Pretty Metroidvanias, free Bomberman-style chaos and other new indie games worth checking out

Ndev Games/Com2us Holdings Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. It's Gamescom week, so there have been tons of game announcements. We'll dig into several of those as well as a few new games you can jump into this weekend. You may recall a long-running saga about a guy who tried to gain access to a landfill site because he was convinced it contained a hard drive he accidentally threw away in 2013. The hard drive is said to house a private key for 8,000 Bitcoin, which is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. James Howells' efforts to recover the hard drive (which is likely ruined anyway) have thus far been in vain, but he seems to have inspired a new game. I'm making a game that you are trying to find your Bitcoin hard drive in a landfill. Still in progress... pic.twitter.com/aUYsMrajFt — Paiden (@7paiden) August 24, 2026 An X user who goes by the name Paiden said they were working on a game in which you "try to find your Bitcoin hard drive in a landfill." This is one of several "needle in a haystack" games that have popped up in recent days. Those include an actual needle in a haystack game, with one needle to find amid 5 million strands of hay. i made a game where you literally have to find a needle in a haystack the catch is there are 5,000,000 pieces of hay and only 1 needle pic.twitter.com/q2TehY53iJ — Nas (@NasNakarus) August 22, 2026 My favorite example I've seen so far is one in which you have to figure out the location of a single missing semicolon in 187,421 lines of code. These are printed on sheets of paper that are stuck to the walls of a virtual office. The only way to pinpoint the missing punctuation (which the game removes at random) is by scouring the code manually. i made a game where you literally have to find a missing semicolon in a codebase of 187,421 lines the catch is the entire codebase is printed out and taped to the walls of an office and you have to inspect it line by line Play it here:https://t.co/AzKRP7KQug pic.twitter.com/bcrQVhSSU3 — terminal (@terminaldotshop) August 24, 2026 I spent about five minutes with the semicolon game before giving up. I understand why people want to play these kinds of games — they can be meditative for some —but they're not for me. My brain just doesn't engage with them. That said, I frittered away more time than I care to admit this week by claiming unique cards representing wiki entries in a fact-or-fiction game that Wikipedia made. My rapidly expanding collection includes the original Xbox, the Super Mario franchise, Suda51 and the 16:9 aspect ratio. New indie game releases Fatal Claw Developer: Ndev Games Publisher: Com2us Holdings Platform: Steam (Windows; Steam Deck Verified) Price: Usually $25, with a 20 percent discount until September 9 Fans of Metroidvanias have been eating well for a long time. There's been a steady stream of them for ages, and this week is no different. Two new releases caught my eye including Fatal Claw, which just left early access on Steam with its 1.0 release. As a cat named Kisha, you'll explore an ancient kingdom that's been revived using modern tech. It's full of infected creatures from which you can absorb abilities after vanquishing them. There are multiple endings as well. Kisha appears to have electrical powers, so I think he should have the nickname "Pikacat." The animations in the trailer are slick and the Steam reviews are generally positive. Commenters have suggested the developers took inspiration from the likes of Nine Sols and Umbraclaw. It looks like there's a hint of Hollow Knight in there too. Most importantly, there's a solid pun in the title. Divinum Developer/publisher: Sigil Games Platform: Steam (Windows, Mac; Steam Deck Verified), GOG. Coming to consoles "soon" Price: Usually $15, with a 10 percent discount until September 11 Divinum is another pretty Metroidvania. It has a lovely pixel-art aesthetic and the developers took inspiration from hack-and-slash games. You'll play as Fjør, a young warrior who attempts to fend off an outside threat that has invaded their island home. The combat system is built around two main weapons and a range of skills. It features parrying, dodging, blocking and combos. You can refine your character build to suit your playstyle by equipping runes that can offer you unique bonuses and modifiers, but might have some tradeoffs. I appreciated a note from Sigil Games on the Steam page that promises runes will do much more than simply give you a minor damage boost. "You won't find anything this boring in Divinum," the developer said. Bless. Blasterbug: Last Bug Standing! Developer/publisher: Dotemu Platform: Steam (Windows) Price: free! The folks at Dotemu are back with another retro-inspired game and this one won't cost you a penny. They shadowdropped Blasterbug: Last Bug Standing! on Steam this week. It's a Bomberman-style party game with local multiplayer support for up to eight players. There are 15 characters with their own playstyles and special attacks, and just as many levels, which have modifiers of their own. Blasterbug has five game modes as well. You and your bugs (sorry, buds) can battle it out in a deathmatch, compete to earn the most coins, make a mess in Paint Battle, try to hang onto a crown for as long as possible or do all of those at the same time in the Party Battle mode. While Blasterbug is free, you can pony up for some DLC if you like. A $2 Absolum pack adds a character from Dotemu's 2025 fantasy beat 'em up to the mix. Galandra wields a giant sword and can send opponents flying with a Necrotic Wave attack. The DLC includes an additional arena that features geyser traps. Blood Dungeon Developer/publisher: Messhof Platforms: Steam (Windows, macOS; Steam Deck Verified), Xbox Series X/S, Xbox for PC, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5Price: Usually $10, with a 15 percent launch discount on all platforms except PS5. Also on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Blood Dungeon was one of our highlights of the Summer Game Fest edition of Day of the Devs. Nidhogg developer Messhof's latest game smushes Spelunky's 2D platforming together with the chaos