Supermassive Games Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. It's been a pretty big week for new games with Forza Horizon 6 arriving (albeit only for those who stumped up for the premium version) and Subnautica 2 hitting early access. However, we're here to tell you about some fresh indies you might like to check out this weekend, as well as some news regarding upcoming games.
Speaking of which, we'll have a very busy spell of game announcements coming up with events like Summer Game Fest, Day of the Devs and Wholesome Direct in just a few weeks. Before all of that, though, you can expect some other streams, such as the latest Six One Indie Showcase. I've enjoyed the previous editions, so I'll be watching on May 21 via the Six One Indie YouTube channel to see what the team has in store.
The pre-show starts at 11:50AM ET and will feature five recent games that might have slipped under your radar. The main showcase gets underway at noon with another 56 games on deck. It should be all set and done by 1:30PM. Six One Indie says it has locked in one of its most diverse lineups to date. Along with segments focusing on survival horror, roguelikes and other popular genres, you should expect ones that are said to feature types of games that are often overlooked. I'm hoping for a whole section about creepy farming sims, since that seems to be a growing subgenre.
New indie game releases
Supermassive Games (Until Dawn, The Quarry) is back with the second season of its Dark Pictures series. The first entry in said season is Directive 8020. As you might expect, this is a survival horror game with a large emphasis on narrative decisions, with your choices ultimately determining which characters survive. This time around, Supermassive is leaning into sci-fi with a story inspired by The Thing.
After a colony ship crash lands on a planet that seemed like it could be a safe haven for a dying Earth, the crew is hunted by an alien creature that can morph into other lifeforms, including humans. There are five main characters, including pilot Brianna Young, who is portrayed by Lashana Lynch (No Time to Die). You can play solo or pass the controller between a few friends in a couch co-op mode, with each taking charge of a character or two. Online multiplayer will be added later.
One thing that makes Directive 8020 distinct from other Supermassive projects is a new feature called Turning Points. This allows you to return to previous decisions and select a different option. The idea here is to make it easier for players to experience all of the outcomes in the branching narrative.
Directive 8020 is out now on Steam, PS5 (where you can check out a free trial) and Xbox Series X/S. It'll run you $50.
Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is a strategy game that's set in — surprise! — the universe of the beloved sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica. It's said to build on developer Alt Shift's previous game, Crying Suns, a narrative-driven, tactical roguelite that itself drew inspiration from BSG.
You'll take charge of a fleet of ships that's attempting to escape the destruction of the Twelve Colonies and return to the eponymous carrier ship. You'll have to take care of disputes within your fleet, deal with bad actors in your ranks, manage resources and make upgrades and repairs.
However, the Cylons are hot on your trail and you'll need to prepare yourself as best as possible for your next encounter with the deadly robots. The battles are more about survival and sustaining as little damage as possible than securing victory in all-out combat.
My colleague Igor Bonifacic tried an early build of the game last year and enjoyed it. Reviews I've seen are generally positive. You can try Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes by picking it up on GOG or Steam (a demo is available on the latter). It'll usually cost $25, but there's a 20 percent discount until May 18.
The Caribou Trail looks pretty interesting. It's a first-person walking sim set in the trenches of World War I, in which you take on the role of a young soldier who hails from Newfoundland. Said to be inspired by the true stories of troops who served in the Gallipoli campaign, the game tells a tale of friendship and survival, with some "folklore and psychological tension" mixed in.
The Caribou Trail, which is from Unreliable Narrators and Gambit Digital, is out now on Steam and the Epic Games Store (usually $13, 10 percent off on Steam until May 28). The developers had planned to release a PS5 version at the same time, but were unable to resolve a critical problem with that build in time. As such, they delayed the PS5 version until July 7.
I really enjoyed my time with Minos, a roguelite in which you construct a maze that takes out raiders with traps. Mazebound — from Absam Studios — is a completely different flavor of procedurally generated maze game. It's a first-person survival horror title in which you'll gather materials, craft weapons, hunt for nourishment and try to fend off the terrifying creatures that lie in wait.
Thankfully, you don't have to go alone (it's dangerous to do that, after all). You can bring friends with you in multiplayer. I would probably have to do just that.
Mazebound is available on Steam. It'll usually cost $10, though it's 20 percent off until May 20.
Upcoming indie games
It's been a decade since The Witness, his last entirely new game, so there's bound to be plenty of interest in Jonathan Blow's latest project. Order of The Sinking Star is still on track to hit Steam later this year, and it was revealed this week that a Nintendo Switch 2 version is in the works. That's also slated to arrive sometime in 2026.
Blow's studio, Thekla Inc, and publisher Arc Games offered another peek at Order of The Sinking Star with a new overview trailer. At its core, this is a Sokoban-style game featuring puzzles that require you to move blocks around. Blow is pitching it as an anthology of four games, each with their own mechanics and characters who have distinct abilities.
After this first phase, the characters and mechanics start blending together for more complex challenges. Blow told Engadget late last year there are around 1,400 puzzles altogether and that it'll likely take players approximately 500 hours to see and do everything Order of The Sinking Star has to offer.
There isn't much information out there about Held quite yet, though the minimalist trailer got to me. It features a few short animations of a father and his child, set to a jaunty, piano-led track. I'm not quite sure why it hit my heart so hard, but it left me intrigued.
This is a short, dialogue-free interactive novel about witnessing the early stages of a person's life through the eyes of their dad. Held, from a studio called Sense of Games, is slated to hit Steam soon.
I was recently pondering why I hadn't seen any pinball-based roguelite deckbuilders yet, completely forgetting that I wrote about one back in December (PinKeep does look interesting!). Pin-Crawl is another game that fits into this particular niche.
While PinKeep has tower defense elements, Pin-Crawl — as the name suggests — is a dungeon crawler. You can use magic powers to take out enemies, though you'll need to hit certain targets on the table to cast spells. You can also slow time to help with aiming and use dashes to your advantage.
As someone who recently scored 69 million points on a Jaws pinball table, this speaks to me, even if I am getting a little burned out on roguelites more broadly. Pin-Crawl — which is from the delightfully named studio So Romantic — is coming to Steam and consoles in the near future.
Speaking of things with great names, let's close things out for this week with two games that have titles I enjoy very much. We first saw Flock Off about a year ago, and now it's been confirmed that this co-op brawler for up to four players is coming to Steam later in 2026. It was initially scheduled to arrive in late 2025.
From Bunkhouse Games and publisher Shoreline Games, Flock Off is set in an alternate version of Scotland in the '90s, in which a sheep-cloning experiment has gone dreadfully wrong and you have to deal with herds of zombie livestock. You'll be grabbing whatever you can get your hands on to use as weapons. Maybe you'll even swing one of your friends at an undead highland cow.
Lastly for this edition, here's an idle desktop clicker from Rio Master that will hit Steam in early access on May 28. A demo is available now.
This game sits at the bottom of your screen while you're working, studying and so on. It features a herd of goats that will hang out, play and react to what's around them. Each goat has its own personality and interests. As you feed, pet and play with these virtual pets, their pasture will grow and feature more elements for them to interact with. There are also mini games and randomized events like dance parties and the arrival of Goatzilla.
As for the name of this game? Tame-a-goat-chi. A-plus. Zero notes.
