss. Navigate through her grief and how it manifests in her life and environment.
Link: https://x.com/DehlviFarooq
Game: Pip Pepper Park Planner
Developer: Jose Luis Pacheco Boscán, Anzal Baig
Description: Pip Pepper Park Planner is a cosy park-building strategy game in which you play as Pip, a little bird with a big job: designing a public park for animals to enjoy.
Link: https://joclpacheb.itch.io/pip-pepper-park-planner
Game: PokeyPoke
Developer: SaraJS
Description: Explore a mysterious island of Trials with nothing but a spear, grit and determination.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1083230/PokeyPoke/
Game: Project Diagnosis
Developer: Two Headed Alien
Description: A sci-fi investigation game about caring for victims of alien abduction.
Link: https://twoheadedalien.com
Game: Rhythm Towers
Developer: Innoloop
Description: Match funky music with dance moves to conjure super-powered musical instruments! Use both brains and beat to defend your planet’s precious AlgoRhythm from hordes of rampaging creeps and get your heart thrashing to an unforgettable melody.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1561030/Rhythm_Towers/
Game: The Quiet Things
Developer: Silver Script Games
Description: An auto-biographical, narrative game, based on real diary entries kept as a teenager. The Quiet Things seeks to explore mental health issues with a raw but brave look at childhood abuse and trauma. With a deep focus on storytelling through audio, set foot in Alice’s world and hear her story.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2288520/The_Quiet_Things/
Game: The Protagonish
Developer: College Fun Games
Description: An adventure game, where you don't control the adventurer. Play the side characters in a medieval village, and decide to help or hinder the adventurer in their mysterious quest.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2994780/The_Protagonish/
Game: RUBATO
Developer: dconn
Description: RUBATO, an experimental, 2D physics-based take on the collect-a-thon genre!
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244030/RUBATO/
Game: Schrodinger's Catgirl
Developer: Spider Lily Studios LLC
Description: Schrodinger's Catgirl is a point-and-click sci-fi mystery visual novel from the studio that brought you Retrace: Memories of Death. Follow the adventures of the investigation duo, Lemi and Leon, when they stumble upon the assault of a young woman in an abandoned mansion. The team decides to investigate the incident themselves before the police get to the scene, but the more they look, the more the truth changes…
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1460950/Schrodingers_Catgirl/
Game: Shards Between Us
Developer: Queensguard Games
Description: Shards Between Us introduces two sisters on their coming of age journey. Begin as Glas, the younger child, as she juggles nurturing her own magic and supporting her unravelling family. A short, delicate experience approaching the sensitive subject of emotionally-unavailable parenting.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2272410/Shards_Between_Us/
Game: Skera VR
Developer: Team Skera
Description: Skera is a single-player puzzle-solving action adventure VR game. Imprisoned within a colossal Tower, you must work with and against the resident AI. Sword in hand, carve your way through puzzles, obstacles and enemies in order to reactivate the mysterious tower and return home.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2280700/Skera_VR/
Game: Sleepytime Village
Developer: Lightfoot Bros Games
Description: Sleepytime Village is a creepy AF classic-style point & click adventure game about learning to rediscover both your inner child and the joy of creativity.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1918850/Sleepytime_Village/
Game: Sokobond Express
Developer: José Hernández, Draknek & Friends
Description: Sokobond Express is a beautifully minimalist puzzle game that combines chemical bonds and puzzling pathfinding in novel ways.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1701330/Sokobond_Express/
Game: Stuffed 2
Developer: waving Bear Studio
Link: https://www.wavingbearstudio.com
Game: Terratorial
Developer: Arrogant Pixel
Description: Terratorial is the in-production real-time strategy game by independent game developer Arrogant Pixel.
Set after the sudden overnight disappearance of planet Earth, the game’s campaign follows a diverse set of galactic heroes who utilise a powerful armada of spaceships and engage in hectic, theft-based warfare to discover the culprit behind this terrestrial mystery.
Link: https://arrogantpixel.com
Game: The Waking Knot
Developer: Bongle Systems Ltd
Description: This is The Waking Knot. A unique small-scale tactics game about improvising amongst chaos. It's turn-based but there's no opponent, just a sea of chaotic bubbles. Reconfigure the foaming mess, turn it to your advantage and discover The Waking Knot.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2155130/The_Waking_Knot/
Game: Vaporwave Pinball
Developer: Mixtape Games UK
Description: Play LoFi digital pinball in a variety of cosy, chill locations. Explore a 90s operating system to find new worlds. Uncover hidden, corrupted files. For a couple of hours, escape the real world. Vaporwave Pinball is the ultimate "virtual holiday" destination.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2465930/Vaporwave_Pinball/
Game: VIDEOVERSE
Developer: Kinmoku
Description: Relive the days of past social gaming networks in VIDEOVERSE – A decision-based narrative adventure focusing on character development, friendship and love, from the developer behind One Night Stand.
Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2079180/VIDEOVERSE/
