Nintendo’s surprise Indie World showcase wrapped up yesterday, bringing with it a plethora of indie titles coming to the Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 (and a bunch of other consoles) this year and the next. We’re not sure what’s more amazing – just how many games Nintendo managed to squeeze into a fifteen-minute time slot, or the fact that a (very) short indie-led showcase is somehow more entertaining than last week’s full-on Nintendo Direct.
Mina the Hollower
From Yacht Club Games (makers of the excellent Shovel Knight) comes Mina the Hollower. Players take the role of Mina, a Hollower, on an 8-bit action adventure. Mina explores the depths of a vast world, whipping foes “into oblivion” and uncovering the secrets within. Heading to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 1/2, and PC on 31 October. A demo is available on the Nintendo Switch.
WELL DWELLER
It’s no Hollow Knight: Silksong, but Well Dweller should scratch that metroidvania itch, providing more than enough room for you to explore and just as many boss fights to conquer. You’ll play as Glimmer, a bird armed with a lit matchstick, as he ventures out to burn the queen and save his family. It’ll all make sense on launch day. It’s set to release in 2026 for the Nintendo Switch and PC.
Neverway
This is technically Coldblood Inc.’s debut game, but it’s headed by indie legend Pedro Medeiros, who made Celeste look the way it does. Neverway is the next step in Medeiros’ developing art style slapped onto what appears to be a Stardew Valley clone, but don’t get it twisted. This is an action-horror RPG at its core, set to noises composed by Disasterpiece. It’ll be out sometime in 2026 for Nintendo Switch 1/2 and PC.
Herdling
One of our favourite trailers of the Indie World showcase was Herdling, where you’ll head out on a grand adventure with one goal in mind: protect the Calicorns, solving environmental puzzles to do it. What are Calicorns? We’re still not sure, but we’re keen to find out when it releases on 21 August for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 1/2, and PC.
Is This Seat Taken?
The world is healing. Nintendo showed massive restraint to wait quite as long as it did to start throwing the word “cosy” around in an Indie World showcase. Is This Seat Taken? is a puzzle game that’ll have you separating and bringing people up in a social setting according to their preferences. It all sounds a little pre-1990 to us. It’s out already on Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Little Kitty, Big City
Little Kitty, Big City may already be out on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC as of last year, but yesterday’s announcement brought us The Picture Purrfect update, adding a cat customiser (no, really) and new areas to explore. It’ll be out on all those consoles later this year.
Content Warning
You’ve definitely already heard of Content Warning, even if you did miss out on the massive co-op survival horror game that’ll have you and your buddies exploring procedurally-generated underground caverns in search of some hard-hitting viral content. It’s heading to the Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 sometime in 2026.
BALL X PIT
Ball X Pit is one of the harder sells shown at the Indie World showcase. That’s not surprising considering the game’s roguelite base-building survival roots and low-poly pixel art style. It’s a proper roguelite, with bosses to beat and over 60 randomised balls to equip. Fortunately, a demo is coming before it heads to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on 15 October 2025. It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 this Spring.
Ultimate Sheep Raccoon
The biggest hurdle in Ultimate Sheep Raccoon isn’t dodging the literal hurdles on your path in this bike-racing party game; it’s gathering seven other friends to dive into the game with you. If you manage the feat, you and your friends can build the course together before taking each other on. It’s coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 1/2, and PC in summer 2025.
Glaciered
This isn’t the Subnautica update you were looking for, but Glaciered still looks to be worth your time. Set 65 million years in the future, where the world has frozen over, you’ll descend into the depths of the ocean to investigate the weirdly evolved beasts trapped there. It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 first as a timed console exclusive, with a release on PC planned for “Q3 2025”.
Winter Burrow
You get it by now, right? You’ll play as a tiny mouse just looking to survive the winter by rebuilding your childhood burrow(and finding your missing aunt, we hope) in this cosy survival title. Winter Burrow is coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC this, uh, summer.
Undusted: Letters from the Past
Hey, look! It’s another cosy game made to pad out the Nintendo eShop. Undusted: Letters from the Past will see players cleaning (because you don’t get enough of that already) their home and uncovering items from their past. It’s coming out this October for the Nintendo Switch if you’re into that sort of thing.
Tiny Bookshop
You won’t have to wait to get your hands on yet another cosy management-style game, Tiny Bookshop, released yesterday for the Nintendo Switch and PC.
Caves of Qud
You might’ve already taken on the challenge that Caves of Qud presents in the form of a science fantasy RPG and roguelike epic when it launched on PC last year. But if you’ve yet to dive into the 2D jungles of Qud, it’s heading to the Nintendo Switch as a console exclusive this summer.
Strange Antiquities
Strange Antiquities isn’t exactly what we’d call “cosy”, despite what the kitty plonked on the thumbnail might lead you to believe. Players fill the role of a custodian looking after an antique shop that only deals in items of an occult nature. This sequel to Strange Horticulture comes out for the Nintendo Switch and PC on 17 September.
OPUS: Prism Peak
Opus: Prism Peak is a photo adventure game at heart, one which sees players chasing after a mysterious girl with no memory in a dreamlike world, and exposing riddles along the way through your trusty viewfinder. It’s coming out for the Nintendo Switch 1/2 and PC this spring.
UFO 50
Finally, we arrive at UFO 50, a mishmash of fifty different games spanning a bunch of genres — in both single and multiplayer forms. It’s already out on PC as of 2024, but arrived on the Nintendo Switch yesterday as a timed console exclusive.
