You’ve finished Hollow Knight, Hades and Celeste, and every list of indie recommendations hands you the same names all over again. Yet there are plenty of really good games that hardly anyone talked about when they came out. They’re not unknown because they’re weak. They came out at the wrong time, on the wrong platform or without much marketing, and simply got lost.
Here are eleven of them, sorted by what you’re in the mood for right now. My bar: a game has to be really good, not just unknown. Two borderline cases made the list that indie fans have been passing around for a while. I’ll be upfront about those, because for everyone else they’re still real hidden gems.
For detectives and clue hunters
Immortality
For me, Immortality is the clearest example of how a strong game can sink without a trace. It comes from Sam Barlow, who made Her Story before, and it works in a similar way. You watch scenes from three films that were never released and jump from one scene to the next. Bit by bit, you piece together what happened to the lead actress, who vanished without a trace.
What carries the game are the actors and the way it recreates the look of very different eras of film. As soon as the first pieces fit together, the story really pulls you in. The catch: you can hardly control which scene shows up next, so it sometimes feels more like chance than investigation. If you’re after classic gameplay with lots of control or interactive movies just aren’t your thing, this isn’t for you. The game also contains explicit scenes. It runs on PC, Mac, Xbox Series and PS5, with English voice acting. About 6 hours.
Return of the Obra Dinn
Return of the Obra Dinn is a detective game by Lucas Pope, the developer of Papers, Please. You uncover the fate of sixty crew members on a ghost ship, using frozen snapshots of the moments they died. Who was it, how did it happen, who was to blame? You work out the rest with notes and process of elimination.
Honestly, this one is a borderline case. Among indie fans it’s been required playing for ages, so you can hardly call it a hidden gem there. But if you mostly play the big names, it probably never crossed your radar, and for you it’s exactly the right game for this list. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes to put the pieces together themselves: it’s demanding, but always logical. Toward the end the mechanic wears a little thin, and there are hardly any characters you really root for. If you want a guided story or can’t get into notepads and process of elimination, it won’t make you happy. Runs on PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One and Switch, with English voice acting. About 10 hours.
For puzzle tinkerers
The Talos Principle 2
The Talos Principle 2 is a first-person puzzle game with a philosophical story. It came out in 2023 in the middle of an overcrowded fall release season and got pretty lost there. Far fewer people played it than the first game, The Talos Principle, and I think that’s a shame.
For puzzle fans, this is my clear pick on this list. The puzzles are cleverly built, the world looks really good, and the story gives you plenty to think about along the way, even if by the end it’s pretty blunt about what it’s getting at. Two things you should know beforehand: some puzzles are genuinely hard, and as a whole package the game drags in places. There’s also a lot of reading. If you’re after quick wins or action, this isn’t for you. Runs on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series, with the Road to Elysium expansion on top. About 25 hours.
Opus Magnum
Opus Magnum is a puzzle game by Zachtronics, and it’s one for people who love to tinker. You build machines out of mechanical arms and glyphs that brew alchemical potions. How you solve a puzzle is up to you, there’s no single right answer. Afterwards, charts show you how your machine stacks up against other players. That’s exactly the hook: you badly want to improve your solution, even though it already works.
The game is bursting with creativity, and if this kind of thing clicks with you, you’ll be stuck here for a long time. One important thing, though: in places it feels like programming and it’s pretty demanding. If that doesn’t appeal to you or you’d rather puzzle at a more relaxed pace, you’re better off with Cocoon further down. The game is PC only, for Windows, Mac and Linux, and there’s no console version. In March 2026 it also got De Re Metallica, a story expansion with new puzzles and glyphs. About 20 hours, with no real ceiling.
For a short evening
Cocoon
Cocoon comes from Jeppe Carlsen, who worked as a gameplay designer on Limbo and Inside. The idea behind it is unusual: you carry entire worlds around with you as orbs and jump back and forth between them. So there are worlds within worlds, and the game builds its puzzles out of that.
I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a puzzle game without the frustration. The puzzles are dense and well thought out but never overwhelm you, and on top of that you get a strong atmosphere and really good boss fights. That’s also where it hits its limit: if you want tough puzzles, you’ll find it too easy, you’ll solve some puzzles more by trial and error than by thinking, and the core idea could easily have been pushed further. There’s no narrated story and practically no text, so language doesn’t matter. Runs on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch. About 5 hours.
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a British slapstick comedy you play your way through. It’s set in a small town in the north of England, and the developers themselves call the genre a “slapformer”. The game went almost completely under the radar, and hardly anyone covered it.
