2025 was a jam-packed year filled with some incredible games. Too many, in fact, and the January sales haven’t helped with our games-to-play backlogs either. In our first-ever GameObserver Awards, we highlighted what we believe are the best games of 2025, spread out across 34 categories. We’ve even flagged our staff picks of the games we loved this year but weren’t nominated in our awards.
However, we also want to shine a light on some of the best indie games we played in 2025 that are lesser known. These picks have been narrowed down using steam review counts as a way of estimating how many people have played them.
1. Afterlove EP
The release of Pikselnesia’s Afterlove EP came with extra weight for Coffee Talk fans. Afterlove EP’s development was spearheaded by Coffee Talk creator and writer, Mohammad Fahmi, who tragically passed away mid-development in 2022 aged just 32-years-old.
Afterlove EP itself delves into the theme of moving on with life after experiencing the death of a loved one. This visual novel follows Rama, a young musician who’s still grieving a year after his girlfriend passed away, struggling with his mental health and unable to focus on his music career while his band members need him to start writing songs again.
Gameplay comes in the form of some rhythm mini-games and the choices we make throughout the story. While the choices seem small, their impact feels weighted in every conversation and the game does a great job in creating doubt in whether you made the right decision or not.
Afterlove EP is a narrative masterpiece and while grief is one of its core themes, it’s not the whole story; you will both laugh and cry while playing this and it’s one that will stick with you long after you’ve finished playing it.
2. The Darkest Files
Courtroom game, The Darkest Files by Paintbucket Games, takes place in Germany in 1956 and follows a young prosecutor who must bring the Nazis who committed crimes during the war to justice.
One of the most interesting things about The Darkest Files is that it’s based on real cases, offering players the chance to read up on the full, true story after each one is solved. While the game risked coming off as distasteful by doing this, it handles the matter respectfully and makes for an eye-opening history lesson on one of the darkest periods in human history.
Gameplay-wise, The Darkest Files makes for a fantastic investigation game with very little handholding. You’ll be searching for files, questioning witnesses and suspects, and cross referencing information. Finally compiling your files to put together a winning argument is immensely satisfying.
3. Inhuman Resources: A Literary Machination
Inhuman Resources: A Literary Machination by Finnegan Motors is another narrative-focused game. In a dystopian world ruled by the SMYRNACORP corporation, we play as a recently hired employee who must choose between morals and their employment in the company, which is their only chance at making a living.
This horror game chills you subtly through its text, offering multiple choices that provide excellent replay value.
4. Cattle Country
On a brighter note, Castle Pixel’s Cattle Country is a cozy farming sim set during the Wild West. Its cute pixel graphics and charming town design are reminiscent of Stardew Valley, but its setting gives it a unique twist that sets it apart from other installments in the genre.
You are given a farming plot to build on from scratch. You’ll be living out of a tent at first while you get set up, which you can eventually upgrade into a house as you earn more income. As well as farming crops and raising animals, you can explore the area for resources and wild flowers, this includes hunting and going on mining ventures. You’ll also have a hand in the development of the town as its population increases. Players can get to know the town’s residents and bond with them by giving them gifts or inviting them to events. But not everyone is friendly, as the Wild West is also wrought with goons and hoodlums who will challenge you to a shootout.
If you’re looking for another cozy farming sim with a wild twist, then Cattle Country is for you.
5. Little Problems
If you enjoy detective puzzle games such as The Case of the Golden Idol or the Duck Detective series, then cozy detective game, Little Problems by Posh Cat Studios, might just be for you.
Little Problems follows Mary, a first year university student who faces various little problems during her studies, from getting a bad grade to attending a concert. Players must help her solve these little problems by identifying who’s present in each scenario, what’s going on, what actions Mary should take, and more. The gameplay is similar to the two previously mentioned games in that investigation consists of examining a static scene and searching for clues in order to fill out the required information to solve each little problem.
While the titular little problems are a lot more relatable to the average player and are more low stakes than a murder mystery, the game does a good job at drawing you into each story while still providing a tough mystery challenge for genre veterans to enjoy.
6. Sips and Sonnets
Blue Tango Street’s cozy tea shop visual novel, Sips and Sonnets, is another game that fans of Coffee Talk and similar visual novels might enjoy. We play as Ms Meadows, a retired journalist who now runs a tea shop in the British countryside. Ms Meadows will serve regular customers, hear about and potentially solve their ongoing problems, and craft poems as she awaits the long anticipated visit of an old friend.
Gameplay consists of serving the right tea based on customers’ preferences, and choosing dialogue. You’ll be expected to remember previous conversations with returning customers to make that growing bond with them feel more authentic. There are also different endings depending on the dialogue choices you make.
While Sips and Sonnets is a cozy game, it also delves into the themes of life and death which it handles very well. It’s a slow burn, but it will leave you wanting more.
7. Consume Me
Consume Me is a unique semi-autobiographical life sim RPG by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken “coda” Snyder. It follows the themes of teenage life and the struggles that come with it, focusing on Jenny, a teenager who is about to start her final year of high school.
Gameplay comes in the form of various minigames centered around Jenny’s to-do list. Its simple gameplay makes it widely approachable, especially for more casual players, while also staying interesting enough for experienced players. With Jenny’s neverending to-do list and goals that are never enough to make her feel satisfied, Consume Me has a huge variety of activities while also providing a great story.
This game is a special experience that will stick with the people who play it.
8. Gigasword
Gigasword is a Metroidvania based around a common joke about characters in games such as Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter and Dark Souls: imagine if they could barely move their swords because they’re so comically big. Studio Hybrid has turned this joke into a mechanic, where protagonist, Ezra, takes the giant sword of his fallen giant owl mentor, Omari, and goes on a quest to avenge him.
Without the sword, Ezra can perform a wide range of moves to traverse each level, but with it, while he can attack enemies and use it to open doors or solve puzzles, his mobility is significantly reduced. Players must work around this by putting the sword down to overcome more challenging platforming and find a way to pick it back up again to use it when needed.
Gigasword is a great Metroidvania with challenging puzzles, while also boasting a well-written story and interesting characters.
9. Angeline Era
Angeline Era is a 3D action-adventure game by Melos Han-Tani and Marina Kittaka (Analgesic Productions). It takes place in Era, a land of Fae, humans and angels, and follows Tetsuya Kinoshita who starts off on a ship on its way to Era.
Levels are hidden and need to be revealed by scanning them and clearing a path via a minigame. Angeline Era uses a bumpslashing (attacking enemies by walking into them) mechanic for its hack n’ slash combat, which sets it apart from other modern games within the genre.
Angeline Era is the perfect adventure game that’s full of mystery, with unique combat, fantastic puzzles and a heart-capturing soundtrack.
Are there any games that you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments!
