The gaming industry as a whole has problems, but if you’re deep into gaming, there are so many great options out there from just about every genre and subgenre out there. Thanks to the indie scene, there are games of all shapes and sizes coming out weekly. It can be a bit difficult to sift through it all and find ones worth investing time and money into. To try and make the sorting process easier, I figured I’d do some of the legwork and put together some games for one of my favorite genres: RPGs.
While there are a good number of RPGs coming out in 2026 that I’m looking forward to, some of my most anticipated games are indie RPGs. If you’re like me and like seeing some of the more interesting and creative ideas coming from the indie scene, here are 10 indie RPGs that are worth your attention this year.
Petrichor
Petrichor is the debut game from developer Potesara.Co. You play as Jobert, a hero-in-the-making, as he and his friends save their planetoid from the monsters that have started to appear after a series of earthquakes. The game takes inspiration from 90s JRPGs, but the Claymation visuals and offbeat humor remind me a lot of Moon. Petrichor’s combat is your typical JRPG turn-based action, but it does have some QTE elements where hitting a button at the perfect time will deal additional damage.
Petrichor has an up-in-the-air 2026 release date currently listed on their Steam page, and with a Kickstarter just recently started, there’s a chance this game slips to next year. But with a fun demo that’s definitely worth checking out and a great general vibe to it, Petrichor is definitely worth keeping an eye on and adding to your Wishlist.
Hark The Ghoul
Hark The Ghoul is a King’s Field-inspired dungeon crawler from French game studio Deep Denizens. In Hark The Ghoul, you’ll play as one of the nine different playable heroes. Who you pick will affect how the other characters of this dark Victorian-style city will interact with you as you kick, punch, slash, whip, and Magick your way through the evil creatures of this world. You can equip a variety of weapons, with both of your hands being able to hold different items, whether that’s a sword and a shield or a gun and a sword for maximum offensive range. You can even kick barrels and other objects at your enemies.
As someone very nostalgic for the PS1 style, the visual aspects of Hark The Ghoul immediately drew me in when I saw this pop up during Steam Next Fest two years ago. The atmosphere, the music, the enemies, the whole package is a really great, dark tone. The game has a 2026 release date currently up on their Steam page, with a demo still available to play from two years ago, so hopefully, we will see a release date for Hark The Ghoul soon.
Valor Mortis
Valor Mortis is a Souls-like first-person RPG from One More Level, the developers of Ghostrunner. In Valor Mortis, you play as William, a former soldier of Napoleon’s army who has been brought back to life by a mysterious plague. This same plague has run through Europe, affecting other people besides you in some dark and twisted ways.
The historical setting and general story conflict immediately drew me in when I saw this pop up at Gamescom last year. I haven’t played a ton of games like with the first-person viewpoint as well, and Given One More Level’s pedigree with Ghostrunner, I’m curious to see how this game will feel in a Souls-like package. The mix of ghastly mutated creatures in a Napoleonic Era setting has so much potential, so the whole package has definitely piqued my interest. One More Level debuted a new trailer at the Triple-i Showcase that took place last month, touting a Fall 2026 release window. Would love to see this game be able to hit that. Valor Mortis will release on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation 5.
Neverway
Coldblood Inc’s Neverway is part life-sim, part action RPG with a horror twist to the whole experience. You play as Fiona, a woman who quits her dead-end job and starts over on Montgomery Island. Unfortunately, as her new life begins, Fiona becomes indebted to a dead God and becomes its immortal herald. The general premise in Neverway, mixed with the pixel artist from the game Celeste and music from Disasterpiece, and you get a game that is near the top of my most anticipated games list, let alone most anticipated indie RPGs.
Neverway has all of the standard life sim aspects to it; you farm, fish, craft, and date various characters. It’s not really reinventing the wheel from a gameplay perspective, but everything I played in the prologue that released in early April feels really great, including the combat. I’m very curious where the story goes and how it all unfolds, and with Neverway currently set for an October 2026 release window for Steam and Switch, hopefully, this does find its way out this year. From everything shown off so far, that feels like a realistic goal for Neverway and the perfect time to release a game like this.
Alabaster Dawn
Alabaster Dawn is the next game from Radical Fish Games, the developers behind the 2018 Action RPG CrossCode. Alabaster Dawn is a 2.5D Action RPG that is gorgeous to look at, reminding me a lot of Secret of Mana with a little bit of a modern-day glow-up. The combat looks engaging and deep, with some puzzle aspects to break things up.