of games like Vampire Survivors. The art style looks straight out of MS Paint as well. You'll harvest blood from fallen enemies to level up and acquire new abilities and upgrades, which you may also find in treasure chests. You'll unlock more characters as you progress through the game. As in Spelunky, there are daily dungeons with online leaderboards too. The rounds are said to be short, which is a smart idea for this type of game. My favorite thing I've learned about Blood Dungeon so far is that you can play as a baby that carries a gun. That sounds so wrong, and yet so right. Lou's Lagoon Developer: Tiny Roar Publishers: Megabit Publishing, Rokaplay Platforms: Steam (Windows; playable on Steam Deck), Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox for PCPrice: Usually $25, with a 10 percent launch discount (PS Plus required for the PS5 discount) Here, we have a crafting and exploration game in which you'll help restore a community while searching for your missing uncle. Crafting and exploration are the mani focuses of Lou's Lagoon, in which you'll use a multitool called the Swirler to collect resources and build items. It looks cute. The idea of piloting a seaplane between islands in the archipelago of Lou's Lagoon is enticing. More games should have seaplanes! However, one Steam review suggested the flying aspect is limited to an overworld sandwiched between loading screens in which you travel between islands. A playthrough video confirmed that. It feels a bit shallow to admit, but that's made it less likely that I'll get around to checking out Lou's Lagoon. I thought it might be a bit more like the open-world nature of Tchia (a game I adore), but that's not quite the case. Upcoming indie games Militsioner Developer: Tallboys Publisher: Critical Reflex Platforms: Steam, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox for PC (including on Game Pass) Release window: 2027 I've been looking forward to Militsioner for what feels like forever. While I'll have to wait until next year for this game, there was an update and a new trailer at Gamescom. This is an immersive sim in which you attempt to escape from a small town. However, there's an enormous police officer looming over the area who watches your every move and keeps you in check. The latest trailer revealed some new features, such as voice acting and the ways in which you can interact with the officer. You can flatter, disappoint, deceive, anger and even romance him. You can influence the mood of every other character in similar fashion, hopefully in service of you making it out of the town. The settlement is said to change constantly and every character has a schedule they stick to. You can shift the time of day to alter things in your favor, while real-time flooding and an eclipse impact how things play out. I'm excited about Militsioner for several reasons. Its omniscient policeman is clearly reflective of the increasingly oppressive real-life surveillance state. Gravhounds Publisher/developer: Octopus Panic Platforms: Steam, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox for PC (including on Game Pass) Release date: November 2 (early access) My favorite moment during Gamescom's Opening Night Live stream this week was in the trailer for Gravhounds. This is a co-op base building and defense game in which you and your friends take on the roles of bio-engineered canines. You'll battle swarms of aliens and help out teammates by sending objects flying across the map with a gravity beam. You'll gather resources for crafting and unlock new gear as well. The shot I enjoyed so much only lasts for a couple of seconds in the trailer, but it might have just sold me on this game more than others of its ilk. As a horde of enemies approaches, the player character drops to the ground and plays dead. The baddies then ignore said pooch. I absolutely love that. (Since the canine workers are the protagonists here, Gravhounds is officially this week's dog game.) Murals Developer/publisher: Dlala Studios Platform: Steam Release window: 2027 Disney Illusion Island developer Dlala Studios is cooking up an isometric action-adventure called Murals. It's set in a fantasy world where fairytales have gone awry. After waking up in a castle with no memory of how you got there or anything about themselves, your hero will soon be battling twisted characters from folklore. The hand-painted visuals look lovely and it's a little refreshing to hear that this is a linear game given how many roguelites are on the market (Dlala says it was inspired by mechanics from that genre, though). The studio has promised that Murals has "an incredible cast." I was particularly tickled to hear the unmistakable voice of British comedy legend Bob Mortimer in the trailer. Trees Hate You Developer/publisher: Tykenn Platform: Steam (Windows, Linux/SteamOS) Release date: November 16 I'm not really one for rage games, but I enjoyed the trailer for Trees Hate You. It seems to mess with the player at every possible turn, with its trees stealing the protagonist's hat, shoving them off of cliffs, thwacking them around and attacking them with axes. I don't know that the game really needed trees that fire rockets at the player character, but sometimes, you've just gotta go with your wild ideas. The thing I like most about Trees Hate You is that, much like Devolver Digital and Doinksoft, it's not running scared from Grand Theft Auto 6. Tykenn will release the game just a few days before Rockstar's blockbuster. "We're getting Trees Hate You before GTA 6," Tykenn wrote on Bluesky, adding that, as things stand, its game appears to be the most wishlisted title that's set to hit Steam that week. (GTA 6 isn't coming to PC just yet). Tykenn went on to suggest there might be space for other games to make a bit of a splash around that time: Trees Hate You is actually releasing on Monday, and it's a short game, so you could play and finish it in time for GTA6 on Thursday. But I suspect even the biggest game release ever won't be the *only* game anyone will play or talk about that month, especially when it's not even releasing on Steam — tykenn (Trees Hate You) (@tykenn.games) 2026-08-28T00:25:09.821Z That's spot on. Counter programming can be very effective!