If you like British humor, this is my pick for an evening when you just want to laugh. It’s all about jokes and timing, not challenge. That’s why it’s thin as a game: you run, jump and smack things, nothing more. If you’re looking for gameplay depth or a long game, or British humor isn’t your thing, skip it. The voice acting is English with a thick Yorkshire accent. Runs on PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox Series and Switch. You’ll be done in two to three hours.
Tip: Alongside the best match and a safe pick, the quiz always shows you a hidden gem that fits your taste. Take the quiz and get a recommendation in about three minutes.
For action fans
Astral Chain
Astral Chain is an action game by PlatinumGames that got pretty lost next to the big Nintendo names. You fight with two characters at once: your police officer and a creature called a Legion, which is tied to them by a chain. Between fights, you investigate cases.
For me, the combat system is the reason to play this game. Controlling two characters at the same time, with lots of style and lots of variety: that’s its big strength. The weaknesses lie elsewhere: the story is on the melodramatic side, the game doesn’t explain the basics very well, and there are lots of minigames not everyone needs. If you want no-frills action without investigations and side tasks, it won’t win you over. The game is Switch only, but it also runs on Switch 2. About 25 hours.
Mark of the Ninja
Mark of the Ninja is a 2D stealth game by Klei, the studio behind Don’t Starve. For me, it’s the benchmark for 2D stealth, and yet surprisingly few people have played it. Why it works so well: at any moment you can clearly see where the light is, how far your noise carries and what the guards can see. How you get through a level is up to you, and that’s exactly why a second playthrough is worth it.
It hardly has any big weaknesses, though some buttons do double duty. But let’s be honest too: if you don’t like stealth, this game won’t convert you either. I’d go for the Remastered version, which is available for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. About 8 hours.
Rogue Legacy 2
Rogue Legacy 2 is a roguelite platformer with a lineage system: when your character dies, a descendant takes over, and each one comes with their own quirks. For me, it plays in the same league as the genre’s big names, it’s just that next to Hades hardly anyone noticed it.
There’s a huge amount of content and variety in it, and you set the difficulty yourself through what the game calls House Rules. The price for all that breadth: in some places the final polish is missing. If you don’t like the frustration of dying constantly, you should still be careful, because even with House Rules, dying is part of the concept here. Runs on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch. About 25 hours.
For patient explorers
Animal Well
Animal Well is a pixel art metroidvania, meaning a game where you explore an interconnected world piece by piece. What makes it special are the secrets: there are so many, and they’re hidden so well, that some were only cracked by the community working together.
This is another borderline case. The game was heavily promoted in 2024, so among indie fans it’s no stranger. But if you don’t keep up with every new indie release, you probably missed it. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes searching and puzzling things out on their own. There are small annoyances: fast travel is clunky, and the yo-yo, one of your tools, is a bit finicky to control. If you need clear goals and hints, you’ll quickly be left scratching your head. And if you’re not out to find every secret, you’ll miss a big part of what makes the game special. There’s hardly any text. Runs on PC, PS5, Xbox Series and Switch. About 10 hours.
A classic hardly anyone wanted back then
Beyond Good & Evil
Beyond Good & Evil is the classic cult flop. The action adventure about photojournalist Jade came out in 2003 and sold so badly that retailers slashed the price within the same year. Today it’s considered a cult game, while the announced sequel is something you’re still waiting for.
What defines the game are the world, the characters and the mix of very different styles of play. The puzzles and fights, on the other hand, are fairly basic. The easiest way to play it today is the 20th Anniversary Edition, released in 2024 for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch. But don’t expect a modern game: the re-release didn’t modernize the old mechanics, and it noticeably feels like the PS2 era. If you expect modern comfort, it won’t win you over. If you want to catch up on a piece of gaming history that unfairly went under back then, that’s exactly what you get here. About 11 hours.
How to find even more hidden gems
Eleven games are of course just a start, and which one suits you depends on your taste. The quiz has a question just for that: at “Blockbuster or hidden gem?” pick “Surprise me”, and the recommendations move further away from the mainstream. Either way, you always get a hidden gem on top at the end. Here’s the quiz.
If you’d rather browse on your own: in the best-of lists for puzzle games and roguelikes, big names and little gems sit side by side. If you’re short on time, Best Short Games You Can Beat in a Weekend has more games for a single evening. And if story matters most to you, take a look at Best Story Games That Feel Like a Great Movie.