In Alabaster Dawn, you will play as Juno, who is tasked with the unenviable mission of saving her home and the rest of humanity from Nyx’s curse. She’ll learn what this curse is, where the Gods are, and attempt to unify a broken and cursed world, nothing too crazy. Alabaster Dawn is set for Steam Early Access on May 7th with 10 hours of playtime scheduled, along with a Roguelite side story included in this initial release. CrossCode followed a similar strategy, with about 3 years of time spent in Early Access, but hopefully we won’t have to wait that long for a 1.0 release.
Entropy
I tend to be pretty picky with tactics-based RPGs, but Entropy’s mix of retro 3D aesthetic and weird style piqued my interest as soon as I started looking into some games for this list. The various character models are rough around the edges and look ugly and unpolished, giving the entire world and style this purposeful gross aesthetic that I’m really intrigued by. Details are a bit scarce for this game for now, but Entropy centers around a theater troupe that must survive a world that’s been taken over by demons and other dark creatures and embark on a journey to hell.
Entropy comes from developers Lovely Hellplace, who released open-world RPG Dread Delusion two years ago, a game featuring a very similar aesthetic. Entropy’s Steam page currently has a 2026 release date, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see this fall into next year or get an Early Access release to start. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait long to see more from this very stylized throwback.
The Secret of Weepstone
There are a lot of cool or interesting-looking RPGs on this list, but The Secret of Weepstone might look the best out of them all. The Secret of Weepstone is a hand-drawn black and white dungeon crawler that is heavily inspired by D&D. Your stats and inventory page are setup exactly like a D&D Character sheet would be, your map screen looks as if taken right out of a module. The combat phases are also so cool-looking with how the game rolls the dice.
The dice are ‘thrown’ just like you’d normally do in a D&D campaign but the dice itself will bounce off the walls or off the enemies you’re facing, giving the experience this interesting perspective and making the first person aesthetic feel closer to you actually playing a game of D&D. Characters can be killed, new heroes can be recruited, if you are familiar with how D&D operates or are familiar with dungeon crawlers, you will understand The Secret of Weepstone basic set up. This game from Talesworth Game Studio has a 2026 release date with a demo currently up on its Steam page that’s well worth your time and a 2026 release window listed.
Detained: Too Good for School
Detained: Too Good For School is a stylish beat ‘em up RPG and the first release from O.T.K. Games. You play as a schoolgirl who has spent the last six months locked up in a juvenile detention center for a crime you were framed for. Now that you’re free and back out in the streets of Swinster City, you’ll have to fight your way through the crime underworld to find answers. All while improving your combat skills, getting stronger, smarter, and going to school.
Beat ‘em up RPGs like River City Girls have a major soft spot for me, so something like Detained: Too Good For School is right up my alley and something I’m definitely going to have to try. Detained: Too Good for School has been in development for a few years now, but work on an early access release sounds nearly complete. As of now, the game has a 2026 release date listed on Steam with plans for a console release thanks to a successful Kickstarter stretch goal.
SacriFire
SacriFire is a gorgeous pixelated throwback RPG from Pixelated Milk, inspired by games like Xenogears, Vagrant Story, and that era of PlayStation 1 RPGs. In SacriFire, you play as Ezekiel, a young priest in the underground city of Antioch. Ezekiel must go through his Ascension ceremony, where he will finally be recognized as a Bishop, but before the ceremony is complete, a dark magic follower named Prometheus interrupts the event and steals the church’s holy relic. It’s now up to Ezekiel and his friends to get back the holy relic.
SacriFire is a game I’ve had an eye on for over four years now, with updates slowly trickling in as development has continued. The pixel art and the games that were inspirations for SacriFire are very much my kind of game. The real-time combat system that has been shown in a few trailers and updates looks familiar but still somewhat unique. The game is currently scheduled for a 2026 release window on Steam, with console releases planned after. With four years of development already complete, hopefully we won’t have much longer to wait for this one.
Hollow Home
Hollow Home is an isometric narrative RPG, and the debut game from Ukrainian developers Twigames Inc. Hollow Home’s general story is inspired by the real events of the Russo-Ukrainian war, told through the perspective of a 14-year-old named Maksym. The game features no combat, your day-to-day activities will be filled with Maksym going around his small town as the war progresses, helping various people as their situations get worse. Stores will close, people will come and go, and your choices will determine how things change as the real-life events of the war progress. You have limited action points each day, so you won’t be able to do it all.
Hollow Home lists Disco Elysium and Planescape: Torment as games that have heavily influenced this game. Given the subject matter, the Disco Elysium influence, and the interesting visual style, Hollow Home seems well worth supporting and keeping an eye on. The game is currently set to release in 2026, according to the game’s Steam page, and with an appearance at Gamescom 2025, we will hopefully hear more from Hollow Home when Gamescom comes around later this year.
What games did we miss? What indie RPGs are you excited about past 2026? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to GameObserver!
